Surfaces and Interfaces at the Nanoscale (SIN)
Leader: Dr. Adam Foster
Overview
Many technological applications depend crucially on
surface rather than bulk material properties, and the study of
surfaces has become an important field within condensed matter
physics. A few prominent examples are immediately evident - the
environmental degradation of high-Tc superconductors; bonding between
grains of alumina in sintered ceramics; passivation of metal surfaces
against corrosion; biomedical substrates; improving and designing new
solid-state gas sensors for pollution monitoring and control; studying
electrode/electrolyte interfaces in fuel cells. In microelectronics,
the ability to produce and control almost atomically perfect silicon
surfaces has allowed the interface engineering crucial in fabricating
transistors at the nanoscale - and this control of surface properties
remains a crucial element in the development of the next generation of
microelectronic devices. More recently, increased confidence in
manipulation and fabrication of atomic structures on surfaces has
opened the field of nano or molecular electronics and magnetism, with
great technological potential. In each of these cases, and in many
other applications where surface properties are important,
understanding and controlling surface physics at the atomic scale is
the fundamental developmental goal required for optimization and, in
cases like nanoelectronics, realization.
In the SIN group we apply various atomistic and quantum mechanical simulation methods to study surface and interface physics at the nanoscale, with particular emphasis on working closely with experimentalists and technologists. Our research topics vary from Scanning Probe Microscopy, to wet chemical etching and carbon nanotubes - including methodological development as well as direct simulation. For more information on the group please follow the links in the menu above, and you can also check the unofficial webpage.