Experimental nanophysics with advanced spectroscopic and structural analysis methods

Our research group focuses on the study of quantum and nanoscale materials such as 2D materials, (magnetic) topological materials, semimetals, and correlated systems. Our goal is to understand the fundamental physical properties of these materials, deepening the knowledge of their electronic properties in and out of equilibrium. The electronic structure studies are done by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and time-resolved ARPES (TR-ARPES), often in combination with advanced structural characterization by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS).

With ARPES, we can obtain detailed information about the electronic structure of the material, which enables us to probe the fundamental physics underlying various phenomena in materials. With TR-ARPES, we can extend our studies to the ultrafast (femtosecond) time scale, allowing us to investigate the dynamics of the electronic structure in response to external perturbation. LEED and STM, on the other hand, provide us with real-space morphological information that can be associated with the spectroscopic properties and electronic structure.

We are also interested in using these techniques to identify new materials and phenomena, in particular in the dynamics domain. There is also a strong focus on the development and applications of ARPES and TR-ARPES techniques, including advanced sample preparation techniques and sophisticated data analysis methods. Integration of these techniques with other experimental techniques such as gated measurements, time-resolved optical spectroscopy, time-resolved XPS and XPD is of great interest.

Part of our work is done at user facilities, including large-scale facilities like synchrotrons and free-electron lasers.