Surfaces and Thin Films

The research group Surfaces and Thin Films exists since March 2003 and is part of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials of the University of Groningen. Within the University structure, we belong to the Physics Department of the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Our group comprises physicists, chemists and material scientists who collaborate in multidisciplinary projects and share their experience.

Our mission is to carry out a competitive research program in the field of Surface and Interface Physics with particular emphasis on the preparation and analysis of crystalline organic thin films, functional molecules as well as molecular motors and switches on surfaces, and nanocomposites, while training young researchers at the master, PhD and postdoctoral level in state-of-the-art surface analysis techniques and research in the field of Surface and Interface Physics.

We conduct research on fundamental mechanisms and their control parameters in new functional materials. Our investigations focus on the growth of nanostructures and the morphology of surfaces or thin films, as well as on their electronic and vibrational properties. Some of our projects are also of technological interest and lay the foundations for new industrial applications.