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Award for best PhD Thesis

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Tejas’ PhD Degree

July 2024 – Tejas Parasram Singar successfully defended his PhD thesis on July 23, 2024. - congratulations! He performed a very comprehensive and careful scanning probe study of the electronic vortex core structure and of the periodic charge modulations as a function of a wide range of hole...

STM-derived authentication engraving

A scanning-tunneling-microscopy-derived, aesthetically pleasing miniature engraving that provides access to a tamper-proof digital safe. This flawless traceability and authentication mark that manufacturers of high-value-added objects, from the watch and jewellery industry to the aerospace and...

Spin-orbit coupling in graphene

We deploy quasi-particle interference imaging using a scanning tunneling microscope to probe the presence, nature and strength of proximity induced spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in single layer graphene (SLG) on WSe2. In the presence of SOC, the pseudo-spin texture is modified, enabling intravalley...

Vincent’s PhD Degree

June 2023 – Congratulations to Vincent Pasquier who successfully defended his PhD thesis on June 8, 2023. He developed an entire toolkit to enable the study of exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenides as a function of tunable strain by STM. He obtained very interesting data on the strain...

Best Poster Prize for Tejas

Innovative cutting tools for high-tech alloys

The Department of Quantum Matter Physics (DQMP) has just been awarded a major INNOSUISSE grant for an initiative launched with the Geneva-based company Eskenazi SA, a leader in the manufacture of cutting tools for microtechnology. Founded in 1916 by Marcel Eskenazi, this company is distinguished...

New perspectives in the physics of electronic orders

The charge density wave order is a fascinating electronic phase that appears in some metallic crystals below a critical temperature. It combines a periodic distortion of the atomic lattice and a redistribution of the electronic charge to a standing-wave arrangement. These modulations form new...

d-Wave vortex core

The electronic structure of the vortex cores in copper oxide high temperature superconductors (HTS) is a long-standing puzzle. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy at an unprecedented low magnetic field for any HTS, we succeeded in measuring the intrinsic vortex core structure in heavily...

Insight into the CDW gap from STM topography

We present a first detailed study of the charge density wave (CDW) contrast inversion in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images. Combining high resolution STM imaging at different tunneling biases and density functional theory, we demonstrate that contrast inversion is very sensitive to the...

Welcome

Welcome to Ishita Pushkarna who joins the group from India. She is starting a PhD on scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy of transition metal dichalcogenides, with particular emphasis on their electronic properties as a function of external tuning parameters.

Flexibility Grant

Congratulations to Dr Arpad Pasztor who successfully applied for a Flexibility Grant by the SNF, starting January 2021.

Welcome

Welcome to Andreas Ørsted who joins the group from Denmark. He is starting a PhD on the investigation tuneable electronic properties of transition metal dichalcogenides by scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy.

IOP trusted reviewer

On 23 September 2020, Pr Christoph Renner was awarded IOP trusted reviewer status. This status acknowledges "a high level of peer review competence, with the ability to critique scientific literature to an excellent standard" according to the citation. Prof Renner is among the first IOP reviewers...

Tim’s PhD Degree

September 2020 – Congratulations to Tim Gazdic who successfully defended his PhD thesis on September 8, 2020. He performed a range of beautiful scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy studies of highly overdoped Bi-2212. Among the key findings is a strong charge-order like reconstruction...

Welcome

Welcome back to Dr Marilena Longobardi who joins the group part time to assist with advanced practicals. Students will benefit from her expertise in STM while her main activity remains as Chief International Relations Officer for the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences.

Subside Tremplin – Congratulations

Congratulations to Dr. Lihuan Suni for the subside tremplin 2020 she has been awarded by the University of Geneva. Lihuan is a postdoctoral researcher visiting from China. This award frees Lihuan from teaching duties for one semester to work full time on her research project.