Physics of Surfaces and Nanostructures

Specific Foundation

Specific Foundation / Core

The course is also offered to exchange programme students.

During the course «Physics of surfaces and nanostructures” the students are expected to: 1. Understand the differences in the electronic properties of bulk materials, surfaces and nanoparticles 2. To get acquainted with the modern methods of growth and characterization of surfaces, thin films and nanostructures 3. To become familiar with the methods of fabrication of nanostructures 4. To bridge theory with practice using examples from the international literature

Course content - Introduction to surfaces and nanostructures. Basic principles and material length scales. Categories of nanostructures and differences from bulk materials. Indicative applications of nanostructures (hydrophobic, biomimetic and nanostructured surfaces, size effects, quantum confinement). Bottom-up and Top-Down approaches for the development of nanostructures and surfaces. Applications of Nanotechnology. - Thermodynamic and electronic properties of surfaces: energy cost for creating new surfaces, surface tension and energy, work function, electron affinity, surface states. Surface symmetry and surface reconstruction. Exercises, problems. - Surface diffusion and adsorption. Exercises, problems. - Thin films and semiconductor interfaces, lattice strain and mismatch. Applications of quantum confinement: quantum wells. Exercises, problems. - (Ultra)high vacuum conditions for the growth and characterization of nanostructures and clean surfaces. Characteristics of (ultra)high vacuum, elements of kinetic theory, and mechanisms of nanostructure growth. Vacuum systems, types of pumps and vacuum gauges, choice of materials. - Clean surfaces and their importance. Methods of cleaning/creating clean surfaces. Photolithography and its current advances for nanostructure fabrication using top-down technology. - Clean Rooms & Basic rules and operating protocols. Infrastructures for the development and production of nanomaterials. Processes and quality assurance/reliability in high-precision nanomaterial development environments. - Processes and technologies for nanostructure and surface growth using the Bottom-Up approach. Thin film deposition methods by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD). Evaporation methods (thermal evaporation, electron beam evaporation, evaporation system technologies), Sputtering (RF & DC sputtering, magnetron sputtering, reactive sputtering). Thin film growth methods with ion beam deposition and ion-beam-assisted deposition, plasma and ion beam geometry and technology, Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) (conditions for molecular epitaxy, ion beams and Knudsen cells). - Surface and nanostructure characterization techniques: chemical composition (Auger Electron Spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy, micro X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy). Surface structure and monitoring of monolayer film growth (Low-Energy Electron Diffraction, Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction). - Synchrotron radiation and material characterization techniques: non-destructive identification of nanostructures (Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure–XAFS and Surface-XAFS) and electronic structure characterization techniques (Near Edge XAFS, UV Photoelectron Spectroscopy–UPS, Angular Resolved UPS). - Organic Electronics. Operating principles of organic semiconductors. Applications in organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs), OLEDs, OFETs. Innovations in materials and processes for flexible and low-cost Organic Electronics. Printing processes for scaling nanomaterials from laboratory to industrial production. Techniques and methods for measuring and observing thin films and nano-layers from laboratory to industrial scale. - Large-scale deposition facilities for organic electronics and roll-to-roll production. Applications of Nanotechnology in energy (photovoltaics, batteries, storage systems), health (nanosensors, biosensors, biomedical coatings, controlled-release systems), environment (water purification, pollution sensors, green technologies), industry (flexible electronics, sensors, high-durability coatings), agri-food sector (agrivoltaics, sensors, OLED lighting), smart energy buildings, transportation, and the Internet of Things

surfaces, thin films, nanostructures, nucleation, growth methods, materials characterization, UHV, lithography

07-10-2025