P2 Quantum Materials at the Nanoscale
About the Programme
Quantum Technologies play a cornerstone role in the future European economy and competitiveness. They will impact security, counterfeit prevention, drug discovery, material sciences, complex-network optimisation, information storage, artificial intelligence, sensing, weather or stock market forecasts, or metrology.
The programme combines advanced microscopies and spectroscopies with atomic resolution -essential to characterize matter at the nanoscale- with multi-scale theoretical modelling to design, synthesize and characterize quantum materials. With our expertise in scanning probe microscopies we visualize exotic quantum states and build a theoretical framework to correlate structural properties and quantum behaviour. This enable us to design materials ad-hoc, optimized for specific functionality. In-house access to nanofabrication tools will empower us to manufacture devices exploiting these quantum phenomena.
The scientists involved in this programme develop at IMDEA advanced Scanning Probe Microscopes, mostly STM, AFM and Photoelectron Microscopy to investigate problems such as the epitaxial growth of graphene, the chemical functionalization of graphene, the design of metal-intercalated graphene heterostructures, the characterization of topological insulators, the self-assembly of molecules at surfaces, the on-surface synthesis of nanomaterials from molecular precursors, the design of surface-confined metal-organic architectures, the in-situ fabrication and response of nano-catalysts, the realization of scanning tunnelling spectroscopy and inelastic scanning tunnelling spectroscopy at the level of single molecules, the investigation of tip-induced electroluminescence or the spin polarized imaging of magnetic nanostructures. Friction at the nanoscale and theoretical modelling are also involved. Activities of this programme have implications for aeronautics, electronic, magnetic, sensory, and energy applications. This programme is in close collaboration with research programmes P1 and P4.
Programme Manager: Prof. Rodolfo Miranda.