Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) methods have become indispensable for studying and understanding the underlying mechanisms in functional nanostructures. This is largely due to the flexibility and versatility of the available imaging modes. This way, surface topography can be correlated with a large number of additional local surface properties, such as surface potential via Kelvin Probe force microscopy, or even chemical information, e.g. via locally recorded infrared spectra. Recently, the implementation of fast imaging methods and pump-probe type measurement schemes have enabled the study of fast and even ultra-fast dynamics in nanostructures.
In this symposium, we want to discuss recent advances in the instrumentation and the available imaging modes, as well as in the application of these modes to functional nanostructures. A particular shall be on the investigation of electrical and optoelectronic functionalities, such as photovoltaic, (photo-)electrochemical, biological and ferroic materials, and related phenomena such as ion dynamics, charge separation etc. In addition, we want to discuss the latest advances and applications in optical SPM modes, such as TERS, Nano-IR, PIFM, etc.
- Charge separation, transport etc.
- Ferroic nanostructures
- SPM on energy materials (solar cells, batteries, thermoelectrics, etc.)
- Chemical information by optical SPM methods (TERS, Nano-IR, PIFM, etc. )
- Dynamics of functional nanostructures studied with SPM
- Advanced SPM methods
Stefan Weber (born 1981) studied Physics at the University of Konstanz. Already as an undergrad student he started to work with an SFM in the group of Prof. Leiderer. For his diploma thesis under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Johannes Boneberg he studied the interaction of gold nanoparticles with pulsed laser light. In 2007, he joined the group of Prof. Butt at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Reaearch (MPI-P), Mainz. During his PhD, he spent six months at Seoul National University, Korea, in the groups of Prof. K. Char and Prof. C. Lee. In 2010 he received a joint doctoral degree from Mainz University and SNU. In 2011 he went to University College Dublin as a Feodor Lynen Fellow (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation) to join Prof. Brian Rodriguez and Prof. Suzi Jarvis. In 2012 he became a group leader in the Physics of Interfaces group in the department of Prof. Hans-Jürgen Butt at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P), Mainz. From 2015 to 2023 he held a junior professor postition in the Physics department of Mainz University. Sind June 2023, he is a permament group leader at the Institute for Photovoltaics at University Stuttgart, where he heads the Nanoscale Microscopy and Characterization group. In 2024, he won an ERC Consolidator grant for the development of a Photovoltaic Microscope that combines nanoscale electrical imaging with high-resolution optical microscopy and ultrafast spectroscopy
Prof. Rodriguez graduated from North Carolina State University (Raleigh, USA) with a PhD in Physics in 2003 and subsequently held postdoctoral appointments at North Carolina State University and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (Oak Ridge, USA). In 2007, he received an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship to conduct research at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics Halle, Germany). Brian joined University College Dublin in January, 2009 as a Lecturer in Nanoscience at the Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research. In October, 2011, he was appointed to the School of Physics.
Dr. Mahshid Ahmadi received her Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore in 2013. She then worked as a research technology consultant in a start-up solar cell company (HEE) in Dallas, Texas, USA. She is currently working as an assistant professor at Joint Institute for Advanced Materials (JIAM), Department of Materials Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interest includes materials development and electronic device fabrication. Specially, her current research focuses on organic-inorganic halide perovskite photovoltaics and
high energy radiation detectors.
- PhD in Physics, University of Basel, Switzerland - Post-Doctoral Research Assistant, BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany: Molecular Science - Maitre d’Enseignement et de Recherche, Univ. Geneva, Switzerland - Biological Molecules - Team-leader, Institute of Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland - Habilitation & vein legendi in Physics, University of Basel, Switzerland, 1998 - Since 1998: Full Professor in Photophysics / Nano-Optics / Nano-Physics at TU Dresden, School of Science Profile: Nanoscale research of quantum nanostructures: magnetic, optical. electronic, molecular; application to magnetic textures, charged domain walls, near-field metamaterials, etc.
Laura FumagalliIlka HermesDr. Yunseok Kim is an associate professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Korea. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea, in, respectively, 2004 and 2007. From 2008 to 2010, he was awarded the Humboldt research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation which allowed him to work as a postdoctoral researcher at Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Germany. Then, from 2011 to 2012, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. In 2012, he joined the School of Materials Science and Engineering, SKKU, Korea. His research interests include scanning probe microscopy studies of electromechanical, ferroelectric, transport, and ionic phenomena at the nanoscale.
Patrick Mesquida