Fundamental comprehensive investigations of the role of surfaces and interfaces on the functional properties (e.g. dielectric constant, mechanical strength, thermal, ionic and electrical conductivity, electrochemical reactivity, chemical stability, biocompatibility, wettability, joinability, H-permeability, H-embrittlement, photocatalytic activity) of nanoarchitectured multimaterials as composed of  metals, alloys, oxides, nitrides and/or carbides. such as Fe/Fe₂O₃, Cr/Cr₂O₃/CrN/CrC, Cu/CuO/Cu₂O, Mo/MoOx, W/WOx, Ti/TiO₂/TiN/TiON, Al-alloys/Al₂O₃/AlN and Si/SiC. 

• Fabrication of multilayers and thin films of metal, metal oxides (e.g. Ti, Cu, Al, Fe, W, Mo,Si) and nitrides (AlN, TiN) by different synthesis techniques (see below) and with different microstructures
• Characterization of composition and structure at the interface by advanced  bulk- and surface-sensitive analytical methods, as listed below.
• Fundamental understanding of the role of microstructure in thin films and multilayers of nitrides, oxides and metals on their thermal and mechanical  properties, chemical stability, H permeation and interaction.
• Lift-off and transfer of 2-D perovskite oxide thin films from their parent to a new host substrates (see here)
• Environmental interaction and durability of defective oxide films in harsh environments (see here)

• Anodization
• Thermal Oxidation in O₂(g) as well as in Ozon gas
• Reduction (both in H₂ gas and electrochemically)
• High-temperature annealing in UHV, and in inert, oxidizing or reducing gas atmospheres (up to 1 bar)
• Electrophoretic Deposition from oxide nanoparticle dispersions
• Reactive Magnetron Sputtering (including in-situ film stress monitoring and in-situ ellipsometry)
• Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)*
• Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD)*

• Soft and Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS/HAXPES)

• X-ray Diffraction (XRD) including stress analysis

• Wafer curvature for stress monitoring

• Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS)

• Atomic Force and Kelvin Probe Microscopy (AFM/KPFM)

• Photo-Electrochemistry

• Local electrochemistry by glass microcapillary techniques

• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

• Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)

• Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

• Cathode and Photo Luminescence*

• Transport properties (electrical and ionic conductivity)*

• Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopies (FT-IR)*

* In collaboration with other Empa labs.