The Atomic Manipulation and Spectroscopy Group, led by ICREA Prof. Aitor Mugarza, seeks to understand and control the quantum properties of electrons in low-dimensional materials.

Reducing the dimensions of a material to the nanoscale leads to the emergence of novel physics, which can be exploited to design devices with enhanced performance or new functionalities that can enable future technologies. At this scale, the properties of materials are often dominated by quantum size effects and interfacial phenomena, which impose strong limitations on the control and reproducibility of device performance, but also open up new avenues for engineering physical properties.

The group addresses this double-edged sword by investigating the interplay between structural, electronic and magnetic properties of materials at the atomic scale. We use the knowledge obtained from such comprehensive studies to develop different methods to selectively manipulate the properties of materials. By combining scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) techniques with synchrotron radiation spectroscopy, the group correlates microscopic phenomena to macroscopic observables that are relevant for the understanding and design of new materials and devices.