During my PhD, I focused on the development of in situ heating and transmission diffraction techniques for the SEM. The low energetic electrons combined with a large microscope chamber, simpler set and larger field of view compared to TEM offer several advantages regarding the implementation of such dedicated setups. I used these setups and correlative microscopy to study a variety of thin film systems, from bilayer graphene to multi-layer films. Here at Empa, I will continue to work on the characterization of thin films with a focus on the mechanical and electrical properties in a high throughput approach. Besides the characterization, my focus will continue to be on the development of various cross-scale system and techniques and their application to thin films.

With a scientific background in Fundamental Physics and Experimental Biophysics, I'm carrying out my PhD research in an interdisciplinary project aiming at investigating tissue-scale factors other than BMD influencing bone fracture risk. To reach this goal, I combine micromechanical testing, X-ray computed tomography, Raman spectroscopy, and proteomics for quantification of what is commonly referred to as bone quality.

Group leader Architectured Materials. My research focuses on the design, synthesis, and multiscale analysis of architectured and hierarchical materials through combined experimental and modeling approaches. I investigate fundamental processes of plasticity and fracture at small scales under extreme conditions, e.g. cryogenic temperature and high strain rate, as well as multiscale failure and toughening mechanisms in hierarchical materials. This knowledge is translated into the simulation-guided design, synthesis, and characterization of microscale metamaterials with tunable material properties and added functionality.

Thin Films: ALD, PVD, LPE *** Nanopatterning: FEBIP, EBL, FIB *** Materials: Oxides, Metals, Nanocomposites, Multilayers *** Science: Surfaces & Interfaces, Thermodynamics & Mechanics, Film Growth Kinetics

Carrying out materials characterization and testing using SEM-EBSD methods, macro and micromechani-cal testing, high-speed nanoindentation, X-ray diffraction. Developing novel bioresorbable metallic mate-rials for potential biomedical applications using plastic deformation processes, combinatorial thin film deposition techniques, and template-assisted electrodeposition for synthesizing 3D porous structures.

My PhD project focuses on the microscale characterization of bone tissue. In particular, I am investigating the relationship between micromechanical, microstructural and compositional properties in OI bone samples, combining nanoindentation, Raman spectroscopy, biochemical analysis and proteomics. The application of data mining techniques to the obtained multimodal datasets, containing both tissue-scale information and relevant clinical data, will allow me to identify prospective bone biomarkers that could be used to improve OI diagnosis and fracture risk prediction.