Empa - Transport at Nanoscale Interfaces

Transport at Nanoscale Interfaces Laboratory

Our interdisciplinary team gathers physicists, materials scientists, (bio-) chemists, and engineers focusing on bringing novel materials to devices. We are interested in understanding the fundamental electronic, optoelectronic, thermal and ionic transport processes involved in atomically-precise nanostructures and low-dimensional materials. The heterogeneous integration of novel nanomaterials requires custom-made methods for nanoscale patterning and interfaces nanostructuring. Overall, we strive to master the chain of competences leading from designer materials with tailored quantum properties to devices with targeted application in information & quantum technology, energy conversion & storage as well as biochemical sensing & diagnostics.

Research

Quantum Devices

Nanoelectronics and Nano-Optics

Nanomaterials Spectroscopy and Imaging

Biosensing and Functional Surfaces

Technical Expertise

Reliability Center

Engineering Group

Transport at Nanoscale Interfaces Laboratory

Recent publications

Squaraine dyes for organic photomultiplication photodetectors with 220% external quantum efficiency at 1240 nm

Csucker, J., Didier, E., Pedro Ferreira Assunção, J., Rentsch, D., Kothandaraman, R., Bachmann, D., Shorubalko I, Nüesch F, Hany R & Bauer, M.

Advanced Science, 2502320 (9 pp.). (2025).

https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202502320

Extending resonant inelastic X-ray scattering to extreme ultraviolet

Menzi, S., Mattina, F. L., Barbato, F., Pena, Y. A., Augustin, S., Knopp, G., Coreno M, Orlando S, de Simone M, Miotti P, Frassetto F, Poletto L, Bleiner D & Cirelli, C.

Chimia, 79(1-2), 25-28. (2025).

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2025.25

Intrinsic point defect tolerance in selenium for indoor and tandem photovoltaics

Kavanagh, S. R., Nielsen, R. S., Hansen, J. L., Davidsen, R. S., Hansen, O., Samli, A. E., … Walsh, A.

Energy and Environmental Science, 18(9), 4431-4446. (2025).

https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ee04647a

Human bone ultrastructure in 3D: multimodal correlative study combining nanoscale X-ray computed tomography and quantitative polarized Raman spectroscopy

Kochetkova, T., Kormilina, T., Englisch, S., Drobek, D., Zubiri, B. A., Braun, O., … Schwiedrzik, J. (2025).

Acta Biomaterialia.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2025.03.045

Variable-temperature and carrier-resolved photo-Hall measurements of high-performance selenium thin-film solar cells

Nielsen, R. S., Gunawan, O., Todorov, T., Møller, C. B., Hansen, O., & Vesborg, P. C. K.

Physical Review B, 111(16), 165202 (12 pp.) (2025).

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.111.165202