Nanophysics
The aim of nanophysics is to investigate and create structures and materials with one or more dimensions reduced to the nanoscales. This reduction in size leads to a range of fascinating properties and effects which can be exploited in the creation of new devices and functionalities.
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Nanophysics at IFT
The Nanophysics group's main focus is experimental work. We are active in several different areas as described below. In nanoscience, there is often a short path from basic research to applications and we work closely with the local technology transfer office VIS.
We are always looking for interested Master's students to participate in our ongoing research. Please do not hesitate to contact us for an informal chat. We are very happy to design new projects if you have some interesting ideas you would like to try out.
The Nanophysics group is part of nanoBergen, the Bergen nanoscience network.
Our group is also a member of the ISOS project, whose aim is to develop a passive, environmentally friendly method of preventing or delaying ice formation on lens and window surfaces.
For an informal introduction to some of our work (and our creativity) we invite you to take a look at "The Nanophysics Cake Page".
Our Ongoing Research
Group Leader Professor Bodil Holst
Bodil's two major research areas:
i) New nanoscience instrumentation: The group is developing a new microscopy method using neutral helium atoms for imaging. We also work on mask-based nm resolution lithography using metastable helium atoms. This work is done within the FET-Open project Nanolace which Bodil coordinates. In addition, we work on material characterisation using molecular beams.
ii) Smart surfaces: This research focuses on making anti-icing surfaces and underwater self-cleaning surfaces using coating and structuring. The last activity is part of the SFI-center Smart Ocean. Together with Dr. Zalieckas (see below), we are also working on developing an erosion-protecting coating for wind turbine blades. This project is sponsored by Equinor (Akademiavtalen) and is an activity within Bergen Offshore Wind Centre (BOW).
A further research activity is related to the identification of ancient plant fibre textiles using nano-scale characterisation techniques. This is a collaboration with Hana Lukesova at Bergen University Museum.
For a full list of Bodil's publications, click here.
Professor Lars Egil Helseth
Lars Egil's fields of interests lie within electromagnetism, with particular emphasis on sensors development and energy harvesting. He has in recent years worked on energy harvesting from water droplets (rain cells), storing of energy in supercapacitors, and also on optical and electromagnetic sensors.
For a full list of Lars Egil's publications, click here.
Associate Professor Martin Greve
Martin has longstanding experience in nanofabrication and experimental nanophysics. He currently focuses on the field of nanoplasmonics and nanophotonics with a particular interest in solar applications. Recently, a way to further increase the conversion efficiency of standard silicon-based solar cell by more than 1% has been discovered. These promising results are obtained through numerical simulations using judiciously chosen material combinations and sample configurations, and we are currently working towards experimental verification. Together with Dr. Zalieckas (see below), the second research activity of Dr. Greve is focused on a so-called quantum diamond microscope (QDM). The microscope makes use of nitrogen vacancies in diamonds, which serve as quantum sensors able to sense minute magnetic fields. This work aims at employing the QDM for sensing biological and chemical specimens with unprecedented sensitivity.
For a full list of Martin's publications, click here.
Dr. Justas Zalieckas
Justas works on the development of a novel large area microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor dedicated to the deposition of nanocrystalline diamond films. The main goal of this work is to develop a potential novel coating to prevent erosion on the leading edge of wind turbine blades. Additionally, he is interested in exploiting color centers in diamonds for biosensing and other applications.
For a full list of Justas' publications, click here.
This project is funded by the European Uniion Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through the M.ear.Net program.
