Atomic Scale Physics
We focus on the experimental study of atomically well-defined nanostructures, where the precise nature and location of every atom matters. We use low-temperature scanning probe microscopy that allows structural and electronic characterization, and manipulation of materials down to the atomic scale.
Current focus:
- Artificial designer materials using 2D van der Waals materials, molecular self-assembly, and heterostructures
- Atomic scale characterization and modification of materials based on scanning probe techniques
- Chemistry and physics of single molecules
Group members
Alumni
| name | position | next position after Aalto |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Amini | PhD 2024 | Beneq |
| Markus Aapro | PhD 2024 | VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland |
| Viliam Vaňo | PhD 2023 | PCCM postdoctoral fellow, Princeton University |
| Héctor González-Herrero | post-doc 2020-2022 | Ramón y Cajal Fellow, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid​ |
| Chen Xu | post-doc / MSCA postdoctoral fellow 2019-2023 | Aalto |
| Linghao Yan | post-doc / MSCA postdoctoral fellow 2017-2022 | Professor, Soochow University |
| Benjamin Alldritt | PhD 2022 | Bluefors |
| Abraham Kipnis | MSc 2021 | Microsoft |
| Shawulienu Kezilebieke | post-doc / research fellow 2014-2021 | Professor, University of Jyväskylä |
| Nurul Huda | PhD 2021 | Bluefors |
| Anna-Maija Valtavirta | MSc 2019 | Murata Electronics |
| Ilona Pohjavirta | MSc 2019 | Vaisala |
| Avijit Kumar | post-doc 2014-17 | Assistant professor, IIT Bhubaneswar |
| Kaustuv Banerjee | PhD 2017 | IMEC, Belgium |
| Amina Kimouche | post-doc 2014-16 | Beatriu de Pinos postdoctoral fellowship, ICN2, Barcelona |
| Fabian Schulz | PhD 2016 | IBM Zurich Research Laboratory |
| Robert Drost | PhD 2016 | Max-Planck Institute, Stuttgart |
| Päivi Järvinen | PhD 2015 | Bain & Company and Picosun |
| Sampsa Hämäläinen | PhD 2014 | Accenture |
Latest publications
Oleksandr Dobrovolskiy, Hermann Suderow, Francesco Tafuri, Annica M. Black-Schaffer, Jose L. Lado, Asle Sudbo, Daniela Stornaioulo, Chuan Li, Anna E. Bohmer, Lan Maria Tran, Andrzej J. Zaleski, Adrian Crisan, Massimiliano Polichetti, Armando Galluzzi, Ali Gencer, Bernd Aichner, Neven Barisic, Wolfgang Lang, Tomas Samuely, Martin Gmitra, Tristan Cren, Mateo Calandra, Peter Samuely, Jeroen Custers, Rosa Cordoba, Vladimir M. Fomin, Nicola Poccia, Pavol Szabo, Fabrizio Porrati, Gleb Kakazei, Jan Aarts, Jason Robinson, Javier E. Villegas, Matthias Althammer, Hans Huebl, Akashdeep Kamra, Mathias Weiler, J. Hugo Dil, Daniil Evtushinsky, Beena Kalisky, Yonathan Anahory, Simon Bending, Peter Liljeroth, Abdou Hassanien, Isabel Guillamon, Edwin Herrera, Alejandro Silhanek, Joris Van de Vondel, Anna Palau, Ilya Charaev, Maria Sidorova, Floriana Lombardi, Thilo Bauch, Cheryl Feuillet-Palma, Vasily Stolyarov, Dimitri Roditchev, Vladimir M. Krasnov, Benedikt Hampel, Maria Jose Martinez-Perez, Javier Sese, Dieter Koelle, Stefano Poletto, Alessandro Bruno, Davide Massarotti
2026
Superconductor Science & Technology
Liwei Jing, Mohammad Amini, Adolfo O. Fumega, Orlando J. Silveira, Jose L. Lado, Peter Liljeroth, Shawulienu Kezilebieke
2026
Nature Communications
Shuning Cai, Joakim Jestilä, Peter Liljeroth, Adam Foster
2025
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Xin Huang, Jose Lado, Jani Sainio, Peter Liljeroth, Somesh Chandra Ganguli
2025
Physical Review Letters
Rouven Koch, Robert Drost, Peter Liljeroth, Jose Lado
2025
Nano Letters
Kewei Sun, Nan Cao, Orlando J. Silveira, Adolfo O. Fumega, Fiona Hanindita, Shingo Ito, Jose L. Lado, Peter Liljeroth, Adam Foster, Shigeki Kawai
2025
Science Advances
Markus Aapro, Abraham Kipnis, Jose L. Lado, Shawulienu Kezilebieke, Peter Liljeroth
2024
Physical Review B
Mohammad Amini, Adolfo O. Fumega, Héctor González-Herrero, Viliam Vaňo, Shawulienu Kezilebieke, Jose L. Lado, Peter Liljeroth
2024
Advanced Materials
Shuning Cai, Joakim S. Jestilä, Peter Liljeroth, Adam S. Foster
2024
Xin Huang, Héctor González-Herrero, Orlando J. Silveira, Shawulienu Kezilebieke, Peter Liljeroth, Jani Sainio
2024
ACS Nano
More information on our research in the Aalto research portal.
Facilities:
The Atomic Scale Physics research group is located in Nanotalo and operates three low-temperature, ultra-high vacuum (UHV), scanning probe microscopes that are housed at the Aalto Nanomicroscopy center.
The Createc LT-STM/AFM operates at a low temperature (T = 5 K) and it is optimized for simultaneous AFM and STM experiments on the same atomic location - more details at /en/department-of-applied-physics/uhv-scanning-probe-microscopes.
The Unisoku USM-1300 is designed for temperatures down to 300 mK and ultra-high vacuum to perform STM and spin-polarized STM experiments in an external magnetic field of up to 11 T - more details at /en/department-of-applied-physics/uhv-scanning-probe-microscopes.
The Createc LT-STM/AFM operates at a low temperature (T = 5 K) and the same UHV setup houses X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) setups - more details at /en/department-of-applied-physics/uhv-scanning-probe-microscopes.
