LNSM Structure

The molecular beam epitaxy system is designed for growing thin-film semiconductors of III-V type. Besides classical GaAs and AlGaAs based structures, it is capable of growing films of ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga, Mn)As and other materials for spintronics. The lab comprises also a system for thin-film growth by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy.                                                              

The laboratory of material structuring is a set of instruments placed in clean rooms that are designed for preparation and characterisation of nanostructures. The system is used to define lateral micro- and nanostructures by optical and electron beam lithography.

The laboratory performs basic optical characterization (absorption, reflection and photoluminescence spectroscopy), magneto-optical characterization (MCD, MCB, MLD and MLB spectra), time-resolved ultrafast laser spectroscopy (pump and probe method) and characterization by time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (TR-MOKE).

The Structural Analysis focuses on the development and application of modern crystallographic methods for the analysis of crystal structures from X-ray, neutron or electron diffraction data. Classical crystallography provides the positions of atoms within crystalline chemical compounds, as long as they are available as reasonably sized crystals thus yielding a sufficiently strong signal on X-ray sources.                                                            

Metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) is suitable for the preparation of heterostructures containing layers with their thickness in the range of monoatomic layers to several micrometers.                                                   

The laboratory of electron microscopy (LEM) focuses on the complex characterization of inorganic materials at micro/nanoscale. LEM operates transmission and scanning electron microscopes with a wide range of analytical techniques as well as instruments for advanced sample preparation.

The theory group performs a whole range of calculations from analytical to sophisticated numerical first-principles calculations. The employed numerical tools are specifically chosen to match the requirements of  a given physical problem.

In the laboratory of Diamond Layers and Carbon Nanostructures, there are two unique deposition systems designed for microwave plasma equipment supporting chemical vapor deposition. It allows to prepare thin layers of nanocrystalline diamond and / or silicon from chemical vapors in plasma for use in optoelectronics, nanoelectronics and bioelectronic applications.

The laboratory includes a set of four scanning probe microscopes (SPM) and one scanning electron microscope (SEM). The scanning probe microscopes can be combined with other techniques and offer a correlation of morphology and different local physical properties. 

The Laboratory combines experimental and theoretical tools to explore novel material properties of nanostructures artificially built on surfaces. We use ultra-high vacuum low-temperature scanning probe microscopy to investigate their physical and chemical properties at the atomic scale.