nanotech@surfaces Lab

Ultrafast electron control⚡️ In our new Nature Communications paper, we switch single-atom charge states in WSe₂ with picosecond THz pulses—capturing atomic-scale ultrafast dynamics. @Empa_CH @PennStateMatSE #QuantumMaterials #Ultrafast #2Dmaterials nature.com/articles/s4146…

💡New in Nature Communications: We developed carbon-based polymer platforms that anchor single metal atoms with atomic precision and stability, enabling tunable catalysis with CO & CO₂. Collaboration with @CNRsocial_ , @OISTedu & @unitorvergata. dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467… @Empa_CH

📢 We report optimized on-surface synthesis of 17-atom-wide armchair graphene nanoribbons reaching ~17 nm average length. Gradual annealing and high surface coverage enable length enhancement and stability under ambient and harsh conditions. dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnan… @Empa_CH

Today we are celebrating our annual CarboQuant Day with lots of interesting presenations and a keynote given by Arzhang Ardavan from the University of Oxford. 🚀Congrats to Yujeong Bae, Stepan Kovarik and Nils Krane for winning the 2025 CarboQuant Innovator Awards!🚀 @Empa_CH

🔬 New in ACS Nano: Triangulene on TbAu₂ shows a strong, spatially modulated interaction with ferromagnetic magnetization (~20 mV Kondo splitting). ➡️ TbAu₂ = new platform for π-magnetic nanographenes. doi.org/10.1021/acsnan… @Empa_CH @acsnano

Empa researchers develop hybrid system of magnetically and electronically coupled "string lights" ➡️ Wide range of applications in molecular #electronics, from chemical #sensing to #quantumtechnologies. empa.ch/web/s604/graph… @NatureChemistry

Our latest in Nature Chemistry💡: porphyrins wired to graphene nanoribbons. A hybrid system with tunable electronic, magnetic & optical properties — potential for sensors & quantum devices. 📖rdcu.be/eBHyj

Congratulations to our PhD student, Laric Bobzien, for winning the 2025 EPS-QEOD / Young Minds Best Student Presentation Award! Laric works in our Terahertz lab, focusing on ultrafast scanning probe microscopy of atomic quantum emitters in 2D materials.

Exciting plenary talk by our head of laboratory, @FaselRoman , today to kick off the STM'25 conference in Seoul!

We are hiring! 📣 Exciting job offer for a Postdoc in the field of Atomic-Scale Quantum Magnetism! Apply here: apply.refline.ch/673276/2068/pu…

The CarboQuant project at @Empa_CH is set to enter the next phase—thanks to a new, highly specialised laboratory. Researchers now have the capacity to study and manipulate the quantum magnetic states of their carbon materials with even greater precision. wernersiemens-stiftung.ch/en/news/detail…

Das Projekt CarboQuant an der @Empa_CH kann quantenmagnetischen Zustände seiner Kohlenstoff-Materialien genauer denn je untersuchen und manipulieren. Möglich macht es ein neues, hochspezialisiertes Labor mit zwei topmodernen Rastertunnelmikroskopen. wernersiemens-stiftung.ch/detail/quanten…

Now online: News & Views on the Article by @luyesun, Yuan Guo, Wenzhi Xiang & Wei Xu nature.com/articles/s4416… ($) Single molecule chemistry for cyclic carbon synthesis by Pascal Ruffieux @Empa_CH nature.com/articles/s4416… ($)

@mishshan @IBMResearch @Empa_CH @chalmersuniv All the best for your next career step, Shantanu! It was a real pleasure to have you in the team...

📖 Nature Materials: rdcu.be/edxe0 Collaboration between @Empa_CH @NanotechSurfLab , Switzerland, @International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Braga, Portugal, and Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden, Germany #QuantumMaterials #Nanoscience #HeisenbergChains

"Quantum Lego": We engineered spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains by linking Olympicene nanographenes, unveiling their length-dependent spin excitations. With STM/IETS, we confirm gapless behavior in the thermodynamic limit & visualize spinon standing waves.

SNSF consortium #PiMag project meeting with collaborators from Empa, @ETH_en & INL Portugal. Brainstorming on new ideas ⚡️🔬🧪 @snsf_ch @NanotechSurfLab @JuricekLab @Pascal04520190 @FaselRoman @jfrossier @UZH_Chemistry @PaulinePfister @irisrlandman @Pierre_Mty_ @JanBorstelmann

Neues CarboQuant-Labor der Empa eröffnet, das dem #Kohlenstoff Quantumeffekte entlocken will. Dies könnte den Weg für nachhaltige #Quantentechnologien ebnen. Projekt unterstützt durch @WSS_Stiftung 🔗empa.ch/web/s604/caboq… @NanotechSurfLab

New Empa lab, CarboQuant, set to harness #quantum effects from #carbon, opening the way for sustainable quantum technologies. Project supported by @WSS_Stiftung 🔗empa.ch/web/s604/caboq… @NanotechSurfLab

In our latest work, we show a sub-exponential increase in charge-state lifetime of Se vacancies in WSe₂, from picoseconds in monolayers to nanoseconds in multilayers. Great collaboration with @PennStateMatSE ! journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/1… #2DMaterials #QuantumDefects #Optoelectronics