IOP Thin Films and Surfaces Group

📢The latest #TFSG Newsletter is now available to view in pdf format. Have a look at what the Thin Films and Surface Science community was up to in 2023, as well as upcoming events in 2024! #newsletter" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">iop.org/physics-commun…

Congratulations🌟to Samuel Ginzburg @Cambridge_Uni on winning the IOP TFSG Oral Prize at #ISSC25 this week! The title of his talk was “Electronic Structure and Surface Dynamics of Fluorine induced Bridge-Bond Defects in Si(001)”. Well done Sam!🙂 iop.eventsair.com/issc2025/

New article online: Inverted organic solar cells with an in situ-derived SiOxNy passivation layer and power conversion efficiency exceeding 18%. go.nature.com/4chuNCg

In droplet microfluidic setups, droplets are driven around on a surface, which is normally hydrophobic. Now, droplet microfluidics with superhydrophilic substrates is shown to also be feasible by exploiting acoustic effects. nature.com/articles/s4156…

Colin & Alex are at #ISSC2025 in Oxford this week! 🎉 Catch them on the booth from 31 Mar–2 Apr to chat all things surface science. Don’t miss the chance to visit Diamond Light Source & HarwellXPS labs too! #SurfaceScience #MaterialsScience #HarwellXPS #DiamondLightSource

100 years ago, the development of quantum mechanics began. Today, UK researchers and businesses are pioneering discoveries that could allow us to do things previously thought impossible. Join us for #QuantumYear2025: iop.org/IYQ Watch the opening ceremony live taking place at the @UNESCO Headquarters in Paris here: quantum2025.org/iyq-event/iyq-…

Registration is open for our flagship conference ISSC25 organised by @DiamondLightSou! It covers most experimental and theoretical aspects of surfaces, interfaces and nanoscale physics and chemistry. Submit your abstract by Feb. 16th! Further info ➡️ iop.eventsair.com/issc2025

Nominations are open for the David Tabor Medal and Prize, celebrating distinguished contributions to nanoscale or surface physics. ✨ In 2023, the medal and prize was awarded to Professor Lev Kantorovich (King’s College London) for groundbreaking theories on molecular diffusion, two-dimensional molecular assembly, and advancing our understanding of atomic force microscopy. Know someone shaping the future of nanoscale or surface physics? Nominate them by 31 January – iop.org/awards #IOPAwards25

Nanotech is revolutionizing thin film engineering, from ALD to quantum dots. Discover breakthroughs in flexible electronics, 5G, and sustainable energy with Hiden Analytical’s advanced tools. #Nanotech #ThinFilms #Innovation hidenanalytical.com/blog/surface-e…

Seasons Greetings and a Happy New Year from all of us at the Institute of Physics 🎄🎇

A thorough review of copper chalcopyrites, including CIGS, for #SolarPower explains several key parameters for these photovoltaic cells regarding the intrinsic absorber surface, surface oxidation, and surface passivation strategies. 🔗 go.aps.org/4g8qCcT

BREAKING NEWS The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2024 #NobelPrize in Physics to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”

Congratulations to Paola Mantegazza @UniBirmingham and Ailish Gray @UniofNottingham for sharing our poster prize🌟 during Surface Science Day 6, organised by Alex Saywell on Sept 17th at Nottingham Uni. Great event - can't wait for SSD7! 😀 iop.eventsair.com/ssd2024/

New research reveals how friction at edges dominates the resistance to sliding of certain technologically promising materials whose layers are held together by Van der Waals forces. go.aps.org/3Zr2sVI

The frictional force between solids sliding against each other is typically independent of velocity. But new research shows that this expectation is upended on the atomic scale. The findings could lead to materials with tailored frictional properties. go.aps.org/3zvlO1e

A lot of debate has been had over the last few years regarding carbon calibration in XPS. Read the new paper from @DaveXPS on this topic in Surface and Interface Analysis doi.org/10.1002/sia.73…

📢Applications are now open for an exciting PhD studentship to study the nanostructure of perovskite thin films. You'll be trained in a wide range of thin-film characterisation techniques under the supervision of Dr Karen Syres @UCLan. Deadline Sept 18th! findaphd.com/phds/project/n…

Our poster prize at the Nanoscience@Surfaces Summer School 2024, sponsored @DylanJamesSci, was awarded to Elspeth Smith🌟from Ruhr University for her work “Structure of Aqueous Na Citrate at the Polarisable Au(111) Interface from MD Simulations”. Here with TFSG chair, Karen Syres

You can't hold onto light, but certain tech can confine it. With tools @BerkeleyLab & @SLAClab, scientists @NCState showed that a class of thin-film membranes can "squeeze" infrared light better than current methods. It could improve infrared imaging: news.ncsu.edu/2024/06/squeez…

📢 Congratulations to Boyao Liu🌟 for winning the @IOPTFSG oral prize for his presentation "Experimental Characterisation of Defect-Induced Phonon Lifetime Shortening" at the ECOSS37 event at Harrogate! Here with committee member, David Ward, Cavendish Lab iop.eventsair.com/evc17-ecoss37/

Interested in using XPS to help with your materials research? EPSRC are offering grants for materials scientists to work with research centres like @HarwellXPS. Contact us if interested in a joint application! ukri.org/opportunity/wo…