May 2013 – Congratulations to 
April 2013 – Hydrogen dangling bonds are highly reactive and their selective exposure on hydrogenated Si(001) using scanning probes is developing as a powerful lithography to pattern molecules and atoms. We have found that hydrogen is more weakly bound along the centre of Haiku stripes, thus offering a new, fully scalable thermodynamic route to produce very long dangling bond rows in large numbers to self-assemble long chains of atoms and molecules. Our STM study further reveals an unexpected flat dimer configuration, possibly stabilized by the local strain induced by the Haiku core structure.
March 2013 - We have an 
March 2013 – First 
December 2012 - Congratulations to 
June 2012 – Congratulations to 
June 2012 – Measuring the piezoresistance in p-type silicon up to 3GPa, we found it to decrease with compressive stress beyond the predicted saturation. This result has potential implications for the Si technology roadmap. Collaboration with Ecole Polytechnique Palaiseau and IEMN. Article featured in
February 2012 - Temperatures below -10°C and strong winds have united to produce amazing pieces of art along lake Geneva, here in Versoix.
November 2011 – One dimensional charge density wave discovered by scanning tunneling microscopy in CaC6, a superconducting graphite intercalate compound. Collaboration with the 
September 2011 - MaNEP and the University of Geneva are celebrating 100 years of superconductivity. 
July 2011 – A one dimensional electronic state has been uncovered along the core of a self assembled endotaxial Si nanoline at the Si(001):H surface, with a range of promising properties to explore 1D physics. 
May 2011 – The anisotropic surface stress induced by Bi-nanolines is found to block the formation of embedded structures and stabilizes the nucleation of manganese silicide islands which grow in a preferred direction, forming nanowires on Si(001). 
March 2011 – The oxygen migration scenario for electroresistive switching in manganites gets new support. Mobile oxygen adatoms and defects have been observed by scanning tunneling microscopy with atomic resolution at the surface of PrSr2Mn2O7. Collaboration with the 
November 2010 - Migrating surface charges can simulate the giant piezoresistance observed in silicon nano- and micro-structures. See also comments in 
September 2010 – A promising Silicon only template for nanoscale patterning has been self assembled into the Si(001) surface. This work has been selected by the 
May 2010 – Congratulations to 
April 2009 – The PhysiScope draws the attention of Nature Materials. See also the 
April 2008 – Giant piezoresistance observed in a metal silicon hybrid structure. See also 
Graphite Intercalated Compounds
In 2005, Graphite Intercalate Compounds (GIC) have been found to superconduct above 10K when intercalated with Ca ions. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we have found a unidirectional charge density wave, commonly referred to as stripes, in the surface graphene sheet. The carbon lattice supporting the stripes is undistorted (within STM resolution), demonstrating that the electrons can have a life of their own in an otherwise unaffected atomic lattice. This finding is likely to have profound implications for the understanding of superconductivity in this material. Collaboration with M.Ellerby and G.Aeppli (LCN).
In collaboration with A.Morpurgo (UniGE), we are aiming to take advantage of single and multilayer graphene to gain novel insight into the superconducting properties of GICs, whose mechanism is yet to be firmly established.
Further reading :
Rahnejat et al. Nat Commun 2, 558 (2011)