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 
Overview
Our research is focused on low dimensional physics and correlated electron systems. Current scientific projects include i) The fabrication of a truly one dimensional model system; ii) Probing the exotic electronic quantum properties emerging in reduced dimensionalities (1D and 2D); iii) Understanding the interplay between ordered electronic phases and superconductivity. These questions are investigated on self-assembled single atom wires on silicon, graphitic materials, dichalcogenides, iron pnictides and specifically designed functional electronic systems.
The prime experimental techniques are scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) in combination with atomic force microscopy (AFM). We are operating two commercial instruments combining STM and AFM in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) and variable temperature. The Omicron LT-STM is equipped with RHEED, LEED, XPS, a dedicated hydrogen cracker, an ion gun and a range of deposition sources. The SPECS JT-STM is equiped with a dedicated hydrogen cracker, an ion gun and a range of deposition sources. A 3 Tesla magnetic field shall be added to the JT-STM in 2013. A third UHV variable temperature system with magnetic field, specifically designed for spin polarized studies, is under development.
We are also actively developing the scanning probe technique itself, building a scan head with increased functionalities, a novel scheme to detect the spin polarization of the tunneling electrons by STM and an all electric cantilever deflection sensors.