Introduction to surface science

Surfaces play a crucial role in a very large
number of phenomena. This is particularly true
with modern nano-size materials where surface
atoms are a large percentage of the total.
The main aim of the course is to familiarize students with the fundamentals of modern surface science, i.e. the properties and phenomena that occur on the top most few atomic layers of a crystal surface.
They will learn methods for characterising crystal surfaces and the various information that these methods provide about the structural, chemical and electronic properties.

Physical properties of materials, Material chemistry

Basic of two-dimensional crystallography
Experimental background (ultra-high vacuum,
preparation of clean surfaces, etc.)
Diffraction methods for surface analysis
Electron spectroscopy methods for surface
analysis
Atomic Structure of Clean Surfaces (relaxation
and reconstruction)
Atomic structure of Surfaces with Adsorbates
Structural defects at surfaces
Electronic structure of surfaces
Adsorption and desorption

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to
- understand the physical and chemical basis of surface phenomena
- understand the structure and properties of surfaces and how they differ from the bulk properties of materials.

• Oral examination
• Evaluation of seminar work

Dr. Sandra Gardonio je izredna profesorica za področje materialov na Univerzi v Novi Gorici.
Dr. Sandra Gardonio is an associate professor of materials at the University of Nova Gorica.
Izbrane publikacije / Selected publications:
1. XING, Zhe, FANETTI, Mattia, GARDONIO, Sandra, SCHRÖDER, Elsebeth, ORLOV, Dmytro. Initial oxidation of low index Mg surfaces investigated by SCLS and DFT. Applied Surface Science. [Print ed.]. 2024, vol. 671, article no. 160656, str. 1-13, ilustr. ISSN 0169-4332. DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2024.160656. [COBISS.SI-ID 202736899].

1. GARDONIO, Sandra, BENHER, Zipporah Rini, FANETTI, Mattia, MORAS, Paolo, SHEVERDYAEVA, Polina M., VALANT, Matjaž. Single crystal synthesis and surface electronic structure of Bi_{1.993}Cr_{0.007}Se_{3}. Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices. [Online ed.]. 2024, vol. , issue , str. 1-6, ilustr. ISSN 2050-7534. DOI: 10.1039/D4TC01967A. [COBISS.SI-ID 204816131]

2. BENHER, Zipporah Rini, GARDONIO, Sandra, FANETTI, Mattia, MORAS, Paolo, KUNDU, Asish K., BIGI, Chiara, VALANT, Matjaž. Electronic properties of phases in the quasi-binary Bi2Se3−Bi2S3 system. Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices. [Print ed.]. 2021, vol. 9, no. 9, str. 3058-3064, ilustr. ISSN 2050-7526. DOI: 10.1039/D0TC05121G. [COBISS.SI-ID 57602051].

3. FANETTI, Mattia, MIKULSKA, Iuliia, FERFOLJA, Katja, MORAS, Paolo, SHEVERDYAEVA, P. M., PANIGHEL, M., LODI-RIZZINI, A., PÍŠ, I., NAPPINI, S., VALANT, Matjaž, GARDONIO, Sandra. Growth, morphology and stability of Au in contact with the Bi2Se3(0001) surface. Applied Surface Science. [Print ed.]. Mar. 2019, vol. 471, str. 753-758, ilustr. ISSN 0169-4332. DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.11.140. [COBISS.SI-ID 5276923]

4. GARDONIO, Sandra, KAROLAK, M., WEHLING, T. O., PETACCIA, L., LIZZIT, Silvano, GOLDONI, Andrea, LICHTENSTEIN, A. I., CARBONE, Carlo. Excitation spectra of transition-metal atoms on the Ag (100) surface controlled by hund's exchange. Physical review letters. [Print ed.]. 2013, vol. 110, no. 18, str. 186404-1-186404-5. ISSN 0031-9007. [COBISS.SI-ID 2741755].