#surface science

I’m taking the following subjects:

- Quantum mechanics (now DFT and all that but I’ve done other stuff)

-Solid surface science

-Thermal and electronic transport in nanomaterials

-Microelectronics

-Fabrication of nanomaterials

Agnes Pockels was a German pioneer. Her work is considered fundamental for creating the field of surface science, that explains the properties of liquid and solid surfaces. She was born in Venice but moved to Germany because of her malaria. It was through her brother that she was able to have access to scientific literature, since as a girl she was not allowed to study in universities.

Biologist housemate: Hey, it does as much as rinsing lab glassware with water before you use it.

Me (ex-surface scientist): *narrows eyes*

Meet Artoni “Toni” Ang:

1) What do you do?

I’m a Ph.D. student working on surface science. I have been studying the atomic and electronic structures of the Si(110) surface. We use surface sensitive techniques like reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) to study the atomic and electronic band structures of various surface reconstructions on Si(110). The high hole mobility of the Si(110) surface and its highly anisotropic structure has recently made it an attractive FET (field-effect transistor) substrate material and a template for self-assembled 1D metal growth.

2) Where do you work?

I work in the Surface and Materials Science laboratory of the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Japan. Our laboratory is fully equipped to investigate different physical and chemical properties of atomically clean surfaces, this is mostly done in the UHV surface science complex in our lab, which has various surface sensitive experiments all connected by a UHV transfer system (H. Yamatani et al. Surf. Sci. 601 5284 (2007)). This allows us to investigate surfaces using various experimental techniques in-situ, without exposing these surfaces to air.

3) Tell us about the photos!

[Left:] A photo of me taken in the middle of repairs of our ARPES chamber’s sample 5-axis manipulator. Several months of repairs had to be done because a screw thread got damaged inside. Then we had to make sure everything is aligned, followed by 2 weeks of baking the chamber to get good UHV conditions.

[Right:] A new hobby I picked up in Japan-- skiing. This photo was taken in Nagano, the “Japanese Alps”. I now plan on skiing every winter season in as many mountains as I can. It’s fun and easy to learn, but physically demanding and a little painful at first. I try to do as much strengthening and conditioning during off-seasons to prepare for the next skiing season.

When you’re at the top of the mountain looking down, everything else doesn’t matter anymore. All you’re thinking about is how to get down as fast as possible and in one piece. It’s just you, your skis, the beautiful snowy scenery and gravity. Gravity can be a bitch sometimes though.

4) Tell us about your academic career path so far. 

I took my B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics from the Ateneo de Manila University. I then enrolled in the Nara Institute of Science and Technology for my Ph.D. in Materials Science. Next, I plan to work as a postdoc or a researcher, to investigate novel low-dimensional electronic structures.

5) Anything else you’d like to share?