The optical, electronic and transport properties in solids are fundamental in the study of matter; and are analyzed by the response of electrons in the solid to electromagnetic fields from infrared to ultraviolet. Electrons respond depending on the atomic species, their arrangement in periodic arrangements or not, thus as of the dimensionality of the solid. By reducing the size, dimensionality and symmetry of solids, phenomena appear associated with the quantum confinement of electrons and that of their quasiparticles: plasmons, excitons, polaritons, among others. This results in phenomena such as superconductivity, induced transparency, increased heat transfer, spintron, among others. Here, theory, experiments, and computational physics go hand in hand for feedback; which makes this area of physics very dynamic and challenging. Its contributions to technology range from the development of scientific instruments, faster computers, to solar cells and LED devices.
The theoretical, experimental and computational research at IFUNAM of these properties covers various systems: from atomic clusters, nanoparticles, two-dimensional systems (graphene, dichalcogenides, etc.), to macroscopic systems composed by one or more of these systems; where physical phenomena appear concurrently at different scales, creating devices with emergent properties that challenge us to understand their origins.
