Solid State Physics Department carries out research on optical, electrical and magnetic properties of crystalline and amorphous systems, especially oriented to nanostructured materials with applications in photonics and nanoscience. Adsorption of individual atoms and molecules on surfaces. Influence on the non-linear optical response of metallic nanocomposites and quantum dots. Wave propagation in inhomogeneous media. Interaction of radiation matter in crystalline solids.
Experimental work on optical properties of defects in solids has been carried out for a long time in different matrices, having as main hosts transition ions and trivalent rare earths, supported by several synthesis techniques and characterization of the formed structures.
In the last few years, the research lines have been extended with three new laboratories: the study of the non-linear optical response of nanostructured systems, involving the dependence on the shape and size of metallic and semiconductor nanocomposites in the non-linear optical response; very high resolution optical spectroscopies in combination with the use of tunnel effect and atomic force microscopes in ultra-high vacuum and low temperature, for the observation of atoms and molecules on surfaces and Brillouin magnetic scattering spectroscopy for the study of magnons, their dynamics and interactions.
It is supported by theoretical studies on transport and process simulations in: plasmonics and quantum optics, modelling of the optical absorption produced by surface plasmons. Design of surfaces for the adsorption of contaminants and their consequences on optical properties. Adsorption of hydrogen on surfaces and molecular conglomerates. Study of wave transport properties through laminates with imperfect contact interfaces. Semiconductor hetero-structures. Spin waves, spintronics and magnetization dynamics. Thermodynamics of ageing and wear of dissipative systems. Shock wave induced phase transformations in ceramic materials.
