Physicists at the University of Basel are able to show for the first time how a single electron looks in an artificial atom. A newly developed method enables them to show the probability of an electron being present in a space. This allows improved control of electron spins, which could serve as the smallest information […]

Are you interested in the new electronic magazine SNI INSight? Three times a year, we report on SNI activities and provide more detailed coverage of our research projects in SNI INSight.  In this inaugural issue, you can read about the approach adopted by the recent start-up NUONEX, why members of the Department of Physics received the […]

Scientists from the SNI network have described how electron diffraction can be used to determine crystal structures efficiently. As part of the Nano Argovia project A3EDPI, the researchers combined an EIGER hybrid pixel detector with a classical electron microscope and calibrated the system to allow the quick and reliable calculation of diffraction data. Writing in […]

The use of potassium bromide in the production of graphene on a copper surface can lead to better results. When potassium bromide molecules arrange themselves between graphene and copper, it results in electronic decoupling. This alters the electrical properties of the graphene produced, bringing them closer to pure graphene, as reported by physicists from the […]

For the first time, physicists at the University of Basel have succeeded in measuring the magnetic properties of atomically thin van der Waals materials on the nanoscale. They used diamond quantum sensors to determine the strength of the magnetization of individual atomic layers of the material chromium triiodide. In addition, they found a long-sought explanation […]

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Would you like to know more about the SNI? Are you interested in the interdisciplinary SNI network and the basic and applied research projects? Or would you like to get an insight into the nanostudy program, the Nano Imaging Lab and the SNI’s outreach activities? The Annual Report 2018 gives you a comprehensive overview about […]

The European Research Council has awarded two University of Basel scientists each a generously endowed ERC Advanced Grant. Biologist Professor Alex Schier and physicist Professor Ernst Meyer will each receive funding in the six figures for their innovative research projects. The ERC Advanced Grants, which are awarded by the European Research Council (ERC), are among […]

The Swiss Micro- and Nanotechnology network (Swiss MNT Network) invites PhD students to submit their first author papers (published or accepted in 2018 till March 2019) addressing research in nanotechnolgy / nanoscience. Five winners will be selected and awarded CHF 2’000.- each. The prizes are kindly sponsored by BASF, Bühler, IBM Research, Sensirion, and Zeiss/Gloor. […]

Physicists from the University of Basel have demonstrated spin alignment of free electrons within a two-dimensional material. Writing in the latest edition of Nature Nanotechnology, they described their observation of spontaneous spin polarization, which cannot occur in ideal two-dimensional materials according to a well-known theorem from the 1960s. Two-dimensional materials are the subject of numerous […]