Welcome
Started in 2008 in the framework of the French National Agency for Research (ANR), the Nanoplast program aimed to the development of a new experimental device allowing following in situ by AFM/STM, under UHV conditions and variable temperature, the surface evolution of strained (or stressed) materials.
The device is now functional and scientific collaborations are welcome through the “call for experiment” section.
Our present studies are focussed on two main research domains:
- Understanding the elementary mechanisms involved in crystalline material plasticity through atomic scale characterization of the slip traces created at their surface during mechanical straining.
- Studying the stability of surface nanostructures and surface reconstructions under stress and at different temperatures. Investigating the possible use of these structures as templates for surface functionalization.