LASUAM

The Surface Science Laboratory at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid was founded in the early 1970's by Prof. Nicolás Cabrera (see our history section).

Ever since it was created, the Surface Science group has maintained a tradition of international scientific excellence, judged by the number and quality of our scientific publications, the ongoing collaborations with key international figures in scientific research and the recognition we recently received from the regional government of Madrid.

Nowadays, LASUAM's staff consists of more than 20 members and is headed by Prof. Rodolfo Miranda.

We are currently interested in the growth and properties of nanometer-scale objects on solid surfaces. These systems have attracted much attention lately due to their possible applications in spintronic or optoelectronic devices, or in the development of new magnetic recording media, nanostructured catalysts, new lubricants, nanomechanical biosensors, nanoimaging medical methods, etc.

From the scientific point of view, these systems are interesting since the physical and chemical properties of nanometer-scale objects differ from those expected just by scaling down the properties of macroscopic objects made out of the same material. Tailoring the physical and chemical properties of nano-structures implies understanding how they are determined by the atomic structure, electronic structure, size and shape in the nanoscale, and this is precisely our current field of research.

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A (very) brief history of LASUAM

The Surface Science Lab at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (LASUAM) was created in June 1972 by the late Prof. Nicolás Cabrera with the aim of developing experimental Surface Physics in Spain. It started with a modest commercial UHV chamber where Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) experiments could be carried out.

Since the beginning there was a strong emphasis on the design and construction of experimental instruments and the development of new techniques, such as Thermal Energy Atom Scattering (TEAS), successfully pioneered in the lab in 1975.

From 1974 to 1982, the LASUAM was directed by Prof. Juan M. Rojo (now at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid) and the scientific staff included Prof. Miquel Salmerón (now at Berkeley, USA), Prof. Arturo M. Baró (now director of the New Microscopies Lab at UAM) and Dr. Antonio Trueba. The first generation of Ph. D. students consists in Rodolfo Miranda, Salvador Ferrer (now at ALBA, Barcelona), Joaquín Ibañez ( now at CENIM ), Luisa González (now at Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid, CNM-CSIC) and José Antonio Tagle (now in Iberdrola). During these years a number of new techniques, such as Ultraviolet Photoemission Spectroscopy, Thermal Desorption and Quantitative LEED Analysis were implemented in the lab.

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