October 2025 • Newsletter from the Centre for Nanoscience, Lund University Strategic Research Area NanoLund |
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The NanoLund Annual Meeting 2025 took place on October 8th at the Loop. Not only underlined by the Nobel Prize in Physics announced the day before, this year’s theme, “Quantum science and technology – from fundamental science to applications”, also connected to the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). Programme chairs Ville Maisi and Petter Persson guided us through the day, NanoLund Director Anders Mikkelsen gave us an update, and Andrew Jordan introduced us to the meeting theme.
We heard several poster pitches; Hedda Christine Soland and Ferdinand Omlor presented their seedling projects; and three sessions of talks were held: Quantum Systems and Devices with Tönu Pullerits as chair, Bio and Sensing with Christelle Prinz as chair, and Materials and Electronics with Erik Lind as chair.
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Each year, we recognize the efforts of our staff by presenting awards. The NanoLund Junior Scientist Ideas Award was presented to Hedda Christine Soland, PhD student, Centre for Analysis and Synthesis: A novel way to controllably grow ferromagnetic MnAs/semiconducting GaAs heterojunction nanowires; Ferdinand Omlor, PhD student, Solid State Physics: Ultrastrong coupled quantum dots interacting with photon pulses; and Glenn J. Coope, postdoctoral fellow, Centre for Analysis and Synthesis: Exploring the Biomedical Potential of Deep Eutectic Solvents for Stabilising Synthetic Lung Surfactant Formulations: A Nanoscale Approach.
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The Young Teacher Award was presented by Jens Uhlig to André Andersen, PhD student, Electrical and Information Technology, Julia Valderas Gutiérrez, PhD student, Solid State Physics, and Gabriele Cobucci, PhD student, Mathematical Physics (not in the picture).
The Excellent Support Award was presented by Anneli Löfgren to Anna Levin, Finance Officer, Solid State Physics, and Emil Eriksson, Research Engineer, Lund Nano Lab.
Poster Awards were given to Adamantia Logotheti, PhD student, Solid State Physics, for the poster Fabrication of AlGaN FinFET in a-plane direction on ammonothermal substrates; Hilma Holmström, Project Assistant, Solid State Physics: Thermal microwave emission and absorption; and Ruby Davtyan, PhD student, Solid State Physics: Turning Nanowires into 3D Molecular Trackers through Point Spread Function Detection.
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Several NanoLundians are involved in the networks that the Swedish Research Council, VR, decided to award network grants for planning future excellence clusters for cutting-edge technologies, as in the Vinnova clusters of excellence for strategic technology.
A cluster of excellence refers to a powerful concentration of resources and capabilities that together can establish a very strong position within their field of technology. The cluster's ambition is to become a world leader in its field. It will also successfully attract capital and significant international talents and actors to Sweden.
Two of the VR-clusters are “Quantum sensing, metrology, and control”, with Martin Leijnse as the main applicant, and “Advanced Semiconductors: Innovation, Testing, and Value Chains”, with Lars-Erik Wernersson as the main applicant.
Sweden’s Innovation Agency, Vinnova, has appointed recipients of funds for developing visions for world-leading research and innovation in strategic technology areas. Two of the projects are “Quantum sensor technology from research and applications to market and society”, main applicant Peter Samuelsson, and “Integrated development of materials, production and products, accelerated by AI and in-operando monitoring”, main applicant Anders Mikkelsen.
The first step in a government initiative |
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To promote global collaboration and address critical challenges in science and technology, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology under the leadership of UNESCO. NanoLund contributed to the effort with a new quantum exhibition during Kulturnatten – The Culture Night.
A new item on the agenda for Kulturnatten was the Quantum Room with demonstrations on quantised energy levels, superconductivity, quantum optics, quantum computing, and much more. Armin Tavakoli gave a lecture on 100 Years of Quantum Mechanics.
Alongside the Quantum focus, NanoLund also engaged in the Kulturnatten activities at Fysicum as well as MAX IV. Lab tours at Lund Nano Lab offered the audience to explore the Nanoworld, starting with an introduction to science at the nanometre scale and then continuing with a walk through the cleanroom facilities.
Science Slam, movies and experiments
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The Wide Bandgap Pilot Line had their kick-off meeting in September in Rome at the headquarters of the National Research Council (CNR).
Climate changes require urgent transformation into a green and efficient energy system, which can only be realized with the development of a novel class of wide band gap (WBG) semiconductors that enable improved high-power conversion, control, and switching. The solution is to bring WBG semiconductor supply chains within Europe, which is the aim of the pilot line funded by the European tri-partite partnership, Chips Joint Undertaking, together with national funding agencies. The WBG Pilot Line involves the creation of a highly innovative distributed infrastructure specialized in research on WBG silicon carbide, gallium nitride, aluminium nitride, and gallium oxide.
These semiconductors are fundamental for applications such as automotive, communications, space, and renewables. Lund University, Linköping University, Chalmers, and KTH team up to provide state-of-the-art research and development in WBG material fabrication, electronic device design, fabrication, and characterization for advanced chips needed to ensure a sustainable and resilient semiconductor supply chain in Europe.
The first step is to set up the infrastructure and the process flows in this distributed infrastructure. An important theme of the kick-off meeting was also how the partners can, as fast as possible, provide access to instruments and other services, like characterization of materials and synthesis, to external users like small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Wide Bandgap Pilot Line’s website |
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Can innovation strengthen research? Former NanoLund director Heiner Linke, professor of nanophysics and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, achieved this by combining research and innovation. His own attitude towards utilisation and innovation has evolved from a sense of duty to passion: “Now I think it’s genuinely exciting.”
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Two NanoLundians attended the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting this summer in Bayern, Germany, by the beautiful Bodensee. PhD student Julia Valderas and Postdoctoral fellow Ajeet Kumar share their trip experiences with us.
The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings are internationally renowned conferences, attended annually by about 30–40 Nobel Laureates and some of the most promising young scientists from all over the world. Alternating between the disciplines Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine, the Lindau Meetings are a unique opportunity to educate, inspire, and connect beyond cultural and political boundaries for the leading scientists of tomorrow.
Julia Valderas and Ajeet Kumar’s impressions |
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On 22 September, the new Swedish Chips Competence Centre (SCCC) was inaugurated in Science Village, linking up with the research groups and other centres that Lund University is bringing together in a strategic initiative close to MAX IV and ESS.
Lund University, together with Chalmers Industriteknik and Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, is building a meeting place and platform where academia and industry can come together to strengthen Sweden's position in the semiconductor sector. With both Swedish and European funding and support from Vinnova and the Chips Joint Undertaking, an ecosystem of players in the sector is now being built, which has become an important priority for the EU.
‘More small and medium-sized companies should dare to invest in chip technology and find the right support – both technical and financial – through us,’ says Maria Huffman, director of SCCC, recruited from the UW Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF) at the University of Washington.
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NanoLund keeps growing and has over 100 research groups, over 60 faculty members, and over 50 affiliated faculty members. Since the summer break, we have welcomed several new members.
New faculty members:
Karen Edler, Professor, Centre for Analysis and Synthesis
Filip Lenrick, Senior lecturer, Production and Materials Engineering
New affiliated faculty members:
Malin Alsved, Associate senior lecturer, Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology
Namsoon Eom, Associate senior lecturer, Mechanics, Materials and Component Design
We also welcome Thoas Fioretos, Professor, Division of Clinical Genetics, as a new member of the NanoLund Board.
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We are happy to be part of the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research’s (Mistra) major investment in environmental research leaders. There is still time to apply for the position as Assistant Professor in Physics with specialization in sustainable semiconductors. New funding from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research will enable and reinforce research on how to increase the circularity and material recycling, enhance the lifetime, and reduce the energy consumption of semiconductor components, and find new ways to create and synthesize innovative, sustainable materials for this purpose.
“This is an excellent opportunity for us to strengthen our research in this important field – and a fantastic position for a talented researcher to contribute to the societal challenge in drastically reducing the environmental footprint, consider material recycling already at the design stage, and novel device designs and concepts to enhance component lifetime and lower energy consumption,” says Dan Hessman, head of the division of Solid State Physics where the assistant professor in sustainable semiconductors will work.
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How small can you make a light detector? Researchers tested the resolution limit by detecting 633 nanometer light with an 80 nanometer single pixel detector, in the form of an InP nanowire. Optical modeling shows a clear optimum for the spatial resolution at around 100 nanometer nanowire diameter, while even smaller diameters lead to worse resolution and sensitivity. Thus, the pixel diameter can be optimized for resolution and absorption simultaneously.
Authors: Nils Lamers, Nicklas Anttu, Kristi Adham, Lukas Hrachowina, Dan Hessman, Magnus T. Borgström, and Jesper Wallentin.
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In this work, researchers demonstrate a dual-process approach where spark ablation is combined with downstream precursor (Trimethylgallium) injection to finely tune Pd-Ga alloy nanoparticles. This strategy opens up new possibilities for tailoring alloy nanoparticles in-flight, especially with low-melting point materials, and provides insights into controlling phase stability, crystallinity, and morphology at the nanoscale.
Authors: Marie Bermeo, Markus Snellman, Linnéa Jönsson, Thomas Krinke, Zhongshan Li, Knut Deppert, and Maria Messing.
“Engineered Pd-Ga alloy nanoparticles through spark ablation
and in-flight metal-organic precursor decomposition”
in Journal of Aerosol Science |
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Ulrike Küst, PhD student at the Division of Synchrotron Radiation Research, has published in Nature Communications together with Rosemary Jones, Julia Prumbs, Alessandro Namar, Mattia Scardamaglia, Andrey Shavorskiy, and Jan Knudsen.
The study reveals how hidden processes below the catalyst surface – a “carbon traffic jam” in the subsurface – can decisively shape methane oxidation pathways. This collaborative effort shows the importance of combining expertise in synchrotron radiation research, surface science, and operando methods to uncover the fundamental mechanisms driving catalytic function. |
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Postdoc Carles Roch i Carceller has, together with Lucas Nunes Faria, Zhenghao Liu, Nicolò Sguerso, Ulrik Lund Andersen, Jonas Schou Neergaard-Nielsen, and Jonatan Bohr Brask at Lund University and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), published the article “Improving semi-device-independent randomness certification by entropy accumulation”.
Certified randomness – guaranteed to be unpredictable by adversaries – is a cornerstone of secure information processing. Leveraging the inherent unpredictability of quantum physics, this work advances semi-device-independent randomness certification, where only limited trust in the devices is required.
By applying the entropy accumulation theorem to prepare-and-measure settings, the authors demonstrate a significant improvement in certifiable randomness, while also enabling a finite-size analysis that avoids the need to assume identical and independent rounds.
“Improving semi-device-independent randomness certification by entropy accumulation”
in Physical Review A |
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Simon Escobar Steinvall has, together with Francesco Salutari, Jonas Johansson, Ishika Das, Sebastian Lehmann, Stephen A. Church, Maria Chiara Spadaro, Patrick Parkinson, Jordi Arbiol, and Kimberly A. Dick published in Chemistry of Materials. Zinc phosphide (Zn₃P₂) is a promising material for next-generation solar cells, but it’s been difficult to combine with other materials. By growing Zn₃P₂ as nanowires, researchers have found ways to reduce defects and better control its properties. Using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), the team identified key growth conditions and showed that adjusting the composition can tune how the nanowires absorb and emit light – opening new possibilities for efficient, customizable solar materials. |
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Two-level systems (TLSs) are the basic units of quantum computers but face a trade-off between operation speed and coherence due to shared coupling paths.
Here, Jann Hinnerk Ungerer et al investigate a TLS given by a singlet-triplet (ST+) transition. The team identified a magnetic-field configuration that maximizes dipole coupling while minimizing total dephasing, forming a compromise-free sweet spot that mitigates this fundamental trade-off. The TLS is implemented in a crystal-phase-defined double-quantum dot in an InAs nanowire. Using a superconducting resonator, they measure the spin-orbit interaction (SOI) gap, the spin-photon coupling strength, and the total TLS dephasing rate as a function of the in-plane magnetic-field orientation. Their theoretical description postulates phonons as the dominant noise source. The compromise-free sweet spot originates from the SOI, suggesting that it is not restricted to this material platform but might find applications in any material with SOI. These findings pave the way for enhanced nanomaterial engineering for next-generation qubit technologies.
Co-authors: Alessia Pally, Stefano Bosco, Artem Kononov, Deepankar Sarmah, Sebastian Lehmann, Claes Thelander, Ville Maisi, Pasquale Scarlino, Daniel Loss, Andreas Baumgartner, and Christian Schönenberger.
The paper in Nature Journal Communications Physics today |
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