Established in 2026 within the Division of Condensed Matter Physics, the Department of Functional Surfaces and Interfaces brings together cutting-edge research on advanced functional materials whose surfaces and interfaces play an important role in established and emerging technologies. 

Main activities:

A central pillar of the department’s activity is thin-film fabrication, with strong expertise in the controlled synthesis, deposition, and engineering of functional thin layers and interfaces. Through its two complementary research groups - Advanced Doped Diamond Materials (AD2M) and Gas Sensors and Functional Materials (GSFM) - the department develops high-quality thin films with tailored structural, electronic, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties for applications in electronics, sensing, energy, biomedicine, and quantum technologies, bridging fundamental materials physics with device-oriented research.

Our mission:

Our mission is to design, fabricate, and understand functional thin films and interfaces with precisely tuned properties, enabling reliable and scalable material platforms for emerging technologies. We aim to combine advanced thin-film growth techniques with in-depth characterization to uncover structure-property-function relationships and to translate these insights into practical solutions for electronic and sensing applications.

Our research activities are spread across our two principal research groups:

- Advanced Doped Diamond Materials (AD2M)

- Gas Sensors and Functional Materials (GSFM)