Research topics in this diverse area range from innovative studies of the basic properties of condensed-matter systems to the nanofabrication and study of advanced electronic, optoelectronic, spintronic, and quantum-superconductor devices. Modern materials (especially those involving thin films) are increasingly produced in configurations in which the functionality and limitations of systems are determined by their surface or interfacial properties and by the structure and nature of atomic defects at these surfaces and interfaces. In applied physics, investigations directed at the physics of surfaces and interfaces include the study of catalysis and surface reactions, atomic resolution of the interface and grain-boundary structure of electronic materials, and determination of the effect of a single atomic defect on electronic transport across an interface.
