Team
Theory of Materials Science

Laboratory

Laboratoire des Solides Irradiés

CNRS UMR7643
CEA-DRF-IRAMIS, Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Ecole Polytechnique
route de Saclay
91128 Palaiseau Cedex

Team Leader

Nathalie VAST

Permanant members

  • Olivier HARDOUIN DUPARC

  • Jelena SJAKSTE

  • Nathalie VAST

Scientific activity

Our fundamental research involves modeling materials, surfaces, interfaces and nanostructures to study their physical properties: atomic structure, defects, electronic properties, electronic transport, heat and thermoelectricity.

In particular, ab initio modeling based on density functional theory enables us to predict new crystal structures, study the effects of low-energy defects, and understand the coupling processes – electron-phonon, phonon-phonon – at work in the transport or relaxation of hot electrons.

The main themes are

Numerical simulations enable comparisons with many types of experiment: electron or optical spectroscopy for electrons and phonons, lifetime measurements, atomic force microscopy, electronic and thermal conductivity, etc.

As part of the QuanTiP DIM, these skills are mobilized for quantum-scale modeling of point defects such as the nitrogen-lacunite center in diamond, in conjunction with experiments carried out at the LuMIn laboratory.