Zdenek Jakub , graduated 2020

Ultrathin films of spinel ferrites (Supervisor: G. Parkinson)

Short bio: Zdenek Jakub Zdenek obtained both his BSc and MSc degree from Brno University of Technology. During his master studies he spent a few months at the Institute of Applied Physics, TU Vienna as an Erasmus student. There, he discovered his passion for surface science, and hence applied for a Ph.D. position within TU-D.

Summary of the PhD project: Within my PhD project, we take advantage of the unique surface reconstruction Fe3O4(001) surface. By incorporating foreign metal atoms, we can create ultrathin film of a different spinel ferrite material on top of the metallic Fe3O4.

Thoughts on TU-D: When doing fundamental research in surface science, experimental data are often not enough to get the full picture. Insight from the theory is extremely helpful in interpretation of the results, validating of the hypotheses and designing new experiments. Therefore, I am truly excited about the possibility to collaborate with the team of Peter Blaha.