Image: Mattias Pettersson
Research group We study both the fundamental and applied aspects of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. In particular we study light-driven charge, spin and lattice dynamics in nanomaterials, molecules and hybrid inorganic-organic nanosystems. We also study fundamental chemical and biological processes with a special focus on photochemistry and microbial research.
In our lab, we mainly make use of frequency- and time-resolved (magneto-)optical spectroscopy techniques, such as linear absorption, pump-probe and multidimensional spectroscopies. Currently, we mainly focus on the following research areas:
Here, we focus on the generation and investigation of electronic excitations—such as plasmons, excitons, and magnons—ranging from the visible to the mid-infrared in metals, layered semiconductors, strongly correlated materials and molecular systems. We target light-driven charge and spin dynamics, including exchange and spin-orbit interactions, plasmon-magnon polaritons hybridization and tailored phonon-driven magnetic phenomena using structured ultrashort light beams. Additionally, we artificially manipulate the geometry (shape, size, composition) of conventional materials to optically induce tailored ultrafast dynamics, such as charge and spin generation, injection, and manipulation. The aim is to find possible applications in emerging technological areas, such as spintronics and/or nanophotonics.
Here, we investigate the fundamental physical properties of nanostructured functional metamaterials, including harmonic generation, nonlinear optical phenomena, and the optical control of chemical reactions. Our research combines various functions (optical, magnetic, acoustic and thermal), and explores their coupling with tailored materials and/or environments, such as quantum emitters and/or molecules, for light-driven opto-electronics and polaritonic chemistry.
Here, we develop optical spectroscopy techniques, such as two-dimensional electronic and vibrational spectroscopy, and apply them to materials science and structural biology. In particular, we apply these techniques to unveil complex many body interactions in condensed matter systems and to underestand the structure-function relation in plasmids and proteins, as well as DNA-protein interactions.
Our research at Umeå University is currently funded by the Swedish Research Council, the European Innovation Council, the European Research Council, Kempestiftelserna and the Wenner-Gren Foundations. We acknowledge also the support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation through the Wallenberg Academy Fellows Programme. We are grateful to the Department of Physics and the Faculty of Science and Technology, Umeå University, which jointly co-funded the creation of our laboratory and the purchase of major equipment.
Eva Benavente Fernández, ERASMUS bachelor student, University of Santiago de Compostela
Hektor Rosenberg, bachelor student, Umeå University
Interested bachelor and master students who wants to develop a thesis with us can contact me at nicolo.maccaferri@umu.se
Yilin Chen, visiting bachelor student, Shanxi University (China), 2025
Jiayi Zhao, visiting bachelor student, Shanxi University (China), 2025
Jonas M. Pettersson, master student, Umeå University, 2025
Petter Persson, master student, Umeå University, 2024
Lucrezia Catanzaro, visiting PhD student, University of Catania (Italy), 2024
Alba Viejo Rodríguez, visiting PhD student, University of Luxembourg (Luxembourg), 2024
Nils Henriksson, master student, Umeå University, 2023
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