Studies of the electronic structure of materials at the nanoscale

We plan to study the electronic structure of materials at the nanoscale with unsurpassed level of sensitivity and precision, first and foremost by further improving existing and developing new experimental quantitative electron diffraction techniques. Qua ntitative electron diffraction, electron energy loss spectroscopy and electron holography in combination with first principle DFT calculations will be used to shed light on the electronic structure of complex crystals, defects, interfaces and nanomaterial s. The main focus will be on skutterudite thermoelectric materials. There will be two Ph.D. students and two postdocs on the project and four active partners, including the project manager. One Ph.D. student and one postdoc will be located at NTNU with th e active partners Randi Holmestad and Knut Marthinsen, the other Ph.D. student and postdoc will be at UiO with Arne Olsen and Johan Taftø. Interaction between the research groups involved in this project is a central theme. In order to conserve and exte nd the excellent international collaboration with the electron microscopy laboratories at Arizona State University and Brookhaven National Laboratory, each Ph.D. student and postdoc will stay at least 6 months at BNL and/or ASU. Furthermore, the active pa rtners in Norway and collaborators in USA will meet for scientific discussions and planning.