Materials Theory and Modeling

Group leader: Dr. Emilia Olsson

The Materials Theory and Modelling group focuses on atomic scale modelling of solid-state materials and materials discovery. Pushing materials to extreme limits, materials for novel lithography technologies require atomic level understanding in order to predict, comprehend, and control their properties.

Using cutting-edge density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD), the Materials Theory and Modelling group study bulk, surface, thin-films, and interface systems to explore and design novel materials for EUV lithography and beyond. We also expand into larger materials modelling scales, embracing multi scale modelling and machine learning allowing a computational materials design framework to be used in our aim to understand and design interfaces from the atomic scale for next generation technologies. Our atomic scale insights enable novel candidate materials, and breakdown/performance limiting mechanisms in current materials to be identified, leading the development of improved materials for EUV lithography.

The group collaborates with the Contact Dynamics, Materials and Surface Science for EUV Lithography, Light-Matter InteractionsHigh-harmonic Generation and EUV Science, and EUV Plasma Processes groups at ARCNL, as well as groups at Leiden University, AMOLF, and Maastricht University. Additionally, the group has a number of international collaborations with researchers at Imperial College London, University of Surrey, Queen Mary University of London (United Kingdom), and University of Wollongong (Australia).

Group leader Emilia Olsson also has an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Amsterdam.