Esther Barrena, from ICMAB, together with Lucia Alballe, from ALBA Synchrotron, and María Carmen Asensio, from Synchrotron SOLEIL and Université Paris-Saclay (France) have written the article "Avances en la física de superficies" (Advances in Surface Physics), in which they focus in some of the latest techniques in surface physics that allow to explore with high precision physical and chemical properties (download here). Firstly, they highlight advances in near-field microscopy that have enabled an unimagined atomic scale resolution. Then they discuss the development of the combined spectroscopy and microscopy techniques, thanks to the synchrotron light facilities, that can generate incredible images of the sufaces and nano-objects distributed on them.

Mariona Coll and Anna Palau, from the SUMAN (Superconducting Materials and Large Scale Nanostructures) group, write an article on the basics of superconductivity: from the basic principles, the applications, to the current opportunities and challenges, which include the secrets of the superconducting materials at high temperature, the fabrication of new materials, the hybrid materials with innovative functionalities and the control of the superconducting properties (download here). 

The journal also summarizes the meeting of the "XXXVI Reunión Bienal de la Real Sociedad Española de Física", in which Ignasi Fina received the first prize of the Young Researchers Award (download here).