Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Topic · Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Surface and Thin Film Phenomena

Surface and Thin Film Phenomena is a research topic within Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics. Science Explorer counts 36k research works in it since 1950. 17.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the influence of quantum size effects on the electronic and superconducting properties of metallic nanostructures, particularly focusing on thin films, surface states, and atomic chains. The research delves into phenomena such as quantum well states, electron-phonon interactions, and the manifestation of superconductivity at the quantum limit.

  • Superconductivity
  • Quantum Size Effects
  • Thin Films
  • Surface States
  • Electronic Structure
  • Metallic Nanostructures
  • Atomic Chains
  • Quantum Well States
  • Electron-Phonon Interaction
  • Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
Research works
36k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
6.2k
per year above
Top-10% rate
17.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
-27%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Surface and Thin Film Phenomena research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (220 and 208 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 220 works
  2. 2 China 208 works
  3. 3 Germany 127 works
  4. 4 Japan 126 works
  5. 5 Russia 110 works
  6. 6 France 79 works
  7. 7 India 62 works
  8. 8 United Kingdom 46 works
  9. 9 Italy 37 works
  10. 10 Spain 33 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 21.0%China: 19.9%Germany: 12.1%Japan: 12.0%6 others listed: 35.0%21%largest
United States220 · 21.0%China208 · 19.9%Germany127 · 12.1%Japan126 · 12.0%6 others listed366 · 35.0%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Surface and Thin Film Phenomena research?

By volume in 2022–2025, National Institute for Materials Science publishes the most Surface and Thin Film Phenomena research, followed by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and University of Science and Technology of China.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 National Institute for Materials ScienceJapan 13 works
  2. 2 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 11 works
  3. 3 University of Science and Technology of ChinaChina 9 works
  4. 4 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 8 works
  5. 5 The University of TokyoJapan 8 works
  6. 6 The University of OsakaJapan 8 works
  7. 7 Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussia 7 works
  8. 8 Sandia National LaboratoriesUnited States 6 works
  9. 9 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 6 works
  10. 10 Forschungszentrum JülichGermany 5 works

Who are the leading researchers in Surface and Thin Film Phenomena?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Surface and Thin Film Phenomena include W. Kohn, John P. Perdew and Jens K. Nørskov.

  1. 1 W. Kohn United States 15k citations
  2. 2 John P. Perdew United States 9.9k citations
  3. 3 Jens K. Nørskov Denmark 9.8k citations
  4. 4 David Vanderbilt United States 7.3k citations
  5. 5 Kenji Watanabe Japan 6.4k citations
  6. 6 Takashi Taniguchi Japan 6.2k citations
  7. 7 Michele Parrinello Switzerland 5.6k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is Surface and Thin Film Phenomena research done?

The largest centres of Surface and Thin Film Phenomena research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Moscow (Russia), Tokyo (Japan) and Paris (France). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Tsukuba.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 53 works
  2. 2 Moscow Russia 42 works
  3. 3 Tokyo Japan 28 works
  4. 4 Paris France 23 works
  5. 5 Tsukuba Japan 21 works
  6. 6 Hefei China 18 works
  7. 7 Shanghai China 17 works
  8. 8 Berlin Germany 12 works
  9. 9 Saint Petersburg Russia 12 works
  10. 10 Seoul South Korea 11 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. TsukubaJP · 20.7 works14×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Surface and Thin Film Phenomena than the world average.

See Surface and Thin Film Phenomena on the map

Where is the best place to study Surface and Thin Film Phenomena?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Science and Technology of China and The University of Tokyo score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 University of Science and Technology of ChinaChina 44.66.3%5.8×9 -14.3%
2 The University of TokyoJapan 25.63.1%5.1×8 -6.2%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Surface and Thin Film Phenomena research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 27% lower than in 2013–2017, peaking in 1993.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.