Foresight Institute

Rafik Addou | Bridging Research and Manufacturing: The Role of Surface Science Nanometrology

Dr. Rafik Addou, an assistant professor at UT‑Dallas, outlined how surface‑science nanometrology can close the gap between academic research and high‑volume manufacturing. Drawing on a diverse career across Morocco, France, Switzerland, the United States and Canada, he emphasized that surfaces and interfaces—not bulk material—govern the behavior of modern nano‑electronics, catalysts and batteries as devices shrink to the nanometer scale. He traced the evolution of surface science from early X‑ray diffraction to today’s scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), showing how each technique provides complementary insight into atomic structure, chemical composition and crystallographic order. Addou highlighted his “cluster lab” and a dedicated STM‑XPS system that allow in‑situ atomic‑layer deposition, sputtering, and analysis without breaking ultra‑high vacuum, enabling collaborations with industry leaders such as Intel, Texas Instruments and Micron. The integrated approach demonstrates that solving material challenges now requires a coordinated suite of microscopy, spectroscopy and diffraction tools, accelerating the translation of 2‑D material discoveries into manufacturable device components.