Surface du verre et interfaces – UMR125

The lab

GLASS SURFACE AND INTERFACES

Surface du Verre et Interfaces (Glass Surface and Interfaces) is a material science laboratory. SVI is a joint « CNRS/Saint-Gobain Research » laboratory carrying out fundamental research projects in different areas, many of which closely related to Saint-Gobain products or processes. We are located in the buildings of Saint-Gobain Research Paris, one of Saint-Gobain’s main research centres in the suburb of Paris. Both CNRS and Saint-Gobain staff work in the lab.

Director of the laboratory : M. Pierre JOP

RESEARCH AXES

Our research activities can be grouped into four main areas: two dedicated to materials, one to the study of the optical properties of complex media, and one dedicated to the development of advanced tools and characterization methods.

OUR ACTIVITIES

The historical core activity of the lab (founded in 1990) concerns oxide surfaces and their functionalization by coatings or nanostructures. Recent studies in this area include the growth and optical properties of thin films and structured surfaces, the photoinduced hydrophilicity of ultrathin titanium dioxide films and the growth of nanostructured semi-conductor surfaces. Our focus is both on the development of new surface properties (wetting, optical) through patterning and sol-gel coatings (fabrication, characterization) and on the mechanisms of growth and evolution of thin films (in situ measurements, structure, diffusion).

Another research area covers the complex and evolving multi-phase systems relevant to the melting of glass and the processing of materials used in the building industry. Our activities in this area cover topics linked to films of complex fluids, granular media or the liquid crystals, as well as the physical chemistry of glasses. We address the stability of those liquid films or the structure of heterogeneous systems.
The third axe of research is devoted to the optical properties
of the complex surfaces, focusing on the link between the optical response and their structure (roughness, patterned surfaces, nanoparticles plasmonic effects). We also develop numerical tools as well as optical methods for in-situ measurements.