W.M.M. Kessels

Erwin Kessels is a Full Professor at the Department of Applied Physics within the Applied Physics and Science Education school at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). He serves as the scientific director of the NanoLab@TU/e facilities, which provides full-service and open-access clean room infrastructure for R&D in nanotechnology. His academic career is deeply rooted at TU/e, where he completed both his MSc (1996) and PhD (with honors) (2000) in Applied Physics, with doctoral work partly conducted at the University of California Santa Barbara.

Professor Kessels' research focuses on the synthesis of ultrathin films and nanostructures using advanced deposition techniques such as (plasma-enhanced) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD). His work spans applications in nanoelectronics and photovoltaics, with particular prominence in plasma-assisted ALD, ALD for photovoltaics, and ALD for nanopatterning including area-selective ALD. Currently, he is directing his research toward atomic scale processing, a field expected to rapidly grow in importance across various application domains. His recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on atomic layer etching mechanisms, spatial ALD techniques for complex surface topologies, and the development of novel equipment for Ångstrom-era processing.

Throughout his distinguished career, Kessels has received numerous scientific accolades including the prestigious Peter Mark Memorial Award from the American Vacuum Society (2007), an NWO Vici grant (2010) for establishing a research program on 'nanomanufacturing,' and the ALD Innovator Award (2019). He was also appointed as a DFG Mercator fellow at Ruhr University Bochum since 2019.

Professor Kessels has secured significant research funding through multiple projects including "TKI-HTSM/24.0176 - ASPEA: Atomic-Scale Processing Equipment for the Ångstrom Era" and "Understanding H2 plasma surface interaction: from EUV optics to 2D materials." As an academic leader, he has served as President of the Netherlands Vacuum Society, is an associate editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, and founded the ALD Academy (www.ALDacademy) and the blog AtomicLimits.com.

His laboratory, centered around the NanoLab@TU/e facilities, supports extensive research in atomic scale processing and has produced over 748 research outputs including more than 300 papers, 100+ invited presentations, and 4 patents. Kessels frequently (co-)organizes ALD-related workshops and has supervised 129 students through their academic work.