Surface science using radioactive ions at ISOLDE: from metal surfaces to two-dimensional materials

We review the research carried out using the apparatus for surface physics and interfaces (ASPIC), at ISOLDE, CERN. We give an overview of the research highlights since 2000, focusing on magnetic and non-magnetic metallic surfaces, and introduce the scientific program that will follow the upgrade which is currently underway, focusing on two-dimensional materials. ASPIC was formerly used for the growth of ultrathin metallic films and their characterization by means of perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy. Past research has mainly focused on the determination of the magnetic hyperfine field at the probe atom located on different sites at the surface such as terraces, kinks, steps as well as on the investigation of the static magnetic polarization at the interface between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic layers. Future research on two-dimensional materials using ASPIC is foreseen to focus on the investigation of structural and electronic properties of adatoms (adsorption sites, hybridization effects, intra-atomic charge transfer, magnetic moments, etc). We emphasize, in this context, the exceptional capabilities of ASPIC in terms of broad applicability, high precision and low detection limits.