Gertjan van Baarle graduated in Leiden on the study of transport properties of thin films of heavy fermion materials at very low temperatures (mK). After graduation, he continued his work in Leiden on a Ph-D project for which he installed a home build STM system in a 300mK cryostat coupled to an UHV chamber with the goal of studying superconductivity of thin films and oxide materials. As one of the results, he demonstrated that it is possible to visualize the vortex structures in superconducting materials by STM using a thin Au capping layer for protecting the superconducting material from oxidation when exposed to air. After receiving his Ph-D, he continued to work on STM technologies, focusing on high-speed scanning technologies and developing STM’s for in-situ surface science.
In 2005 he joined the young academic spin-off Leiden Probe Microscopy, where he worked on the further development and commercialization of surface science tools for in-situ research. Examples are the UHV/high-pressure STM ‘ReactorSTM’, the SXRD reactor and the T100 high pressure gas analyzer. Under his lead, LPM developed in a company with 10+ employees. Gertjan is also co-founder of LSI (focusing on the development of very low temperature SPM) and Onnes Technologies (focusing on cryogenic nano-positioning). In 2023 the 3 companies were merged into one large entity, focusing on in situ SPM and cryogenic nanopositioning.
Gertjan enjoys working with experienced professionals and craftsmen, providing the team what is needed to run smoothly. In the weekends and holidays, Gertjan can be found on his bike, in his garden. If not, he might be in a church, enjoying organ music or singing in the choir.