State Research Center for Optics and Material Sciences (OPTIMAS)

The State Research Center Optics and Material Sciences ( Optimas ) is a facility at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, which connects two research areas on which the Technical University of Kaiserslautern has been active for decades. Optimas has made important contributions to the development of laser physics, photonics and plasmonics. Researchers at the University of Kaiserslautern concerned with the study of ultracold quantum gases and the development of magnetic, electronic and molecular materials, thin films and nanostructures. To further expand this scientific basis, Optimas was established at the University of Kaiserslautern in the context of the research initiative of Rhineland- Palatinate.

Research

Optimas connects to the research fields of optics and materials science, the interdisciplinary nature of the engineering sciences. Participants include researchers from the areas

  • Quantum Optics and Applied Optics,
  • Magnetism,
  • Surface physics,
  • Molecular and material sciences.

Research projects at Optimas ranging from basic to the technologically oriented research and are all under the overarching theme of " light - Spin - matter." Since many of the represented in Optimas research projects are thematically very comprehensive, it can only be edited by the combination of model-based and experimental approaches:

The linking of the topics light, spin and matter forms the core of a variety of topical research areas such as spintronics, plasmonics, metamaterials, Bose -Einstein condensates and optical switches. A typical example of the range of the Optimas research projects is the subject of " spin engineering ". This research includes

  • Purely theoretical models such as spin chains,
  • Artificial materials such as ultra -cold quantum gases,
  • Polynuclear transition metal complexes,
  • Organic and inorganic semiconductors,
  • Ferromagnetic nanostructures.

The spin engineering is important for the development of new storage materials for computer and new sensors from the perspective of the application. A significant proportion of researchers at Optimas is known in the international scientific community. Publications by Optimas researchers appear in international journals (eg Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Physical Review Letters, Journal of the American Physical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition in their ).

Members and research programs

At Optimas are involved:

  • Terahertz Measurement and Systems of the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques (Freiburg),
  • Nano Bio Center of the University of Kaiserslautern,
  • Institute for Surface and Thin Film Analysis ( IFOS )
  • Institute for Composite Materials (IVW ).

To Optimas include university research groups from the fields of

  • Physics,
  • Chemistry and
  • Mechanical / process engineering.

Among the members of Optimas, there is a balance of work groups, applied basic research oriented and theoretically. Optimas is a dynamic research network in which the priorities and thus the composition of members are continually being developed. The current coordinator of Optimas, Professor Martin Aeschlimann, is a member of the External Advisory Board of PULSE Laboratory at Stanford University. Another member of Optimas is Burkard Hillebrands that was recorded in various international scientific societies such as IEEE ( Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ) and the APS ( American Physical Society).

Collaborative Research Centres

Under the umbrella of Optimas two transregional collaborative research centers (SFB / TRR) of the German Research Foundation (DFG) are located:

  • SFB / TRR 49 " Condensed Matter Systems with Variable Many- Body Interactions", together with the universities of Frankfurt / Main, the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Mainz),
  • SFB / TRR 88 3MET "Cooperative effects in homo -and hetero- metallic Complexes " together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ( KIT).

In addition, one of the first German / Japanese research groups from the DFG and the Japanese Science and Technology Agency ( JST), the Research Group FOR 1464 "Advanced Spintronics Materials & Transport Phenomena ( ASPIMATT ) ," integrated into Optimas. This research group consists of scientists from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Tohoku University ( Sendai, Japan). In light of the funding by the German Research Foundation these research programs are highly regarded. The projects are designed for a research period of twelve years and are re-evaluated every four years.

Objectives

The strategic objective of Optimas is the continued expansion of research and training structure in the interdisciplinary environment of photonics, spintronics, molecular and magnetic functional materials and nanostructures. Therefore, in 2009 with the establishment of the Optimas - doctoral program (funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation ), a decisive contribution be made. Optimas is also involved in the appointment noted authority figures as well as in the recruitment of young researchers (including for junior professors ). The participating research groups provides Optimas assistance in fund-raising through the sustainable strengthening of research infrastructure, such as the preservation and expansion of research equipment, as well as in the interdisciplinary networking.

Bose–Einstein condensate Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung
497299
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