Welcome to the Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT)

Photo: Markus Breig, KIT / Graphics: Felix Laufer, KIT

Researchers at the Light Technology Institute (LTI) and the Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), in collaboration with Helmholtz AI, are advancing the scalable fabrication of perovskite solar cells using deep learning. Reproducibility and consistent quality remain key challenges in scaling up perovskite solar cell production. In their latest work, Felix Laufer, Markus Götz, and Ulrich W. Paetzold show how deep learning allows material composition monitoring, enables early prediction of device performance, and provides data-driven process control recommendations for optimal fabrication outcomes. The study highlights the transformative role of AI in accelerating the path to commercialization for perovskite photovoltaics.

Jingyuan Xu is featured in the Women@KIT video series as the Head of the ZEco Thermal Lab, showcasing her research group and personal career journey. This video is part of the highlights of KIT’s 200-year anniversary celebrations. Link to video

With five award winners, the IMT was extremely successful at the KIT President's Evening of Honour: Dr. S. Lehmkuhl becomes a Emmy-Noether fellow, Prof. U.W. Paetzold  acquired an ERC-Consolidator Grant, Dr. J. Xu got a Nexus-funding from Carl-Zeiss Stiftung to build up a young investigator group, Dr. G. Huang was honored  with the IU35 award as most brilliant innovator under 35 and Dr. J. Joseph received the HGF doctoral award for his excellent PhD thesis.

Figure: Sagar Wadhwa, KIT

Prof. J. Korvink and Dr. D. Buyens from IMT together with Dr. S. Wadhwa from spin-off Voxalytic GmbH  have developed a pioneering method with which, for the first time, the chiral structure of a molecule - the exact spatial arrangement of the atoms - can be elucidated directly using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This important step in the development of new drugs has previously been a time-consuming process. Now the new method could become a standard tool for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The results were published in the high impact factor journal Advanced Materials. (DOI: 10.1002/ Link to publication

The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities announced that Dr. Jingyuan Xu from IMT has been awarded the Ökologiepreis for her research in sustainable cooling and heating technologies. This annual award recognizes scientific excellence in addressing environmental challenges through innovative solutions across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering.The award ceremony took place in the Old Hall at the University of Heidelberg on June 8, where she was invited to give a lecture about her research. Dr. Xu was also selected to become a member of the Young Academy of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Gan Huang, KIT

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) introduce a polymer-based material with unique properties in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications. This material allows sunlight to enter, maintains a more comfortable indoor climate without additional energy, and cleans itself like a lotus leaf. The new development could replace glass components in walls and roofs in the future. The research team has successfully tested the material in outdoor tests on the KIT campus. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48150-2). 

On April 29, Joel Joseph received this prestigious award from Prof. Dr. Otmar Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association (HGF). As part of his doctorate in Prof. Dr. Manfred Kohl's working group, Joel Joseph investigated the innovative use of thermomagnetic thin-film drives to develop thermal energy harvesters with very high power per footprint. The development efforts resulted in a 340 percent increase in power per footprint compared over the first prototype. With his research results, Dr. Joel Joseph is making an important contribution to satisfying the enormous demand for local, distributed energy generation. These are particularly needed in connected devices specifically designed to accurately sense environmental conditions.

M. Breig, KIT

Dr. Ulrich W. Paetzold has been appointed to the W3 Professorship "Next Generation Photovoltaics" at the Institute for Microstructure Technology, effective May 1st, 2024. Over the past years, Dr. Paetzold has established internationally recognized research activities in Perovskite Photovoltaics at KIT, serving as a junior researcher and tenure-track professor. In 2022, Dr. Paetzold was honoured by the European Research Council with an ERC Consolidator Grant exceeding 2 million euros of funding, enabling research into a radically new idea over the next 5 years. We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Ulrich W. Paetzold and wish him great success in his research, teaching, and innovation endeavours

With the Leopoldina Prize for young scientists, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina honors Dr. Jingyuan Xu, who researches novel heating and cooling technologies for the energy transition. The award ceremony will take place on Monday, March 18, 2024 at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Halle (Saale). Dr. Xu will present her research in a lecture. The young engineer is currently the recipient of two other awards: the Hector RCD Award and member of the Global Young Academy.

Thermomagnetic generators are based on novel alloys that exhibit strongly temperature-dependent magnetic properties near room temperature. The change of magnetization induces an electrical current in an applied pick-up coil. The required temperature changes are only a few degrees Celsius. A possible field of applications are microgenerators, for instance, to power sensors in hardly accessible places or to energize electronic components in order to operate them without batteries. In the next four years, researchers of the EU doctoral network HEAT4ENERGY will advance this technology and implement first functional prototypes. Among the partners is the spin-off company memetis GmbH (https://www.memetis.com) found in 2017 by three former PhD student at IMT that specializes on innovative actuator technologies.

Tobias Abzieher

Perowskit-Silizium-Tandemsolarzellen haben in den vergangenen zehn Jahren eine rasante Entwicklung durchlaufen: In der Forschung konnten Wirkungsgrade von mehr als 33 Prozent erreicht werden. Damit liegen sie bereits heute über den herkömmlichen siliziumbasierten Solarzellen. Die Marktreife steht allerdings noch aus. Eine der Hürden ist die ungeklärte Frage, mit welchem Verfahren sich Perowskit-Solarzellen als Massenprodukt am besten herstellen lassen. Dabei stehen lösungsmittelbasierte Herstellungsverfahren, die in den Laboren weltweit angewandt werden, Dampfphasenabscheidungsverfahren im Vakuum gegenüber, die auch heute noch Standard in der Herstellung von Dünnschichten in der Photovoltaik oder bei der Produktion organischer Leuchtdioden (OLEDs) sind.

ARTIS Uli Deck

nanoshape GmbH, founded by former IMT employees Litsy Hütschelrath and Dr Partick Doll, has won the NEO2023 innovation prize of the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion (TRK), which is endowed with 20,000 euros. nanoshape GmbH received this prize for its development of a surface technology to combat inflammation in implants at a ceremony held at Agilent Technologies Deutschland GmbH.

COSIMA is a yearly event where student teams from all over Germany compete in designing an open topic microsystem-related product. A jury of industry and academic experts evaluates each team based on their technical solution, prototype, pitch performance as well as their concepts in marketing and business development. The top three teams are granted an attractive money prize as well as the opportunity to attend the international ICAN competition to prove themselves on an international stage.
This year, KIT’s competitor from IMT was “StraightUp - A Novel Approach To Posture Control”. The team developed a smart wearable that detects a user's posture by measuring their shoulder-position. To achieve this, the three students came up with a novel sensing solution, based on a shape memory alloy wire integrated into textile. The team, mentored via the product design class of Dr. Dario Mager and Professor Jan Korvink, was able to convince the jury in Dresden and won an amazing first prize. Congratulations to the students for this great success.