The Materials science department aims at solving fundamental scientific questions in the physics of crystalline solids and crystal growth. Our aim is to push the materials perfection to their ultimate limits by controlling their growth, to discover new materials with improved properties and to provide new insights into the physics of well-known materials and of heterostructures. Understanding defects, interfaces and the relation between structure and physical and chemical properties and establishing experimental methods for their characterization is the topic of the section experimental characterization. Controlling growth processes, the predictive design of growth equipment based on numerical simulation and solid-state theory is the topic of the section fundamental description. Recently the department pushes towards data-based science and establishes approaches of artificial intelligence and machine learning in crystal growth and pattern recognition.
The research activities of the department comprise the comprehensive experimental characterization of the unique materials grown at the institute and of partners, the numerical description of crystal growth processes and growth equipment as well as solid state theory. As regards materials the focus is on III-Nitrides, Oxides (Perovskites and Group III-sesquioxides), classical III-V and group IV semiconductors. Fundamental description is at present focused on numerical simulation of bulk crystal growth processes with focus on process control and design of crystal growth equipment and establishes approaches of artificial intelligence in the field of crystal growth.