Deutsch Intern
Experimental Physics VI

Research Interests

Colour Centers, Quantum Sensors and Microwave Emitters

The development of a solid-state system for quantum information technologies and sensing applications is a very vibrant research area. An essential part of it, the spin degree of freedom, is an invaluable source of information as it provides an interface to the environment it is surrounded by. Our group is interested in 2D and 3D wide bandgap semiconductors, such as hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and silicon carbide (SiC), which have recently attracted much interest as technologically perspective quantum platforms.

Spin Effects in Organic Semiconductors and Devices

Organic semiconductors are a promising class of materials for the next generation of light emitting diodes (OLED) and solar cells (OPV). Several phenomena in these semiconductors are related to the spin properties of triplet excitons and charge transfer states that are optically or electrically generated in device active layers and can influence the charge carrier generation and radiative recombination quantum efficiency. In other words, spin is a crucial parameter controlling the physical limits of device quantum efficiency.

Organic (Opto-)Electronics

Our research is devoted to electronic excitations and functional properties of molecular single crystals, doped organic thin films, as well as single molecules. Disclosing and understanding fundamental optoelectronic processes enables the utilization of these unique properties in innovative device concepts, e. g. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), Organic Light Emitting Antennas (OLEAs), Organic Field Effect Transistors (OFET), ultrafast photo-switches and single photon sources.

Organic Thermoelectrics

Upon primary energy consumption a significant amount of waste heat at moderate temperatures of around 100°C is generated. Regarding recent efforts on sustainable, environmental-friendly energy sources it is thus of utmost importance to take advantage of these losses by means of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) which directly recover waste heat into electric power. In contrast to well-established inorganic TEGs, mainly based on doped Bi2Te3, organic van-der-Waals bound semiconductors constitute a promising alternative material class for next-generation, low-cost and green-technology TEGs.

Metal-Organic Hybrid Structures

Metal-organic hybrid structures offer unique possibilities for application in already existing devices, such as photo-detectors or organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), as well as in novel photonic architectures. Furthermore, the coupling between the electronic excitations of a molecular thin film and the local plasmonic resonances of a metallic nanopattern in close proximity can tune the optical properties of the organic layer or even generate new plasmon-polaritonic states, also called plexcitons.