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TU Berlin inaugurates a new Center of NanoPhotonics

Most modern processing and clean room facilities will speed up the research on and development of novel optoelectronic and photonic devices

A new 'light-tower of science' radiates at the Technische Universitaet Berlin: 16th June, 2004, precisely one year ago, TUB president Prof. Kurt Kutzler and the director of the Institute of Solid State Physics, Prof. Dieter Bimberg, inaugurated the new "Center of Nano-Photonics" together with Berlin's Secretary of Science, Dr. Thomas Flierl, and Berlin's Deputy Secretary of Economy, Volkmar Strauch.

With this opening of an ultra-modern processing facility in clean rooms up to class 10 the Institute of Solid State Physics maintains its worldwide leading role in the research on and development of novel optoelectronic and photonic devices. Total investment was 5.4 million Euro. 2.5 million Euro came from the European fund for regional development and 0.9 million Euro from the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology within the framework of its Nano- and Communication-Technologies Programs. TUB demonstrated its recognition of the importance of this extension of its facilities by funding it with additional 2.1 million Euro.

The president of TUB, Prof. Kutzler, valued the new "Center of NanoPhotonics" as an essential part of the strategic development of the university: "This new center demonstrates, that the university is ready to invest into research of the future, such that scientists and students have a competitive environment for their research and education." 

The innovations developed at the center shall also stimulate regional and national economic development. The CNP will act as an incubator for start-ups, providing a save haven at nominal costs in the critical first phase. Additionally, small and medium size companies will be able to rent the facilities and its staff on a contractual basis. The "Center of NanoPhotonics" is expected to strengthen the scientific excellence of the Technische Universitaet Berlin and that of Berlin as a science city. Secretary of Science, Flierl, declared that the center will enable outstanding scientific achievements, pioneering emerging fields of largest economic importance. The center will provide the interdisciplinary nanotechnology research of the State of Berlin and of the Federal Republic of Germany, an opportunity to transfer research results into demonstrator devices and finally modules ready for implementation in systems. The infrastructure at the "Center of NanoPhotonics" provides all necessary advanced technologies for processing of, e.g. single photon emitters for quantum-cryptography, edge or surface emitting lasers and semiconductor optical amplifiers for information and communication technologies, and systems like ACCESS, LAN, and MAN networks, semiconductor based television, or quantum-dot based flash memories. The capacity of the center is sufficiently large to produce pilot lines of these devices. In all these areas TU Berlin will have the chance to maintain its academic leadership in the development of such devices. Prof. Bim-berg, the director of the center, explains that it is his vision to develop quantum-dot based devices superior to any classical devices based on quantum-wells or double heterostructures for many different material systems, ranging from nitrides to arsenides and antimonides, at module costs a factor of ten lower than previously, due to the inherent fundamentally superior properties of quantum-dot based devices. 

Both Prof. Bimberg and the Secretary of Science, Dr. Flierl, emphasized that it is of utmost importance in the next few years to transfer break-throughs in fundamental science into industrial applications. Already now the Technische Universitaet Berlin is the leading research institution in eastern Germany as incubator for start-ups in the areas of optoelectronic devices and measurement technologies. Examples are: LayTec, Lumics, U2T Photonics, Actryon Technologies, or NL Nanosemiconductors. With the new "Center of NanoPhotonics" the capacity of the TU Institute of Solid State Physics with its staff of 150 people will be appreciably strengthened. In the past ten years, the institute of Prof. Bimberg pioneered novel nanotechnologies based on self-organisation of quantum-dots at semiconductor surfaces. His institute is presently the largest academic institution in Germany for the education of semiconductor physicists, technologists, and device engineers. With the inauguration of the center the TU Berlin reacts not only to the changing requirements of application oriented education, but reacts also to the rapidly increasing demand of large industries, like OsramOpto-Semiconductors, Bosch, Siemens, Infineon Technologies, … for specially trained scientists and engineers in the areas of semiconductor based technologies and devices. With the creation of innovative new educational concepts for the information and communication industry the Technische Universitaet Berlin is one of the few academic institutions in Germany having such an innovative profile.

One year after its inauguration the center holds contracts of the value of 3.7 million Euro, extending up until the year 2008 and fully covering its operational cost. CNP acts as a center of process development and demonstrator for Sentech, the Berlin based company for proc-essing equipment. The center hosts the research and development team of Nanosemicon-ductors GmbH, headed by Prof. Nicolai Ledentsov. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research co-sponsors and co-directs the center via its National Center of Competence "Nano-Optoelectronics". Prof. Bimberg is also the head of this center of competence.

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