KIT

The program “Science and Technology of nanosystems (STN)” is one of the 12 R&D programs in KIT, one of the largest higher education and research organisations in Germany. KIT was established in 2009 as a merger of the University Karlsruhe and the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. STN comprises all of KIT’s R&D activities in the field of nano and micro technologies and its applications. A main part of the application driven program focuses on photonics applications like data communication, microscopy and imaging or photovoltaics. Worldwide recognized breakthroughs have been achieved in these fields in the last years. In the Karlsruhe Nano and Micro Facility (KNMF), a large research infrastructure and a high tech platform, KIT has bundled the core technologies for nano and micro fabrication and characterization. Access to the technologies and expertise is given to external academic and industrial users via a pre reviewed proposal system. KNMF offers 25 technologies (most of them for polymer processing including various kinds of lithography and replication techniques), which are operated by 54 senior scientists and technicians. KNMF’s technological support and expertise is very well appreciated, reflected in about 150 national and international users annually.