Building Solids for Function

One of the basic notions of the solid state science is the fact that the properties of a piece of matter do not only depend on the chemical composition, but on many other parameters, such as crystallinity, defects, surface properties, purity (dopants), size (nano-, meso-, macroscale), dimensionality (0D, 1D, 2D, 3D), porosity or phases (depending on pressure, temperature, etc.). Only a thorough understanding on how the various parameters influence the properties can lead to deliberate materials selection, synthesis procedures, device development, etc. In the Doctorate School SolidFun (Building Solids for Function) the interplay between parameters and properties will be exemplarily investigated for different kinds of inorganic solids. This especially includes oxides, semiconductors and intermetallics in different forms, such as thin films, (nano)composites, porous materials, quantum dots, photonic crystals, metamaterials or hybrid materials. Research and training in SolidFun will be concentrated around four central issues, which are covered by the research activities of the faculty: Materials and Synthesis / Properties and Functionality / Applications and Devices / Theory and Modelling. True scientific and technical innovation and groundbreaking developments is mainly attained if scientists with different expertise combine their efforts. This is especially true for materials science. A well-known problem arising when specialists in different areas cooperate is to understand the other scientist`s language and their way of thinking. SolidFun intends to address this problem by a very interdisciplinary but well- balanced training program. The scientific basis of the training program is materials-related fundamental research. It allows PhD students with different master degrees to benefit from a doctoral school that connects different scientific areas. The training of SolidFun aims at a broad view on preparation and properties of solid matter from different perspectives, i.e. from the perspectives of chemistry, physics, materials science and nanotechnology, as well as from the perspectives of experiment and theory. This comprehensive scientific view on solids will allow the graduate students to develop a broader understanding on how to synthesize and optimize ("design") solid materials towards specific properties and applications. This will also allow for a better communication between the sciences and enable the graduates of SolidFun to solve scientific problems together.