Lithium batteries that provide electric cars with power,
superconductors that conduct electricity over long distances
without loss, solar cells that harvest solar power – all of
these examples are based on the electrical conductivity
characteristics of solid materials. These are some of the
phenomena which scientists investigate at the Max Planck
Institute for Solid State Research. Solid state materials
include metals, ceramics and even crystals of organic molecules.
Just how the structures of these materials affect their
electrical, mechanical and magnetic properties, is what solid
state researchers seek to understand. To this end, the
researchers particularly focus on solids at the nanoscale, which
behave differently compared to materials in larger dimensions.
In order to miniaturize electronic circuits even further or to
prepare for the electronics that will follow on from the silicon
era, the behaviour of these solids needs to be controlled.