The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding a new large-scale instrument worth €800,000. The Kiel research groups led by Professors Michael Bauer and Kai Rossnagel are using it to expand their experiments in quantum materials research.
On 5 March 2026, the new ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) laboratory at the Department of Physics of Kiel University (CAU) was officially inaugurated. The laboratory consists of a state-of-the-art system that functions like an electron microscope: it produces images of material surfaces with up to ten nanometers resolution and combines this with time- and energy-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, allowing researchers to measure the electronic properties of surfaces simultaneously. This enables scientists to see how electrons are distributed in quantum materials and which energy states they occupy - information that can be crucial for future technologies such as quantum computers or ultrafast sensors.
Previously, the Kiel researchers used either energy-resolved spectroscopy or high-resolution microscopy. “Until now, we could not combine both techniques under identical conditions,” says Michael Bauer, who, together with Kai Rossnagel, secured funding for the device. “The new UHV system overcomes this limitation and allows a direct correlation between structure and electronic behavior.”
The physicists acquired the ultrahigh vacuum system through the DFG’s Large-Scale Equipment Program. The project was approved in 2023, with a funding amount of approximately €800,000, split evenly between the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the federal government.
For Kiel University‘s priority research area KiNSIS – Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science, the new instrument strengthens methodological expertise in surface and interface research. “The system is a central infrastructure that opens entirely new possibilities for interdisciplinary collaboration within KiNSIS and beyond,” says KiNSIS spokesperson Kai Rossnagel. “At the same time, it provides excellent conditions for training young scientists in modern spectroscopic methods.”
This article was first published on 9 March by Kiel University
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