Manfred Eich

Prof. Dr. Manfred Eich is a faculty member affiliated with the Institute for Materials Technology at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon and the Institute for Optical and Electronic Materials at Hamburg University of Technology. His research focuses on optical metamaterials and plasmonics for energy applications, particularly in photoelectrochemical water splitting and thermophotovoltaics.

Key research areas include:

• Developing nanoporous gold as a broadband absorber and electrochemical catalyst for hydrogen generation
• Designing refractory metamaterials with hyperbolic dispersion for high-temperature selective thermal emission
• Investigating hot carrier injection mechanisms in metallic nanostructures
• Characterizing microstructural stability of materials at extreme temperatures

His recent publications highlight work on:

• Non-thermal contributions to plasmon-enhanced electrochemical reactions (2020)
• Hot electron generation and injection efficiency in nanoporous gold (2018–2019)
• High-temperature (>1400°C) metamaterial emitters for thermophotovoltaic systems (2016–2019)

Collaborations include researchers from TUHH, University of Hamburg, DESY, and international institutions. Current projects emphasize tailor-made multiscale material systems under the DFG Collaborative Research Center 986.