Karl Leo

Professor Karl Leo holds the Chair of Optoelectronics at the Institute of Applied Physics, Technical University of Dresden, where he leads a prominent research group in organic electronics. Recognized with the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize in 2002, he is a leading international figure in optoelectronic materials science with sustained funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for over two decades.

His research spans organic photovoltaics, organic semiconductor physics, and optoelectronic device engineering, with current projects investigating plasmonic-organic microcavity lasers, crystalline organic thin-film devices, and noise reduction in organic photodetectors (DANCE project). He pioneers novel approaches in n-doping, perovskite heterostructures (PHIVE-X), and medical sensors (FAVORS project), bridging fundamental charge transport phenomena with practical applications in energy conversion and sensing.

Awards:

• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (2002)

Funding and Supervision:
Professor Leo currently directs four major DFG projects including the high-risk Reinhart Koselleck Project on crystalline organic devices and participates in the Cluster of Excellence CT.QMAT. His extensive project portfolio (over 25 completed DFG projects since 2000) demonstrates exceptional grant acquisition success, providing robust resources for training PhD and Master's students in advanced device fabrication and characterization techniques. The group maintains strong industry and international academic partnerships.

Research Environment:
The Chair of Optoelectronics operates specialized laboratories for organic semiconductor growth, microfabrication, and optoelectronic characterization within TU Dresden's Institute of Applied Physics. As part of the university's Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed) ecosystem, the group benefits from interdisciplinary collaborations in quantum materials and computational science while maintaining leadership in organic electronics through DFG Priority Programs like SPP 1355.