Research field Key Technologies in the funding period 2010 - 2014

The field of key technologies research consists of six core programmes. A seventh – Technology, Innovation and Society – is being implemented in cooperation with the field of energy research.

• Supercomputing 
• Fundamentals of Future Information Technology 
• NANOMICRO: Science, Technology and Systems 
• Functional Material Systems 
• BioSoft: Macromolecular Systems and Biological Information Processing 
• BioInterfaces: Molecular and Cellular Interactions at Functional Interfaces 
• Technology, Innovation and Society

The work is characterised by close cooperation with industry and by the coordination of networks linking research institutions and commercial enterprises. The research field brings together the common interests of science and industry in order to facilitate concerted action within the EU and on the international stage. The scientists involved also liaise with companies and associations, and provide information for political decision-makers with regard to the opportunities and risks associated with new technologies. Wherever existing competencies complement each other, they are used for cross-programme collaboration. Work on key technologies also provides benefits for energy research, aeronautics, space and transport research, health research, and Earth and Environment.

Programmes

Supercomputing

Computers that process large volumes of data and model complex systems are highly important research tools. With its focus on supercomputing and grid computing, this programme provides German science with invaluable infrastructure. At the John von Neumann Institute for Computing in Jülich and the Grid Computing Centre in Karlsruhe, experts are working to improve methods, tools and applications. Particularly in the simulation laboratories, they provide support for numerous internal and external users from various research fields and institutions.

This research programme also aims to develop and operate the latest and most powerful generation of supercomputers – the JUGENE in Jülich is currently one of Europe’s fastest computers. Processing the increasing amounts of data supplied by accelerators and satellites poses a special challenge. The concept of grid computing, whereby computers are networked to form clusters, facilitates the analysis of increasing data volumes.

Fundamentals of Future Information Technology

According to Moore’s Law, the size of the components on a chip will continue to shrink at a rapid pace. But how much smaller can these components become before losing their physical functionality? According to current knowledge, a characteristic size of 5 nanometres represents the physical limit of conventional electronics. In order to go beyond this limit, researchers will have to exploit new phenomena and develop new concepts for components.

Research in this programme is therefore focused on quantum-electronic, magneto-electronic, ferroelectric, redox-switching and molecular nanostructures as well as on ultrahigh frequency electronics and bioelectrical signal processing. Within this framework, scientists are conducting basic research on materials and the processes occurring within them. They are exploring information processing in logic devices, the storage of information in both random access and mass memories, the transfer of information at the chip and system level, and the development of new sensors.

NANOMICRO: Science, Technology and Systems

While microsystem technologies are already in use in a broad range of applications, nanotechnology still requires extensive basic research. This programme focuses on the development of new functional microsystem structures made from plastics, metals and ceramics and the application potential of nanostructured materials.

Researchers are developing components – often in collaboration with industry – for microprocess engineering, gas analysis, microfluidics and the life sciences. Work is also being done on the development of nanomanufacturing facilities in which customised nanostructured systems can be produced on an industrial scale.

Nanomaterials and nanoprocesses constitute the core of the programme, with optics and photonics representing key areas of application. An additional focus is on materials for energy storage, in particular for batteries in electrical vehicles. The broad scope of the programme, which ranges from knowledge-oriented research to application-oriented systems, allows for the direct translation of basic research into applications. The programme’s central technical installations are being made available to the wider scientific community through the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility.

Functional Material Systems

This programme develops innovative metallic and functional polymer-based materials for use in lightweight construction for transport and energy technologies, chemical process engineering, future hydrogen technologies and medical technology. Helmholtz scientists are collaborating with national and international partners from science and industry on issues associated with alloy and polymer development and processing, as well as on the development and testing of components and processes.

A recently introduced focus is the functionalisation of magnesium and titanium alloys for applications in biocompatible implants. Material characterisation and simulation processes extending from the micro level to complex components are providing the theoretical basis for the optimisation of manufacturing processes and the evaluation of the capacities of innovative lightweight structures.

Building on the Helmholtz FuncHy Initiative, this programme is collaborating with the field of energy research on functional materials for the storage of hydrogen in tank systems. Areas of application include wind power stations, solar energy facilities and mobile tank systems in vehicles.

BioSoft: Macromolecular Systems and Biological Information Processing

Fascinating research areas and new technological approaches are currently emerging at the interface between physics, chemistry and biology. In the area of soft matter, the properties of macromolecules and their cooperative behaviour are being examined on length scales ranging from nano- to micrometres. The realisation that seemingly simple molecular machines can display a high degree of complexity – which applies even more to the networks of genes and proteins in living cells – has brought about fundamental change in the life sciences.

The goal of this programme is thus to improve our understanding of the complex structures and mech anisms determining the behaviour of soft matter and biological systems and to facilitate the development of new materials and technologies. The programme is based on the interplay between experimental research and theory and the simulation sciences. Moreover, it offers broad interdiscip linary training for PhD students and young scientists within the framework of the International Helmholtz Research School of Biophysics and Soft Matter.

BioInterfaces: Molecular and Cellular Interactions at Functional Interfaces

The aim of the biologists, chemists, physicists, IT specialists, engineers and mathematicians working in the Bio- Interfaces Programme is to control living systems. Their primary focus is on the smallest living units of biological systems – not only on cells and their components but also on the interfaces between cells, the interfaces between cells and their environment, and the interfaces between molecules such as proteins in signal cascades. These inter faces constitute logical switching points that can be used to influence cell behaviour. Another focus of the programme is the control of the bacteria forming biofilms on surfaces. 

The scope of the programme extends from pure basic research to the development of application-oriented technologies and products for industry and medicine. The key technologies emerging here are facilitating the development of new therapies for degenerative diseases of the muscles, the retina and the central nervous system as well as the development of bioactive surfaces for implants and bioreactors.

Technology, Innovation and Society

The goal of this interdisciplinary programme is to investigate the ecological, economic, political, ethical and social aspects of new technologies in order to provide support for decision-making in politics, industry and society. In the field of key technologies, this research is focusing on the social expectations of the sciences, sustainable development, the knowledge community and its implications for decisionmaking processes in society as a whole.

A second focus is on the opportunities and risks associated with key technologies and the factors promoting and inhibiting innovation, particularly in the areas of nanotechnology, the neurosciences, and information and communications technology.

Outlook

Work in the field of key technologies is oriented to both fundamental research and potential applications. Energy, health, mobility, safety and communications are all emerging as areas for which sustainable generic technologies need to be developed. For this reason research is focusing on strengthening existing programmes in the fields of materials science, the nanosciences, information and communications technology, and the life sciences. 

New interdisciplinary themes include technology and simulation in medicine and the sustainability of the bioeconomy, along with simulation and data management and analysis in the exascale field. Researchers are developing processes in the material sciences, physics and chemistry that will find application in the areas of energy generation, human mobility and medical therapies.