Materials Research at GSI

Welcome to the website of the Materials Research Department.

The Materials Research (MAT) Department of GSI contributes, together with 5 other Helmholtz centers, to the Research Topic Materials within the MML program and provides the most comprehensive combination of ion beams and facilities for material science with swift heavy ions worldwide. We have outstanding competences in the development, operation and use of high-energy ion beams (kinetic energies of 5-90% speed of light) for interdisciplinary, basic and applied research related to the irradiation and characterization of materials. Our research is focused into three pillars:

  •      Ion-track nanotechnology,
  •      Heavy ion-induced modifications of materials from bulk to nanoscale
  •      Study of materials under (multiple) extreme conditions.

We cover a large variety of interdisciplinary topics including fundamental studies on ion-matter interactions, materials characterization and development, laboratory astrochemistry, radiation hardness of materials and devices, materials under high-pressure and nanoscience. We investigate a wide variety of materials comprising organic materials, ceramics, semiconductors, (semi)metals and other novel materials such as high-entropy alloys and 2D materials. Besides a variety of ex-situ characterization techniques, the department develops and operates six beamlines dedicated to materials research, which include online and in-situ analysis. Each year, more than forty groups perform experiments at our beamlines.