Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik

Researchers at PDI have demonstrated a way to control the condensation of hybrid light-matter particles in semiconductor microcavities. By using coherent acoustic waves to dynamically reshape the system’s energy landscape, the team steered a macroscopic quantum state into its lowest energy configuration. The results, published in Nature Photonics, open new routes for engineering nonequilibrium quantum states and developing ultrafast, tunable photonic technologies.

PDI researchers are strongly represented at this year’s Spring Meeting of the Condensed Matter Section of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG), taking place 8–13 March at Technische Universität Dresden. Scientists from PDI contributed to 32 presentations, highlighting the institute’s broad research activities in condensed matter physics.

Researchers at PDI, together with collaborators from Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) and Swansea University, recently published a comprehensive study of the lattice dynamics of rutile germanium dioxide (r-GeO₂) in Advanced Electronic Materials. The work provides an unambiguous experimental and theoretical description of the material’s vibrational properties, an essential step toward its use in next-generation electronic devices.

Today, on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we recognize both the achievements of women in physics and the structural challenges that continue to shape career pathways in our field.