PDI receives EFRE funding for real-time X-ray diffraction laboratory

The Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik (PDI) has been awarded funding from the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE) to establish a new application laboratory for real-time X-ray diffraction characterization of advanced materials. The laboratory, named GISEH (Grazing Incidence Diffraction at Epitaxial Heterointerfaces), will create a unique research and innovation infrastructure providing industry and academic partners with direct access to advanced X-ray diffraction techniques for characterization of novel materials and heterostructures.

The development of next-generation semiconductor, quantum, and functional materials relies on precise structural characterization, ideally performed in real time during growth and under operating conditions. Such investigations typically require access to large-scale synchrotron facilities such as BESSY II or PETRA III, but the associated application procedures and lead times — often exceeding twelve months — present substantial barriers, particularly for SMEs and deep-tech start-ups. GISEH addresses this by enabling high-resolution in-situ diffraction measurements with minimal sample preparation and short turnaround times, opening rapid iteration cycles that are otherwise inaccessible to many potential users.

PDI's many years of experience operating the PHARAO synchrotron experiment at BESSY II, together with regular experiments at ESRF and PETRA III, provide the foundation for the successful implementation of this project. The resulting collaborations with industrial partners will promote the transfer of scientific findings into economically relevant applications, strengthening regional innovation capacity while supporting the continued development of leading methods in fundamental research. In this way, GISEH will contribute to regional semiconductor expertise, technology transfer between science and industry, and the establishment of sustainable networks between research institutions and SMEs in Berlin and Brandenburg.