Welcome to the IMS
The Institute of Micro- and Nanoelectronic Systems (IMS) is an institute of the KIT Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of the Division III "Mechanical and Electrical Engineering" at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The scientific focus of the IMS is on the development of novel quantum-technological detector and sensor systems with ultra-high time and energy resolution whose performance is far beyond the limits of conventional electronics. Our vision is to anchor these innovative systems as a universal tool in the natural sciences, life sciences, and industry and thus to contribute to the solution of present and future challenges in research and industry. In teaching, the IMS actively participates in the basic education of the faculty's students. In addition, the Master's program teaches the relevant basics for the research focus of the institute. In particular, students are given the opportunity to participate in the development of an exciting and rapidly developing field of research or to contribute their own ideas for the technology of the future by means of case studies, internships, seminars and academic theses.
Head of Institute:
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Sebastian Kempf
Talks
The Institute of Micro- and Nanoelectronic Systems (IMS) congratulates Juan Manuel Geria on the successful completion of his PhD, which he finished with the distinction "summa cum laude". As part of his dissertation, Mr. Geria developed a novel quantum sensor, a so-called magnetic microbolometer, for investigating the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. We wish Mr. Geria continued success and all the best for his future career.
M.Sc. Friedrich Carl Wagner, former master's student and now doctoral candidate at IMS, has been awarded the SUCCESS Pioneers Award 2025 by Suss for his outstanding master's thesis entitled “Development of a Magnetic Microcalorimeter for Searching Light Dark Matter.” IMS warmly congratulates Mr. Wagner on his award!
Dr. Constantin Schuster, former doctoral student at IMS, was awarded the Erika and Dr. Wolfgang Eichelberger Foundation Dissertation Prize for his outstanding dissertation entitled “Development of a novel SQUID-based microcalorimeter and software for microwave SQUID multiplexer optimization.” IMS warmly congratulates Dr. Schuster on his award!
The nature of dark matter remains one of the greatest mysteries in particle and astroparticle physics. As searches for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) have been unsuccessful so far, experiments have started to explore the lighter dark matter (LDM) parameter range. Researchers at KIT and the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiburg are developing the Direct Search Experiment for Light Dark Matter with Superfluid Helium (DELight), aiming for unprecedented sensitivity to dark matter particles with masses below 100 MeV/c² . Since DELight is based on novel and innovative technologies and detector concepts, the key to success is the careful testing and optimization of all relevant elements of the experiment. This is made possible by the DELight Demonstrator, funded by the HEiKA-STAR funding programme.
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The workshop “Cryoelectronic Devices” (KRYO) has been bringing together scientists and engineers from Germany for more than 40 years to discuss the latest developments in the fields of superconducting electronics and devices, cryogenic detectors, cryogenics, and related applications. This year’s workshop was hosted by the Institute for Micro- and Nanoelectronic Systems (IMS) in Bad Herrenalb. Initially, 56 participants received four introductory lectures from renowned representatives of the field, followed by three days of intensive discussions on 16 presentations and 16 poster contributions from the participants. Social hours in the evenings rounded off the workshop. All participants agreed that the workshop was a great success and look forward to coming together again next year.
Six doctoral students from KIT express their heartfelt thanks to the KIT Center KCETA for financial support, which enabled them to participate in the workshop as young scientists.
In strong collaboration with several partners, researchers from the Institute of Micro- and Nanoelectronic Systems (IMS) have presented a magnetic microcalorimeter with integrated SQUID readout that has set a new world record for the resolution of an energy-dispersive detector in the X-ray range up to 10keV. The corresponding paper was published in Applied Physics Letters and was awarded as "Editor's Pick" by the editors. Further information and the corresponding open access publication can be found here.
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