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Franz X. Kärtner
Ultrafast Optics and X-rays
Franz Kärtner is Professor of Physics at the University of Hamburg and he leads the Ultrafast Optics & X-rays group at DESY. His main area of research is the control of photons and electrons with ever increasing precision, currently in the attosecond range with the goal to advance ultrafast light and electron sources from the THz to the X-ray wavelength range. The sources can be of table-top size or large-scale X-FELs that enable new techniques to advance our understanding of the structure and function of matter. Key areas are: femtosecond to attosecond precision timing distribution systems; cryogenic lasers producing ultra-short high-energy (Joule) pulses at high-average-power (kW) and nano-plasmonic field-emitter arrays. These technologies are combined to construct multi-octave-wide high-energy lightwaves or coherent free-electron lasers employing optical undulators to produce attosecond soft and hard X-ray pulses. In January 2024 Franz Kärtner became Interim Director Photon Science Division.
Academic career
| Since 2024 | Interim Director Photon Science Division |
| Since 2011 | Professor of Physics, University of Hamburg and Head Ultrafast Optics and X-Rays Division, DESY and Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) |
| 2011-2015 | Adjunct Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, USA |
| 2005-2010 | Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, USA |
| 2001-2005 | Associate Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, USA |
| 1999-2001 | Professor Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, KIT, Karlsruhe |
| 1998-1999 | Visiting Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, USA |
| 1993-1997 | Habilitation in Experimental Physics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland |
| 1991-1993 | Feodor-Lynen Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, MIT, USA |
| 1989-1991 | Postdoctoral Associate, Technical University of Munich |
| 1986-1989 | PhD Microwave Engineering, Technical University of Munich |
| 1985-1986 | Diploma in Microwave Engineering, Technical University of Munich |
| 1981-1985 | Student Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Munich |
| 1979-1980 | Student Dept. of Power Engineering, University of Applied Sciences, Regensburg |
Memberships
| Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) |
| Optical Society of America (OSA) |
| International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) |
| American Physical Society (APS) |
| German Physical Society (DPG) |
| Scientific Advisory Committee of Max-Born Institute, Berlin |
| Editorial Board of Journal of Physics B |
