Karl Leo

Leo studied physics at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and obtained the Diplomphysiker degree with a thesis on solar cells under supervision of Adolf Goetzberger at the Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme. In 1986 he joined the Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung in Stuttgart for a PhD under the guidance of Hans Queisser. He then joined AT&T Bell Laboratories in Holmdel (New Jersey) as a postdoctoral research associate. In 1991 he joined the RWTH Aachen as an assistant professor and obtained the Habilitation degree. In 1993 he joined the Technische Universitaet Dresden as a professor of optoelectronics. Since 2002 he has been also with the Fraunhofer-Institut für Photonische Mikrosysteme, currently as director.

Leo works in the field of semiconductor optics and the physics of thin organic films. In 1992 he discovered Bloch oscillations in a semiconductor superlattice. His work on organic semiconductors led to Organic Light Emitting Diodes with the highest power efficiencies reported and to Organic Solar Cells with leading efficiency values.^[1] In 2002 he won the Leibniz award, which is Germany's most prestigious scientific award.^[2] In 2021, he was awarded the European Inventor Award in the 'Lifetime Achievement' category.^[3]

• Otto Hahn Medal, Max Planck Society, 1989
• Rudolf-von-Bennigsen-Förderpreis des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, 1992
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 2002
• European Inventor Award (Lifetime Achievement), 2021