Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nils C. Gerhardt is full professor and head of the Semiconductors and Optoelectronic Devices (SOD) Group at Paderborn University. His research focuses on semiconductor spintronics, spin LEDs and spin lasers, ultrafast laser dynamics, and integrated optoelectronic and quantum devices. He has authored or co-authored over 220 peer-reviewed publications. Prof. Gerhardt studied Physics at the Philipps-University of Marburg and received his PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2005 from Ruhr University Bochum, where he also completed his habilitation in 2013. During this period, he was also a Marie Curie Fellow at the Optoelectronic Research Centre in Tampere, Finland. He co-founded PhotonIQ Technologies GmbH in 2006 and served as associate professor at Ruhr University Bochum in the Photonics and Terahertz Technology group until his move to Paderborn in April 2025. He is currently principal investigator in several projects working on the development of spin-optoelectronic devices. As leading PI of the UPB partner in the “SpinDataCom” project, he is particularly involved in developing ultrafast spin-VCSELs and spin-VECSELs within WP3, and demonstrating data transmission with spin-lasers within WP6.
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