This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Developing new functional materials often requires testing numerous material combinations. Conventional experiments reach their limits quickly when many variants must be compared.
To overcome this bottleneck, the new Energy Materials Acceleration Platform (E-MAP) at KIT automates key lab steps. "Robot systems perform tasks such as preparing materials, handling samples, thin-film deposition and sample characterization," said Dr. Holger Röhm of KIT's Light Technology Institute (LTI), whose research team set up the platform.
"This allows us to conduct experiments with unprecedented precision and reproducibility. With the E-MAP, we can quickly identify which material compositions and production conditions are particularly promising for a specific application." E-MAP is part of a self-contained system that can process sensitive materials under controlled conditions. The platform produces thin films from solution-based source materials.
A microfluidic system enables the automated synthesis and formulation of semiconductor inks. The researchers have continued to add thin-film characterization techniques. "An essential advantage of E-MAP is its modular design," said professor Alexander Colsmann of KIT's LTI.
"We are able to integrate new experiments and characterization methods and thus adapt the platform to different scientific problems. It is also open to cooperation partners from science and industry who can input proprietary methods and equipment." Automation creates large amounts of experimental data. The researchers aim to use AI methods to evaluate the data, identify promising material combinations early through virtual simulations and control autonomous or semi-autonomous screening processes.
To this end, they are integrating various automated research platforms. "Linking synthesis, processing, characterization and data evaluation creates a research process that enables us to plan and conduct experiments based on data more effectively," Röhm said. Provided by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing.
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