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Research facility · Erlangen · Germany

Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light

In research, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light stands highest in Physical Sciences (#1,332 of 12,888 worldwide), Physics and Astronomy (#382 of 1,646 worldwide) and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics (#268 of 565 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Physics and Astronomy and Electrical and Electronic Engineering — Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics is 41.8× its share of world research.

mpl.mpg.deROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,876
of 28,054 · #1,561 all time
Rank in Germany
#94
of 1,178
Research works
1.5k
▼ 10% vs 2013–17
Citations
45k
29.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
47%
world 28%

What is Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #1,332 of 12,888 18.0%263 #1123
Physics and AstronomyField #382 of 1,646 19.1%108 #451
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield #268 of 565 18.5%94 #315
EngineeringField #3,563 of 6,636 12.5%94 #2441

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#1,123 #1,332
  2. Physics and Astronomy#451 #382
  3. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics#315 #268
  4. Engineering#2,441 #3,563
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics takes 41.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 94.2 works42×
  2. Physics and AstronomyField · 108.1 works15×
  3. Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield · 59.5 works5.3×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.86× its world share, 31 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.42× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.24× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.15× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.92× its world share, 10 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.42× its world share, 35 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.24× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 1.99× its world share, 94 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.99× its world share, 11 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.51× its world share, 2 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 15.46× its world share, 108 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksDentistryMedicine: 0.20× its world share, 12 worksMedicineNursing: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.22× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesPsychology: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 15.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light?

Ranked on the composite score, Florian Marquardt, P. St. J. Russell and Pascal Del’Haye lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light.

  1. 1 Florian Marquardt Germany · #4,212 worldwide 1.4k citations · 78 works
  2. 2 P. St. J. Russell Germany · #13,858 worldwide 2.8k citations · 316 works
  3. 3 Pascal Del’Haye Germany · #27,603 worldwide 700 citations · 50 works
  4. 4 Michael H. Frosz Germany · #148,892 worldwide 190 citations · 48 works
  5. 5 Xin Jiang Germany · #234,777 worldwide 184 citations · 41 works
  6. 6 G. K. L. Wong Germany · #244,191 worldwide 150 citations · 35 works
  7. 7 Andrea Aiello Germany · #278,103 worldwide 191 citations · 51 works
  8. 8 B. Hoffmann Germany · #308,626 worldwide 118 citations · 43 works
  9. 9 John C. Travers Germany · #324,303 worldwide 204 citations · 59 works
  10. 10 Vahid Sandoghdar Germany · #350,366 worldwide 218 citations · 78 works
All ranked researchers at Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light

Which keywords describe research at Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Biosensors, Nonlinear Optics, Entanglement, Fiber Lasers, Microcavities, Optical Modulators, Silicon Photonics and Raman Lasers.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Biosensors44▲ 27×10 topics
  2. Nonlinear Optics41▲ 118×4 topics
  3. Entanglement34▲ 72×4 topics
  4. Fiber Lasers30▲ 99×3 topics
  5. Microcavities28▲ 81×2 topics
  6. Optical Modulators28▲ 60×3 topics
  7. Silicon Photonics26▲ 75×2 topics
  8. Raman Lasers25▲ 71×2 topics
  9. Microresonators25▲ 98×3 topics
  10. Integrated Circuits25▲ 51×2 topics
  11. Nanophotonic Waveguides25▲ 80×1 topic
  12. Whispering Gallery Mode25▲ 80×1 topic
  13. Microwave Photonics24▲ 87×2 topics
  14. Optical Frequency Combs23▲ 132×1 topic
  15. Ultrafast Lasers23▲ 132×1 topic
  16. Biomedical Applications18▲ 4.9×16 topics
  17. Optical Fiber15▲ 45×3 topics
  18. Nanomechanical Systems14▲ 140×1 topic
  19. Optomechanics14▲ 140×1 topic
  20. Molecular Dynamics14▲ 26×4 topics
  21. Superconducting Circuits14▲ 63×2 topics
  22. Quantum Information13▲ 37×3 topics
  23. Cryptography13▲ 34×2 topics
  24. Security13▲ 6.4×2 topics
  25. Computation13▲ 57×1 topic
  26. Quantum13▲ 52×1 topic
  27. Gas Sensing11▲ 81×2 topics
  28. Attosecond Physics10▲ 137×1 topic
  29. High-Harmonic Generation10▲ 137×1 topic
  30. Semiconductor Lasers10▲ 44×2 topics
  31. Super-Resolution Imaging9▲ 96×2 topics
  32. Optical Lattices9▲ 46×3 topics
  33. Nonlinear Dynamics9▲ 13×2 topics
  34. Quantum Simulation9▲ 35×2 topics
  35. In Vivo Imaging8▲ 31×2 topics
  36. Structured Light8▲ 48×2 topics
  37. High-Resolution Imaging8▲ 50×2 topics
  38. Metamaterials8▲ 17×5 topics
  39. Neuromorphic Photonics7▲ 78×1 topic
  40. Photonic Reservoir Computing7▲ 78×1 topic

Which research topics does Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Photonic and Optical Devices, Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies, Mechanical and Optical Resonators and Quantum Information and Cryptography.

Photonic and Optical Dev…25Photonic and Optical Devices: 25 fractional worksAdvanced Fiber Laser Technologies: 23 fractional worksMechanical and Optical Resonators: 14 fractional worksQuantum Information and Cryptography: 13 fractional worksLaser-Matter Interactions and Applications: 10 fractional worksNeural Networks and Rese…7Neural Networks and Reservoir Computing: 7 fractional worksOrbital Angular Momentum in Optics: 7 fractional worksPhotonic Crystal and Fiber Optics: 7 fractional worksOptical Network Technologies: 7 fractional worksAdvanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques: 7 fractional works
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsArtificial IntelligenceBiophysics

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Photonic and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 25 works
  2. 2 Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 23 works
  3. 3 Mechanical and Optical Resonators Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 14 works
  4. 4 Quantum Information and Cryptography Artificial Intelligence 13 works
  5. 5 Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 10 works
  6. 6 Neural Networks and Reservoir Computing Artificial Intelligence 7 works
  7. 7 Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 7 works
  8. 8 Photonic Crystal and Fiber Optics Electrical and Electronic Engineering 7 works
  9. 9 Optical Network Technologies Electrical and Electronic Engineering 7 works
  10. 10 Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques Biophysics 7 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available47.3%not open52.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors38.6%domestic only61.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 10% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Erlangen

All research institutions in Erlangen

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.