Successful PhD Defense by Benny Ku at RWTH Aachen University

On September 22, 2025, Benny Ku successfully defended his doctoral thesis titled “Plasmonic Nanodisk Metamaterial Photocatalyst Sheets for Photocatalytic Applications” at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at RWTH Aachen University.

During his PhD, Benny Ku combined cutting-edge nanostructuring techniques—including laser interference, nanoimprint lithography, and 2D materials—to fabricate nanostructured surfaces from various materials aimed at enhancing catalytic activity. The resulting metamaterials were applied in solar fuel generation and antibacterial coatings.

The majority of the experimental work was carried out at AMO GmbH, complemented by a research stay at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, where Benny collaborated with the group of Prof. Yung-Jung Hsu.

We warmly congratulate him on his successful defense and thank the examiners Prof. Jochen Schneider, Prof. Marina Petrova, and Prof. Dirk Uwe Sauer for their thoughtful and challenging questions.