The IFW Dresden is devoted to fundamental and applied research and development, with particular emphasis on the fields of solid state and materials research. The The research programme is focused on functional materials, both in bulk and thin films. In an interdisciplinary approach it combines fundamental research in physics, chemistry and material science with the specific needs of technological application.

As a member in the Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (WGL) the IFW Dresden funded to equally by the Federal Republic of Germany and the Free State of Saxony. The Institute has presently about 400 staff members, among them about 170 are financed from project money of public and industrial sources. This includes also about 70 PhD students and about 20 trainees.

• Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden