Klaus von Klitzing

Klaus von Klitzing, (born June 28, 1943 in Schroda) is a German physicist. For his discovery of the Integer Quantum Hall Effect he was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physics.

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In February 1962 von Klitzing passed the Abitur at Artland Gymnasium Quakenbrück. After studying physics in Braunschweig, von Klitzing spent 10 research years at University Würzburg (Ph.D. thesis 1972 on "Galvanomagnetic Properties of Tellurium in Strong Magnetic Fields", habilitation 1978), with research work at the Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford and High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Grenoble. Von Klitzing became professor in the Technical University of Munich in 1980. Since 1985, von Klitzing is a director of the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart.

The Von Klitzing constant, R_K = h / e² = 25812.807449(86)Ω, is named in honor of the Klaus Von Klitzing's discovery of the Quantum Hall Effect. The constant is listed on The National Institute of Standards and Technology Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty. The constant gives the inverse value of one quantum of electrical conductance.

Today, von Klitzing's research focuses on the properties of low dimensional electronic systems, typically in low temperatures and in high magnetic fields.