Dr. Ralf Hofman studied physics at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and wrote his diploma thesis in the field of theoretical physics on aspects of synchrotron radiation. For his PhD thesis in experimental physics, he investigated rare-earth-metal-silicon interfaces using inverse photoemission spectroscopy and other investigation methods used in the field of surface physics, resulting in a number of publications in renowned physics journals. Dr. Ralf Hofmann has been working as a patent attorney since 1999 and is admitted to practice before the Austrian Patent Office in Vienna, the European Patent Office, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.