BESSY II – From Pico to Femto – time resolved studies at BESSY II
180 scientists listened to the lectures. The aim of the dialogue is to identify future scientific fields as well as expectations, needs and requirements for BESSY II.
180 scientists attended the workshop on time resolved studies
From 26 to 27 January 2015, at the HZB workshop “From Pico to Femto”, more than 180 scientists discussed the advantages of conducting measurements on different time scales. With BESSY VSR, HZB is looking forward to perform a so-far unique upgrade to an electron storage ring: When complete, BESSY II will offer a flexible pulse duration of the useful light without diminishing the brilliancy of the light pulses.
Which specific areas of research could benefit from this was presented by speakers from university and non-university research establishments over two days in parallel sessions. Thematic blocks addressed in the lectures included magnetism, energy research, biosystems, and catalysis research.
Presently, BESSY II already allows measurement on different time scales, with methods such as low-alpha mode and femtoslicing available for user experiments. As it stands, however, this is limited because the short pulses come at the cost of light intensity.
“We were especially pleased to see so many researchers who have not yet experimented at BESSY II taking part in our workshop,” says organizer Dr. Antje Vollmer. About one third of the participants who followed the lectures in the full BESSY auditorium are potential new users of the facility.
The participants also expressed their own future needs for the machine and sampling environment. The results of the discussions were recorded and will be incorporated into the future plans for the BESSY VSR upgrade project.
The event was part of a series of foresight workshops HZB will be holding as a way to communicate closely with the user community about their research interests and needs. Already this year, more workshops will be held to address further questions regarding research at the photon source BESSY II.
You can read the abstracts of the lectures in the workshop booklet: booklet
- Element cobalt exhibits surprising propertiesThe element cobalt is considered a typical ferromagnet with no further secrets. However, an international team led by HZB researcher Dr. Jaime Sánchez-Barriga has now uncovered complex topological features in its electronic structure. Spin-resolved measurements of the band structure (spin-ARPES) at BESSY II revealed entangled energy bands that cross each other along extended paths in specific crystallographic directions, even at room temperature. As a result, cobalt can be considered as a highly tunable and unexpectedly rich topological platform, opening new perspectives for exploiting magnetic topological states in future information technologies.
- MXene for energy storage: More versatile than expectedMXene materials are promising candidates for a new energy storage technology. However, the processes by which the charge storage takes place were not yet fully understood. A team at HZB has examined, for the first time, individual MXene flakes to explore these processes in detail. Using the in situ Scanning transmission X-ray microscope 'MYSTIIC' at BESSY II, the scientists mapped the chemical states of Titanium atoms on the MXene flake surfaces. The results revealed two distinct redox reactions, depending on the electrolyte. This lays the groundwork for understanding charge transfer processes at the nanoscale and provides a basis for future research aimed at optimising pseudocapacitive energy storage devices.
- Bernd Rech elected to the BR50 Board of DirectorsThe Scientific Director at Helmholt-Zentrum Berlin is the new face behind the "Natural Sciences" unit at Berlin Research 50 (BR50). Following the election in December 2025, the constituent meeting of the new BR50 Board of Directors took place on 22 January 2026.
Its members are Michael Hintermüller (Weierstrass Institute, WIAS), Noa K. Ha (German Centre for Integration and Migration Research, DeZIM), Volker Haucke (Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, FMP), Uta Bielfeldt (German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin, DRFZ) and Bernd Rech (HZB).