Uppsala Berlin Joint Laboratory “Our willingness to cooperate is our strength”
Great political interest for the new Uppsala Berlin Joint Laboratory (UBjL): On the 4th of November, Sweden’s ambassador in Germany, Dr. Lars Danielsson, came personally to the HZB where the UBjL is established for the inauguration of the joint project.
“Many parts of the world are currently regarded as more dynamic than Europe,” Dr. Danielsson said in his opening speech: “But we have great strengths – namely our skill and our willingness to cooperate.” These strengths, the ambassador continued, can be seen clearly in the UBjL: “Such excellent joint research projects lead to results that will bring great benefits to society, our children and our grandchildren.” Dr. Danielsson then gave the symbolic start signal for two experimental stations that will be supervised by the Swedish-German workgroup belonging to the UBjL.
The “Uppsala Berlin Joint Laboratory” is headed by Professor Nils Mårtensson, University of Uppsala, and Professor Alexander Föhlisch, Head of the HZB Institute “Methods and Instrumentation for Synchrotron Radiation Research. “We are very proud that Professor Mårtensson has invested resources from this ERC Advanced Grant in the UBjL,” HZB Scientific Director Prof. Dr. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla said at the opening. This funding, co-financed by the HZB, has allowed the development of worldwide unique study methods for functional materials.
These methods are based on angle-resolved time-of-flight electron spectroscopy (ARTOF) and MHz pulse extraction at BESSY II. The ARTOF instruments were developed in Sweden by the University of Uppsala and the company Scienta-Omicron in close collaboration with the HZB. “The synchrotron source BESSY II delivers pulses with the most suitable time structure worldwide for optimally using the instruments,” said Svante Professor Svante Svensson, who is part of the UBjL team at BESSY II in Berlin. At the UBjL, the researchers can study the state of functional materials at the lowest possible X-ray dosage. Further methods allow detailed detection of the electronic structure of materials.
- Bright prospects for tin perovskite solar cellsPerovskite solar cells are widely regarded as the next generation photovoltaic technology. However, they are not yet stable enough in the long term for widespread commercial use. One reason for this is migrating ions, which cause degradation of the semiconducting material over time. A team from HZB and the University of Potsdam has now investigated the ion density in four different, widely used perovskite compounds and discovered significant differences. Tin perovskite semiconductors produced with an alternative solvent had a particular low ion density — only one tenth that of lead perovskite semiconductors. This suggests that tin-based perovskites could be used to make solar cells that are not only really environmentally friendly but also very stable.
- Synchrotron radiation sources: toolboxes for quantum technologiesSynchrotron radiation sources generate highly brilliant light pulses, ranging from infrared to hard X-rays, which can be used to gain deep insights into complex materials. An international team has now published an overview on synchrotron methods for the further development of quantum materials and technologies in the journal Advanced Functional Materials: Using concrete examples, they show how these unique tools can help to unlock the potential of quantum technologies such as quantum computing, overcome production barriers and pave the way for future breakthroughs.
- Joint Kyiv Energy and Climate Lab goes liveHelmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy established on 27 November a Joint Energy and Climate Lab.