Christiane Becker receives a professorship at HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences
Prof. Dr. Christiane Becker has accepted the call to a W2 professorship for the field of “Experimental physics focusing on material sciences and photonics” at HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences. Since October 2012, she has headed a Young Investigator Group funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF.
Together with her team, Christiane Becker is developing nano- and micro-structured silicon components for applications in photovoltaics and photonics. She is intentionally employing simple, low-cost manufacturing processes that will later be suitable for up-scaling to industrial production. “Our focus is on highly scalable fabrication methods, among others the development of nanoimprint lithography and silicon vapour deposition,” says the head of the Young Investigator Group Nano-SIPPE. The name of her group stands for “Nanostructured SIlicon for Photonic and Photovoltaic ImplEmentations”. Christiane Becker’s team is collaborating closely with industrial companies and holds several patents.
“I am very happy about the professorship, because it provides long-term prospects for my research, and I thank HZB for its support. HTW Berlin offers a stimulating environment, and I am looking forward to still being a part of the education and training of students,” the physicist says. With this joint appointment by HTW Berlin and HZB, Christiane Becker will also continue researching at HZB with her Young Investigator Group.
Christiane Becker received her doctorate in 2006 at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with a thesis on nonlinear optics of photonic crystals. She then moved to the Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics of HZB and, in 2012, successfully applied for funding for her BMBF Young Investigator Group. In 2014, Christiane Becker was called to a limited W2 professorship at HTW Berlin, which was extended into a permanent professorship in March 2017.
- HZB patent for semiconductor characterisation goes into serial productionAn HZB team has developed an innovative monochromator that is now being produced and marketed by a company. The device makes it possible to quickly and continuously measure the optoelectronic properties of semiconductor materials with high precision over a broad spectral range from the near infrared to the deep ultraviolet. Stray light is efficiently suppressed. This innovation is of interest for the development of new materials and can also be used to better control industrial processes.
- BESSY II: Heterostructures for SpintronicsSpintronic devices work with spin textures caused by quantum-physical interactions. A Spanish-German collaboration has now studied graphene-cobalt-iridium heterostructures at BESSY II. The results show how two desired quantum-physical effects reinforce each other in these heterostructures. This could lead to new spintronic devices based on these materials.
- Green hydrogen: MXenes shows talent as catalyst for oxygen evolutionThe MXene class of materials has many talents. An international team led by HZB chemist Michelle Browne has now demonstrated that MXenes, properly functionalised, are excellent catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in electrolytic water splitting. They are more stable and efficient than the best metal oxide catalysts currently available. The team is now extensively characterising these MXene catalysts for water splitting at the Berlin X-ray source BESSY II and Soleil Synchrotron in France.