Visit from the Czech Republic regarding Apprenticeship
Our guests from the Czech Republic visited the apprentices' workshop at HZB thanks to a tour by Christian Remus. © HZB / F. Krawatzek
Thanks to Karel Prokes, a Czech researcher, our guests could learn more about research at HZB in their mother tounge. © HZB / F. Krawatzek
Group picture arount the statue of Lise Meitner at HZB in Wannsee. © HZB / F. Krawatzek
End of March, a delegation from the Czech Republic visited HZB at the Wannsee campus. The programme included a visit to the apprentices’ workshop and exchanges regarding opportunities for apprenticeships and upskilling at HZB.
On 30 March, the conference room in Wannsee was well attended; with guests from the Czech Republic and many colleagues from HZB who joined as contact persons.
It was a great pleasure to welcome the delegation of 30 people from apprenticeship schools and training institutes from the Czech Republic during their stay in Berlin and Dresden. This two-day information trip was organised by the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and professionally accompanied by iMoVE (international Marketing of Vocational Education), a working area of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB).
Getting to know the HZB: research, institution and exchange
The programme in Wannsee included an introduction to the major research topics at HZB and its profile as an employer. Beyond the facts and figures, the focus here was on HZB's commitment to diversity, sustainability, and the comprehensive support of its employees. In another part, Christina Herold, responsible for apprenticeships at HZB, presented the various training opportunities at the centre (more on this below).
In the second part of the programme, the guests either experienced a guided tour of the apprentice workshop for fine-precision mechanics, organized by Christian Remus or gained impressions of the research area Quantum Phenomena in New Materials, thanks to a guided tour by Karel Prokes in Czech. The guests enjoyed these concrete presentations, asked questions and got many inputs. Special thanks go to the trainers Manuela Eckert, Christian Remus, Katja Wiggert and Nicholas Coon, the trainees Matthias Skubida and Felix Ludwig as well as the Czech colleague Karel Prokes, who ensured a lively and informative exchange.
The HZB - a place of education
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin offers apprenticeships in ten professions. Seven chamber professions (office management assistants, precision mechanics, IT specialists...) and three dual study programmes. The international environment and the proximity to excellent science at the research centre are something very special. The instructors and training specialists impart sound knowledge and skills in the individual specialist areas.
In addition to HZB's social responsibility, engaging in apprenticeship enables one to find the best-fitting talents at an early stage and to bind new specialists to HZB already during their educational phase.
More details about apprenticeships and training at HZB can be found here.
- Magnetic imaging: Micro-flowers increase the local magnetic fieldMaterials with magnetic nanostructures have many potential applications such as in spintronics. To explore such materials, nanoscale magnetic-sensitive imaging techniques are very useful, but up to now only weak magnetic fields could be applied during the imaging process. Now an international collaboration led by Dr. Sergio Valencia, HZB, has developed an approach that overcomes this limitation. The team designed tiny magnetic flux concentrators (MFCs), into which the sample is placed. The geometry of the MFCs resembles a flower with a number of petals which focus the applied magnetic field into its center. This greatly expands the magnetic field range available during imaging, and so the range of magnetic systems that can be investigated. The micro-flowers, enhancing magnetic fields locally, can find application in different nanometric magnetic microscopy techniques.
- CIGS-perovskite tandem cell achieves record efficiency of 25.5 %A Berlin-based team from HZB and Center for the Science of Materials Berlin (CSMB) at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin has set a new record for a tandem solar cell. Using a combination of a CIGS semiconductor layer and perovskite, along with several optimised intermediate layers, they were able to convert 25.5% of sunlight into electrical energy. The previous record for this combination of materials and this size of cell stood at 24.6%. The new record has been certified and is visible in the prestigious Solar Cell Efficiency Tables (the "Green Tables"), which serve as the definitive ledger for the global photovoltaic community.
- Disorder creates new properties in compound semiconductorsAn international research team has demonstrated that the intrinsic disorder of the compound semiconductor CuInSnS₄ can be exploited to influence its optical properties. While the atomic vibrations also sense the local disorder, their response is averaged over many different local environments and therefore appear isotropic, as expected for a cubic crystal. In contrast, the optical excitations, known as excitons, are much more sensitive to the local arrangement of atoms. Surprisingly, they show a direction-dependent optical response even though the average crystal structure is cubic. These findings shed new light on the relationship between disorder and material properties, opening up new options for targeted 'disorder engineering' in optoelectronic and photocatalytic devices.