The future of BESSY
This is what the successor source BESSY III could look like in the future. © Rendering: HZB
At the end of February 2024, a team at HZB published an article in Synchrotron Radiation News (SRN). They describe the next development goals for the light source as well as the BESSY II+ upgrade programme and the successor source BESSY III.
In autumn 2023, HZB celebrated 25 years of research at the BESSY II light source in Berlin-Adlershof. To continue offering scientists from all over the world the best research opportunities in the coming decades, it is important to have a vision for BESSY II. In addition, many light sources around the world are currently being modernised or even newly built to keep up with the latest research questions and contribute with state-of-the art research infrastructures.
The article "Material Discovery at BESSY" shows the relevance of BESSY light source for the research questions of the future. The HZB team describes the goals of the BESSY II+ upgrade programme. Among other things, the programme aims to expand operando techniques that are of great benefit in developing materials for the energy transition.
BESSY II+ is a bridge between BESSY II and the successor source BESSY III, which is scheduled to go into operation in the mid-2030s. It is set to become the "materials discovery machine": a combination of the extremely bright, soft 4th generation light source, the integrated research campus in Berlin-Adlershof and the quantitative measurement capabilities of the national metrology institute (PTB, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) from synchrotron research.
The article has been published in open access and can be read in the journal SRN, which specialises in synchrotron research.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08940886.2024.2312051
- Helmholtz Investigator Group on magnonsDr Hebatalla Elnaggar is setting up a new Helmholtz Investigator Group at HZB. At BESSY II, the materials scientist will investigate so-called magnons in magnetic perovskite thin films. The aim is to lay the foundations for future terahertz magnon technology: magnonic devices operating in the terahertz range could process data using a fraction of the energy required by the most advanced semiconductor devices, and at speeds up to a thousand times faster.
- The future of corals – what X-rays can tell usThis summer, it was all over the media. Driven by the climate crisis, the oceans have now also passed a critical point, the absorption of CO2 is making the oceans increasingly acidic. The shells of certain sea snails are already showing the first signs of damage. But also the skeleton structures of coral reefs are deteriorating in more acidic conditions. This is especially concerning given that corals are already suffering from marine heatwaves and pollution, which are leading to bleaching and finally to the death of entire reefs worldwide. But how exactly does ocean acidification affect reef structures?
Prof. Dr. Tali Mass, a marine biologist from the University of Haifa, Israel, is an expert on stony corals. Together with Prof. Dr. Paul Zaslansky, X-ray imaging expert from Charité Berlin, she investigated at BESSY II the skeleton formation in baby corals, raised under different pH conditions. Antonia Rötger spoke online with the two experts about the results of their recent study and the future of coral reefs.
- Susanne Nies appointed to EU advisory group on Green DealDr. Susanne Nies heads the Green Deal Ukraina project at HZB, which aims to support the development of a sustainable energy system in Ukraine. The energy expert has now also been appointed to the European Commission's scientific advisory group to comment on regulatory burdens in connection with the net-zero target (DG GROW).