HZB Newsroom

Accelerator physics: alternative material investigated for superconducting radio-frequency cavity resonators

In modern synchrotron sources and free-electron lasers, superconducting radio-frequency cavity resonators are able to supply electron bunches with extremely high energy. These resonators are currently constructed of pure niobium. Now an international collaboration has investigated the potential advantages a niobium-tin coating might offer in comparison to pure niobium. [...]

Oldest completely preserved lily discovered

Already 115 million years ago, tropical flowering plants were apparently very diverse and showed all typical characteristics. This is the conclusion of an international team of researchers led by Clément Coiffard, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. The team reported in the renowned journal Nature Plants on the oldest completely preserved lily, Cratolirion bognerianum, which was discovered at a site in present-day Brazil. With the help of 3D computer tomography at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, details on the back of the fossilised plant could also be analysed. The results raise new questions about the role of the tropics in the development of past and present ecosystems. [...]

Summer in the laboratory: 24 students from all over the world start their summer project

For eight weeks the summer students are now working on a research project at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin. Experienced scientists of the HZB will support them. On Thursday, 30 August, they will present their results. [...]

Charge transfer within transition-metal dyes analysed

Transition-metal complexes in dye-based solar cells are responsible for converting light into electrical energy. A model of spatial charge separation within the molecule has been used to describe this conversion. However, an analysis at BESSY II shows that this description of the process is too simple. For the first time, a team there has investigated the fundamental photochemical processes around the metal atom and its ligands. The study has now been published in “Angewandte Chemie, international Edition” and is displayed on the cover. [...]

Utrafast magnetism: electron-phonon interactions examined at BESSY II

How fast can a magnet switch its orientation and what are the microscopic mechanisms at play ? These questions are of first importance for the development of data storage and computer chips. Now, an HZB team at BESSY II has for the first time been able to experimentally assess the principal microscopic process of ultra-fast magnetism. The methodology developed for this purpose can also be used to investigate interactions between spins and lattice oscillations in graphene, superconductors or other (quantum) materials. [...]

Steve Albrecht wins the 2019 Karl Scheel Prize

This year's Karl Scheel Prize from the Physikalische Gesellschaft zu Berlin honours Steve Albrecht of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie for his work in the field of highly efficient tandem solar cell absorbers made of metal-halide perovskites. [...]

Support for the sheep at Campus Wannsee

Since mid-May, sheep have been grazing on the Wannsee campus and contributing to landscape conservation. They have now been reinforced: Since 14 June 19, five sheep and five goats have been supporting the existing herd in its "work". Since the goats prefer to eat blackberries and thorny plants, they find ideal conditions on the natural property. [...]

1st place for "Glowing Silicon Lake" at the HZB photo competition for the Long Night of Science

More than 200 people have chosen their favourite pictures in the photo competition "Moments at the HZB" during the Long Night of Science. The winners have now been chosen, but the decision was extremely close. [...]

Members of the Berlin House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) visit Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

On 17 June 2019, representatives of the Committee for Science and Research of the Berlin House of Representatives met with the management and scientists of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). During their two-hour visit, they visited energy research laboratories and discussed the campus's prospects for the site after the final shutdown of the BER II research reactor. [...]

Silver plaque "Sustainable building" for laboratory building in Wannsee

In Wannsee, a new laboratory building for organic chemistry (LE building) was built in just one and a half years, which has now been awarded the silver plaque "Sustainable Building". It is the first HZB building to be certified according to the strict criteria. On the ground floor there is a physical-chemical laboratory for the institute "Functional Oxides for Energy-Efficient Information Technologies (EM-IFOX)". [...]

1300 visitors at the HZB location Wannsee at the Long Night of Science

Despite high summer temperatures, the HZB was able to welcome more than 1300 people to the Long Night of Science at Wannsee. This is about 15 percent more than the last time (2017) when the location took part. Visitor magnets were the guided tours through the energy research laboratories and the experimental halls around the research reactor. [...]

Long Night of Science at HZB's Wannsee site: Solar cells, environmentally friendly hydrogen and a visit to the experimental halls of the research reactor

The sun provides an enormous amount of energy. But can we really use it to cover our energy needs? Can solar energy actually be stored? And how powerful will innovative batteries be? During the Long Night of Science on 15 June 2019 (17:00 - 24:00) at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin in Wannsee, visitors can talk to researchers, discover secret places and interesting details.Bring your identity card with you! [...]

Neuer „lichtblick“ erschienen

Heute demonstrieren wieder viele Schülerinnen und Schüler bei der »Fridays for Future«-Bewegung. Solarforscher Klaus Jäger unterstützt die protestierenden jungen Menschen aktiv. »Klimaschutz ist schlussendlich Menschenschutz«, sagt er in der Titelgeschichte. Er erzählt unter anderem von seinen Nachmittagen im Berliner Naturkundemuseum, wo er mit gut informierten Jugendlichen diskutiert. [...]

Photovoltaics are growing faster than expected in the global energy system

Dramatic cost reductions and the rapid expansion of production capacities make photovoltaics one of the most attractive technologies for a global energy turnaround. Not only the electricity sector, but also transport, heating, industry and chemical processes will in future be supplied primarily by solar power, because it is already the cheapest form of electricity generation in large parts of the world. This is where opportunities and challenges lie - at the level of the energy system as well as for research and industry. Leading international photovoltaic researchers from the Global Alliance for Solar Energy Research Institutes describe the cornerstones of future developments in an article published in the journal "Science" on 31 May. [...]

Organic electronics: a new semiconductor in the carbon-nitride family

Teams from Humboldt-Universität and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have explored a new material in the carbon-nitride family. Triazine-based graphitic carbon nitride (TGCN) is a semiconductor that should be highly suitable for applications in optoelectronics. Its structure is two-dimensional and reminiscent of graphene. Unlike graphene, however, the conductivity in the direction perpendicular to its 2D planes is 65 times higher than along the planes themselves. [...]

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has new scientific management

As of 1 June 2019, Prof. Dr. Bernd Rech and Prof. Dr. Jan Lüning are the new scientific directors of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie. Bernd Rech is responsible for the “Energy and Information” department and Jan Lüning heads the “Matter” department. Thus the HZB Supervisory Board has appointed two internationally recognised experts at the top of HZB. [...]

Federal Ministry of Education and Research supports the development of a miniaturised EPR spectrometer

Several research institutions are developing a miniaturized electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) device with industrial partner Bruker to investigate semiconductor materials, solar cells, catalysts and electrodes for fuel cells and batteries. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the "EPR-on-a-Chip" or EPRoC project with 6.7 million euros. On June 3, 2019, the kick-off meeting took place at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. [...]

90 preschool children experiment in the school lab for the Day of the Little Researchers

Once a year the school lab says: Open doors for daycare children! 90 preschool children from five kindergartens experimented in the HZB school lab in Berlin-Adlershof for the nationwide Day of Little Researchers. Using homemade spectroscopes, they studied the properties of light and looked at poster snippets under the microscope. Actions are also planned at the Wannsee site. [...]

Adolfo Velez Saiz is a professor of accelerator physics at Technische Universität Dortmund

Technische Universität Dortmund and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have jointly appointed Prof. Adolfo Velez Saiz as a professor of accelerator physics. He heads the Cavity Development workgroup at the HZB institute SRF – Science and Technology. With this appointment, HZB is expanding its expertise in the development of new accelerator technologies. [...]

HZB-Doktorand receives poster award

At the spring meeting of the Materials Research Society, Jakob Bombsch received an award for his poster on CIGSe absorbers for thin-film photovoltaics. Bombsch is a researcher in the department for Interface Design headed by Prof. Marcus Bär.  [...]

Energy for Antarctica: solar hydrogen as an alternative to crude oil?

Volkswagen Foundation funds feasibility study by HZB experts in artificial photosynthesis

The sun shines at the South Pole as well – and in summer almost around the clock. Instead of supplying research stations in the Antarctic with crude oil for producing the electricity and heating they need, solar hydrogen could be produced from sunlight in summer as an alternative. Hydrogen has a high energy density, is easy to store, and can be used as fuel when needed later without polluting the environment. An intriguingly simple idea - but one that raises many questions. Matthias May (HZB) and Kira Rehfeld (Heidelberg University) now want to examine how feasible this kind of solar fuel generation might be in Antarctica. The project is receiving financial support from the Volkswagen Foundation. [...]

Hörtipp: Die wissenschaftlichen Geschäftsführer im Interview des rbb-Inforadios

„Physik made in Berlin“: Mitten in Berlin betreibt das HZB einen Forschungsreaktor und einen Teilchenbeschleuniger. Thomas Prinzler vom rbb-Inforadio spricht mit den wissenschaftlichen Geschäftsführern Prof. Bernd Rech und Prof. Jan Lüning darüber, was Forscher mit den kleinen Teilchen alles herausfinden können. Und warum die Anlagen ein Aushängeschild für Berlin sind. [...]

Posterprize for HZB postdoc Prince Saurabh Bassi

Dr. Prince Saurabh Bassi was awarded the poster prize at “International Bunsen-Discussion-Meeting on Fundamentals and Applications of (Photo) Electrolysis for Efficient Energy Storage”. He is a postdoctoral fellow working with Prof. Sebastian Fiechter in the Institute for Solar Fuels. [...]

Obituary for Prof. em. Dr. Hans-Joachim Lewerenz

We are mourning the death of Prof. em. Dr. Hans-Joachim Lewerenz, who passed away on 24 April 2019 at the age of 70. From 1981 to 2014 he worked as a scientist and as department head in the field of renewable energies at our research institute. He was a pioneer in his research in photoelectrochemistry and photovoltaics. Prof. Hans-Joachim Lewerenz was a highly esteemed colleague and discussion partner far beyond the Center. We pay tribute to his work in the obituary.  [...]

Sheep graze the Lise-Meitner-Campus in Wannsee

On 15 May 2019 they arrived at the campus in Berlin-Wannsee: Seven female sheep and two lambs of the domestic sheep breed "Skudde". By autumn, they will graze the semi-natural campus and thus contribute to biodiversity. By doing without extensive mowing, natural wild meadows are to be created that are particularly insect- and bee-friendly. [...]

LAUNCH OF EPKI: European Perovskite Initiative for the development of Perovskite based solar technology

Perovskite based solar cells have made tremendous progress over the last decade achieving lab-scale efficiencies of 24.2% early 2019 in single-junction architecture and up to 28% in tandem (perovskite associated with crystalline silicon), turning it into the fastest-advancing solar technology to date. With the HySPRINT project and the recruitment of highly talented young scientists, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has built up a considerable research capacity in the field of perovskite materials in recent years and is participating in the European Perovskite Initiative EPKI that has now been launched. [...]

The HZB at INTERSOLAR in Munich

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will present itself from 15 to 17 May at INTERSOLAR in Munich, the world's largest solar trade fair. The HZB is one of the world's leading research centres in the field of solar energy and presents the latest developments in photovoltaics and solar fuels. The HZB offers a wide range of cooperation opportunities for companies - from contract research to joint research projects. [...]

Bernd Stannowski is Professor at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin

Prof. Dr. Bernd Stannowski has received and accepted a call for a joint S-Professorship for "Photovoltaics" at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin. The physicist heads the working group "Silicon Photovoltaics" at the Competence Center Thin Film and Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics Berlin (PVcomB) of the HZB. [...]

Laser-driven Spin Dynamics in Ferrimagnets: How does the Angular Momentum flow?

When exposed to intense laser pulses, the magnetization of a material can be manipulated very fast. Fundamentally, magnetization is connected to the angular momentum of the electrons in the material. A team of researchers led by scientists from the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI) has now been able to follow the flow of angular momentum during ultrafast optical demagnetization in a ferrimagnetic iron-gadolinium alloy at the femtoslicing facility of BESSY II. Their results are helpful to understand the fundamental processes and their speed limits. The study is published in Physical Review Letters. [...]

Copper oxide photocathodes: laser experiment reveals location of efficiency loss

Solar cells and photocathodes made of copper oxide might in theory attain high efficiencies for solar energy conversion. In practice, however, large losses occur. Now a team at the HZB has been able to use a sophisticated femtosecond laser experiment to determine where these losses take place: not so much at the interfaces, but instead far more in the interior of the crystalline material. These results provide indications on how to improve copper oxide and other metal oxides for applications as energy materials. [...]

3D tomographic imagery reveals how lithium batteries age

Lithium batteries lose amp-hour capacity over time. Microstructures can form on the electrodes with each new charge cycle, which further reduces battery capacity. Now an HZB team together with battery researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich, the University of Munster, and partners in China have documented the degradation process of lithium electrodes in detail for the first time. They achieved this with the aid of a 3D tomography process using synchrotron radiation at BESSY II (HZB) as well at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG). Their results have been published open access in the scientific journal "Materials Today". [...]

Inorganic perovskite absorbers for use in thin-film solar cells

A team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has succeeded in producing inorganic perovskite thin films at moderate temperatures using co-evaporation – making post-tempering at high temperatures unnecessary. The process makes it much easier to produce thin-film solar cells from this material. In comparison to metal-organic hybrid perovskites, inorganic perovskites are more thermally stable. The work has been published in Advanced Energy Materials. [...]

High-efficiency thermoelectric materials: new insights into tin selenide

Tin selenide might considerably exceed the efficiency of current record holding thermoelectric materials made of bismuth telluride. However, it was thought its efficiency became enormous only at temperatures above 500 degrees Celsius. Now measurements at the BESSY II and PETRA III synchrotron sources show that tin selenide can also be utilised as a thermoelectric material at room temperature – so long as high pressure is applied. [...]

"Molecular scissors" for plastic waste

A research team from the University of Greifswald and Helmholtz-Zentrum-Berlin (HZB) has solved the molecular structure of the important enzyme MHETase at BESSY II. MHETase was discovered in bacteria and together with a second enzyme - PETase - is able to break down the widely used plastic PET into its basic building blocks. This 3D structure already allowed the researchers to produce a MHETase variant with optimized activity in order to use it, together with PETase, for a sustainable recycling of PET. The results have been published in the research journal Nature Communications. [...]

PhD student of HZB earns Best Presentation Award of the Young Crystallographers

Frederike Lehmann received a prize for her presentation at the annual conference of the German Society of Crystallography in Leipzig on 28 March 2019. She is doing her doctorate in the Department of Structure and Dynamics of Energy Materials at the HZB under Prof. Dr. Susan Schorr at the Graduate School HyPerCell. [...]

Register now for the international summer school Quantsol

It is already the twelfth time that the International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol) will be held from 1 to 8th September 2019 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria. The school is organized by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Technical University of Ilmenau. Applications can be submitted through the school’s homepage until June 9^th , 2019. [...]

Catalyst research for solar fuels: Amorphous molybdenum sulphide works best

Efficient and inexpensive catalysts will be required for production of hydrogen from sunlight. Molybdenum sulphides are considered good candidates. A team at HZB has now explained what processes take place in molybdenum sulphides during catalysis and why amorphous molybdenum sulphide works best. The results have been published in the journal ACS Catalysis. [...]

HZB contributions to special edition on Ultrafast Dynamics with X-ray Methods

In the new special issue of the "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London", internationally renowned experts report on new developments in X-ray sources and ultrafast time-resolved experiments. HZB physicists have also been invited to contribute. [...]

Girls'Day am Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

Mehr als 60 Mädchen haben am 28. März 2019 das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin besucht und an verschiedenen Workshops zum Girls'Day teilgenommen. [...]

Veranstaltungshinweis: Theater trifft Wissenschaft am 7. April im Berliner Ensemble

Wie unterscheiden sich wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse von bloßen Meinungsäußerungen? Ist die Wissenschaft mitverantwortlich für die zunehmend düsteren Zukunftsszenarien? Der Thementag über Wissenschaft zwischen Misstrauen und Verantwortung verspricht interessante Diskussionen. Mit dabei ist auch der HZB-Forscher Daniel Meza, der beim Science Slam am 7. April ab 14 Uhr auftreten wird. [...]

Godehard Wüstefeld receives the Horst Klein Research Prize

The physicist Dr. Godehard Wüstefeld was awarded the Horst Klein Research Prize at the annual conference of the German Physical Society. The award recognizes his outstanding scientific achievements in accelerator physics in the development of BESSY II and BESSY VSR. [...]

Recipe book "Sciencefood" available for download

In the current HZB newspaper "lichtblick" we already advertised our new Sciencefood cookbook. On 60 pages we have published the recipes of our colleagues from all over the world. Whether Pierogi, Quesadillas, Crêpes or Tiramisu: In the recipe book, everyone will find something delicious to cook. The brochure is of course also available for download. [...]

Neuer "lichtblick" erschienen

Was leistet BESSY II? Und warum braucht die Nutzerschaft mittelfristig eine neue Synchrotron-Quelle? Diese Fragen haben wir Prof. Dr. Jan Lüning, den wissenschaftlichen Geschäftsführer für den Bereich „Materie“ am HZB, gefragt. Lesen Sie das Interview in der aktuellen Ausgabe der „lichtblick“ auf Seite 6. [...]

X-ray analysis of carbon nanostructures helps material design

Nanostructures made of carbon are extremely versatile: they can absorb ions in batteries and supercapacitors, store gases, and desalinate water. How well they cope with the task at hand depends largely on the structural features of the nanopores. A new study from the HZB has now shown that structural changes that occur due to morphology transition with increasing temperature of the synthesis can also be measured directly – using small-angle X-ray scattering. The results have now been published in the journal Carbon. [...]

Poster award for Johannes Sutter

Johannes Sutter, PhD student at HZB, was awarded a poster prize at the "International Conference on Perovskite Solar Cells, Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO19)". The conference took place from 25-27 February 2019 in Jerusalem. [...]

Marcel Risch to form research group at the HZB with an ERC Starting Grant

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will be further strengthened in its research on solar fuels. Dr. Marcel Risch, who recently obtained an ERC Starting Grants, is moving from Georg August Universität, Göttingen to the HZB. Starting in March 2019, the materials physicist will set up his own research group to analyse and improve catalytic materials for water splitting. [...]

Thin-film PV is key technology to drive global energy transition

The German research institutes ZSW and HZB see huge potential in CIGS for both climate and business. CIGS thin-film PV is set to become a key pillar of the global transition towards renewable energy sources. With its high performance, low costs, small carbon footprint, and visual appearance, CIGS has some considerable advantages against other technologies, especially when it comes to highly demanding applications like buildings and vehicles. A new whitepaper compiled by ZSW and HZB describes in detail the benefits of CIGS and the huge business opportunities arising from it. [...]

HZB in pictures - two new movies at the end of the anniversary year

"You need the courage to develop something you don't know exactly how the end result looks like. That's research and development, otherwise it would just be building." A key sentence Prof. Jens Knobloch says in the new HZB movie. [...]

Industry day with focus on optoelectronics and photovoltaics at HZB in Adlershof

On 28 March 2019, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin kindly invites you to an Industry Day in Adlershof. We will provide information on cooperation opportunities and show laboratories that are available for joint research projects. Participants can expect a varied programme on the fields of material and component development, analytics and simulation. The event is free of charge, please register. [...]

Water is more homogeneous than expected

In order to explain the known anomalies in water, some researchers assume that water consists of a mixture of two phases even under ambient conditions. However, new X-ray spectroscopic analyses at BESSY II, ESRF and Swiss Light Source show that this is not the case. At room temperature and normal pressure, the water molecules form a fluctuating network with an average of 1.74 ± 2.1% donor and acceptor hydrogen bridge bonds per molecule each, allowing tetrahedral coordination between close neighbours. [...]

10 Years of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin: A strong partner in the scientific landscape

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) is celebrating its tenth anniversary on 18 February 2019 with around 250 invited guests from science, politics and industry. The Centre is one of the world's top institutions and makes a decisive contribution to Berlin as a location for cutting-edge research. This was emphasized by Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin, in reference to the anniversary. [...]

Spintronics by “straintronics”: Superferromagnetism with electric-field induced strain

Data storage in today’s magnetic media is very energy consuming. Combination of novel materials and the coupling between their properties could reduce the energy needed to control magnetic memories thus contributing to a smaller carbon footprint of the IT sector. Now an international team led by HZB has observed at the HZB lightsource BESSY II a new phenomenon in iron nanograins: whereas normally the magnetic moments of the iron grains are disordered with respect each other at room temperature, this can be changed by applying an electric field: This field induces locally a strain on the system leading to the formation of a so-called superferromagnetic ordered state. [...]

HZB to participate in two Clusters of Excellence

Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) are researching novel systems of materials that can convert or store energy. The HZB will now also be contributing this expertise to the "MATH+" and "UniSysCat" Excellence Clusters being coordinated by Berlin universities. Over the next three years, the Helmholtz Association will fund HZB's participation under the Helmholtz Excellence Network with a total of 1.8 million euros. [...]

Towards the Climate Neutral City: Independent consulting office for integrating photovoltaics into buildings

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is opening a national consulting office for integrating photovoltaics into buildings (BAIP) this spring. The consulting office will support building owners, architects, and municipal planners in activating building envelopes for power generation. The project is being funded by the Helmholtz Association over a period of four years as part of its knowledge transfer programme.

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Ultra-thin and extremely efficient: Thin-film tandem cells made of perovskite and CIGSe semiconductors

An HZB team has fabricated and characterised a thin-film tandem solar cell made of perovskite and CIGSe. They relied on a simple, robust fabrication process that is also suitable for scaling up to large surface areas. The tandem solar cell is a fully thin film device with an impressive efficiency of 21.6 %. With further improvements it might reach efficiencies above 30 %. [...]

Application open: HZB International Summer Student Programme from 8 July to 30 August 2019

Eight weeks of research: Take your chance to work on your own research project in close contact with our scientists and get deep insights into the work at the HZB laboratories. Apply now until the 15th of February for the international summer student programme at HZB. [...]

Batteries with silicon anodes: Neutron experiments show how formation of surface structures reduces amp-hour capacity

In theory, silicon anodes could store ten times more lithium ions than graphite anodes, which have been used in commercial lithium batteries for many years. However, the amp-hour capacity of silicon anodes so far has been declining sharply with each additional charge-discharge cycle. Now an HZB team at BER II of the HZB in Berlin and the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble has utilised neutron experiments to establish what happens at the surface of the silicon anode during charging and what processes reduce this capacity. [...]

Postdoc Career Office founded at HZB

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is setting up a "Postdoc Career Office" to support postdoctoral researchers in actively planning their future careers. Since 15 January 2019, Dr. Christoph Scherfer has been the contact person for postdocs at the HZB. The Helmholtz Association supports the development of the postdoctoral office at the HZB over a period of five years.    [...]

New insights into magnetic quantum effects in solids

Using a new computational method, an international collaboration has succeeded for the first time in systematically investigating magnetic quantum effects in the well-known 3D pyrochlore Heisenberg model. The surprising finding: physical quantum phases are formed only for small spin values. [...]

Climate change: How could artificial photosynthesis contribute to limiting global warming?

If CO₂ emissions do not fall fast enough, then CO₂ will have to be removed from the atmosphere in the future to limit global warming. Not only could planting new forests and biomass contribute to this, but new technologies for artificial photosynthesis as well. An HZB physicist and a researcher at the University of Heidelberg have estimated how much surface area such solutions would require. Although artificial photosynthesis could bind CO₂ more efficiently than the natural model, there are still no large modules that are stable over the long term. The team published their calculations in "Earth System Dynamics".

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Two new Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups will start in 2019

Starting in 2019, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will be establishing two new Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups and thereby strengthening its competencies in catalysis research. The Helmholtz Association will be funding each group with 150,000 euros annually over a period of five years, and HZB will be matching that sum with its own funds. [...]

Marcus Bär accepts W2 professorship for X-ray spectroscopy in Erlangen-Nuremberg

Prof. Marcus Bär has accepted a professorship for X-ray spectroscopy at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Bär heads the Department of Interface Design at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). The new W2 professorship was established in cooperation with HZB and Forschungszentrum Jülich in order to strengthen the Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg für Renewable Energy (HI ERN). In the future, Bär will also be working on HI ERN research topics at HZB, thereby contributing to the intensification of cooperation. [...]

Neutronenforschung hilft bei der Entwicklung von zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren

Materialermüdung zeigt sich häufig zuerst daran, dass im Innern des Materials Bereiche mit stark unterschiedlichen Eigenspannungen aneinandergrenzen. An der Neutronenquelle BER II am HZB hat ein Team der Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM) die Eigenspannungen von Schweißnähten aus ferromagnetischem Stahl analysiert. Die Ergebnisse helfen zerstörungsfreie elektromagnetische Prüfverfahren zu verbessern. [...]

Outstanding master thesis on the structure and function of a bacterial enzyme honoured

On December 17, 2018, Lena Graß, a PhD student from the Structural Biochemistry Group at Freie Universität Berlin, was awarded the Master Prize of the Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie e.V. (Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) (GBM). For her master thesis at Freie Universität Berlin and the MX beamlines of BESSY II, she deciphered the structure and function of a so-called RNA helicase. [...]

Slovenian president awards HZB scientist with "Apple of Inspiration"

Marko Jošt, Steve Albrecht and Bernd Rech, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) receive a rare award today, 19 December 2018. In the slovenian Grand Hall of Presidential Palace, the Slovenian President, Borut Pahor, presents them with the "Apple of Inspiration". It honours achievements in culture, science, sport and society. The Berlin scientists are the first foreigners who receive the prize together with colleagues from the University of Ljubljana. [...]

Steve Albrecht is Junior Professor at the Technical University of Berlin

The Technische Universität Berlin (TU) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have appointed Prof. Dr. Steve Albrecht to the joint junior professorship "perovskite solar cells" as of December 15, 2018. Since 2016, Albrecht has headed the junior investigator group "Perovskit Tandem Solar Cells" at the HZB, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

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Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize and Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Award

On December 6, 2018, the Association of Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin awarded the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize for an outstanding doctoral thesis in the field of research with synchrotron radiation at the HZB or at DESY as well as the European Innovation-Award on Synchrotron Radiation. The award ceremonies took place during the 10th User Meeting at the HZB. [...]

Milestone for bERLinPro: photocathodes with high quantum efficiency

A team at the HZB has improved the manufacturing process of photocathodes and can now provide photocathodes with high quantum efficiency for bERLinPro. [...]

Key competencies for BESSY III: Undulators

HZB undulators are not only used in the BESSY II synchrotron lightsource. They also enjoy great popularity at other large-scale research facilities. HZB has already supplied undulators to renowned centres such as the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, DESY in Hamburg, and MAX IV in Sweden. Undulators are key components in the operation of synchrotron lightsources. [...]

BER II und BESSY II: 10. User meeting at HZB

More than 400 scientists have registered this year for the 10th BER II and BESSY II User Meeting at the HZB. Manufacturers of precision instruments present their products at 52 stands. The conference will run from Wednesday, December 5 to Friday, December 7, 2018. On Thursday, the HZB Circle of Friends will reward outstanding scientists in the field of synchrotron radiation with the Innovation Award and bestow the Ernst Eckard Koch Prize for the best doctoral thesis. [...]

Delegation from Jordan visited the HZB

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will intensify its cooperation with Jordanian large-scale research facilities. This was agreed between Prof. Dr. Jan Lüning and representatives of a high-ranking Jordanian research delegation, which visited the HZB at the end of November 2018.  [...]

Public Lecture: “From Sunlight to Chemical Fuels: Towards a Clean Energy Future".

On 11 December 2018, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Berlin, together with the Technical University of Delft, invites you to the "Karel Luyben Lecture". Professor Dr. Roel van de Krol will give an insight into storing solar energy in solar fuels. Registration for the event is open until 4.12. [...]

Video: Was machen eigentlich Metallographen?

„Am Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin kommen wir an die richtig krassen Elektronenmikroskope ran“, sagt Toni. Er ist gelernter Metallograph und erklärt im Video des LETTE Vereins Berlin, was man in dem Beruf alles können muss und welche Werkzeuge dafür nötig sind. [...]

HZB builds undulator for SESAME in Jordan

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is building an APPLE II undulator for the SESAME synchrotron light source in Jordan. The undulator will be used at the Helmholtz SESAME beamline (HESEB) that will be set up there by five Helmholtz Centres. The Helmholtz Association is investing 3.5 million euros in this project coordinated by DESY. [...]

Molecules that self-assemble into monolayers for efficient perovskite solar cells

A team at the HZB has discovered a new method for producing efficient contact layers in perovskite solar cells. It is based on molecules that organise themselves into a monolayer. The study was published in Advanced Energy Materials and appeared on the front cover of the journal. [...]

"Make our Planet great again": New Research Group at the HZB institute of Silicon Photovoltaics

The physicist Dr. Yutsung Tsai is setting up his own research group on  at the Institute of Silicon Photovoltaics at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. His goal is to develop two-dimensional transparent solar cells. Tsai receives research funding from the Franco-German programme "Make Our Planet Great Again – German Research Initiative“ (MOPGA-GRI), which is funded by the German Ministry or Education and Research.  [...]

User operation restarted at BESSY II

On 20 November 2018, user operation of BESSY II restarted after a longer shutdown and maintenance period. The electron storage ring was shut down on July 30, 2018 to install or replace important components. [...]

D-Lecture on 30th November 2018: Undulators for existing and future light sources

Prof. Efim Gluskin from the Argonne National Laboratory will present on 30th November 2018 his thoughts on Undulators for existing and future light sources. After the presentation we will have time for informal discussion with "mulled wine and gingerbread" in the BESSY foyer. [...]

Alexander Petsch awarded the Young Investigators Prize of the German Thermoelectric Society

Alexander Petsch from the HZB Department Methods and Characterization of Transport Phenomena in Energy Materials was awarded the Young Scientist Prize 2018 of the German Thermoelectrics Society e.V. (DTG) for his outstanding Bachelor thesis. [...]

Transition metal complexes: mixed works better

A team at BESSY II has investigated how various iron-complex compounds process energy from incident light. They were able to show why certain compounds have the potential to convert light into electrical energy. The results are important for the development of organic solar cells. The study has now been published in the journal PCCP, and its illustration selected for the cover. [...]

Veranstaltungstipp: Theaterstück Kernfragen über Lise Meitner am 13.11.2018

Am 13. November 2018 wird an der Freien Universität ein Theaterstück zu Lise Meitner uraufgeführt, das durch das PORTRAITTHEATER aus Wien realisiert wird. Das Stück "KERNFRAGEN" basiert auf dokumentarischem Material, unter anderem dem umfangreichen Briefwechsel zwischen Lise Meitner und Max von Laue, der bislang wenig öffentlich bekannt ist. Der Eintritt ist frei, um Anmeldung wird gebeten. [...]

New records in perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells through improved light management

Using microstructured layers, an HZB team has been able to increase the efficiency of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, achieving 25.5 %, which is the highest published value to date. At the same time, computational simulations were utilized to investigate light conversion in various device designs with different nanostructured surfaces. This enabled optimization of light management and detailed energy yield analyses. The study has now been published in Energy & Environmental Science. [...]

Graphene on the way to superconductivity

Scientists at HZB have found evidence that double layers of graphene have a property that may let them conduct current completely without resistance. They probed the bandstructure at BESSY II with extremely high resolution ARPES and could identify a flat area at a surprising location. [...]

ERC Synergy grant with HZB participation

Novel X-ray microscope to produce microstructural images in situ and in vivo [...]

Poster award to HZB doctoral student

Frederike Lehmann from the HZB Department Structure and Dynamics of Energy Materials received a poster award at an international conference, the ICTMC-21 in Boulder, Colorado, USA. She presented her results on the synthesis and characterization of hybrid perovskite materials, which are considered interesting candidates for novel solar cells. [...]

Nanodiamonds as photocatalysts

Diamond nanomaterials are considered hot candidates for low-cost photocatalysts. They can be activated by light and can then accelerate certain reactions between water and CO₂ and produce carbon-neutral "solar fuels". The EU project DIACAT has now doped such diamond materials with boron and shown at BESSY II how this could significantly improve the photocatalytic properties. [...]

Andrea Denker is Professor of "Accelerator Physics for Medicine"

The Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have appointed Prof. Dr. Andrea Denker to the joint professorship "Accelerator Physics for Medicine" as of October 1, 2018. Since 2006, Andrea Denker is head of the department "Proton Therapy" at the HZB, which operates the accelerator for eye tumor therapy. The therapy, offered in cooperation with the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the HZB, is unique in Germany. [...]

Blue phosphorus - mapped and measured for the first time

Until recently, the existence of "blue" phosphorus was pure theory: Now an HZB team was able to examine samples of blue phosphorus at BESSY II for the first time and confirm via mapping of their electronic band structure that this is actually this exotic phosphorus modification. Blue phosphorus is an interesting candidate for new optoelectronic devices. The results have been published in Nano Letters. [...]

Poster award for HZB PhD student

Eike Köhnen received an award for his poster on perovskite silicon tandem cells at the 4th International Conference on Perovskite Solar Cells and Optoelectronics (PSCO) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is a PhD student in the Junior Research Group on Perovskite Tandem Cells led by Dr. Steve Albrecht. [...]

Am 15. Oktober startet die Ringvorlesung der Freien Universität Berlin– Zum Gedenken an Lise Meitner

Lise Meitner ist eine der bedeutendsten Wissenschaftlerinnen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Die Freie Universität Berlin würdigt im Rahmen einer Ringvorlesung die Leistungen Lise Meitners und arbeitet deren Bedeutung für die Wissenschaft und Kultur auf. Die Veranstaltung findet immer montags von 18.15 bis 19.45 Uhr statt, Beginn ist am 15. Oktober. [...]

Collaboration between HZB and the University of Freiburg

Through a Joint Research Group entitled “Simulation of Energy Materials“ Prof. Joachim Dzubiella of the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg will be able to continue his collaboration with the HZB. The theoretical physicist headed the “Theory and Simulation“ group at the HZB until recently and worked closely together with colleagues conducting experimental research. The new research group will concentrate on electrochemical energy storage and solar fuels. [...]

Neutrons scan magnetic fields inside samples

With a newly developed neutron tomography technique, an HZB team has been able to map for the first time magnetic field lines inside materials at the BER II research reactor. Tensorial neutron tomography promises new insights into superconductors, battery electrodes, and other energy-related materials. [...]

HZB researchers boost the efficiency of silicon solar cells

The efficiency of a solar cell is one of its most important parameters. It indicates what percentage of the solar energy radiated into the cell is converted into electrical energy. The theoretical limit for silicon solar cells is 29.3 percent due to physical material properties. In the journal Materials Horizons, researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and international colleagues describe how this limit can be abolished. The trick: they incorporate layers of organic molecules into the solar cell. These layers utilise a quantum mechanical process known as singlet exciton fission to split certain energetic light (green and blue photons) in such a way that the electrical current of the solar cell can double in that energy range. [...]

Scientific delegation from China visited the HZB

On 28 September 2018, a 25-member delegation from China gathered information about materials research at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. Representatives from various research institutes, universities and industrial companies visited the Lise-Meitner Campus in Wannsee and had discussions with the HZB researchers. [...]

Berlin’s best apprentice for precision mechanic comes from the HZB

Milena Meschenmoser completed her apprenticeship as a precision mechanic as the best in Berlin. From 2014 to 2018, she completed the practical part of her training at the HZB workshop in Wannsee. [...]

Machine learning helps improving photonic applications

Photonic nanostructures can be used for many applications, not just in solar cells, but also in optical sensors for cancer markers or other biomolecules, for example. A team at HZB using computer simulations and machine learning has now shown how the design of such nanostructures can be selectively optimised. The results are published in Communications Physics. [...]

Newsletter and Highlightreport

Exactly twenty years ago, BESSY II went into operation. In the current September newsletter, which we are sending out this week, we present the anniversary website, report on the new highlight report 2017 and on successes in technology transfer. Have you already registered for the newsletter? Here is the registration link. [...]

Atoosa Meseck is a professor of accelerator physics at the University of Mainz

On 1 September 2018, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz appointed Atoosa Meseck to the joint professorship “Accelerator physics – collective effects and nonlinear beam dynamics”. Prof. Dr. Atoosa Meseck is researching at HZB into novel concepts for undulators, as are indispensable for producing high brightness synchrotron radiation. Among other things, she is developing undulator concepts for the successor facility BESSY III, for which the concept is currently being developed at HZB. [...]

Spectacular transport: Undulator moved to the electron storage ring BESSY II

A worldwide unique undulator developed at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) was installed in the storage ring BESSY II on September 20, 2018. It supplies the "Energy Materials In-Situ Lab EMIL" with the hard X-ray light from BESSY II. The transport of the six-ton device was spectacular: several cranes were used to transport the undulator just a few hundred meters from the production building to the storage ring. [...]

Patented nanostructure for solar cells: Rough optics, smooth surface

Thin-film solar cells made of crystalline silicon are inexpensive and achieve efficiencies of a good 14 percent. However, they could do even better if their shiny surfaces reflected less light. A team led by Prof. Christiane Becker from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has now patented a sophisticated new solution to this problem. [...]

Hanwha Q-Cells Quantsol Awards 2018

Six young researchers received a Hanwha Q-Cells Quantsol Award for their self-developed Photovoltaics. This award is presented by the organizers of the international summer school Quantsol together with the industry. [...]

Neue HZB-Zeitung „lichtblick“ erschienen

Das Potenzial der Solarenergie ist längst nicht ausgereizt. Es gibt viele Stellschrauben, um den Wirkungsgrad weiter zu erhöhen. So beschichtet Christiane Becker Gläser mit winzigen Strukturen, um den Lichteinfang in Solarzellen zu erhöhen – eine Technologie, die auch für die Industrie höchst interessant ist. In der Titelgeschichte der neuen "lichtblick" stellen wir die Physikerin vor, die sich beinahe für eine Laufbahn als Musikerin entschieden hätte. Bis sie auf das Thema der Erneuerbaren Energien stieß. [...]

The HZB welcomes new apprentices and students

On September 3, 2018, 14 new colleagues who are undertaking an apprenticeship, a dual course of study or a voluntary scientific year at the HZB officially started their careers. [...]

Invitation to the final presentations of HZB Summer Students on 30th August

The summer students worked on their own research projects for eight weeks. August 30th is their last day at HZB. We cordially invite you to the final presenation event at Campus Wannsee. Three selected students will give a lecture on their research projects. Afterwards, the students will be glad to report on the results and progress of their work in a poster session. Just drop by without registering - we look forward to seeing you! [...]

Shaking hands and experimenting with the Federal Research Minister

Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek visited the tent of the school laboratories in the Helmholtz Association at the German government's Open Day this weekend. Employees of the Alfred Wegener Institute, DESY and HZB experimented with the visitors at the invitation of the BMBF. "We have two great days behind us with many interesting encounters, curious children and lots of action," says Dr. Ulrike Witte from the HZB school laboratory. [...]

2.8 Mio Euro Funding for preparing perovskite solar cells for high volume manufacturing

HZB participates in a new consortium for Perovskite solar technology that is led by Oxford PV Germany GmbH. The consortium is funded by the German Ministry of Economics and Energy with 2.8 Million Euros and aims to further demonstrate the manufacturability of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. [...]

Printing solar cells and organic LEDs

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin form a joint lab and research group “Generative production processes for hybrid components”. [...]

Future information technologies: nanoscale heat transport under the microscope

A team of researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the University of Potsdam has investigated heat transport in a model system comprising nanometre-thin metallic and magnetic layers. Similar systems are candidates for future high-efficiency data storage devices that can be locally heated and rewritten by laser pulses (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording). Measurements taken with extremely short X-ray pulses have now shown that the heat is distributed a hundred times slower than expected in the model system. The results are published in Nature Communications. [...]

Register now: Newsletter from HZB

On Thursday evening we will send out the next newsletter with information from the HZB. The focus topic in August is BESSY II and the expansion to BESSY VSR. According to the new data protection guidelines, we may only send the newsletter to persons who have registered. And what about you? Did you just subscribe? Here is the registration link. [...]

Summer in the lab - and in the HZB science blog

They come from Egypt, China, Mexico or Russia and study science or technology in Bachelor's or Master's degrees. For eight weeks our summer students participate in research in an HZB team. But are they doing exactly? They are currently blogging about their projects in the HZB-Scienceblog. [...]

World record: Fastest 3D tomographic images at BESSY II

An HZB team has developed an ingenious precision rotary table at the EDDI beamline at BESSY II and combined it with particularly fast optics. This enabled them to document the formation of pores in grains of metal during foaming processes at 25 tomographic images per second - a world record. [...]

Insight into loss processes in perovskite solar cells enables efficiency improvements

In perovskite solar cells, charge carriers are mainly lost through recombination occurring at interface defect sites. In contrast, recombination at defect sites within the perovskite layer does not limit the performance of the solar cells at present. Teams from the University of Potsdam and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) were able to reach this interesting conclusion through extremely accurate quantitative measurements on 1 cm² perovskite cells using photoluminescence. Their results contribute to improving  perovskite solar cells and have now been published in Nature Energy. [...]

Insight into catalysis through novel study of X-ray absorption spectroscopy

An international team has made a breakthrough at BESSY II. For the first time, they succeeded in investigating electronic states of a transition metal in detail and drawing reliable conclusions on their catalytic effect from the data. These results are helpful for the development of future applications of catalytic transition-metal systems. The work has now been published in Chemical Science, the Open Access journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. [...]

Shutdown BESSY II: work has started

As of 30 July 2018, BESSY II will be down for several weeks. In the summer shutdown, important components in the storage ring tunnel will be replaced and overhauled. The first conversion work for the BESSY VSR project also begins.  Upgrading BESSY II into a variable-pulse-length storage ring (BESSY-VSR) will provide unique experimental conditions for researchers worldwide. The shutdown lasts until 30 September 2018, and user operation will recommence on 30 October 2018. [...]

ERC Starting Grant awarded to Antonio Abate

HZB scientist Dr. Antonio Abate has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant for his research project on perovskite solar cells. The ERC Starting Grant supports outstanding researchers in an early phase of their scientific careers with up to 1.5 million euros over five years and is considered one of the most important European awards. [...]

Wissenstransfer: Neues Standardwerk zu Energietechnologien in Deutschland

Vertreter des Wuppertal Instituts haben dem Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi) einen mehrbändigen Bericht zu Energietechnologien übergeben. Dabei haben Experten aus dem HZB-Institut PVcomB am Themenfeld Photovoltaik mitgewirkt. Im Herbst verabschiedet die Bundesregierung das neue 7. Energieforschungsprogramm (EFP). Der Bericht liefert eine wissenschaftliche Basis für die Entwicklung des Programms. [...]

HZB Newsletter in english now

You can now register to receive the monthly HZB Newsletter automatically by email. It always contains two or three science features from research activities, information on personnel matters, and video and reading tips such as links to profiles and news reports from the HZB newspaper Lichtblick, the Campus Blog, and the Science Blog. [...]

Future information technology: Microscopic insight into processes when magnets suddenly heat up

Magnetic solids can demagnetize upon heating. Despite decades of research, it has so far been unclear how this process works in detail. Now, for the first time, an international group has observed in a step-by-step manner how sudden heating affects the magnetic order of a ferrimagnetic insulator. The result: The magnetic order changes on two time scales. The first process is surprisingly fast and takes only one picosecond, while the second process takes 100,000 times longer. This insight could help to increase the switching speed in magnetic storage media by at least a factor of 1000.  The work is published in Science Advances. [...]

Poster award für HZB scientist at ICT2018

At the International Conference on Thermoelectrics in July in Caen, France, Dr. Katherine Ann Mazzio from the HZB Institute of Nanospectroscopy received a prize for her poster. The conference is the world's largest symposium on thermoelectric materials. [...]

Bundesvereinigung Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik wählt Susan Schorr zur Generalsekretärin

Auf der letzten Mitgliederversammlung der Bundesvereinigung Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik (BVMatWerk) wurde Prof. Dr. Susan Schorr einstimmig zur Generalsekretärin gewählt. Sie tritt das Amt ab 2019 an, die Amtszeit dauert zwei Jahre. [...]

GRECO kick-off in Madrid: advancing photovoltaics through “open science”

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is one of ten international partners in the GRECO pilot project funded under the European Union framework programme Horizon 2020. They intend to jointly test OpenScience approaches for exchanging knowledge and research data in order to accelerate the development of innovative PV products worldwide. GRECO will receive three million euros in funding through 2021. [...]

HZB expert contributes to Leibniz platform GraFOx

The platform "GraFOx" of the Leibniz Association bundles the activities and competences of Berlin research institutes and universities in the field of oxide research for electronic applications. Now Prof. Dr. Catherine Dubourdieu has been involved as an Associate Partner. The internationally renowned expert heads the Institute "Functional Oxides for Energy-Efficient Information Technology" at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. [...]

Helmholtz International Fellow Award for Nils Mårtensson

The Helmholtz Association has presented the Swedish physicist Nils Mårtensson with a Helmholtz International Fellow Award.  The synchrotron expert of the University of Uppsala, who heads the nobel comitee for physics, cooperates closely with the HZB-Institute Methods and Instrumentation for Synchrotron Radiation Research. [...]

Summer in the laboratory: 21 summer students start their research project at the HZB

Young people from all over the world have applied to the Helmholtz Centre to take part in the annual summer programme: eight weeks of research in an HZB team, well supervised, taking their first steps in their own scientific work. Now 21 students from eleven countries have arrived and are looking forward to their research project.  They will present their results on 30 August. [...]

New world record for direct solar water-splitting efficiency

Hydrogen will play a central role as a storage medium in sustainable energy systems. An international team of researchers has now succeeded in raising the efficiency of producing hydrogen from direct solar water-splitting to a record 19 per cent. They did so by combining a tandem solar cell of III-V semiconductors with a catalyst of rhodium nanoparticles and a crystalline titanium dioxide coating. Teams from the California Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, Technische Universität Ilmenau, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE participated in the development work. One part of the experiments took place at the Institute for Solar Fuels in the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. [...]

Kostenloser Download: HZB-Forschung in Spektrum Kompakt

Noch bis zum 9. Juli steht das Spektrum Kompakt "Energiewende", herausgegeben vom Spektrum-Verlag, zum kostenlosen Download zur Verfügung. Darin enthalten ist eine 13-seitige Sonderveröffentlichung des HZB, aufgeteilt in drei Beiträge. Nach Ablauf des kostenlosen Zugangs wird der Download des Hefts auf den Spektrum-Seiten 4,99 € kosten. [...]

Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin receives "audit berufundfamilie" certificate

On 27 June 2018 in Berlin, the HZB was awarded the "audit berufundfamilie" certificate for its strategically designed family and life-phase conscious personnel policy. The certificate was presented to Anja Seehrich, the person responsible for work-life-balance at HZB, by the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Dr. Franziska Giffey. [...]

E-MRS: Prizes for two PhD students at HZB

At the spring meeting of the European Materials Research Society from 18-22 June 2018 in Strasbourg, Hannes Hempel received the prize for the best talk and Sara Niedenzu was awarded for her poster. Both are PhD students at the MatSEC graduate school at HZB. The E-MRS spring conference is the largest materials research conference in Europe with 2,500 participants. [...]

HZB Newsletter with monthly highlights and info on events

You can now register to receive the monthly HZB Newsletter automatically by email. It always contains two or three science features from research activities, information on personnel matters, and video and reading tips such as links to profiles and news reports from the HZB newspaper Lichtblick, the Campus Blog, and the Science Blog. [...]

Dr. Raül Garcia Diez received poster award at the international synchrotron conference SRI 2018

HZB researcher introduces unique operando characterization by soft X-ray spectroscopy [...]

Silicon heterojunction solar cell with a certified 23.1 % energy conversion efficiency

After further optimization of the baseline process for industrial silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells, the accredited metrology lab ISFH CalTeC now certified an efficiency of 23.1 % for a 4 cm² solar cell. This performance is among the best in the world and demonstrates the leading role of HZB in this technology in Germany and Europe. [...]

Day of the Little Researchers: 150 daycare children experiment at the HZB

Why is the light white? And the sky blue? Children ask many questions and want to try things out. For this purpose, 150 pre-school children had many opportunities at the "Day of the Little Researchers" in the HZB school lab. They used self-made spectroscopes to examine the colours of light. [...]

Helmholtz Association supports ATHENA with 29.99 mio. euro grant

ATHENA (“Accelerator Technology HElmholtz iNfrAstructure”) is a new research and development platform focusing on accelerator technologies and drawing on the resources of all six Helmholtz accelerator institutions (DESY, Jülich Research Centre, Helmholtz Centre Berlin, Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf HZDR, KIT and GSI with the Helmholtz Institute of Jena). The Helmholtz Association has now decided to pay almost 30 million euros towards ATHENA as a strategic development project. [...]

Perovskite-silicon solar cell research collaboration hits 25.2% efficiency

A 1 cm² perovskite silicon tandem solar cell achieves an independently certified efficiency of 25.2 %. This was presented this week at an international conference in Hawaii, USA. The cell was developed jointly by HZB, Oxford University and Oxford PV - The Perovskite Company^TM. [...]

Alliance Building Integrated Photovoltaics: Björn Rau joins Management Board

The General Meeting of Alliance for Builiding Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) has unanimously elected physicist and photovoltaic expert Dr. Björn Rau, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, to the BIPV Management Board. [...]

HZB experts present cooperation opportunities at Intersolar Europe in Munich

The international exhibition “Intersolar” brings photovoltaic research and the solar industry together. It is a perfect opportunity for researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin to present thin-film photovoltaic technologies and projects, including for example perovskite solar cells and tandem solar cells. [...]

Record number of visitors to the Long Night of Sciences at HZB in Adlershof

4,700 visitors came to see the electron accelerator BESSY II and the energy laboratories and experimental stations dedicated to researching solar energy. That makes nearly 20 percent more interested visitors to HZB’s Adlershof campus than last time. [...]

The pioneer of organic semiconductor electronics will be a guest speaker at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

On 14 June, Prof. Sir Richard Friend will be giving a talk in the auditorium of BESSY II on the physics that made the breakthroughs in organic electronics possible. He will speak about the "Management of the Coulomb interaction in organic LEDs and solar cells". [...]

Hereinspaziert: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin öffnet zur Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften BESSY II und Energieforschungslabore

Solarzellen, die hocheffizient, sehr preiswert und lange haltbar sind. Wasserstoff, der mit Sonnenenergie gewonnen wird und Autos antreibt. Computer, die mit geringstem Energieverbrauch riesige Datenmengen verarbeiten: Die Forscherinnen und Forscher des Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin arbeiten daran, dass diese Zukunftsvisionen Realität werden. Zur Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften öffnen sie ihre Labore in Adlershof, stellen ihre Arbeit vor und laden zum Experimentieren ein. [...]

Neutron tomography: Insights into the interior of teeth, root balls, batteries, and fuel cells

A team of researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and European Spallation Source (ESS) has now published a comprehensive overview of neutron-based imaging processes in the renowned journal Materials Today (impact factor 21.6). The authors report on the latest developments in neutron tomography, illustrating the possible applications using examples of this non-destructive method. Neutron tomography has facilitated breakthroughs in so diverse areas such as art history, battery research, dentistry, energy materials, industrial research, magnetism, palaeobiology and plant physiology. [...]

Thorsten Kamps is Professor of Accelerator Physics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

On 24 May 2018, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HUB) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) jointly appointed Thorsten Kamps to the Professorship of “Accelerator physics – Generation and Characterisation of High Brightness Electron Beams”. Kamps heads a workgroup at the Institute for Accelerator Physics of HZB. He and his team develop a key component for new accelerator facilities, namely high brightness electron sources. [...]

Neue HZB-Zeitung „lichtblick“ erschienen

In den letzten Wochen ist viel passiert am HZB: das Beschleunigerteam hat einen neuen Betriebsmodus erfolgreich getestet, eine Begleitgruppe zum Rückbau des Forschungsreaktors hat ihre Arbeit aufgenommen – und es gibt jetzt eine Energiemanagerin am HZB. Das sind nur einige Themen, über die wir berichten. [...]

Start of a several-year approval process

HZB submits its letter of intent to have the last fuel elements from the research reactor BER II stored in Ahaus. [...]

"Tandemtechnologie" - Wie die Produktion von Solarzellen nach Europa zurückkehren könnte

Der Direktor des PVcomB am HZB im pv-magazine Interview

"Das Potenzial der Photovoltaik ist nicht mal annähernd ausgereizt", sagt Rutger Schlatmann im Interview. So liege der Wirkungsgrade bei kommerziellen Modulen aktuell bei zirka 20 Prozent. Mit Tandem-Solarmodulen wären bis zu 40 Prozent möglich - und sie ließen sich wahrscheinlich auch wirtschaftlich produzieren. Schlatmann zeigt die Vorteile der Dünnschicht- und der Wafer-Technologie auf und wagt eine Prognose: Welche Technologie wird das Rennen machen? Und unter welchen Bedingungen könnte die Photovoltaik-Produktion nach Deutschland zurückkehren? Lesen Sie mehr im Interview des pv magazine. [...]

Helmholtz Virtual Institute MiCo: Article selected as journal highlight for 2017

The Helmholtz Virtual Institute MiCo offers a platform through which the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin conducts joint research with universities and other partners on the topic of microstructures for thin-film solar cells. The journal Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering recently selected an article produced through MiCo as the highlight of those published by the journal during 2017. [...]

Internationaler Workshop zu CIGS-Dünnschicht-Solarmodulen am 18. Juni 2018 in Stuttgart

Dünnschicht-Solarmodule mit einem Halbleiter aus Kupfer, Indium, Gallium und Selen (CIGS) machen derzeit große Fortschritte bei der kommerziellen Fertigung. Welche Verbesserungen die Industrie in den letzten Jahren erzielt hat, wo die CIGS-Dünnschichttechnologie heute steht und was künftig noch erreichbar ist, diskutieren internationale Experten am 18. Juni 2018 auf dem neunten Workshop IW-CIGSTech in Stuttgart. Veranstaltet wird der jährlich stattfindende Austausch vom Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) und dem Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB). Der Workshop richtet sich an Fachleute aus Wissenschaft, Technik und Industrie. [...]

Appointment to University of Florida

Dr. Charles Hages has received an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida. Hages has been a postdoctoral researcher at HZB in the Department of Structure and Dynamics of Energy Materials for two years. At University of Florida, Hages will advance his work in developing energy materials and looks forward to continued collaborations with his HZB colleagues.   [...]

"Es war voll super!" - Girls Day & Zukunftstag am HZB

Die Mädchen und Jungen zum Zukunftstag am HZB waren einstimmig begeistert - "Es war voll super!". Genau das Feedback gaben die Schülerinnen und Schüler gestern an die Betreuerinnen und Betreuer weiter. Insgesamt haben über 90 Mädchen und Jungen an den dreizehn verschiedenen Workshops in Adlershof und Wannsee teilgenommen. Neu dabei: Das Team der Augentumortherapie hat sich erstmalig im Rahmen des "Zukunftstag 2018" mit einem ganztägigen Workshop für Mädchen & Jungen beteiligt. [...]

Registration for Summer School Quantsol is now open!

It is already the eleventh time that the International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol) will be held from 2. to 9. September 2018 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria. The school is organized by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Technical University of Ilmenau. Applications can be submitted through the school’s homepage until May 18th , 2018. [...]

HI-SCORE international research school: Kick Off Meeting in Berlin

The international research school on solar energy promotes exchange between Germany and Israel and excellent conditions for PhD students. [...]

Results of evaluation by international panel of experts: support for HZB’s future, calls for rapid planning of BESSY III

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has received an evaluation of “excellent” in a review of science programmes undertaken at all Helmholtz Research Centres. This provides the foundation for future financing of HZB. [...]

A high ranked Chinese delegation led by Mr. Yin, Vice Mayor of Beijing, visited HZB in Adlershof

On 11 April 2018, the Vice Mayor of Beijing, the Minister Counsellor and the Secretary-General of the Chinese Embassy in Germany paid a visit to Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). The delegation came to learn more about the research topics, infrastructures and user service at HZB. The plan is to establish Beijing as one of three major national innovation centres with large-scale facilities for the international user community. [...]

Writing and deleting magnets with lasers

Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) together with colleagues from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, USA have found a way to write and delete magnets in an alloy using a laser beam – a surprising effect. The reversibility of the process opens up new possibilities in the fields of material processing, optical technology, and data storage. [...]

BESSY II sheds light on how the internal compass is constructed in magnetotactic bacteria

[...]

HZB-Schülerlabor: Jetzt Termine für das 1. Schulhalbjahr 2018/2019 buchen

Die Schülerlabore des HZB in Wannsee und Adlershof sind sehr beliebt. Bis zu 3000 Schülerinnen und Schüler experimentieren pro Jahr zu Themen wie Magnetismus und Supraleitung, Solarenergieforschung und Licht und Farben in der forschungsnahen Umgebung des HZB. Für das neue Schulhalbjahr (August 2018 - Januar 2019) bietet das Schülerlabor 76 Projekttage für Grund- und Oberschulen an. Die Projekttage sind kostenfrei. Restplätze für Oberschulklassen können noch gebucht werden. [...]

Kesterite solar cells: germanium promises better opto-electronic properties than tin

Specific changes in the composition of kesterite-type semiconductors make it possible to improve their suitability as absorber layers in solar cells. As a team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin showed, this is particularly true for kesterites in which tin was replaced by germanium. The scientists examined the samples using neutron diffraction at BER II and other methods. The work was selected for the cover of the journal CrystEngComm. [...]

New solar solutions for sustainable buildings and cities

At the Interdisciplinary conference on „INNOVATION IN SOLAR BUILDING SKINS & ENERGY EFFICIENCY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CITIES”, 19th to 20th march in Berlin, experts from the building sector, politics, finance and photovoltaics have discussed the implementation of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). In a very lively and active workshop, drivers and barriers were identified. [...]

LEAPS join forces with the European Commission to strengthen Europe’s leading role in science

“A world where European science is a catalyst for solving global challenges, a key driver for competitiveness and a compelling force for closer integration and peace through scientific collaboration.” This is the vision of LEAPS, League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources, on which the LEAPS Strategy 2030 is based. Director Jean-David Malo, DG Research and Innovation, received the strategy today at the Bulgarian Presidency Flagship Conference on Research Infrastructures. [...]

HZB has once again been recertified as a family-friendly employer

Since 2011, HZB has held the “Career and Family” certificate of the non-profit Hertie Foundation. Every three years, HZB’s schemes for balancing work and family/life have to be put under review. In March 2018, independent reviewers confirmed that HZB is still a certified family-friendly employer. [...]

HZB scientist got the dissertation prize at the spring conference of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft

Dr. Nele Thielemann-Kühn was awarded the dissertation prize of the magnetism research group at the spring conference of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (German physical society/DPG) in Berlin. The prize is awarded for outstanding research in the field of magnetism.  [...]

Twin Orbit operation successfully tested at BESSY II

The first “Twin Orbit User Test week” at BESSY II in February 2018 was a big success and can be considered as an important step towards real user operation. Physicists at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have been able to store two separate electron beams in one storage ring. The twin orbit operation mode can serve users with different needs of the time structure of the photon pulses simultaneously and offers elegant options regarding the future project BESSY VSR. [...]

Register now: Smart City - Interdisciplinary conference on solar energy and architecture

"INNOVATION IN SOLAR BUILDING SKINS & ENERGY EFFICIENCY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CITIES" will take place in Berlin March 19th-20th.

Experts from the construction industry, photovoltaic research field, and the financial sector will discuss innovative solutions for solar facades in combination with energy efficiency in buildings and cities in Berlin, March 19th-20th, 2018. Photovoltaics integrated into buildings represent an important component for energy-efficient cities of the future.

Online registration is open until wednesday 14th March. Students are admitted for a reduced fee. [...]

Message to residents: false alarm at the research reactor BER II on 7 March 2018

We wold like to inform you that a false alarm was triggered at 9:19 p.m. on Wednesday the 7^th of March 2018 at the Berliner Experimental Reactor BER II. At the time the alarm went off, BER II was still operating normally and continuously. After clarifying the trigger of the false alarm, a verbal all-clear was given over the campus PA system. [...]

Solar–to-hydrogen conversion: nanostructuring increases efficiency of metal-free photocatalysts by factor eleven

Polymeric carbon nitrides exhibit a catalytic effect in sunlight that can be used for the production of hydrogen from solar energy. However, the efficiency of these metal-free catalysts is extremely low. A team at the Tianjin University in China, in collaboration with a group at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, has increased the catalytic efficiency of these polymeric carbon nitrides by a factor eleven through a simple process resulting in a larger surface area. The paper was published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science. [...]

Guest researcher at HZB: Bessel Prize Winner Benjamin Rotenberg

Prof. Benjamin Rotenberg has received a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for 2018 and will be spending time regularly as a guest researcher at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. Rotenberg is a researcher of the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and heads a research group in Sorbonne Université in Paris. He works in an interdisciplinary area spanning physics and chemistry for modelling transport processes in materials, at interfaces, and in electrolytes. [...]

Luminescent nano-architectures of gallium arsenide

A team at the HZB has succeeded in growing nanocrystals of gallium arsenide on tiny columns of silicon and germanium. This enables extremely efficient optoelectronic components for important frequency ranges to be realised on silicon chips. [...]

Dr. Raul Garcia Diez wins the Dissertationspreis Adlershof 2017

With his talk on the properties of nanoparticles and how they can be measured more accurately at BESSY II, Dr. Raul Garcia Diez convinced the jury and was awarded the Dissertationspreis Adlershof 2017. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, IGAFA e. V. and the WISTA MANAGEMENT GmbH are the sponsors of this prize endowed with 3000 Euros. Garcia Diez completed his PhD in 2017 at PTB and TU Berlin and is now active as a post-doctoral researcher at HZB. [...]

Neue HZB-Zeitung lichtblick erschienen

Perowskit-Solarzellen haben einen rasanten Aufstieg hingelegt – und vermutlich einen noch steileren vor sich. Die Materialien sind so interessant, dass jetzt schon Industriepartner auf den Zug aufspringen, um diese Entwicklung nicht zu verpassen. Lesen Sie in der neuen Ausgabe, was die Solarzellen so besonders macht und warum Oxford PV, ein führender Anbieter auf diesem Gebiet, jetzt mit dem HZB kooperiert (S. 3 und S. 6-7). [...]

Hidden talents: Converting heat into electricity with pencil and paper

Thermoelectric materials can use thermal differences to generate electricity. Now there is an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way of producing them with the simplest of components: a normal pencil, photocopy paper, and conductive paint are sufficient to convert a temperature difference into electricity via the thermoelectric effect. This has now been demonstrated by a team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. [...]

Joint graduate school for data science sponsors its first projects

The Helmholtz Association, the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF) and the universities of Berlin are creating a new PhD programme in Berlin for the field of data science. Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is involved in several of the projects. The first training positions are already advertised.  [...]

User research at BER II: New insights into high-temperature superconductors

After 30 years of research, there are still many unsolved puzzles about high-temperature superconductors - among them is the magnetic “stripe order” found in some cuprate superconductors. A Danish research team has taken a closer look at these stripes, using high-resolution neutron scattering at the spectrometers FLEXX (HZB) and ThALES (ILL, Grenoble). Their results, now published in Physical Review Letters, challenge the common understanding of stripe order, and may contribute to unveil the true nature  of high-temperature superconductivity. [...]

40-year controversy in solid-state physics resolved

An international team at BESSY II headed by Prof. Oliver Rader has shown that the puzzling properties of samarium hexaboride do not stem from the material being a topological insulator, as it had been proposed to be. Theoretical and initial experimental work had previously indicated that this material, which becomes a Kondo insulator at very low temperatures, also possessed the properties of a topological insulator. The team has now published a compelling alternative explanation in Nature Communications, however. [...]

HZB launches Helmholtz International Research School in collaboration with Israel

On 1st February 2018, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has established the Helmholtz International Research School HI-SCORE, which will be oriented towards solar energy research. To accomplish this, HZB is collaborating with the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, the Israeli Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa, and three Israeli universities as well as universities in Berlin and Potsdam. [...]

User experiment at BESSY II: Complex tessellations, extraordinary materials

Simple organic molecules form complex materials through self-organization [...]

Application open for Young Investigator Workshop

The Virtual Institute (VI) “Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes” explores the governing principles of material functions and is internationally highly visible. Young scientists are invited to participate in the Young Investigators Workshop which takes place from 22 to 27 April 2018 in Grainau. Please apply by 20^th February 2018. 
[...]

Perovskite solar cells: mesoporous interface mitigates the impact of defects

The nominal cell operating life of perovskite solar cells is strongly influenced by their inner architecture.This was shown by two scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Technical University of Munich. They combined experiments with numerical simulations in order to explain this observation. [...]

Perovskite solar cells: perfection not required!

Experiments at BESSY II reveal why even inhomogeneous perovskite films are highly functional  [...]

Oxford PV collaborates with HZB to move perovskite solar cells closer to commercialisation

Perovskite solar technology leader Oxford PV collaborates with leading German research centre to support the accelerated transfer of its technology into silicon cell manufacturing lines. [...]

Milestone reached: electron source for bERLinPro produces its first beam

On the HZB Adlershof campus, researchers are building a prototype of an energy-recovery linear accelerator (bERLinPro). Intensive research has been going on for years to develop the worldwide unique key components required for this accelerator. Now, the scientists and engineers have reached a very important milestone: from the interactions between cathode, laser pulse and electric field inside the cavity, the first electrons have been produced and accelerated. [...]

Frohe Weihnachten und alles Gute für 2018!

Wir wünschen Ihnen ein frohes Fest und ruhige, besinnliche Feiertage. Wir bedanken uns bei allen Kooperations- und Geschäftspartnern für die Zusammenarbeit. Den Leserinnen und Lesern unserer Webseite danken wir für ihre Treue. Wir wünschen Ihnen ein schönes Restjahr und freuen uns auf ein ereignisreiches neues Jahr 2018! [...]

Accolade and social commitment at the same time: Prof. Dr. Bernd Rech has become a new member of acatech

The German “National Academy of Science and Engineering – acatech” has admitted Prof. Dr. Bernd Rech, an expert in renewable energies, into its circle of members. Bernd Rech has headed the Institute of Silicon Photovoltaics at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) since 2006 and has been the acting Scientific Director of HZB since May 2017. For many years, and in many capacities, he has been a champion for knowledge transfer. “This appointment is an accolade for his scientific accomplishment, and at the same time involves an honorary mandate,” acatech writes in its press release. The federal- and state-funded academy advises social and political actors on technological matters. [...]

BER II and BESSY II User Meeting at HZB

More than 600 scientists registered this year for the 9^th annual BER II and BESSY II User Meeting from Wednesday to Friday, 13-15 December 2017. The Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin recognised outstanding work in the field of synchrotron radiation with an Innovation Award, and the best doctoral dissertation with the Ernst-Eckard-Koch prize. [...]

15 years of Russian–German cooperation at BESSY II

At an event at HZB, 70 employees and guests were eagerly awaiting a package from Siberia. It arrived a little late, but thankfully just in time: in the package was a relief by a Russian sculptor, which is now ceremoniously unveiled for the 15th anniversary of the “Russian–German Laboratory”. This was in December 2017. [...]

Progress in solar technologies – from research to application

EU group project presents its results: high efficiencies with less material [...]

Solar energy: Defects in Kesterite semiconductors studied using neutrons

A research team at the HZB has precisely characterised for the first time the various types of defects in kesterite semiconductors. They achieved this with the help of neutron scattering at the BER II research reactor and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA. The findings point to a means of guided optimisation for kesterite solar cells. [...]

HZB researcher Catherine Dubourdieu appointed full professor at Freie Universität Berlin

Catherine Dubourdieu has become a full professor at the Freie Universität Berlin commencing December 2017. The Freie Universität Berlin is one of eleven German elite universities in the German Universities Excellence Initiative. Her position will be that of W3-S, which enables her to continue her research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) in joint role. The physicist is an expert in the field of functional metal oxides that are interesting candidates for future information technologies. [...]

Neutron spectroscopy: new detector module MultiFLEXX increases count rate tenfold

The triple axis spectrometer FLEXX at BER II provides a new detector module for user service. It measures many angles and multiple energy transfers simultaneously and thus increases the amount of data measured per hour by about a factor of ten. This enables neutron users to make optimal use of their beam time. [...]

PVcomB and AVANCIS launch joint MyCIGS research project in order to improve outdoor performance of thin film CIGS solar modules

The Competence Centre Thin-Film- and Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics Berlin (PVcomB) is contributing its expertise to improving copper-indium-gallium-sulphide (CIGS) thin-film production in the MyCIGS collaborative research project. CIGS-module manufacturer AVANCIS in Munich is coordinating this project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (Oldenburg University) and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) are also partners in the project. [...]

HZB User Service is a leader for quality management

User Coordination receives the ISO 9001 certificate from TÜV Süd [...]

Eine Chance für die Forschung – mitten zwischen Berlin und Potsdam

Potsdams Oberbürgermeister Jann Jakobs informiert sich am Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin über die Pläne zum Rückbau des Forschungsreaktors BER II. [...]

Light facilitates “impossible“ n-doping of organic semiconductors

Applications as light-emitting diodes and solar cells [...]

Miniaturised spectrometer wins first prize at international conference

A Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) team together with experts at Ulm University and the University of Stuttgart have designed an electron spin resonance spectrometer that fits a box 10 cm on a side. The team presented the device to a technology jury at the international IEEE Sensors 2017 conference in Glasgow, Scotland and received the first prize of the best live demonstration award . ESR spectroscopy is extremely useful for research in energy-related materials such as catalysts, solar cells, and battery electrodes [...]

Helmholtz Day in the HZB School Lab

Do you know who Hermann von Helmholtz was? At this question, most of the primary school kids shook their head. Yet, the namesake of the Helmholtz Association was one of the most important natural scientists of the 19th century, and one of the last universal scholars. To keep his memory alive, Helmholtz Day has been held regularly, this sixth time in the Helmholtz Association’s School Lab. HZB invited 5th grade pupils from Nauen (Brandenburg) to Wannsee to conduct their own experiments in the School Lab. [...]

HZB makes new contacts with Argentinian Neutron Beams Laboratory

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Argentinian Neutron Beams Laboratory, LAHN (Laboratorio Argentino de Haces de Neutrones). Through this cooperation, HZB will be advising Argentinian researchers on the construction of two neutron instruments. Also planned is an exchange programme for researchers from both countries. [...]

LEAPS – Europe’s light sources join together to coordinate cutting-edge research

A new strategic group comprising the organisations operating European accelerator-based light sources has been founded in Brussels. The goal of the LEAPS consortium (League of European Accelerator-Based Photon Sources) is to elevate European collaboration on these “super microscopes” to a new level for the purpose of helping solve global challenges through concerted scientific excellence, as well as boost European competitiveness and integration. Representatives from 16 institutions issued a common declaration in the presence of the European Union’s Director General for Research and Innovation, Robert-Jan Smits. [...]

Einladung: Informationsveranstaltung zum Rückbau des Berliner Experimentierreaktors BER II am 21. November

Ende 2019 schaltet das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) den Berliner Experimentierreaktor BER II endgültig ab. Über die gesetzlich vorgeschriebene Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung hinaus möchte das HZB deshalb mit allen interessierten Bürgerinnen und Bürgern in einen Dialog über Stilllegung und Rückbau des BER II treten. Dafür lädt das Forschungszentrum zu einer Informationsveranstaltung ein am Dienstag, den 21. November 2017, von 18 Uhr bis ca. 21 Uhr in der Aula der Johannes-Tews-Grundschule in der Wasgenstraße 50 in 14129 Berlin. [...]

HZB is involved in the Helmholtz exchange programme with China

The Helmholtz Association and the Office of China Postdoctoral Council, OCPC, are establishing a common exchange programme for Chinese postdocs. The young scientists will be researching at eight Helmholtz centres for two years before returning to China. HZB is also involved in the exchange programme, which runs from 2017 to 2021. [...]

Future IT: Antiferromagnetic dysprosium reveals magnetic switching with less energy

HZB scientists have identified a mechanism with which it may be possible to develop a form of magnetic storage that is faster and more energy-efficient. They compared how different forms of magnetic ordering in the rare-earth metal named dysprosium react to a short laser pulse. They discovered that the magnetic orientation can be altered much faster and with considerably less energy if the magnetic moments of the individual atoms do not all point in the same direction (ferromagnetism), but instead point are rotated against each other (anti-ferromagnetism). The study was published in Physical Review letters on 6. November 2017 and on the cover of the print edition. [...]

New magazine “lichtblick” is out: Select articles can be read in English on the website

Some artikels from our magazine lichtblick are available in English: You can find these articles here: http://hz-b.de/lichtblick-en [...]

Approved! The EU INFINITE-CELL project

A large EU-sponsored research project on tandem solar cells in which HZB is participating begins in November 2017. The goal is to combine thin-film semiconductors made of silicon and kesterites into especially cost-effective tandem cells having efficiencies of over 20 per cent. Several large research institutions from Europe, Morocco, the Republic of South Africa, and Belarus will be working on the project, as well as two partners from industry. [...]

“Distinguished Award 2017 for Novel Materials and their Synthesis” for Norbert Koch

At the IUPAC NMS-XIII conference in Nanjing, Professor Dr. Norbert Koch has been awarded the "Distinguished Award 2017 for Novel Materials and their Synthesis "of IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) and of the Conference Committee. Koch received the award for his research on hybrid electronic materials and their interfaces in electronic and optoelectronic components. He is Professor at the Department of Physics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, member of IRIS Adlershof and head of a joint research group at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. [...]

Poster Award for HZB-PhD student at European Conference on Thermoelectrics

Monika Raja Thulasimani is working on hybrid thermoelectrics at the Graduate School MatSec at HZB. During the European Conference on Thermoelectrics 2017 her poster contribution was selected for an award. The young scientist described a solution based synthesis in order to design more efficient thermoelectric materials. [...]

Great Interest in the HySPRINT Industry Day: Joining forces to advance perovskite solar cells

No fewer than 70 participants attended the first Industry Day of the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT devoted to the topic of perovskite solar cells at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) on 13 October 2017. This far exceeded the expectations of the event hosts. The knowledge shared on Industry Day will serve as the basis for deepening the collaboration even further with strategically important companies in the scope of HySPRINT. [...]

HZB apprentice is the best precision engineer ("Feinwerkmechaniker") in the State of Berlin for 2017

Philipp Janusch completed an apprenticeship at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin to become a “precision engineer”, and passed his journeyman’s examination as the best of his year in the State of Berlin. What is more, he achieved this despite shortening his three-year apprenticeship by a whole year. In November, Janusch will be participating in the 2017 German Federal Skills Competition for Metalworking on behalf of the State of Berlin. [...]

High Field Magnet at BER II: Insight into a hidden order

A specific uranium compound has puzzled researchers for thirty years. Although the crystal structure is simple, no one understands exactly what is happening once it is cooled below a certain temperature. Apparently, a “hidden order” emerges,  whose nature is completely unknown.Now physicists have characterised this hidden order state more precisely and studied it on a microscopic scale. To accomplish this, they utilised the High-Field Magnet at the HZB that permits neutron experiments to be conducted under conditions of extremely high magnetic fields. [...]

Get in the action for climate protection: HZB team comes in 7th in CITY CYCLING

In September, 63 employees in the HZB team competed in the Germany-wide CITY CYCLING campaign. Over three weeks, they rode a total of 16,240 kilometres, landing them in seventh place – right behind the Berlin fire brigade and TU Berlin. And the best part is, together, the HZB colleagues saved 2306 kilograms of carbon dioxide. [...]

Missing link between new topological phases of matter discovered

HZB-Physicists at BESSY II have investigated a class of materials that exhibit characteristics of topological insulators. During these studies they discovered a transition between two different topological phases, one of which is ferroelectric, meaning a phase in the material that exhibits spontaneous electric polarisation and can be reversed by an external electric field. This could also lead to new applications such as switching between differing conductivities. [...]

Goodbye Paper Cups: Starting Monday, coffee in the Wannsee canteen will only be served in reusable cups

As many as 150 coffee-to-go cups are used every day in the Wannsee canteen. These cups cannot be reasonably recycled, and instead end up as land fill. Now, the canteen is putting an end to this wastage. As of the 16th of October, coffee to go can only be bought in the new HZB returnable cups (available for 5 euros at the checkout) or served in your own cup, which you bring from home. [...]

Anwohnerinformation: Notfallübung am 14. Oktober am HZB in Berlin-Wannsee

Am 14. Oktober findet die jährliche Notfallübung am Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin in Wannsee statt. Die Übung dauert von 8.30 bis ca. 12 Uhr. Während dieser Zeit fahren viele Feuerwehrfahrzeuge zum Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. Auch der Einsatz von Theaterrauch ist geplant. Bitte seien Sie unbesorgt, es handelt sich um eine Übung. An der landesweiten Katastrophenschutzübung beteiligten sich auch die Berliner Feuerwehr und mehrere Berliner Behörden. Der Zutritt zum HZB ist während der Übungszeit nicht möglich, auch nicht für HZB-Mitarbeiter. [...]

New: Campusblog at HZB

An anecdote from the canteen, a curious lab photo, and an exciting encounter – there are many stories which just need to be written up. Now we have the Campus Blog of the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin for this. You will read in the blog, for example, that a HZB staffer cleared paths with a chain saw the whole night long during the Xavier storm, and other interesting stories. [...]

The use coordination on a EU trip: promoting European light sources

Synchrotrons are outstanding tools for studying materials, cells and even cultural assets. Yet, many researchers in Eastern Europe are unaware that they are entitled to use them. The EU project Calipsoplus supports potential users from these countries. [...]

Novel soft X-ray spectrometer enables individual steps of photosynthetic water oxidation to be observed

HZB scientists have developed a novel spectrometer at BESSY II that enables researchers to obtain detailed insights about catalytic processes in metalloenzymes. Their international collaboration was successful in delineating individual steps in the catalytic oxidation of water to dioxygen in photosystem II. They published their study in the journal Structural Dynamics. Photosystem II is a part of the of photosynthetic electron transport chain, a process that is responsible for the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in plants, algae and cyanobacteria. [...]

Open doors for kids on 3. October: "Mouse-Day" at BESSY II

Tuesday 3. October 2017 is a special day in Germany. In order to help kids understand the world, a "Day of open Doors" is organised by the educational TV Programme "Sendung mit der Maus". Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has invited kids from age of four years on with their families to visit the experimental hall of BESSY II.  [...]

Acoustic sculptures BESSY VSR - premiere at Saturday, 30. September 2017

For four days, the Akademie der Künste on Hanseatenweg will be a creative lab for musical experimentation, staging concerts, artist talks, and workshops. With its 28 debuts and premieres, and more than 100 artists from 27 countries, the 2nd edition of KONTAKTE is the hub for electroacoustic music and sound art in Berlin. [...]

The miracle material graphene: convex as a chesterfield

Graphene possesses extreme properties and can be utilised in many ways. Even the spins of graphene can be controlled through use of a trick. This had already been demonstrated by a HZB team some time ago: the physicists applied a layer of graphene onto a nickel substrate and introduced atoms of gold in between (intercalation). The scientists now show why this has such a dramatic influence on the spins in a paper published in 2D Materials. As a result, graphene can also be considered as a material for future information technologies that are based on processing spins as units of information. [...]

Invitation to HySPRINT – Industry Day “New Frontiers in PV Research: Emerging Perovskite Semiconductors”

On 13 October, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin will be hosting its first Industry Day on the topic of Perovskite Solar Cells. Following a recap of the current state of research and development and the future potential of perovskite solar cells, participants from industry will be able to give a brief presentation to show their company’s interest in the field. Intensive discussions during the Industry Day will be the starting point for future cooperation. [...]

The HZB website is being revised: take the Online Survey to tell us what you want

A modern company’s most important calling card is its website. HZB has an extensive online presence that has grown steadily over the years. There is a lot of exciting content – so much, in fact, that it becomes more and more difficult to surf. To make it user friendly once again, our website needs a relaunch, and will continue to need periodical relaunches in future. This is where you can help! What do you use the HZB website for? What do you like about it, and what don’t you like? [...]

Breakthrough at EMIL: First undulator radiation in the CAT experiment

When the EMIL laboratory (Energy-Materials In-Situ Laboratory Berlin) was ceremoniously inaugurated a year ago in the presence of Federal Minister for Research Johanna Wanka, it was a major milestone for energy materials research at HZB. Ever since, HZB has been building the system that will bring X-ray beams all the way from BESSY II to the EMIL apparatuses. Until the BESSY light is fully available, the scientists have been working with X-rays from a conventional laboratory source. Now, the beamline operators have succeeded in guiding the X-rays from Undulator UE48 in the BESSY II experimental hall to the CAT experiment in the EMIL laboratory. There, it was quantitatively measured using a focus measuring chamber. [...]

Atomiade 2018: Register now for the sporting highlight at Lago Maggiore

The 16th Atomiade will be held in Varese, Italy, from 8 to 11 June 2018. The hosts request that people register informally now so that they can optimally plan the event. Every three years, employees of European research institutes take part in the Atomiade sporting competition. The event is held in the name of pleasure of sports and the mutual sharing of news and information. [...]

Solar hydrogen production by artificial leafs:

Scientists analysed how a special treatment improves cheap metal oxide photoelectrodes [...]

Optical control of magnetic memory – new insights into fundamental mechanisms

A research team at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has shown for the first time how laser modulation of magnetic properties in materials is influenced by thermal effects and how the process occurs under moderate experimental parameters. At the same time, the scientists discovered a previously unknown dependence on the thickness of the magnetic layer. This is an important clue for our theoretical understanding of optically controlled magnetic data storage media. The findings are published today in the journal Scientific Reports. [...]

Summer in the lab

22 students from all over the world are working at HZB for eight weeks [...]

New model for bimolecular reactions in nanoreactors

Theoretical physicists have devised a mathematical model of two different molecules reacting within so called nanoreactors that act as catalysts. They gained surprising new insights as to what factors promote reactions and how to control and select them. The model is relevant for a wide range of research fields, from biophysics to energy materials. [...]

New magazine “lichtblick” is out: Select articles can be read in English on the website

„The photon is our strength“, said Bernd Rech. Since the 1st of May 2017, he has been the acting Scientific Director of HZB. In our new magazine »lichtblick« we spoke with him about his most important duties, the strengths of HZB, and surprises the job held in store. [...]

User research at BER II: Lupin roots observed in the act of catching water from soil – so far too quick for 3D views

Lupins not only produce colourful blossoms but also nutritious beans rich in proteins. Just how these plants draw water approaching their roots in soil has now for the first time been observed in three dimensions by a University of Potsdam team at the HZB-BER II neutron source in Berlin. To accomplish this, they worked with the HZB imaging group to improve the temporal resolution of neutron tomography more than onehundred-fold so that a detailed 3D image was generated every ten seconds. This ultrafast neutron tomography is generally suitable as well for analyses of dynamic processes in porous materials. [...]

Record- efficiency solar cells realised by the HyPerCells Graduate School

The University of Potsdam and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin founded the HyPerCells Graduate School just two years ago with focus on metal halide perovskites for solar applications. Now, groups involved in the graduate school have demonstrated perovskite solar cells with record-efficiencies of over 20 percent. This confirms the graduate school is at the forefront of this research in Germany and internationally highly competitive. [...]

Writing with the electron beam: now in silver

For the first time an international team realized direct writing of silver nanostructures using an electron beam applied to a substrate. Silver nanostructures have the potential to concentrate visible light at the nanoscale. Potential applications include sensor design to detect extremely small traces of specific molecules, as well as devices for optical information processing. [...]

Modern, concise and informative: HZB presents itself

A information brochure, illustrated throughout with a fusion of photos and sketches, serves as the new business card of HZB. In concise and understandable language, it describes the centre’s most important research focuses, introduces the large-scale facilities and laboratories, and shows why HZB is an internationally attractive place to work. [...]

Nitrogen tank for the accelerator project bERLinPro was installed in Adlershof

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Kickoff for Joint Lab with IFW Dresden

The Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have created a Joint Lab for “functional quantum materials” and under its umbrella a Young Investigator Group. [...]

1130 Besucher bei der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften am Standort Wannsee

Das HZB begrüßte zur „Klügsten Nacht des Jahres“ am 24. Juni 2017 mehr als tausend Gäste, darunter viele Kinder und Jugendliche. Quirliges Treiben auf unserer Wissenschaftsstraße, großer Andrang bei den Mitmach-Experimenten und beim Schülerlabor, interessierte Fragen zum Forschungsreaktor: Die Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften am HZB war bunt und facettenreich – und bot für jeden Geschmack etwas. Hier haben wir die schönsten Momente zusammengestellt. [...]

100 kindergarten kids do experiments at HZB on the Day of Little Researchers

Kindergarten children are inquisitive and want to know how everything works – and they ask a great deal of questions. On the Germany-wide "Day of Little Researchers" on 19 June, around 100 kids visited the HZB School Labs in Adlershof and Wannsee and investigated the colours of light. [...]

Die Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften am 24. Juni macht schlau - auch am HZB in Wannsee

Das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin lädt am Samstag auf dem Campus Wannsee zur Langen Nacht der Wissenschaft ein. Unsere Highlights für Sie: Führungen durch die Experimentierbereiche um den Forschungsreaktor, durch die Energie-Labore und den Beschleuniger für die Augentumortherapie, eine Wissenschafts-Show und ein vielseitiges Kinderprogramm. [...]

EU project CALIPSOplus has started for free access to European light sources

The EU is providing ten million euros in funding for the project CALIPSOplus, submitted by 19 European light sources. The project consortium, of which Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is a member, kicked off on May 2017. CALIPSOplus is aimed at promoting the international exchange of scientists and transnational access to the light sources in Europe. Other priorities are to integrate the relatively less active regions of Europe and to initiate research projects with small and mid-sized companies.  [...]

HZB researcher receives university-level teaching credential (Habilitation)

Dr. Klaus Habicht has successfully completed the university-level teaching accreditation process in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Potsdam and received his official university-level teaching qualification for the physics of condensed matter. Habicht has conducted numerous lectures and seminars at the University of Potsdam since 2011, in particular in solid-state physics and methods in neutron research. He heads the Department of Methods for Characterisation of Transport Phenomenon in Energy Materials at the HZB. [...]

New at Campus Wannsee: CoreLab Quantum Materials

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has expanded its series of CoreLabs for energy materials research. In addition to the five established CoreLabs, it has now set up a CoreLab for Quantum Materials. A research team from the HZB Institute for Quantum Phenomena in New Materials is responsible for the CoreLab and its modern equipment. The CoreLab is also open to experimenters from other research institutes.  [...]

New lab for electrochemical interfaces at BESSY II

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is establishing a joint lab together with the Max Planck Society (MPS) to study electrochemical phenomenon at solid/liquid interfaces. The Berlin Joint Lab for Electrochemical Interfaces, or BElChem for short, will employ X-rays from BESSY II to analyse materials for renewable energy production. [...]

Using focussed ion beams in research - HZB workshop on focussed ion-beam engineering and application areas

Focussed ion beams are highly useful tools for researchers in various disciplines. Samples can be etched in the micro- and nanometre range with them. Modern ion microscopes as well as their complementary methods and techniques are available at the HZB and can be utilised by scientists from universities and institutes from the world over. Now for the first time, the HZB is organising a workshop to introduce these methods and their areas of application. It will take place November 6th and 7th. The deadline for submitting abstracts is June 15. [...]

Cutting-edge research in Berlin: BESSY II light source to be equipped with new features and capabilities

With the transformation of the BESSY II light source into a variable-pulse-length storage ring, Berlin will become even more attractive as a location for science to researchers from the world over [...]

HZB paper appears in special anniversary edition of the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics

A paper on X-ray tomography of various types of batteries has been published as a highlight in the exclusive special edition of the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. Two groups at the HZB along with a team from Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, contributed to the article. [...]

Intersolar Europe in Munich: HZB research meets solar industry

At the major international photovoltaics exhibition from 31 May to 2 June 2017, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will be exhibiting solar energy research projects and presenting opportunities for industrial cooperation in the field of photovoltaics (PV). [...]

Trends and pathways to high-efficiency perovskite solar cells

Perovskite  solar cells have been the big surprise over the last while: inside of only a few years, their efficiency level has been increased from just under 10 % to fully 22 %. There has never been such rapid progress in a new material for solar cells. Scientists around the world are therefore working on this new class of materials. Eva Unger and Steve Albrecht from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have evaluated trends in the advancement of perovskite materials in an invited review article in Journal of Materials Chemistry A. They point out what opportunities exist for advancing this class of materials, combining them with other semiconductors, and where limitations lie.  [...]

Three-dimensional graphene: experiment at BESSY II shows that optical properties are tuneable

An international research team has for the first time investigated the optical properties of three-dimensional nanoporous graphene at the IRIS infrared beamline of the BESSY II electron storage ring. The experiments show that the plasmonic excitations (oscillations of the charge density) in this new material can be precisely controlled by the pore size and by introducing atomic impurities. This could facilitate the manufacture of highly sensitive chemical sensors. [...]

Better cathode materials for Lithium-Sulphur-Batteries

A team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has for the first time fabricated a nanomaterial made from nanoparticles of a titanium oxide compound (Ti₄O₇) that is characterised by an extremely large surface area, and tested it as a cathode material in lithium-sulphur batteries. The highly porous nanomaterial possesses high storage capacity that remains nearly constant over many charging cycles. [...]

New Helmholtz Young Investigator Group for electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide at HZB has started

Dr. Matthew T. Mayer is setting up a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group in the field of energy materials research at HZB. He investigates how carbon dioxide and water can be converted electrochemically into hydrocarbons such as methane and methanol by using renewable energies. Matthew Mayer will receive 300,000 euros per year over a period of five years. [...]

HZB and Freie Universität Berlin establish the joint research group “X-Ray Microscopy” for studying complex cellular processes

In May this year, the joint research group “X-Ray Microscopy” was launched, combining the expertise of teams led by Prof. Dr. Gerd Schneider (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin) and Prof. Dr. Helge Ewers (Freie Universität Berlin). While Ewers’ group contributes its experience in the field of optical microscopy and biological research, the HZB workgroup is responsible for X-ray microscopy at the synchrotron source BESSY II. The two methods help researchers to gain a detailed insight into the processes taking place inside cells. [...]

HZB Distinguished Lecture on 13 June, 2 pm: Prof. Douglas MacFarlane speaks about “Hydrogen and Ammonia as Energy Carriers and for Energy Storage”

We cordially invite you to the next “HZB Distinguished Lecture”, which will also be a commemorative event for our friend and colleague, Prof. Leone Spiccia, who passed away in December 2016. Leone held a professorship at Monash University in Australia and was connected with us through Humboldt and Helmholtz International Fellowships. To continue our work in his spirit, a close friend and collaborator of Leone, Prof. Douglas R. MacFarlane from Monash University, will deliver the key lecture on “Hydrogen and Ammonia as Energy Carriers and for Energy Storage – Progress and Perspectives”. [...]

The Young Investigators Workshop 2017 on Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes

24 scientists from various countries participated in the Young Investigators Workshop 2017 on Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes in Grainau am Eibsee in the Bavarian Alps. This workshop which was organized by Professor Alexander Föhlisch was dedicated to study the research topics of the Helmholtz Virtual Institute 419. It included both experimental and theoretical projects on molecular and chemical dynamics, phase transitions and switching as well as fundamental light-matter interaction. [...]

X-Ray microscopy: HZB-TXM is back in operation

The X-ray microscope (HZB-TXM) is back in operation. The TXM offers significantly  better quality images compared to the former X-ray microscopy station. [...]

Eindrücke von der Verabschiedung von Prof. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla

Am 2. Mai haben wir Prof. Dr. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla mit einem Festkolloquium feierlich verabschiedet. Über 200 Gäste und Wegbegleiter aus der Wissenschaft und Politik sind gekommen, um ihr für die hervorragende Zusammenarbeit und ihr großes Engagement für das HZB zu danken. Unser Fotograf hat die schönsten Momente eingefangen.   [...]

Bernd Rech becomes provisional Scientific Director of the HZB on May 1, 2017.

Following the succession of long-serving Scientific Director Prof. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla to President of TU Braunschweig, the Supervisory Board of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has appointed Prof. Bernd Rech as provisional Scientific Director. He assumes this position as of May 1, 2017. Bernd Rech has headed the Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics at the HZB since 2006 and is highly esteemed worldwide as an expert in renewable energies. [...]

Ansturm auf die 70 Plätze beim Girl’s Day im HZB

Wie sieht die Arbeit von Wissenschaftlerinnen, Ingenieurinnen oder Programmiererinnen aus? Beim Girls‘ Day können Mädchen MINT-Berufe (Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaften und Technik) kennenlernen, die noch immer nicht besonders beliebt bei den Berufsanfängerinnen sind. Die 70 Plätze für den Girl’s Day an den beiden HZB-Standorten waren schnell vergeben.  [...]

Nanodiamonds as energy materials: tuning the functionalities

An international team has shed light onto interactions between nanodiamonds and water molecules. Experiments at synchrotron sources showed how hydrogenated groups on nanodiamond surfaces change the network of hydrogen bonds in the aqueous environment and may potentially influence the catalytic properties of nanodiamonds, for instance for the production of solar fuels from CO₂ and light. [...]

Michael Müller besucht das HZB

HZB ist "wichtiger Impulsgeber für die Zukunft der Brain City Berlin" [...]

Registration open for Quantsol Summer School

Newcomers and young scientists in solar energy research can register now for the 10. International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol). The school is organized by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Technical University of Ilmenau and will be held from 3. to 10. September 2017 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria. Applications can be submitted through the school’s homepage until May 21st, 2017. [...]

Green IT: New switching process in non-volatile spintronics devices

Physicists achieved a robust and reliable magnetization switching process by domain wall displacement without any applied fields. The effect is observed in tiny asymmetric permalloy rings and may pave the way to extremely efficient new memory devices. The results have been published in Physical Review Applied, highlighted as an Editors' Suggestion.
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Neue HZB-Zeitung „lichtblick“ erschienen

In ihrem letzten Interview als Geschäftsführerin des HZB erläutert Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, warum sie gerade jetzt geht, obwohl sie eigentlich noch gern geblieben wäre. Nils Martensson lernen wir als Pendler zwischen Nobel-Komitee und HZB kennen. Und Marcus Bär erzählt, warum es sich in jedem Fall lohnt, bei den Kopernikus-Projekten der Bundesregierung dabei zu sein und warum die Forscherinnen und Forscher aus verschiedenen Disziplinen dabei erst einmal Vokabeln lernen müssen. (Online-Ausgabe) Auf der Mittelseite der lichtblick stellen wir das Projekt näher vor, an dem sich das HZB beteiligt.
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Yan Lu receives a professorship at the University of Potsdam

Dr. Yan Lu is a group leader at the Institute for “Soft Matter and Functional Materials”. At HZB, she is researching functional hybrid materials that consist of colloid particles.  As of 1 April 2017, Yan Lu has been appointed as W2 Professor for Polymer-based Hybrid Materials at the University of Potsdam. [...]

Proton transfer: Researcher find mecanism to protect biomolecules against light induced damage

A team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) together with researchers in Sweden and the USA has analysed a mecanism which protects biomolecules such as the DNA against damage by light. They observed how the energy of incoming photons can be absorbed by the molecule without destroying important bonds. The experiments took place at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) free-electron laser in California as well as the BESSY II synchrotron source at the HZB in Berlin, where with resonant inelastic X-ray-diffraction a very sensitive method is available. [...]

CIGS Thin-film Solar Modules: HZB invites for workshop

Global demand for photovoltaic systems is rising sharply. CIGS thin-film modules have become a hot topic for the solar industry. International experts will convene in Stuttgart on May 30, 2017, at the annual IW-CIGSTech workshop to discuss past and potential future technical and industrial advances in this solar technology. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) are hosting the eighth installment of this workshop, which caters to scientists, engineers and industry specialists. [...]

Foundation stone laying ceremony for an energy research laboratory on Wannsee campus

A milestone has been reached in the expansion of energy materials research at the Lise-Meitner Campus: on 23 March 2017, the celebration was held for laying the foundation stone of a laboratory building that will offer a multitude of methods for synthesising and characterising energy materials. [...]

Finding and understanding low cost catalysts: it all comes down to the iron

A team has investigated more than one hundred iron-nickel catalysts containing various admixtures of chromium. At BESSY II, they also analysed the configurations of the electrons in the individual elements. The team showed that an increasing proportion of chromium primarily influences the energy levels of the iron electrons, which are important for the catalytic effect. The results of this high-throughput study will assist the knowledge-based search for better specific catalysts. [...]

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde was a guest of HZB

From 15 to 16 March, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde, DGM (German association of materials science), held its closed board meeting and Advisory Council meeting at HZB. The experts took the occasion to visit the synchrotron source BESSY II and the neutron source BER II, gaining an insight into important future projects of HZB. [...]

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. [...]

Dr. Antonio Abate sets up a new Helmholtz Young Investigator Group to improve life span of perovskite solar cells

Dr. Antonio Abate sets up a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and moved to Berlin a few days ago. His aim: He wants to improve Perovskite solar cells which are one of the most promising material classes to be discovered in the last few years. The scientist will study the materials and interfaces of perovskite solar cells in order to improve their long-term stability. [...]

Young investigator group at HZB: Scaling perovskite cells

The new Young Investigator Group Hy-Per-FORME led by Dr. Eva Unger is working on scaling all processing steps to enable manufacturing of perovskite solar cells on larger areas, thus brigding he gap between lab and industry. [...]

20 participants join the first Photon School at HZB

From 14 to 24 March, the first Photon School takes place at HZB. 20 students from 8 countries get an unique opportunity for a first-hand training covering a wide range of experimental and theoretical methods for probing the molecular structure, function, and dynamics of complex material systems. Leading experts from all fields of spectroscopy give lectures, share their latest results, and present future research strategies. [...]

Uschi Steigenberger receives prestigious British medal for her service to the sciences

World-reknowned physicist Dr. Uschi Steigenberger has been honoured with one of the highest decorations in Great Britain for her services to the sciences. She was awarded the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) medal by the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, Mr. Jo Johnson. Uschi Steigenberger has also chaired the Scientific Advisory Council of the HZB for many years. [...]

How to increase efficiencies of ultrathin CIGSe solar cells

Nanoparticles at the back help harvesting the light. [...]

NextGen@Helmholtz Conference 2017 for PhD students from Helmholtz

The Conference will take place from 5 th to 7th July - please register until April 30th
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Highly sensitive method for detecting ion pairs in aqueous solution developed

Scientists of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Universität Heidelberg, and the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague have empirically detected a very specialised type of electron transfer in an aqueous salt solution, one which had only been predicted theoretically up to now. Based on these results, they now expect to have an extremely sensitive method for detecting ion pairs in solutions.

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Agreement signed: Three neutron instruments will be transferred to the Polish research reactor MARIA in 2019

In February 2017 Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) in Poland agreed to transfer and rebuild three of HZB’s neutron scattering instruments at the Polish research reactor MARIA in 2019. With support from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the facility near Warsaw is currently being upgraded with latest generation technology, offering attractive research opportunities for neutron scientists from Germany and Europe. [...]

HZB and Freie Universität Berlin are establishing the joint research group “Macromolecular Crystallography”

For eight years, HZB’s “Macromolecular Crystallography” workgroup has been successfully cooperating with the “Structural Biochemistry” research group headed by Prof. Markus Wahl at the Freie Universität Berlin. They are about to intensify this cooperation. The two institutes are establishing a joint research group dedicated to studying the biochemistry of genetic information processing. This research group benefits in particular from access to the three MX beamlines, where it can study protein crystals using the synchrotron light from BESSY II. [...]

Jetzt anmelden für den Girls’ Day am HZB

Am 27. April 2017 ist wieder Girls' Day! An diesem Tag schnuppern Schülerinnen der Klassen 5 bis 10 deutschlandweit in die Welt der Technik, Ingenieur- und Naturwissenschaften. Auch am Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin finden zum Girls‘ Day wieder spannende Workshops statt. Jetzt startet die Anmeldung dafür auf der zentralen GirlS’Day-Webseite. Es stehen an beiden Standorten insgesamt 70 Plätze zur Verfügung. [...]

School labs of the HZB and Helmholtz Association are more popular with every year

The aim of the Helmholtz school labs is to make science fun for children and adolescents. Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has run a school lab on the Wannsee campus since 2004 and on the Adlershof campus since 2010. During this time, more than 20,000 visitors have participated in the age-appropriate project days at HZB – and the numbers continue to rise. [...]

Neutron instrument BioRef arrived safely in Down Under

As reported, the neutron instrument BioRef will be set up at the “Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering” of ANSTO. Approximately 257 components were safely packed in 43 wooden crates weighing just under 30 tonnes for the sea voyage from Hamburg to Port Botany, Australia. On 14 February the colleagues from ANSTO told us: the three shipping containers arrived safely after a two-month journey from Germany. [...]

NEAT starts user operation

The newly built time of flight spectrometre NEAT has welcomed its first users: Jie Ma from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and his colleague Zhilun Lu examined magnetic excitations in crystalline samples and enjoyed fast data rate and high flexibility of instrumental configurations. NEAT team is now looking forward to further new studies and user experiments!      [...]

Dr. Alex Redinger receives assistant professorship at the University of Luxembourg

Alex Redinger will be receiving two million euros in funding from the Luxembourg National Research Fund for expanding his research into solar cells materials. This is combined with an assistant professorship at the University of Luxembourg with the possibility of tenure. Redinger works as a postdoc in the “Structure and Dynamics of Energy Materials” department. [...]

3000th ocular tumour patient treated using protons at HZB

A team at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has now treated its 3000^th ocular tumour patient with an individualised proton radiation protocol. This involves irradiating the tumour with fast hydrogen nuclei (protons) that have been accelerated to precisely set energies. These protons penetrate the healthy tissue and only release their energy in the tumour itself. [...]

Green light for upgrading BESSY II into a variable-pulse-length storage ring (BESSY-VSR)

The General Assembly of the Helmholtz Association has unanimously endorsed the realisation of a unique accelerator project at the BESSY II synchrotron radiation source [...]

New Technical Project Manager for BESSY VSR

As of 1 January 2017, Dr. Pierre Schnizer is the new Technical Project Manager for BESSY VSR. In close coordination with the Scientific Project Managers Prof. Andreas Jankowiak and Prof. Jens Knobloch, Schnizer is supervising, among other things, the construction, infrastructure and integration of the necessary modules into the storage ring. In short, his responsibility in the project team is to ensure the successful technical construction of BESSY VSR. [...]

Solar based hydrogen generation: EU-project PECSYS aiming for technological breakthrough

Development of demonstrators measuring up to ten square meters in area planned [...]

Young Investigators Workshop of the Helmholtz Virtual Institute "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes"

The Virtual Institute explores the governing principles of material’s function in an internationally highly visible centre of excellence. From now on, young scientists (PhD students, master students, and young postdocs) are invited to participate in the Young Investigators Workshop that will take place from 23^rd to 28^th April 2017 at the Eibsee-Hotel in the Bavarian Alps. It focuses on the research topics of the Helmholtz Virtual Institute 419 and includes both experimental and theoretical projects on molecular and chemical dynamics, phase transitions and switching as well as fundamental light-matter interaction. [...]

PVcomB will help mass-produce the raw photovoltaic materials used in Wysips® technology

Sunpartner Technologies and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin sign license agreement [...]

7.4 million euros from the EFRE fund: HZB is setting up a new application laboratory for developing superconducting accelerator components

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is receiving 7.4 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE). The money is being used to set up the application laboratory “SupraLab@HZB” for the advancement of high-current superconducting cavities. These components will be needed for operating the next generation of novel, high-performance light sources. The laboratory will also provide complex superconducting component test beds for use by companies and research institutes in the region. [...]

Graduate school MatSEC: New PhD students can apply now

The first students of the graduate school MatSEC (Materials for Solar Energy Conversion) have defended successfully their PhD thesis. The graduate school, which is organised jointly by Dahlem Research School of Freie Universität Berlin, is now open for new PhD-students. The research portfolio, which was focused on kesterites, does now include wide bandgap semiconductors and thermoelectrica as well. [...]

The BioRef neutron instrument to be set up again at ANSTO in Australia

The BioRef neutron instrument commenced its roughly two-month journey from HZB to Australia on December 19, 2016. It will be set up again at the OPAL neutron source there, part of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in Sydney. It is expected to be available to the international scientific community beginning in 2018 under the name "Spatz". [...]

Prof. Dr. Martina Schmid assumes the professorship of experimental physics at the University of Duisburg-Essen

On 1 January 2017, Martina Schmid assumed the W2 professorship of “experimental physics” in the Physics department of the University of Duisburg Essen. From 2012 to the end of 2016, Martina Schmid headed the Helmholtz Young Investigator Group “Nano-Optical Concepts for Photovoltaics” at HZB. [...]

Frohe Weihnachten und alles Gute für 2017!

Wir wünschen Ihnen ein frohes Fest und bedanken uns bei allen Kooperations- und Geschäftspartnern für die Zusammenarbeit. Den Leserinnen und Lesern unserer Webseite danken wir für ihre Treue. Wir wünschen Ihnen ein schönes Restjahr und freuen uns auf ein ereignisreiches neues Jahr 2017! [...]

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is establishing a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group for electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide

Dr. Matthew T. Mayer from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, will be putting together a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group in the field of energy materials research at HZB. He will be researching into how carbon dioxide and water can be converted electrochemically into hydrocarbons such as methane and methanol using renewable energies. Matthew Mayer will receive 300,000 euros per year over a period of five years for establishing and running his Young Investigator Group. [...]

New magazine “lichtblick” is out: Select articles can be read in English on the Intranet

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Fuel cells with PFIA-membranes:

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Video über akustische Skulpturen zu BESSY VSR erschienen

Der Klangkünstler Gerriet K. Sharma arbeitet an einem Projekt, zu dem ihn das Ausbauvorhaben BESSY VSR am HZB inspiriert hat. Dabei erschafft er in seinen Kompositionen  akustische Skulpturen, die mit einem Ikosaederlautsprecher hörbar werden. Die Technik stellt die Firma Sonible zur Verfügung. Nun hat Sonible ein Video über dieses Projekt produziert, das ab sofort im Netz zu sehen (und zu hören!) ist. [...]

Prof. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla recommended for President of Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig

The Academic Senate of the Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig has recommended Prof. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla to the Ministry of Science and Culture for the State of Lower Saxony, Germany, as TU Braunschweig’s choice for its next President. The election took place December 14, 2016 in a joint session with the University Advisory Council. The Ministry will now take the recommendation under consideration. Ms. Kaysser-Pyzalla has been Scientific Director of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin since October 2008. During this time, she has placed the HZB in an excellent position within the German and international research landscape and noticeably elevated the visibility of its research capabilities. [...]

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has gained a new Helmholtz Young Investigator Group to boost its energy materials research.

The new group is working to prolong the life span of perovskite solar cells to 25 years and longer. [...]

Ernst-Eckhard-Koch-Preis und Innovationspreis Synchrotronstrahlung

Am 8. Dezember 2016 vergab der Freundeskreis Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin zum 26. mal den Ernst-Eckhard-Koch-Preis für eine herausragende Promotionsarbeit auf dem Gebiet der Forschung mit Synchrotronstrahlung sowie den Innovationspreis Synchrotronstrahlung. Die Preisverleihung fand während des 8. BER II und BESSY II Nutzertreffens statt. [...]

Eighth Joint BER II and BESSY II User Meeting at HZB

More than 500 scientist have gathered at the eighth Joint BER II and BESSY II User Meeting at HZB on December 7^th to 9^th, 2016. The Verein Freundeskreis Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin e.V. did bestow the Innovation Award and the Ernst-Eckard-Koch Prize. A Poster prize was awarded to the best poster out of 200. [...]

rbb Heimatjournal zu Gast am HZB

Ein Blick übern Gartenzaun, ein Besuch in der Reaktorwerkstatt. Das HZB ist fester Bestandteil der Region Wannsee und bekam Besuch vom rbb Heimatjournal. Die Vorabendsendung des rbb besucht regelmäßig interessante Orte in Berlin und Brandenburg. Am 10. Dezember 2016 wurde die Sendung mit dem Titel "Ulli Zelle erkundet das alte Dorf Wannsee" im rbb ausgestrahlt. Wer sie verpasst hat, kann sie hier anschauen. [...]

Wege zur CO2-freien Energieversorgung

Sieben Helmholtz-Zentren arbeiten an Systemlösungen für die künftige Energieversorgung   [...]

Nobel Prize in Physics: Scientific work from Berlin contributes to the evidence of theoretical predictions

Pioneering new areas of physics through measurement of quantum effects [...]

First Thermoelectrics Colloquium at HZB brought many experts together

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Personalia: Berufungen

Das HZB hat kürzlich gemeinsam mit Universitäten und Hochschulen aus Berlin, Potsdam und Bielefeld mehrere Berufungsverfahren erfolgreich abgeschlossen. Mehr erfahren Sie in diesem Überblick: [...]

A new record at BESSY II: ten million ions in an ion trap cooled for the first time to 7.4 K

Magnetic ground states spectroscopically ascertained
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More energy from the sun - Researchers road-test powerful method for studying singlet fission

Singlet fission could have a central role in the future development of solar cells. [...]

Talk given by Martina Schmid at PVSEC-26 lauded

PVSEC-26, one of the  largest international conferences in the field of photovoltaics, took place in Singapore at the end of October. Prof. Martina Schmid received a “Best Oral Presentation Award” for her talk in the field of New Materials and Concepts. [...]

Research for Germany’s energy transition: EMIL@BESSY II approved for the Kopernikus “Power-to-X” project

The storage of excess solar and wind power is one of the greatest challenges in Germany’s energy transition. To address this, the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) has created the “Power-to-X” (P2X) project under its Kopernikus programme. P2X will advance research into converting electrical energy from the sun and wind into basic chemical compounds, gaseous energy media, and fuels. A total of 17 research institutions, 26 industrial enterprises, as well as three non-governmental organisations are involved, and the BMBF is funding the first development phase of the project at a level of 30 million Euros. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin will participate in the planned research, using the advanced synthesis capabilities and the BESSY II synchrotron-based X-ray characterization tools at the recently inaugurated EMIL@BESSY II laboratory complex. [...]

Helmholtz-Tag im HZB-Schülerlabor

Am 15. November 2016 lud das Schülerlabor zum Helmholtz-Tag nach Wannsee ein. Die Fünftklässler der Peter-Witte-Grundschule aus Reinickendorf erhielten einen Einblick in die Arbeit von Hermann von Helmholtz und experimentierten zum Thema Magnetismus. Der Helmholtz-Tag fand zum fünften Mal in den Schülerlaboren in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft statt. [...]

HZB Distinguished Lecture on 21 November: Prof. Stuart Parkin speaks about spin and ion currents for future computing technologies

We cordially invite you to the "HZB Distinguished Lectures". Prof. Stuart Parkin from the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Alexander von Humboldt Professor, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg will present on 21 November 2016 his thoughts on "Beyond charge currents: spin and ion currents for future computing technologies". [...]

Birgit Schröder-Smeibidl is the new Administrative Director of the German Institute of Human Nutrition, DIfE

On 1 November, HZB’s longstanding head of "Facility Management" and security chief, Dr. Birgit Schröder-Smeibidl, moved to the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam. The HZB management congratulates Ms. Schröder-Smeibidl on her new post. [...]

Methods at BESSY II: Versatile cross-correlator for ultrafast X-ray experiments

Particularly in the soft X-ray range experimentalists are lacking a broadband method to correlate ultrashort X-ray and laser pulses in space and time. Only recently, a team from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the University of Potsdam was able to achieve this by utilizing a standard molybdenum-silicon (Mo/Si) multilayer mirror at the FemtoSpeX facility at BESSY II. They use femtosecond laser pulses to modulate the multilayer period under the Bragg condition on a sub-picosecond up to nanosecond timescale which in turn strongly affects the mirror’s X-ray reflectivity. The presented Mo/Si cross-correlator works for the soft up to the hard X-ray regime as well as for a broad range of laser pump wavelengths (mid-IR to UV) and renders this technique as an easy to implement and versatile timing tool for various synchrotron- and lab-based pump-probe experiments. The results are published in the journal of "Structural Dynamics". [...]

Speeding up CIGS solar cell manufacture

Speeding up CIGS solar cell manufacture [...]

HZB and ANSTO have extended their Memorandum of Understanding

Advancing energy materials research together [...]

Kathrin Aziz-Lange is a professor at the University of Bielefeld

As of 1 November 2016, Kathrin Aziz-Lange is a junior professor at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Bielefeld. The physicist has been head of a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin since January 2016. She and her team are investigating defects in material systems for generating solar fuels, using the diverse in-operando characterisation methods offered by the synchrotron source BESSY II. [...]

EMIL, a 2000-square-metre laboratory complex, has opened for research into new energy materials

After three years of construction, the Energy Materials In-Situ Laboratory (EMIL) is now open. The new laboratory complex for researching energy materials, annexed to BESSY II in Berlin-Adlershof, was ceremonially inaugurated with the involvement of the Federal Minister of Research, Johanna Wanka, on 31 October 2016. At the new laboratory, which offers direct access to the brilliant light of the electron storage ring BESSY II, researchers are looking to synthesise and analyse materials for future renewable energy generation. Around 20 million euros were invested in the construction of the laboratory. [...]

Young researchers from eleven countries attended the Autumn School of the Helmholtz virtual institute “Microstructure Control for Thin-Film Solar Cells”

From the 9th to the 14th of October 2016, the “Autumn School on Microstructural Characterisation and Modelling of Thin-Film Solar Cells” brought together lecturers and participants from eleven different countries. In the Akademie Berlin-Schmöckwitz, 30 postgrads and postdocs discussed characterisation and simulation methods for the development of efficient thin-film solar cells. [...]

Methodology advance at HZB: ionic liquids simplify laser experiments on liquid samples

An HZB team has developed a new approach to conduct photoemission spectroscopy of molecules in solution. This has been difficult up to now because the sample needed to be situated in vacuum – but liquids evaporate. The work has now demonstrated it is feasible to replace the solvent with an ionic liquid of low vapor pressure, which does not perturb the sample characteristics.  This allows the molecules to be excited with a laser pulse and to record the behaviour of the excited energy states. It provides insight into the physical and chemical processes of novel liquid energy materials that might be employed in organic solar cells or catalysts, for instance. [...]

Future Information Technologies: New combinations of materials for producing magnetic monopoles

An international collaboration at BESSY II has discovered a new method to inscribe exotic magnetic patterns such as magnetic monopoles into thin ferromagnetic films. Such unconventional orientation of magnetic domains might open a new path for the design of energy efficient data storage. The new materials system consists of regular arrays of superconducting YBaCuO-dots covered with an extremely thin permalloy film. A shortly applied external magnetic field leads to the creation of supercurrents within the superconducting dots. These currents produce a complex magnetic field pattern, which is inscribed into the permalloy film above. The results are published in Advanced Science. [...]

Twitter Storify: All about the Foresight Workshop on Energy Materials Research at BESSY II

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie focuses on developing advanced materials for solar energy conversion and storage and wants to extend a discussion platform for future projects and research activities. Therefore HZB invites current and future users from universities, research institutes and industry to the BESSY II Foresight Workshop which takes place from October 10 – 11, 2016. These discussions help HZB identifying prospective scientific fields and – very importantly - the expectations, needs and requirements from the user communities for cutting edge science with synchrotron radiation. Here is the workshop programme. [...]

Diana Quintero Castro gets a professorship at the University of Stavanger, Norway

Diana Quintero Castro has been appointed as associate professor in the faculty of science and technology at the University of Stavanger. At HZB she is responsible for the cold triple axis neutron spectrometer FLEXX at the neutron source BER II and focuses on magnetism. She will continue her research focuses on magnetic materials by using neutron scattering at different neutron sources. She has accepted her appointment and will leave HZB at the end of December, 2016. [...]

HZB-Schülerlabor zu Gast bei der SchülerUni der Freien Universität Berlin

Vom 26. bis 30. September 2016 öffnet die Freie Universität Berlin ihren Campus für Berliner Schulen. Unter dem Motto „Lernen für eine zukunftsfähige Welt“ bietet sie 80 verschiedene Workshops an und verwandelt Hörsäle und Seminarräume in Mitmachlabore und Kreativwerkstätten. Das HZB-Schülerlabor unterstützt die SchülerUni mit zwei Workshops zum Thema „Nachhaltigkeit und Klimaschutz“. [...]

Nanotechnology for energy materials: Electrodes like leaf veins

Nano-sized metallic wires are attracting increasing attention as conductive elements for manufacturing transparent electrodes, which are employed in solar cells and touch screen panels. In addition to high electric conductivity, excellent optical transmittance is one of the important parameters for an electrode in photovoltaic applications. An international team headed by HZB scientist Prof. Michael Giersig has recently demonstrated for these applications that networks of metallic mesh possessing fractal-like nano-features surpass other metallic networks in utility. These findings have now been published in the most recent edition of the renowned journal Nature Communications. [...]

Advancing methodology at BESSY II: Automated evaluation speeds up the search for new active substance

The macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamlines at the BESSY II X-ray source are specially designed to highly automated structural analyses of protein crystals. With up to now more than 2000 solved structures of protein molecules, these beamlines are by far the most productive ones in Germany and are in vigorous demand by groups from either an academic and industrial research area. Now teams from HZB and Philipps-Universität Marburg in Germany have automated the evaluation of data records as well. The newly developed expert system identifies small molecule fragments bound to proteins in the raw X-ray diffraction data. These fragments represent suitable starting points for the development of an active substance. Using a series of 364 samples, the collaborating partners demonstrated that the expert system works reliably and can speed up the search for a suitable active agents. [...]

Neue HZB-Zeitung "lichtblick" erschienen

In der neuen Ausgabe erwarten Sie viele interessante Themen. Unter anderem erzählt Simone Raoux, warum sich viele Forscherinnen und Forscher auf die Eröffnungen des Energy Materials In-situ Laboratory (EMIL)-Labors am 31. Oktober 2016 freuen. Mit dem Anschluss an das Synchrotronlicht von BESSY II können die Forschenden eine unglaubliche Vielfalt an Energie-Materialien charakterisieren. Hier geht es zur Online-Ausgabe. [...]

VI-Conference "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes 2016"

Near the museum island, in the heart of Berlin, the International Conference "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes 2016" has taken place last week. More than 100 international experts met at the Magnus-Haus of the German Physical Society from 12 -16 September 2016. [...]

Manual of characterisation techniques for thin-film solar cells published with the involvement of HZB researchers

In August 2016, the second, enlarged edition of the reference book "Advanced Characterization Techniques for Thin-Film Solar Cells" appeared from renowned publisher WILEY-VCH. Co-editor is HZB researcher Dr. Daniel Abou-Ras. A total of eleven authors from HZB wrote chapters for this reference. It provides a comprehensive overview of many characterisation and modelling techniques that can be employed for solar cell materials and components. [...]

Aktion STADTRADELN: HZB-Team derzeit auf dem vierten Platz in Berlin

3100 Kilometer haben die Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter des HZB-Team in nur einer Woche mit dem Rad zurückgelegt. Damit landet das HZB im berlinweiten Ranking der Aktion STADTRADELN derzeit auf Platz 4. Die Aktion zeigt: Radfahren für den Klimaschutz - das geht. Denn in nur einer Woche hat das HZB-Team insgesamt mehr als 440 Kilogramm Kohlenstoffdioxid eingespart. Der Aktionszeitraum läuft vom 9. bis 29. September 2016. [...]

International conference QENS 2016 and Workshop WINS 2016 in Potsdam

From 5th to 9th of September HZB has hosted two international scientific events dedicated to the study of the dynamics at nanoscale, QENS and WINS 2016. While Quasielastic Neutron scattering conference (QENS 2016) was dedicated to the scientific applications, international Workshop on Inelastic spectrometers WINS 2016 allowed to touch on the instrumental aspects. 108 scientists from all over the world participated in these events organized in the heart of the Potsdam. [...]

User research at BESSY II: How water moves glass

In the realm of plants, capillary forces are a widely observed impetus for actuation. They are the physical basis for the expansion of porous materials during uptake of fluid. Such materials include the cones of conifers with their readily observable movement during drying or wetting. Scientists at the Chair of Biogenic Polymers of the Technical University Munich, located at the Science Center Straubing, have succeeded in retaining this plant-derived movement when the respective plant has been replaced by an artificial petrification process. Elaborate analyses at the synchrotron source BESSY II in Berlin showed that the internal structure of the pine cone was retained. Thereby, they laid the foundations for a new generation of sensoric materials. [...]

Veranstaltungshinweis: Vortrag Potsdamer Köpfe mit Daniel Abou-Ras und Vernissage der Ausstellung „Das Bild entsteht im Kopf“ von Kerstin Berthold

Am 8. September lädt die Wissenschaftsetage im Bildungsforum Potsdam zu zwei interessanten Veranstaltungen ein. Den Auftakt macht Daniel Abous-Ras um 18 Uhr mit seinem Vortrag: „Das lässt tief blicken – Solarzellen unter dem Mikroskop“. Der Physiker zeigt dabei, wie die Entwicklung neuer Solarzellen durch verschiedene Methoden der Mikroskopie unterstützt werden kann. Diese Bilder inspirierten die Künstlerin Kerstin Berthold unter anderem zu ihren Collagen, die im Anschluss an den Vortrag in der Ausstellung „Das Bild entsteht im Kopf“ zu sehen sind. Die Vernissage findet um 19:30 Uhr statt. [...]

Start in das Berufsleben

Sieben Auszubildende und fünf Teilnehmer dualer Studiengänge beginnen dieses Jahr ihre Ausbildung am HZB. Am 1. September wurden sie von Thomas Frederking, dem kaufmännischen Geschäftsführer des HZB, und den Ausbildenden herzlich begrüßt. [...]

Honoured with poster prize and introductory talk

Mean free path of electron scattering in liquid water considerably shorter than supposed [...]

European project for thin film Kesterite Solar cells has reached its goals

Eleven partners from different countries have joined forces in the EU-research project KESTCELLS from September 2012 until 31. August 2016. The mission was to train a new generation of experts and to increase the efficiencies of Kesterite solar cells. Now, at the end of the project, these goals have been perfectly reached. [...]

Silicon thin fims in Lithium-Ion-Batteries: Charging observed with neutron measurements

The capacity of lithium-ion batteries might be increased theoretically by six times by using anodes made of silicon instead of graphite. A team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) Institute of Soft Matter and Functional Materials has observed for the first time in detail how lithium ions migrate into thin films of silicon. It was shown that extremely thin layers of silicon would be sufficient to maximise the load of lithium. The results are published in the journal ACSnano. [...]

Started: International Summer Student Programme

Coming from all over the world, 18 students have joined HZB as guests for this summer. From August 1 until September 23 they take part in the international summer student programme, HZB is organising since over 25 years. During the following weeks, the students can work in close cooperation with HZB teams on a project in energy materials research.  [...]

Two Freigeist Fellows interweave their research at HZB

Two Freigeist Fellows are conducting research at the HZB Institute for Methods of Material Development through support received from the Volkswagen Foundation. Theoretical chemist Dr. Annika Bande is modelling fast electron processes, while Dr. Tristan Petit is investigating carbon nanoparticles. Annika Bande has now been awarded an ancillary grant of an additional 150,000 Euros from the Volkswagen Foundation to fund another doctoral student position for three years. The doctoral research will connect the two Freigeist research projects with one another. [...]

Topping-out ceremony for new accelerator hall at HZB

The shell for the bERLinPro building – the test facility for an energy-recovery linear accelerator at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin – is now complete. The extremely complex structure was erected at the Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Campus of HZB in Berlin-Adlershof in just ten months. The topping-out ceremony took place on July 27, 2016 at 13:00 in the presence of construction firms, guest VIPs, and HZB staff. [...]

Novel state of matter: Observation of a quantum spin liquid

A novel and rare state of matter known as a quantum spin liquid has been empirically demonstrated in a monocrystal of the compound calcium-chromium oxide by team at HZB. What is remarkable about this discovery is that according to conventional understanding, a quantum spin liquid should not be possible in this material. A theoretical explanation for these observations has now also been developed. This work deepens our knowledge of condensed matter and might also be important for future developments in quantum information. The results have just been published in Nature Physics. [...]

Invitation - Topping-out ceremony for new accelerator hall at HZB

The shell for the bERLinPro building – the test facility for an energy-recovery linear accelerator at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin – is now complete. The extremely complex structure was erected at the Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Campus of HZB in Berlin-Adlershof in just ten months. The topping-out ceremony will take place on July 27, 2016 at 13:00 in the presence of construction firms, guest VIPs, and HZB staff. [...]

Klangkunst im Speicherring, Ausstellung im Rohbau: Der Juli steht ganz im Zeichen der Kunst am HZB

Malerei, Installation, Foto, Video, Performance: Studierende und bereits etablierte Kunstschaffende stellen in der unterirdischen Teilchenbeschleunigerhalle bERLinPro aus. Das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) als Bauherr, DGI Bauwerk als Architekten und der Kurator Enno Wallis laden unter dem Titel SPEED zu einer außergewöhnlichen Kunstausstellung ein. Sie wird am Freitag, den 29. Juli um 19 Uhr eröffnet und wird dann für zwei Tage bis zum 31. Juli zu sehen sein. Am Sonntag wird um 15:00 Uhr der TIBES ART AWARD II verliehen - ein Kunstpreis, der an drei Aussteller geht. Der erste Preis wird von DGI Bauwerk gestiftet. Der Eintritt ist frei.
[...]

Kunstausstellung im Beschleuniger-Rohbau des HZB vom 29. bis 31. Juli

Malerei, Installation, Foto, Video, Performance: Studierende und bereits etablierte Kunstschaffende stellen in der unterirdischen Teilchenbeschleunigerhalle bERLinPro aus. Das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) als Bauherr, DGI Bauwerk als Architekten und der Kurator Enno Wallis laden unter dem Titel SPEED zu einer außergewöhnlichen Kunstausstellung ein. Sie wird am Freitag, den 29. Juli um 19 Uhr eröffnet und bis zum 31. Juli zu sehen sein. Der Eintritt ist frei.
[...]

HZB experts at the Parliamentary Evening of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, as a major German research institute for energy research, took part in the Parliamentary Evening of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG). Prof. Dr. Bernd Rech of the HZB Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics was the scientific director for the event. The patron of the evening dedicated to “The Energy of Tomorrow and Beyond” was Edelgard Bulmahn, Vice-President of the German Bundestag. [...]

Sound artist Gerriet K. Sharma designs sound sculptures of BESSY VSR

From 13 to 19 July 2016, the artist will be recording sounds on location [...]

X-ray CoreLab now in operation and available

All regular HZB scientists as well as visiting scientists can now use the diverse X-ray diffractometry equipment at the X-ray CoreLab, effective immediately. Each instrument is up-to-date with the latest versions of hardware & software and specialised for certain investigations. Instrument time will be allocated via the Online Calendar. [...]

Monash University awards three HZB-scientist with adjunct professorships

Cooperation between Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, is thriving. Now, Monash University has awarded three HZB-scientists with adjunct professorships: Prof. Klaus Lips, Dr. Alexander Schnegg and Prof. Emad Aziz have been working several years already with Prof. Leone Spiccia, an internationally renowned chemist at Monash University, on energy materials science. [...]

event note: Thomas Struth presents a photography of BESSY II at Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin

Thomas Struth is internationally considered one of the most important artists of his generation. For the first time, his work will be displayed at the Berliner Martin-Gropius-Bau. The exhibition will feature approximately 37 large-format photographs from the years 2005 through 2016. Right at the entrance, the large-scale work "Measuring, Helmholtz-Zentrum, Berlin 2012" is placed. The exhibition can be visited until 18 September. [...]

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin at European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference

On 23rd June, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the ZSW jointly organised the IW-CIGSTech 7 as a side event of the EU-PVSEC Conference in Munich. About 150 international attendees, mainly from Europe, Asia and North America came together to get an extensive overview of the latest CIGS scientific and technological developments in CIGS thin-film solar cells and their industrial applications worldwide. [...]

Picture Gallery: Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften at HZB

It was an exciting evening: 4000 visitors came to HZB during the „Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften”. Our photographer Phil Dera caught the best moments of this evening with his camera. Please take a look:  Here you find our Picture Gallery. [...]

Data policy finalized for research data at HZB

Researchers retain exclusive access to their data for five years [...]

New effect on laser induced switching for higher data densities

An international collaboration has now demonstrated a completely new approach to increase data density in storage media. They used ultra-short laser pulses to trigger a phase transition in the ferromagnetic material BaFeO₃ (BFO). Experiments at the Femtospex facility at BESSY II of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin showed that by inducing this phase transition, magnetic domains can be easily manipulated. These magnetic domains are otherwise very stable and therefore suited for long-time data storage. The results have been published in Phys. Rev. Letters now. [...]

User Community Science: Soft decoupling of organic molecules on metal

An international team has discovered an elegant way to decouple organic nanosheets grown on metal surfaces. After iodine intercalation, measurements at the synchrotron source BESSY II of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) showed that a network of organic molecules behaved almost as it was free-standing. The strong influence of the metal on the network was reduced. This opens up new ways to transfer organic nanostructures from metal surfaces onto more suitable substrates for molecular electronics.  The results have been published in “Angewandte Chemie”. [...]

Coexistence of superconductivity and charge density waves observed

[...]

Talk of Dr. Catherine Dubourdieu on June 23rd 2016

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is boosting its energy materials research and setting up the newly established institute “Functional Oxides for Energy-Efficient Information Technology”, under the leadership of Dr. Catherine Dubourdieu. On this occasion we like to draw your attention to the talk of Dr. Catherine Dubourdieu about „Functional oxides for energy efficient information technology: from material to device“ on June 23rd at 1 pm in the lecture hall at Lise Meitner Campus Wannsee. [...]

Progress in the application of spin effects in graphene: from the metal to the semiconductor world

Graphene on silicon carbide could be an interesting candidate for future spintronik components. Squeezing gold atoms between the semiconducting substrate and graphene does enhance spin-orbit interaction at hot spots and shows ways to controll the spins. First results at BESSY II are now published in Applied Physics Letters. [...]

Spintronics: Resetting the future of Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording

A HZB team has examined thin films of Dysprosium-Cobalt sputtered onto a nanostructured membrane at BESSY II. They showed that new patterns of magnetization could be written in a quick and easy manner after warming the sample to only 80 °Celsius, which is a much lower temperature as compared to conventional Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording systems. This paves the way to fast and energy efficient ultrahigh density data storage. The results are published now in the new journal Physical Review Applied. [...]

Forschungsmagazin Sichtbar erschienen

Eine neue Ausgabe des HZB-Forschungsmagazins Sichtbar ist erschienen. Das Magazin richtet sich an eine breite Öffentlichkeit und stellt Menschen am HZB und ihre Forschung an Energie-Materialien vor. [...]

4000 Besucher bei der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften am HZB

Am 11. Juni 2016 strömten fast 4000 Menschen zur Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften an das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin am Standort Adlershof. Mitgebracht haben die Besucher viele Fragen, Neugier und Spaß am Experimentieren. Ein Besuchermagnet war der Elektronenspeicherring BESSY II, den 2900 Menschen besichtigten. Das Institut für Silizium-Photovoltaik lockte mit Laborführungen, Vorträgen und Experimente zum Thema Energie 1100 Besucher an. In einem Storify haben wir die schönsten Momente eingefangen. Außerdem gibt es eine Bildergalerie. [...]

Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften am 11. Juni von 17 bis 24 Uhr am HZB – Vorbeikommen und Staunen

Wissenschaft hochaktuell – das gibt es an vielen Instituten und Universitäten wieder am 11. Juni zur Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften. Doch einen Teilchenbeschleuniger von innen bestaunen – das können die Besucher nur am HZB. Wir laden Sie herzlich ein, sich auf einen Rundgang durch BESSY II in Adlershof zu begeben. Warum braucht man solche aufwendigen Anlagen? Und wofür ist das Licht gut, das im Beschleuniger entsteht? Kommen Sie am 11. Juni vorbei – und finden Sie es selbst heraus. [...]

User research at BESSY II: nanostructures in human teeth

Dentin is one of the most durable biological materials in the human body. Researchers from Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin were able to show that the reason for this can be traced to its nanostructures and specifically to the interactions between the organic and inorganic components. Measurements performed at BESSYII, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin's synchrotron radiation source, showed that it is the mechanical coupling between the collagen protein fibers and mineral nanoparticles which renders dentin capable of withstanding extreme forces. Results from this research have been recently published in the journal Chemistry of Materials. [...]

Neuer „lichtblick“ erschienen

Ein Forscher mit Vision: Das ist der Franzose Tristan Petit. Er will synthetische Nanodiamanten entwickeln, die mit Sonnenlicht und Kohlendioxid solare Brennstoffe wie Methan produzieren. In der Titelgeschichte erzählt der Freigeist-Stipendiat aus dem Team von Emad Aziz, was er alles vorhat. [...]

Call for Applications: 20 doctoral fellowships offered by Graduate School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof

SALSA, the Graduate School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, is announcing 20 doctoral fellowships. The program offers a structured, three-year period of multidisciplinary research combined with an integrated curriculum in Analytical Sciences. The HZB supports SALSA by supervising some PhD students. Deadline for application is June 13th, 2016. [...]

Ferrous chemistry in aqueous solution unravelled

An HZB team has combined two different analytical methods at the BESSY II synchrotron source in order to extract more information about the chemistry of transition-metal compounds in solution. These kinds of compounds can act as catalysts to promote desirable reactions in energy materials, but their behaviour has not been completely understood thus far.  The team demonstrated how a detailed picture of the electronic states can be ascertained by systematically comparing all of the interactive electronic processes in a simple system of aqueous iron(II).  The results have now been published in Scientific Reports, the open access journal from Nature Group publishing. [...]

Helmholtz Innovation Labs: HySPRINT at HZB

HZB will be setting up the new Helmholtz HySPRINT Innovation Lab for jointly developing new combinations of materials and processes in energy applications with commercial partners. Silicon and metal-organic perovskite crystals will be the centre point of the Lab’s work. The Helmholtz Association is supporting the project for the next five years with 1.9 million Euros from its Initiative and Networking Fund, with additional contributions from HZB itself as well as from industry. [...]

Autumn School on Microstructural Characterization and Modelling of Thin-Film Solar Cells

After the successful first edition of this school in 2014, we invite you cordially to join this Autumn School to be held at Akademie Schmöckwitz, Berlin, Germany, October 9-14, 2016. Application submission will be possible until June 30, 2016. [...]

HZB receives financial support for improving the manufacturing process for CIGS solar cells

[...]

Intersolar Europe / EU PVSEC / 7th IW-CIGSTech Workshop 2016 – Munich, 20-24 June 2016

We cordially invite you to visit the HZB booth during Intersolar Europe - The world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners from 22 to 24 June 2016 in Munich, Germany. Also the online registration is open for the EU-PVSEC and we invite you to join the 7th IW-CIGSTech Workshop and Dinner on 23 June 2016, a joint meeting from HZB and ZSW organised as a parallel event of the EU-PVSEC. [...]

Spintronics for future information technologies: spin currents in topological insulators controlled

An international team headed by HZB researcher Jaime Sánchez-Barriga has shown how spin-polarised currents can be initiated in a controlled manner within samples of topological insulator material. In addition, they were able to manipulate the orientation of the spins of these currents. They thereby demonstrated that this class of materials is suitable for data processing based on spin. The work has been published in the renowned periodical Physical Review B and was selected as “Editor’s Suggestion” article. [...]

Helmholtz Virtual Institute International Conference "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes" 2016

We invite you to join the International Conference "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes" which will take place in the heart of Berlin at the Magnus-Haus of the German Physical Society from September, 12th -16th, 2016. Now, the Online registration is open. [...]

70 Mädchen beim Girls‘ Day am HZB

Raus aus der Schule, rein ins Labor: Dem Aufruf folgten deutschlandweit rund 100.000 Mädchen zum bundesweiten Aktionstag „Girls‘ Day“ und wählten aus insgesamt 9.500 verschiedenen Angeboten. [...]

Neuer lichtblick: HZB-Strategie für die Zukunft, Soziale Netzwerke, Helmholtz-Laborplattform

Das HZB schärft sein Profil. In unserer aktuellen Ausgabe stellen wir Ihnen die Strategie und Vision des HZB sowie wichtige Ziele und Handlungsfelder vor.  [...]

Thin-film solar cells: how defects appear and disappear in CIGSe-cells

Concentration of copper plays a crucial role

An international collaboration of German, Israeli, and British teams has investigated the deposition of thin chalcopyrite layers. They were able to observe specific defects as these formed during deposition and under what conditions they self-healed using the BESSY II X-ray source at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. The results of their research provide clues to optimising fabrication processes and have now been published in Energy & Environmental Science. [...]

Registration open: Quantsol Summer School on solar energy conversion

Registration for Quantsol is now open! It is already the ninth time that the International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol) will be held in September 2016 in Hirschegg, Kleinwalsertal, Austria. The school is organized by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Technical University of Ilmenau. Applications can be submitted through the school’s homepage until May 31st, 2016. [...]

Riddle of missing efficiency in zinc oxide-based dye-sensitised solar cells solved.

To convert solar energy into electricity or solar fuels, you need specialised systems of materials such as those consisting of organic and inorganic thin films. Processes at the junction of these films play a decisive role in converting the solar energy. Now a team at HZB headed by Prof. Emad Aziz has used ultra-short laser pulses and observed for the first time directly how boundary states form between the organic dye molecules and a zinc-oxide semiconductor layer, temporarily trapping the charge carriers. This explains why zinc-oxide (ZnO) dye-sensitised solar cells have not yet met expectations. The results evolved from collaboration between Monash University (Australia) and Joint Lab partners Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin). They have now been published online by Nature in the open access magazine Scientific Reports. [...]

Energy Materials: Dr. Catherine Dubourdieu sets up the institute “Functional Oxides for Energy-Efficient Information Technology” at the HZB

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) is boosting its energy materials research and setting up a new institute. Through the Helmholtz Recruitment Initiative, the HZB has gained renowned researcher Catherine Dubourdieu as Institute Director. In the newly established institute “Functional Oxides for Energy-Efficient Information Technology”, she is researching into thin films of metal oxides that make especially promising candidates for information technologies of the future. Dubourdieu formerly worked at the institute “Nanotechnologies de Lyon” of the CNRS and has been at the HZB since 11 April 2016. [...]

Veranstaltungstipp: „Battle den Horst“ – Science Slam mit HZB-Physiker am 14. April im Technologiepark Adlershof

Der Science Slam „Battle den Horst“ geht in die nächste Runde – dieses Mal mit Beteiligung eines HZB-Kandidaten. Beim Adlershofer Science Slam am 14. April erklären Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler, wie effizient Solarzellen sind und wie Nanospaghetti Krebs besiegen. Sie rappen über Supraleiter und geben erste Hilfe-Tipps, um unangenehme Schweißströme zu stoppen. In nur zehn Minuten bringen die Slammer ihre Forschungsthemen auf verständliche Weise auf den Punkt. [...]

Energy storage materials under pressure

Surprising discovery at BESSY II: the adsorption capacity of MOFs does not rise automatically with increasing pressure [...]

Priority programme for topological insulators begins second funding period

Applicants for support funds to conduct research on topological insulators met at HZB Adlershof on February 15th and 16th. This meeting dealt with the second period of funding for the SPP 1666 Priority programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG) that runs from mid-2016 to 2019. Researchers from across Germany contribute their specific expertise and work together in these Priority programmes (SPPs).
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Young scientist award for Oliver Supplie

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kristallzüchtung und Kristallwachstum (DGKK) presented Oliver Supplie with the DGKK Young Scientist Award on 16 March 2016. Supplie works at the TU Ilmenau and at the HZB, and accepted the prize worth 2,500 euros during the “1st German Czechoslovak Conference on Crystal Growth”. The DGKK awarded the prize in recognition of Oliver Supplie’s outstanding work in improving our understanding of interfaces between III-V semiconductors and silicon. This is of great importance for producing high efficiency components, for example. [...]

Solar fuels:a refined protective layer for the “artificial leaf”

A team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has developed a process for providing sensitive semiconductors for solar water splitting (“artificial leaves”) with an organic, transparent protective layer. The extremely thin protective layer made of carbon chains is stable, conductive, and covered with catalysing nanoparticles of metal oxides. These accelerate the splitting of water when irradiated by light. The team was able to produce a hybrid silicon-based photoanode structure that evolves oxygen at current densities above 15 mA/cm². The results have now been published in Advanced Energy Materials.

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Measuring chemistry: local fingerprint of hydrogen bonding captured in experiments

A team from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has been able for the first time to measure how new bonds influence molecules: they have reconstructed the “energy landscape” of acetone molecules using measurement data from the Swiss Light Source (SLS) of the Paul Scherrer Institut, and thereby empirically established the formation of hydrogen bonds between acetone and chloroform molecules. The results have been published in Nature Scientific Reports and assist in understanding fundamental phenomena of chemistry. [...]

Marie Curie Fellowship for Aafke Bronneberg

Aafke Bronneberg has been working as a postdoc at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels since summer 2013. The physicist has now received one of the sought-after European Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions Research Fellowships. The fellowship supports outstanding scientists in their post-doctoral phase. It provides for and anticipates a change in research institution and country. Aafke Bronneberg will therefore join the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER) in Eindhoven, Netherlands beginning February 2017. [...]

Topological insulators: Magnetism is not causing loss of conductivity

If topological insulators are doped with impurities that possess magnetic properties, they lose their conductivity. Yet contrary to what has been assumed thus far, it is not the magnetism that leads to this. This has been shown by recent experiments with BESSY II at HZB. The results are now published in Nature Communications. Understanding these effects is crucial for applications of topological insulators in information technology. [...]

Hint: HZB Postdoc Association introduces a Postdoc of the Month on their webpage

What have Galina Gurieva, Franziska Huschmann, Alex Redinger in common? They are postdocs working at HZB. For connecting each other and providing an channel for networking the HZB Postdoc Association introduces each month the work of one of the researchers at HZB-website. The young scientists write briefly about their work, their favorite paper and name the instruments and beamlines they are working with. Moreover, to get a good impression of their work they show some pictures about their laboratories, instruments and beamlines. Here you can find the interesting page of the Postdoc Association. [...]

Metal Oxide Sandwiches: New option to manipulate properties of interfaces

A Franco-German cooperation has investigated a sandwich system of transition metal oxides at BESSY II. The scientists discovered a new option to control properties of the interface between the two layers, for instance the amount of charge transferred from one layer to the other or the emergence of ferromagnetism.  Their insights might help to create new properties at the interface, not present in the primary materials, maybe even novel forms of High Tc superconductivity. [...]

Matthias May mit dem Doktorandenpreis der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft ausgezeichnet

Dr. Matthias May erforschte in seiner Promotion am Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), wie man mit Sonnenlicht noch effizienter Wasser spalten und in Form von Wasserstoff speichern kann. Für seine Arbeit erhielt er am 27. Januar 2016 den mit 5.000 Euro dotierten Doktorandenpreis der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft. May forscht seit Januar 2016 als Postdoktorand an der Universität Cambridge. [...]

An alternative to platinum: iron-nitrogen compounds as catalysts in graphene

Teams at HZB and TU Darmstadt have produced a cost-effective catalyst material for fuel cells using a new preparation process which they analysed in detail. It consists of iron-nitrogen complexes embedded in tiny islands of graphene only a few nanometres in diameter. It is only the FeN4 centres that provide the excellent catalytic efficiency – approaching that of platinum. The results are interesting for solar fuels research as well and have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. [...]

The solar technologies race: thin-film photovoltaics are catching up

ZSW and HZB present current data – with new    opportunities for Europe’s solar industry [...]

A Fast Way of Electron Orbit Simulation in Complex Magnetic Fields

The design  of  advanced synchrotron radiation sources requires precise  algorithms  for the  simulation of electron trajectories in  complex magnetic fields. However, multi-parameter studies can  be very time consuming. Now, a team of the HZB has developed a new algorithm which significantly reduces the computation time.  This approach is now published in the renowned journal “Physical Review Special Topics Accelerator & Beams”. [...]

MacQueen is researching into optical energy converters for generating fuels: Funding through the Helmholtz Postdoc Programme

Dr. Rowan W. MacQueen will come in spring 2016 to the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and will receive funding for his research project through the Helmholtz Postdoc Programme. He will be studying the optoelectronic properties at the boundaries of thin organic layers to oxides. These are relevant in developing optical energy converters for generating fuels. The “Helmholtz Postdoc Programme” will fund the Australian researcher with 100,000 Euro annually for a period of up to three years.  [...]

Optimum band gap for hybrid silicon/perovskite tandem solar cell

Tandem solar cells based on silicon and perovskites have raised high hopes for future high efficiency solar modules.  A team led by perovskite solar cell pioneer Henry Snaith at the University of Oxford has now shown, with contributions by Bernd Rech and Lars Korte of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, that an ultimate efficiency of 30% should be attainable with such tandem cells. They discovered a structurally stable perovskite composition with its band gap tuned to an optimum value of 1.75 eV. The results have been published in "Science". [...]

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin expands its solar fuel research: Kathrin Aziz-Lange starts with her new Helmholtz Young Investigator Group

Dr. Kathrin Maria Aziz-Lange has won approval to set up a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group (YIG) addressing the topic of solar fuels at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). She will receive 250,000 Euros in annual support for a period of five years, with half from the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association and half financed by HZB. The YIG will investigate materials that enable water splitting using sunlight and thereby store solar energy chemically in form of hydrogen. [...]

Alternative method for the representation of microstructures in polycrystalline materials

Also Raman microspectroscopy in an optical microscope provides the means to determine local crystal orientations of polycrystalline materials over large sample areas. This method can be used alternatively to electron backscatter diffraction in a scanning electron microscope. It was shown by a team from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) that both characterization techniques result in similar orientation distribution maps on areas of several hundreds of square micrometers. [...]

Posterpreise beim Usermeeting

Vom 9. bis 11. Dezember haben sich über 320 Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler aus der Nutzerschaft und dem HZB getroffen, um sich über die Forschung und Instrumentierung an BESSY II und BER II auszutauschen. Dabei wurden auch Posterpreise vergeben.
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Ernst-Eckhard-Koch-Preis und Innovationspreis Synchrotronstrahlung

Am 10. Dezember 2015 vergab der Freundeskreis Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin zum 25. mal den Ernst-Eckhard-Koch-Preis für eine herausragende Promotionsarbeit auf dem Gebiet der Forschung mit Synchrotronstrahlung. Die Preisverleihung fand während des 7. BER II und BESSY II Nutzertreffens statt. [...]

Neuer Lichtblick erschienen

Eine drei Viertel Million hat Annika Bande eingeworben und ist damit an das HZB gekommen. Bei ihrer Forschung zeigt sie sich experimentierfreudig und probiert als Grenzgängerin zwischen Physik und Chemie ganz neue Ideen aus. In der Titelgeschichte erzählt die 36-jährige Mutter von zwei Kindern, warum das Festklammern an Standardabläufen nicht ihr Ding ist. [...]

Ausstellung bei BESSY II: Die besten Bilder vom HZB Science Photo Walk

Die 20 besten Bilder vom HZB Science Photo Walk sind ab sofort bis Ende März 2016 in einer Ausstellung bei BESSY II für die Öffentlichkeit zu besichtigen. Am 15. Dezember 2015 wurden die Preise bei der Vernissage an die Fotografen im Namen der Jury übergeben.  [...]

Doped organic semiconductors explored

Organic semiconductor materials are already being employed today in solar cells and organic LEDs (OLEDs) amongst others. Until now, however, little was known about how the doping molecules are integrated into the chemical structure of organic semiconductors. The Molecular Systems Joint Research Team of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin at BESSY II have now analysed this with surprising results. The molecules are not necessarily uniformly dispersed in the host lattice, as it is usual with inorganic semiconductors, but instead form what are known as co-crystallites. The doped organic semiconductor consists of a matrix of undoped crystallites in which such “mixed crystallites” are embedded. It is this very species that takes over the role as the actually doping molecule. The results were published in Nature Communications.
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European Workshop on Nanophotonics for Solar Energy

On 25 and 26 November 2015, about 40 researchers from seven European countries visited Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin to attend the “European Workshop on Nanophotonics for Solar Energy”. [...]

Common platform for macromolecular crystallography at European synchrotrons

Researchers use high-intensity X-ray light from synchrotron radiation sources to decipher the structures of biological molecules and thus the blueprints of life. A cooperation agreement has been effective since 2012 to establish common software standards at several European sources. Its aim: The eight synchrotrons involved want to create user-friendly, standardised conditions at the 30 experimental stations for macromolecular crystallography, which will greatly facilitate the work of research groups. In the new project “MXCuBE3”, the existing software platform is being adapted to include the latest developments in technology. [...]

Invitation to the HZB Science Slam: TODAY at 18.30 o’clock in Adlershof

We invite you to the HZB Science Slam that takes place today at 18.30 o’clock at the Melli Beese Kabinett (Adlershof Forum). Three scientists present their topics in an understandable, entertaining and concise way and, moreover, in only 10 minutes. The audience is the judge and jury, voting using numbered cards. This participation provokes discussion as they begin to talk about science and the presentation. The Science Slam is part of the HZB User Meeting.
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Three days for exchange between Users of BESSY II and BER II and HZB-scientists

The Seventh Joint BER II and BESSY II User Meeting will take place at WISTA, Berlin-Adlershof on December 9th and 10th, the neutrons session are at Berlin-Wannsee on December 11th. The Verein Freundeskreis Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin e.V. will bestow the Innovation Award and the Ernst-Eckart-Koch Prize. Public highlights are a science slam on Wednesday, 18:30 and the public lecture by David Cahen on the power of science to bridge ideological differences (“Science: Bridge over troubled water“, Thursday 17:00). The public lecture and the science slam are open for everybody. [...]

HZB Science-Photowalk - Holger Fehsenfeld gewinnt mit "Weltraum" Foto

Zum zweiten Mal lud das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin am 6. November 2015 Hobbyfotografen zu einem Fotospaziergang durch die Labore und den Elektronenspeicherring ein. 47 Fotografen haben fast 200 Wettbewerbsbilder eingereicht.  Aus diesen hat eine Jury Top 20 Fotos ausgewählt. Das Siegerbild mit dem Titel „Weltraum" hat Holger Fehsenfeld aufgenommen. [...]

Whispering gallery modes in Silicon nanocones intensify luminescence

Silicon, a semiconducting material, reveals new talents when reduced to nanoscopic dimensions. A joint team at the HZB Institute of Nanoarchitectures for Energy Conversion and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) has demonstrated this. Silicon nanocones generate 200 times as much infrared luminescence as comparably sized nanocolumns when excited by visible light. Modelling and experimental results show that due to their geometry, cones are able to sustain what is referred to as whispering gallery modes at infrared wavelengths which can intensify the silicon luminescence. New applications are conceivable, including silicon-based nanolasers. [...]

PVcomB-25 paper awards for two HZB-Contributions

At the 25th International Photovoltaic Science & Engineering Conference (PVSEC) two papers from the HZB-Institute PVcomB have been awarded: Jan-Peter Bäcker and Marc Daniel Heinemann received the PVSEC-25 Paper Award for their research on chalcogenide solar cells (CIGS). The PVSEC was held from 15. to 20. November in Busan, Korea. [...]

Distinguished Lectures at HZB: Prof. T. Krauss will talk about Photovoltaics and Photonic nanostructures

Solar power has the highest potential among all renewable energy sources, it is clean and practically inexhaustible. Despite the already very high performance of silicon solar cells with 25% efficiency and low costs, a lot of research is yet required in order to realise the vision of a solar-powered society. Can we reduce module cost by integrating solar cells into buildings? Can we improve efficiency without increasing cost, by adding low-cost materials such as perovskites? What role can photonic nanostructures play to help control the flow of light? [...]

Filming microscopic and macroscopic changes within materials

The EDDI beamline at BESSY II is now offering even more options. It has recently become possible to also obtain high-resolution three-dimensional images of microscopic structure with it, up to four such tomographies per second are possible. X-ray diffraction (energy-dispersive diffraction) can simultaneously be carried out to draw conclusions about the crystal structure of the material just as before. [...]

ZEISS and the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin establish partnership

Nanotechnology in support of leading research on renewable energy [...]

Helmholtz-Tag im HZB-Schülerlabor

Die Schülerlabore der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft veranstalten am 17. November zum vierten Mal den Helmholtz-Tag. Mit dabei ist auch das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. Schülerinnen und Schüler erhalten einen Einblick in die Forschungsarbeit von Hermann von Helmholtz und können in den Laboren selbst experimentieren. Der Namenspatron der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft gehörte zu den bedeutendsten Naturwissenschaftlern des 19. Jahrhunderts. [...]

HEUTE: Kunst und Wissenschaft - Dr. Paul Goslawski trägt am 17. November 2015 im Haus am Waldsee vor

Kunst und Wissenschaft gehören auf dem ersten Blick nicht unbedingt zusammen, dennoch verbindet beide Welten viel. Dr. Paul Goslwaski, Beschleunigerforscher am HZB, trägt im Rahmen der Ausstellung "Alicja Kwade – Monolog aus dem 11ten Stock" im Haus am Waldsee vor. Dabei arbeitet er Berührungspunkte zwischen Kunst und seiner Forschung heraus: Er spricht über Beschleuniger, Kommunikation und Physik – und über das Beste, was die Physik zu bieten hat. Das Haus am Waldsee zählt zu den führenden Austellern für internationale zeitgenössische Kunst in Deutschland. [...]

rbb-Inforadio: Andreas Jankowiak im Gespräch über bERLinPro

Die Baustelle für bERLinPro fällt auf. Sie ist auch dem Wissenschaftsredakteur des rbb-Inforadio, Thomas Prinzler, nicht entgangen. Und so kam es zu einem kurzweiligen Gespräch, in dem Andreas Jankowiak die Herausforderungen des Projekts erläutert. Hohe Ströme, hohe Emitanzen - viel Physik. Aber auch die Anforderungen an die Gebäudeplanung kamen zur Sprache. Und die Synergie zu BESSY-VSR. Nachzuhören im Inforadio-Gespräch vom 8. November. [...]

New class of materials for organic electronics:

Joint project details charge transport in polymeric carbon nitride for first time

Polymeric carbon nitride is an organic material with interesting optoelectronic properties. As an inexpensive photocatalyst, it can be used to facilitate water splitting using sunlight. Joint research by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, the University of Rostock, Freie Universität Berlin as well as other partners has now investigated for the first time how light creates charge carriers in this class of materials and established details about charge mobility and lifetimes. They discovered surprising characteristics in their investigations that provide prospects for new applications, in conjunction with graphene for example. [...]

BESSY II electron highway gets second lane

The particle accelerator team at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has demonstrated that BESSY II, the 3rd generation synchrotron radiation source in Berlin, can be operated with not just one, but two simultaneous electron paths. By precisely tuning the magnetic components, physicists can create an additional orbital path. Packets of electrons can travel along it and emit intense light pulses at the experiment stations. This could provide the user community with the option to select light pulses from either path as needed in their experiments. The newly developed orbital mode has already been stably implemented and initial tests at the experiment stations (beamlines) show promising results. HZB is the first to enter this new territory and at the same time has reached another milestone in its pioneering BESSY-VSR project. [...]

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. [...]

50 amateur photographers participate in the Science Photowalk at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

BESSY II is an amazing location for scientists from all over the world. But today, it will be amazing for more than 50 amateur photographers, too. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) invites them to participate on 6. November 2015 in a Science-Photowalk at BESSY II. They will get unique opportunities during a guided tour through the storage ring and you could capture your very personal perspective on science, big instruments and small details. [...]

Shutdown at BESSY II: An extremely productive break

From the end of October to the middle of January, no electrons will circulate in the synchrotron ring BESSY II. “We shut down BESSY II at the beginning of the last October week, as planned,” says Dr. Christian Jung, head of the main department Scientific-Technical Infrastructure II. “We plan to carry out extensive maintenance and setup work, so we will be working on BESSY II day and night for close to three months. In mid-January 2016, the radiation source will be available once again to users – more powerful than ever.” [...]

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin auf der Jahrestagung des Forschungsverbunds Erneuerbare Energie (FVEE)

Vom 3. Bis 4. November 2015 findet die Jahrestagung des Forschungsverbunds Erneuerbare Energie (FVEE) im Umweltforum Berlin in Berlin statt. Schwerpunktthema ist in diesem Jahr die Wärmewende. Das Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin ist mit einem Infostand und Vorträgen präsent. [...]

Monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell achieves record efficiency

Teams from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, have been the first to successfully combine a silicon heterojunction solar cell with a perovskite solar cell monolithically into a tandem device. The hybrid tandem cell showed an efficiency of 18 per cent. That is the highest currently reported value for this type of device architecture. There are even prospects for the efficiency to reach as much as 30 per cent. [...]

Science Photowalk at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) invites you to participate on 6. November 2015 in a Science-Photowalk at BESSY II. If you love to take photographies of unconventional objects, you will get unique opportunities during a guided tour through the storage ring and you could capture your very personal perspective on science, big instruments and small details. There is a limited number of places, participation is for free, the best pictures will be awarded. Please apply until 2. November 2015. [...]

Liane Benning (GFZ) talks about „The Birth and Life Cycle of a Nanoparticle: or how to make crystals from ions”

20 years Helmholtz Association – a series of lectures shows the variety of the research field [...]

Poster award to Markus Kubin

At the International Conference on X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure Markus Kubin has been selected to receive one out of five poster awards. More than 300 posters have been presented at the poster session. [...]

D-Lecture with Metin Tolan: “Burning Ice” - synchrotron radiation reveals how molecules are captured in hydrates

Most of the carbon on earth is stored as methane-hydrate in deep sea areas (so-called "burning ice”). Prof. Metin Tolan, Technische Universität Dortmund, will show new data from synchrotron experiments, which unveil the process of hydrate formation for the first time, thus addressing a burning topic of energy and climate research. [...]

Simone Raoux becomes a Professor at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Prof. Dr. Simone Raoux has accepted the call to the W3-S professorship “Nanospectroscopy for Design and Optimisation of Energy-Related Materials” in the Department of Physics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The professorship is associated with heading the institute of the same name at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie. Prof. Raoux accepted the call in September 2015. [...]

Five years of the School Lab in Adlershof

To get school students interested in science, to show them the points of contact between research and everyday life – this is the mission of the HZB School Lab. Today, it celebrates its fifth anniversary at Adlershof. Since its founding in October 2010, more than 5,500 school students have come to perform experiments at the premises on Magnusstraße in Adlershof. [...]

Scientists demonstrate how to improve ultrathin CIGSe solar cells by nanoparticles

CIGSe solar cells  are made of a thin chalcopyrite layer consisting of Copper, Indium, Gallium and Selenium and can reach high efficiencies. Since Indium is becoming scarce and expensive, it is interesting to reduce the active CIGSe layer, which however decreases the efficiency quite strongly.  Now, scientists at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have produced high quality ultrathin CIGSe layers and increased their efficiency by an array of tiny nanoparticles between the back contact and the active layer. [...]

German Solar Prize for scientist for Martha Lux-Steiner

Renowned physicist Prof. Martha Lux-Steiner, a scientist at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, has received the German Solar Prize for 2015. The European Association for Renewable Energy (EUROSOLAR) recognised her lifetime of work and involvement in research and education with the award. [...]

Graphene as a front contact for silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells

HZB team develops elegant process for coating fragile perovskite layers with graphene for the first time. Subsequent measurements show that the graphene layer is an ideal front contact in several respects. [...]

Science-Video Wettbewerb: Der vom HZB eingereichte Beitrag aus dem Happy Undulator ist einer der Finalisten.

Jetzt gilt‘s: bitte teilen, kommentieren und voten. Der von Wissenschaft im Dialog durchgeführte Video-Wettbewerb „Fast Forward Science 2015“ geht in die heiße Phase. 109 Videos sind bis zum Stichtag 31. Juli eingereicht worden, von denen eine Jury nun 17 Beiträge fürs Online-Voting ausgewählt hat, darunter der vom HZB eingereichte Beitrag „Bessy II: What can I do for you?“. Gefragt waren in dem Wettbewerb Wissenschaftsvideos, die zugleich unterhalten, wissenschaftlich fundiert und verständlich sind. [...]

Quantsol Sommerschule 2015 – erfolgreich im 8. Jahr

Die International Summer School on Photovoltaics and New Concepts of Quantum Solar Energy Conversion (Quantsol) fand vom 6. bis 13. September 2015 zum achten Mal in Folge im österreichischen Hirschegg/Kleinwalsertal statt. Über 50 angehende Solarforscherinnen und -forschern aus 19 Ländern besuchten die Veranstaltung. [...]

Tage der Forschung in Adlershof

Am 24. und 25. September fanden in Adlershof die diesjährigen Tage der Forschung statt. Schülerinnen und Schüler der gymnasialen Oberstufe aus Berlin und Brandenburg bekamen die Möglichkeit, Forschungseinrichtungen am Wissenschaftsstandort Adlershof zu besichtigen. Das HZB bot vier Schülergruppen einen spannenden Einblick in die Welt der Forschung. [...]

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin successfully at international Photovoltaic Conference in Hamburg

From 14. to 18. September more than 2.500 experts on photovoltaics from all over the world met at the 31th EU PVSEC in Hamburg to discuss the latest developments and innovations. HZB was present at the conference with oral and poster presentations and in addition with an booth at the exibition. A joint publication by the Competence Centre for Photovoltaics (PVcomB) and Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics was chosen from 1,300 contributions under the best TOP 20 of the conference. [...]

Catalysis research strengthened: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin participates in newly approved Einstein Center for Catalysis

The Einstein Foundation will fund the new Einstein Center for Catalysis (EC²) beginning in 2016 in which Technical University Berlin (TU Berlin) and selected non-university institutions in Berlin will be participating. Prof. Emad Aziz, head of the HZB Institute for Methods of Materials Research at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin will be taking part in setting up the institution. His team will be contributing particular expertise in analytics of ultrafast processes in catalytic reactions. [...]

Summer students: Final presentation at a conference

On Thursday, 24. September 2015, the summerstudents have presented their projects in Wannsee in a science conference format: Three topics have been selected for oral presentation, the other projects were presented in a poster session, thus all students could demonstrate first results.  [...]

How to Flow Ultrathin Water Layers - A Liquid Flatjet for X-Ray Spectroscopy

A collaboration between scientists from the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) have now demonstrated the successful implementation of a liquid flatjet with a thickness in the μm range, allowing for XAS transmission measurements in the soft-x-ray regime. This paves the way for novel steady-state and time-resolved experiments. [...]

Das HZB-Schülerlabor an der Schüleruni der Freien Universität Berlin

Unter dem Motto „Lernen für eine zukunftsfähige Welt“ öffnet die Freie Universität Berlin ihren grünen Campus für eine Schüleruniversität. Eine Woche lang erforschen Schülerinnen und Schüler der 5. Und 6. Klassen, was sich hinter dem Begriff der nachhaltigen Entwicklung verbirgt. Das Schülerlabor des HZB bietet zum Thema „Nachhaltigkeit und Klimaschutz“ zwei Workshops an. [...]

Neuer lichtblick: Neues Exzellenzlabor mit ZEISS, Tipps für das sichere Surfen im Netz, ein Comic über BESSY II ...

Hätten Sie den Low Alpha Mode lieber mit – oder ohne Photonenpicker? Wollen Sie die Polarisation vertikal oder elliptisch? Und den Kaffee stark oder entkoffeiniert? Kein Problem! Im Café Happy Undulator ist man guten Service und anspruchsvolle Wünsche gewohnt. Mehr dazu gibt es im BESSYII-Comic in der neuen lichtblick. Natürlich darf darin auch nicht fehlen, dass die Küche schon an einem neuen Rezept für den Speicherring arbeitet. Und wer es lieber sachlich will, findet alle Informationen rund um das Zukunftsprojekt BESSY VSR im Interview mit Andreas Jankowiak. [...]

The 6th International Conference on Small-Angle Scattering SAS in the Social Media

Scientific networking at its best. 400 scientists from around the world met in Berlin from 13th to 18th September 2015. The SAS 2015 Conference is a triennial forum for the discussion of the most recent advances in the field of small angle scattering and assembles scientists from all around the world. We published a SAS2015-storify with the best impressions of the conference posted by the scientists. [...]

Gemeinsames Treffen der Strukturbiologen in Berlin: der 6. Joint-MX-Day am 23. September 2015 am HZB

Die Hauptstadt hat sich in den letzten Jahren zu einem Hotspot der Strukturbiologie in Deutschland entwickelt. Entscheidend dazu beigetragen hat das hohe Maß an Kooperation zwischen außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen und Universitäten. Aber auch Wissenschaft und Industrie arbeiten in der Strukturbiologie sehr eng zusammen. Am 23. September 2015 findet der 6. Joint-MX-Day statt, bei dem sich Forscher über neue Methoden, Ansätze und Erkenntnisse in der Strukturbiologie austauschen werden. [...]

Posterpreis für HZB-Nachwuchsforscher Jannik Möser aus dem Institut für Nanospektroskopie

Für sein Poster über den experimentellen Nachweis von Defekten in Dünnschicht-Silizium-Materialien für die Photovoltaik hat Jannik Möser einen Preis erhalten. Er erhielt diese Auszeichnung auf der Tagung der Fachgruppe magnetische Resonanz der Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCH), die Anfang September in Darmstadt stattfand. [...]

poster prize for Laura Elisa Valle Rios student at the European Crystallographic Meeting (ECM29)

The poster contribution of Laura Elisa Valle Rios (HZB-Department Crystallography) was awarded the CrystEngComm poster price of the Royal Society of Chemistry at the 29^th European Crystallographic Meeting (ECM29) in Rovinj (Croatia). Laura Elisa, a PhD student in the Marie-Curie Initial Training network KESTCELLS and the HZB Graduate School "Materials for Solar Energy Conversion" (MatSEC). [...]

Hydrogen from sunlight: new efficiency record for artificial photosynthesis

An international team has now succeeded in considerably increasing the efficiency for direct solar water splitting. They are using a tandem solar cell whose surfaces have been selectively modified. The new record value is 14 % and thus considerably above the previous record of 12.4 % held by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the USA, broken now for the first time in 17 years. Researchers from the Institute for Solar Fuels at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, TU Ilmenau, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) participated in the collaboration. The results have been published in Nature Communications. [...]

ISUenergy 2015 – the 7th successful year!

Local energy education & training for a global learning community – The International Summer University for Renewable Energy, the ISUenergy 2015, took place already for the seventh time from August to the beginning of September in Falera, Graubünden, with students from all around the world. [...]

Rohbauarbeiten für Beschleunigerhalle am HZB beginnen: Spatenstich für eine Testanlage eines Linearbeschleuniger mit Energierückgewinnung (ERL)

Unmittelbar vor dem Beginn der Rohbauarbeiten wurde am 10. September 2015 der Spatenstich für die neue Beschleunigerhalle von bERLinPro gefeiert, in der eine kompakte Testanlage für einen Linearbeschleuniger mit Energierückgewinnung aufgebaut wird. Zirka 200 geladene Gäste verfolgten diesen Meilenschritt auf dem Weg zur Realisierung eines technologisch einzigartigen Projekts. [...]

Milch, Wirkstoff-Taxis und andere kolloide Materialsysteme analysieren: SAS 2015 tagt in Berlin

Vom 13. - 18. September treffen sich über 400 Expertinnen und Experten zur 16. Internationalen Konferenz zur Kleinwinkelstreuung (16. International Conference on Small Angle Scattering, SAS 2015) in Berlin. Mit Kleinwinkelstreuung lassen sich biologische und anorganische Materialsysteme auf Nanometerskala untersuchen und dynamische Prozesse beobachten. [...]

Berlin Joint EPR lab organises the 7th Summer School of the European Federation of EPR Groups with 120 participants from 26 countries

100 students and 20 lecturers from all around the world came to Berlin for a week at the end of August to take part in the biggest and most traditional educational event in the field of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The Summer School was organised, with the support of the HZB, by the groups of the Berlin Joint EPR labs (BeJEL) of HZB and Freie Universität Berlin. [...]

Herzlich Willkommen: Ausbildungsstart am 1. September am HZB

11 Auszubildende und 4 Studierende starten heute ins Berufsleben. Am offiziellen Ausbildungsbeginn begrüßte der kaufmännische Geschäftsführer des HZB, Thomas Frederking, die Neuankömmlinge auf dem Campus Wannsee im Rahmen einer kleinen Kennlernveranstaltung. [...]

Ground-breaking ceremony for the bERLinPro building on 10th September 2015 at 12:30

We cordially invite you to the bERLinPro (Berlin Energy Recovery Linac) groundbreaking ceremony on 10th September 2015 at 12:30. The HZB develops in Berlin-Adlershof a test facility for an Energy Recovery Linac. [...]

HZB Scientist Frank Siewert wins Giovanni Sostero Award

Congratulations to Frank Siewert, who just won the 2015 International Giovanni Sostero Award [...]

Charge transport in hybrid silicon solar cells

An HZB team headed by Prof. Silke Christiansen has made a surprising discovery about hybrid organic/inorganic solar cells. Contrary to expectations, a diode composed of the conductive organic PEDOT:PSS and an n-type silicon absorber material behaves more like a pn junction between two semiconductors than like a metal-semiconductor contact (Schottky diode). Their results have now been published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports and could point the way toward improvements in hybrid solar cells. [...]

Anomalous magnetic structure and spin dynamics in magnetoelectric LiFePO4

A team at HZB has recently unraveled intricate details of the magnetic structure and dynamics of the magnetoelectric compound LiFePO₄.Such materials currently find use in sensors but there are promising perspectives for magnetoelectrics to be applied in data storage and spintronic devices as well. [...]

Transparent, electrically conductive network of encapsulated silver nanowires – a novel electrode for optoelectronics

A team headed by Prof. Silke Christiansen has developed a transparent electrode with high electrical conductivity for solar cells and other optoelectronic components – that uses minimal amounts of material. It consists of a random network of silver nanowires that is coated with aluminium-doped zinc oxide. The novel electrode requires about 70 times less silver than conventional silver grid electrodes, but possesses comparable electrical conductivity. [...]

Helmholtz to invest 46 million EUR in new shared laboratory infrastructure

Six Helmholtz Centres are founding a shared infrastructure for developing novel energy materials that will also be available to external users. [...]

BESSY II launches New Filling Pattern in User Mode

Since July 2015 BESSY II has been providing a new bunch filling pattern in Top-Up mode. It will open new opportunities especially for research teams dealing with time-resolved x-ray experiments. It is of significant importance for us and the community anticipating BESSY VSR. [...]

Spins in Graphene with a Hedgehog Texture

HZB researchers demonstrate a fundamental property of the electron spin in graphene [...]

Freigeist Fellowship for Tristan Petit

For his project on nanodiamond materials and nanocarbon, Dr. Tristan Petit has been awarded a Freigeist Fellowship from the VolkswagenStiftung. The grant covers a five-year period and will enable him to establish his own research team. The VolkswagenStiftung is funding with these prestigious fellowships outstanding postdocs planning original research that transcends the bounds of their own field.
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