HZB Newsroom
Materials research: Thanks to a world record in tomography, synchrotron...
Researchers from the HZB and the Paul Scherrer Institute have developed a more powerful imaging method with which more than 200 three-dimensional tomographic X-ray images can be taken every second during measurement intervals of just several minutes. This ...
The HZB Summer Students blog about their first research experience
Every summer, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin invites young people from all over the world to work on a research project. For many, the summer student program is the first contact with research. How have they settled in? What do they do research on and what ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Long Night of Science at HZB's Wannsee site: Solar cells, environmentally...
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 ...
Photovoltaics are growing faster than expected in the global energy system
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.
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 ...
Federal Ministry of Education and Research supports the development of a...
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.
Adolfo Velez Saiz is a professor of accelerator physics at Technische...
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 ...
Energy for Antarctica: solar hydrogen as an alternative to crude oil?
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. Matthias May (HZB) and Kira Rehfeld (Heidelberg ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
LAUNCH OF EPKI: European Perovskite Initiative for the development of...
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 ...
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 ...
Laser-driven Spin Dynamics in Ferrimagnets: How does the Angular Momentum flow?
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
10 Years of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin: A strong partner in the scientific...
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 ...
Application open: HZB International Summer Student Programme from 8 July to 30...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
D-Lecture on 30th November 2018: Undulators for existing and future light...
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 ...
Alexander Petsch awarded the Young Investigators Prize of the German...
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 ...
New records in perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells through improved light...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Am 15. Oktober startet die Ringvorlesung der Freien Universität Berlin– Zum...
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 ...
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" ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
2.8 Mio Euro Funding for preparing perovskite solar cells for high volume...
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 ...