HZB Newsroom
Optimize opto-electronic devices with new compact measuring system
In order to develop efficient opto-electronic devices such as solar cells or LEDs, it is crucial to improve the quality of the semiconductors. To achieve this, it is necessary to determine the luminescence yield of the semiconductor material. For this ...
User research at BESSY II: Formation of a 2D meta-stable oxide in reactive...
A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion has now described an important phenomenon that can occur when metal alloys are exposed to reactive environments at the synchrotron source BESSY II.
BESSY II: Experiment shows for the first time in detail how electrolytes become...
For the first time an experiment was developed at BESSY II that shows how electrolytes become metallic. The transition to the state is shown by a change of colour from blue to gold. The publication even appears on the front page of SCIENCE Magazine.
On the road to non-toxic and stable perovskite solar cells
To replace lead by less toxic elements is not easy since lead-free perovskites show lower stability and poor efficiencies. Now, an international collaboration has engineered a new hybrid perovskite material with promising efficiency and stability.
User research at BESSY II: How new materials increase the efficiency of direct...
A group from Brazil and an HZB team have investigated a novel composite membrane for ethanol fuel cells. It consists of the polymer Nafion, in which nanoparticles of a titanium compound are embedded by the rarely explored melt extrusion process.
Corona research: Consortium of Berlin research and industry seeks active...
The Berlin biotech company Molox GmbH and a team at HZB have initiated a consortium of regional research groups and BASF. They want to identify a starting point for the development of a potential active substance against the new coronavirus.
Condensed Matter Physics: Long-standing prediction of quantum physics...
90 years ago, the physicist Hans Bethe postulated that unusual patterns, so-called Bethe strings, appear in certain magnetic solids. Now an international team has succeeded in experimentally detecting such Bethe strings for the first time.
Coronavirus SARS-CoV2: BESSY II data accelerate drug development
At the Berlin X-ray source BESSY II, researchers have decoded a protein involved in the replication of the corona virus. Analysing the 3D architecture allows the systematic development of drugs which inhibit the reproduction of the virus.
20 percent more patients were treated with proton therapy in 2019
For more than 20 years, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have jointly offered the irradiation of eye tumors with protons. In 2019, more patients were treated in Berlin-Wannsee than ever before. 276 patients - 20 ...
Battery research: Using neutrons and X-rays to analyse the ageing of lithium...
An international team has used neutron and X-ray tomography to investigate the dynamic processes that lead to capacity degradation at the electrodes in lithium batteries. Using a mathematical method, it was possible to virtually unwind electrodes.
World Record: Efficiency of perovskite silicon tandem solar cell jumps to 29.15...
In the race for ever higher efficiency levels, an HZB development team is once again ahead. The scientists have developed a tandem solar cell made of perovskite and silicon, which converts 29.15 per cent of the incident light into electrical energy.
Ernst-Eckhard-Koch-Award and Innovation Award for Research in Synchrotron...
This year, the circle of friends of the HZB awarded the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize to two young scientists for their outstanding PhD theses. The European Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Award went to a team of physicists from DESY and PSI.
X-ray microscopy at BESSY II reveals how antimalaria-drugs might work
An international team has now been able to investigate malaria pathogens in red blood cells under natural conditions using X-ray microscopy at BESSY II, ALBA and ESRF. They show which mechanisms are used by active substances to attack the pathogens.
Reaching climate targets with building integrated Photovoltaics
There is now a wide range of façade elements that generate photovoltaic electricity. So far, however, such building-integrated PV modules have rarely been installed. The Advisory Centre for Building Integrated PV (BAIP) wants to change this.
HZB Researcher on the Board of Directors of the Materials Research Society
In September 2019, Prof. Dr. Catherine Dubourdieu was elected into the Board of Directors of the Materials Research Society (MRS). The MRS is one of the largest scientific associations and has almost 14000 members from various areas of the natural sciences ...
In Memoriam: Charles S. Fadley, Longstanding Collaboration Partner, Power User,...
Charles ‘Chuck’ S. Fadley, a pioneer in photoemission spectroscopy, passed away on the 1st of August 2019. He remained an active and avid researcher until a few weeks before his death at age 77. We will miss him as a brilliant colleague and friend.
Stellungnahme des FVEE: Ausbaudeckel für Photovoltaik behindert erfolgreiche...
Der im EEG von 2012 festgelegte Stopp der Einspeisevergütung durch den 52 GW-Deckel läuft dem erforderlichen massiven Ausbau der Photovoltaik diametral entgegen. Der Forschungsverbund Erneuerbare Energien (FVEE) empfiehlt eine Änderung dieser Praxis.
Save time using maths: analytical tool designs corkscrew-shaped nano-antennae
For the first time, an HZB team has derived analytically how corkscrew-shaped nano-antennas interact with light. The mathematical tool can be used to calculate the geometry that a nano-antenna must have for specific applications in sensor technology or ...
Physicists develop "time machine" for materials research
Researchers from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), Freie Universität Berlin and Technische Universität München will develop fast electronics for data acquisition at BESSY II. This will enable researchers to evaluate the data more extensively - ...
World record in tomography: Watching how metal foam forms
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.
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 ...