HZB Newsroom
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.
27.03.2020 - #Corona: HZB has been converted to minimal operation on 20.03.2020
We too must help to slow down the spread of the corona virus. For this reason, after carefully assessing the situation, the HZB has been converted to minimal operations on 20 March. Exceptions are the proton therapy and SARS-CoV-2 related projects for which ...
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 ...
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 ...
Adolfo Velez Saiz is a professor of accelerator physics at TU 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...