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NACHRICHT
21.01.: Seminar zu klimaneutralem Planen, Bauen und Betreiben Photovoltaik im Gebäudekonzept integrieren | DGNB Seminarreihe Klimaneutrales Planen, Bauen und Betreiben 21.Januar 14:30 - 16:00 Uhr
NEWS
Corona Update 07.01.2021 / restriced operation HZB resumed user operation at BESSY II and CoreLabs under elevated safety precautions. We inform about our hygiene and distancing rules.
For the measurement campaign, two couplers were mounted in a horizontal test position under a local clean room tent.
NEWS
Accelerator Physics: HF-Couplers for bERLinPro prove resilient A first measurement campaign with optimised couplers at bERLinPro shows that the goal can be achieved.
NEWS
December issue of lichtblick Christmas is coming soon. Because we won’t have a get-together this time, cartoonist Jörg Hafemeister has brought Christmas to HZB in his “Wimmelbild”. You will discover many events on the poster that have accompanied us this year.
Martin Bluschke (MPI for Solid State Research, TU Berlin) receives the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize from Mathias Richter for his outstanding dissertation.
NEWS
Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize and Innovation Award Synchrotron Radiation The Friends of HZB awarded the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize to Dr. Martin Bluschke. The European Innovation Award for Synchrotron Radiation went to a team of four physicists for their work on the FERMI FEL at Elettra.
Two structure powder diffractometers next to each other: the high structure powder diffractometer SPODI (above) in the MLZ experimental hall will be neighbouring FIREPOD.
NEWS
Two neutron instruments from HZB move to Munich Now the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Munich is taking over two scientific instruments from the HZB. The Federal Ministry of Science and Research (BMBF) is funding the relocation and adaptation.
The illustration visualizes the composition of the tandem solar cell.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells on the threshold of 30% efficiency The tandem cell provided stable performance for 300 hours – even without encapsulation. To accomplish this, the group headed by Prof. Steve Albrecht investigated physical processes at the interfaces to improve the transport of the charge carriers.
1st Place: h4a Gessert + Randecker Architekten
NEWS
Architectural Design drafts for new CatLab Center awarded CatLab is to become an international beacon for the development of novel catalyst materials and green hydrogen. After an architectural competition four winning designs have now been selected, all sustainable and climate friendly.
NEWS
CatLab - A beacon for future hydrogen research With CatLab, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and two Max Planck Institutes are building a research platform for catalysis to achieve innovation advances in hydrogen research
Schematic illustration: the solvants (ink) are used to produce a thin film of polycrystalline perovskite.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Perovskite Solar Cells: paving the way for rational ink design for... For the production of perovskite thin-films for large photovoltaic modules often inks are used which contain a mixture of solvents. An HZB team at BESSY II has now analysed how the crystallisation processes within such mixtures.
The tomogram during the charging process shows the spatially resolved changes in the graphite electrode thickness of a rechargeable aluminium ion battery in a discharged and charged state.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BESSY II: Graphite electrodes for rechargeable batteries... A team of the Technical University of Berlin has investigated at the EDDI Beamline of BESSY II how the morphology of the graphite electrodes changes reversibly during cycling (operando).
The distribution of local pH change (ΔpH) with time in an electrolyte containing 0.5 M K2SO4.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Green hydrogen: buoyancy-driven convection in the electrolyte A team at HZB has now presented a method to visualise convection in the electrolyte and to reliably simulate it in advance with a multiphysics model. The results can support the design and scaling up of this technology.
Nine samples with mixtures from CsPbBr2I (ink 1, left) to pure CsPbI3 (ink 2 right).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Solar cells: Mapping the landscape of Caesium based inorganic halide perovskites The study provides a quick and easy method to assess new compositions of perovskite materials in order to identify candidates for applications in thin film solar cells and optoelectronic devices.
The Fermi surface of multidomain GeTe (111) bulk single crystal measured with high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission at BESSY II.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Future Information Technologies: Germanium telluride's hidden properties at the... Germanium Telluride is an interesting candidate material for spintronic devices. At BESSY II, a Helmholtz-RSF Joint Research Group has revealed how the spin texture switches by ferroelectric polarization within individual nanodomains.
Structural model of highly porous a-Si:H, which was deposited very quickly, calculated based on measurement data. Densely ordered domains (DOD) are drawn in blue and cavities in red. The grey layer represents the disordered a-Si:H matrix. The round sections show the nanostructures enlarged to atomic resolution (below, Si atoms: grey, Si atoms on the surfaces of the voids: red; H: white)
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Order in the disorder: density fluctuations in amorphous silicon discovered Such a-Si:H thin films have been used for decades in solar cells, TFT displays, and detectors. The results show that three different phases form within the amorphous matrix, which influences the quality and lifetime of the semiconductor layer.
Ultracold atoms in an optical lattice have been considered for quantum simulation.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Modelling shows which quantum systems are suitable for quantum simulations Theoretical physicists have demonstrated a way to simulate the quantum properties of complex solid state systems.
Scalable large area BiVO4 photoanode on FTO with Ni current collectors.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Solar hydrogen: Let’s consider the stability of photoelectrodes This is the first operando stability study of high-purity BiVO4 photoanodes during the photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER). It shows how the stability of photoelectrodes and catalysts can be compared and enhanced.
(a,b) Cryo-electron microscopy of the 2D-grating and the diffraction pattern of a section. (c-e) Magnification shows the 2D Pascal triangular pattern, with the inserted protein molecules.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Nanopatterns of proteins detected by cryo-electron microscopy A Team at HZB used cryo electron microscopy to detect regular, two-dimensional structures in the form of Pascal triangles, which a Chinese research group assembled from proteins in the laboratory for the first time.
Dr. Michael Tovar working at FALCON at the neutron Source BER II.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Perovskite materials: Neutrons show twinning in halide perovskites An investigation with the Laue camera at the neutron source BER II could now clarify that twinning occurs during crystallisation even at room temperature.
Christina Herold (right) accepted the award on behalf of the instructors at HZB. Together with the HZB, eight companies in Berlin were honoured by the employment agency for outstanding training.
NEWS
HZB is one of the best trainers in Berlin The Berlin-South Employment Agency has awarded the Helmholtz Centre Berlin for an innovative procedure to select applicants not only on the basis of their grades, but also to include communicative and social skills.
View into the experimental hall of the electron accelerator BESSY II at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. Researchers carry out experiments at approximately 50 beamlines. The aim of the cooperation between the University of Kassel and the HZB is to use artificial intelligence to evaluate these data more efficiently.
NEWS
University of Kassel and HZB establish Joint Lab for the use of artificial... The University of Kassel and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin are setting up a joint laboratory for the use of artificial intelligence, where they will improve the analysis of data from experiments performed at BESSY II.
Dr. Raphael Jay has received this year's Carl-Ramsauer-Prize of the German Physical Society of Berlin.
NEWS
Carl-Ramsauer-Award for excellent dissertation Dr. Raphael Jay has received this year's Carl-Ramsauer-Prize of the German Physical Society of Berlin (DPGzB). The prize honours outstanding dissertations in physics and related fields and will be awarded during a festive colloquium on 18 November.
The participants after signing the cooperation agreement between IKZ and HZB in corona-conform distance: (from left to right) Dr. Andreas Popp (IKZ), Dr. Manuela Urban (FVB), Dr. Peter Gaal (IKZ), Prof. Dr. Catherine Dubourdieu (HZB), Prof. Dr. Thomas Schröder (IKZ), Prof. Dr. Bernd Rech (HZB), Thomas Frederking (HZB).
NEWS
HZB & IKZ bundle their competencies In crystalline energy and quantum materials On September 11, 2020, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) signed a cooperation agreement to advance joint research on energy and quantum materials.
This is how the extension hall will look after the scaffolding has been removed. The blue modules enclose the building like a bracket.
NEWS
Solar-cell façade at HZB undergoes real-life testing The solar cladding not only meets part of the power requirement, but is also a realistic laboratory in and of itself: an HZB team is monitoring the long-term behaviour of the modules under varying environmental conditions.
"I am convinced that we must act on climate change to prevent dramatic developments," says Bernd Rech. The technologies are available, and research is already working on further options. You can start the video by clicking the picture.
NEWS
Climate Strike on Friday: HZB-Direktor welcomes engagement for climate... "I find it remarkable and encouraging that more and more citizens are joining the protests of the younger generation and calling for a turnaround for climate protection," says Prof. Bernd Rech, Scientific Director of the HZB.
NEWS
HZB is member of the IGAFA initiative in Adlershof Since September 2020, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is again a member of IGAFA - the Initiative of Non-University Research Institutions in Adlershof.
Prof. Birgit Kanngießer heads a joint research group on X-ray methods, which is funded by TU Berlin and HZB.
NEWS
HZB and TU Berlin: New joint research group at BESSY II Birgit Kanngießer is setting up a joint research group to combine X-ray methods in laboratories and at large-scale facilities.
Radio Teddy hat eine eigene Webseite für das Experiment der Woche eingerichtet, auf der die Videos gezeigt werden.
NACHRICHT
Radio Teddy berichtet über Experimente aus dem HZB Radio Teddy bringt ab sofort jeden Samstag um 14:40 kurze Reportagen aus dem HZB. Auf einer Webseite zum "Experiment der Woche" sind Videoreportagen zu sehen.
NEWS
HZB newspaper lichtblick published In the new lichtblick we look with Bernd Rech, spokesman of the scientific management az HZB, at the upcoming funding period of the Helmholtz Association, the POF IV.
Image of a silicon perovskite tandem solar cell
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells: New facilities pave the way for... Two new and innovative production lines for silicon perovskite tandem solar cells
The truck transporting the crane arrives early on Wednesday, September 2. Grey clouds over Adlershof, but that doesn't stop the team from setting up the crane.
NEWS
A new cooling tower flying to BESSY's roof Early September a huge crane near BESSY II could be seen from afar. A series of pictures for you to discover the exciting installation of the fourth cooling tower.
Periodic metasurfaces (grey) can enhance photon upconversion of nanoparticles (yellow) by more than three orders of magnitude.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Upconversion of photons at low light intensities – the key to new applications... Through upconversion the usable range of the light spectrum can be significantly expanded and is the key for future applications in photovoltaics or for the detection of biological substances.
Dr. Tristat Petit receives the ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council for his research on a new class of materials for the storage of electrical energy, the so-called MXenes.
NEWS
New Materials for Energy Storage: ERC Starting Grant for Tristan Petit ERC Starting Grant for Tristan Petit. At BESSY II, the materials researcher is using this grant to investigate a new class of materials for storing electrical energy, the so-called MXenes.
Structure of TUB75: the entire MOF architecture (top) and its conductive inorganic unit (bottom)
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Molecular architecture: New class of materials for tomorrow's energy storage TUB75 is the name of a newly created material from the class of metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs. It could open up new opportunities for energy storage.
Preparing the Undulator "castling": Next year, the undulator will be set up in a different location. So that it then goes quickly, the wiring is now being done.
NEWS
The shutdown at BESSY II: busy activity in the ring The storage ring BESSY II is down for nine weeks this year while urgent maintenance is being performed and new components are being installed. That sounds like a lot of down time, but there is a long list of work to be done.
Daniel Abou-Ras and his team identify the microscopic structure of a very good CIGS thin-film solar cell (top). It serves as a model for a computer simulation (below).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Research team provides concrete approach to improve the performance of CIGS... What causes losses in thin-film solar cells? For the first time, a team of researchers has been able to confirm an assumption - and provide information on how CIGS thin-film solar cells can be optimized.
Intelligent mathematical tools for the simulation of spin systems reduce the computing time required on supercomputers. Some of the fastest supercomputers in the world are currently located at Forschungszentrum Jülich (shown here is JUWELS).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Mathematical tool helps calculate properties of quantum materials more quickly A joint research group at Freie Universität Berlin and HZB has demonstrated a way to considerably reduce the computing time. This could accelerate the development of materials for energy-efficient IT technologies.
Integrated PV-EC device during performance tests in the outdoor test bed for realistic operating condition.
NEWS
Best electrolyser/photovoltaics combinations demonstrated in test fields One of the most promising ways to increase the availability of solar energy is to convert excess production into hydrogen. The PECSYS project has investigated the best possible material and technology combinations to facilitate such an operation.
Jan Lüning, Scientific Director at HZB for "Matter", holds a professorship at Humboldt University in Berlin.
NEWS
Humboldt-University Berlin appoints Jan Lüning Prof. Dr. Jan Lüning, Scientific Director at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), was appointed to an S-W3 professorship at Humboldt University in Berlin in July.
The structure of crystalline silicon electrodes changes into a chessboard-like fracture pattern as a result of loading and unloading. At the HZB it has now been observed that these defects do not become larger during charging and discharging but remain in their pattern.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Hope for better batteries – researchers follow the charging and discharging of... The use of silicon in batteries promises to increase their capacity. At the HZB, charging and discharging was observed live for the first time and insights were gained into how the material can be used even more advantageously.
Grosspeter Tower, Basel 2016
NACHRICHT
Seminar für Architekt*innen Bauwerkintegrierte Photovoltaik: Architektur –... Im September veranstaltet die Beratungsstelle für BIPV „BAIP“ zusammen mit der Architektenkammer Niedersachsen ein Seminar für Architekt*innen zum Thema Bauwerkintegrierte Photovoltaik: Architektur-Gestaltung und Ausführung
For the study, the enzyme endothiapepsin (grey) was combined with molecules from the fragment library. The analysis shows that numerous substances are able to dock to the enzyme (blue and orange molecules). Every substance found is a potential starting point for the development of larger molecules.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
New substance library to accelerate the search for active compounds In order to accelerate the systematic development of drugs, the MX team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Drug Design Group at the University of Marburg have established a new substance library.
This is how the experiment went: Two laser pulses hit the thin film of iron-platinum nanoparticles at short intervals: The first laser pulse destroys the spin order, while the second laser pulse excites the now unmagnetised sample. An X-ray pulse then determines how the lattice expands or contracts.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Robust high-performance data storage through magnetic anisotropy An international team led by Prof. Dr. Matias Bargheer has now observed experimentally for the first time how a special spin-lattice interaction in these iron-platinum thin films cancels out the thermal expansion of the crystal lattice.
NEWS
Facts, Research, Expertise: Helmholtz Climate Initiative starts new website New website of the Helmholtz Climate Initiative - www.helmholtz-klima.de
The new CatLab (blue area) will be built in close proximity to BESSY II and other laboratories.
NEWS
Launch of new catalysis centre in HZB-Adlershof The HZB is launching a major new project with an interdisciplinary architectural competition: An innovative laboratory and office building for catalysis research, in which the cooperation between HZB and the Max-Planck-Society is to be expanded.
NEWS
Enjoy your holidays: Video greetings from Bernd Rech, vol. 4 The summer holidays have been startet, time to catch our breath and recharge our batteries. In a video message Bernd Rech reports from the Scientific Retreat , and he wishes everyone nice holidays.
At quantum physics atoms, molecules or photons are used to store information.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Benchmarking for quantum technologies Does a device do what it's supposed to? This question is particularly relevant when new types of technologies are developed. A comparative analysis presents the diverse tools with which quantum devices can be certified today.
The LumY Pro is an easy-to-use, non-invasive and versatile system with unparalleled compactness to swiftly quantify absolute electro- and photoluminescence photon fluxes of thin film absorbers, layer stacks or complete devices under various operating conditions.
NEWS
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 ...
Graphic representation of the printing process for the perovskite LED.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Printed perovskite LEDs – an innovative technique towards a new standard... LEDs from the inkjet printer - For the first time, it has been possible to produce light emitting diodes from hybrid perovskite semiconductor material using inkjet printing.
NEWS
New lichtblick online The new journal provides insights into the work of the BESSY III project team, into the work of proton therapy in corona times and presents the exciting findings in the life sciences that are being gained at BESSY II.
Illustration of a CuxOy structure formed on a AgCu alloy in oxidizing environments described in this work. (c) ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
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.
NEWS
Start your accelerator tour - the Long Night of Science in a different way We take you on a virtual journey through our accelerator BESSY II.
The publication made it onto the cover of the current issue of SCIENCE.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
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.
NEWS
HZB has now its own app The new HZB App allows you to quickly access news, jobs and events, but also find about operational data of BESSY II.
Perovskite oxides are characterized by the molecular formula ABO3, where the elements A (green) and B (blue) are located on specific lattice sites and are surrounded by oxygen (red).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Catalysts: Efficient hydrogen production via structure In order to produce regenerative hydrogen efficiently by electrolysis of water, researchers also investigate perovskite oxides. Dr. Marcel Risch has been invited to publish an overview article.
NEWS
They are back: Sheep and goats graze the Wannsee campus again Now is the perfect time for the sheep and goats to return from their winter quarters! Until late autumn, they will now graze the near-natural HZB campus in Wannsee and serve the natural preservation of the landscape.
NEWS
New charging points for electric cars installed in Adlershof On 14 May 2020, two charging points for electric cars were installed near the BESSY II main building. Soon, employees will also have the opportunity to charge their private cars at one of the charging points.
The illustration shows the changes in the structure of FASnI3:PEACl films during treatment at different temperatures.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
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.
Two of the four magnetic interactions form a new three-dimensional network of corner-sharing triangles, known as the hyper-hyperkagome lattice, leading to the quantum spin liquid behavior in PbCuTe2O6.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Future information technologies: 3D Quantum Spin Liquid revealed An international team led by HZB scientists has investigated crystals of PbCuTe2O6 with neutron experiments at ISIS, NIST and ILL. They found spin liquid behaviour in 3D, due to a so called hyper hyperkagome lattice.
Inside the 3D-structure of a phytochrome a bilin pigment absorbs the photon and rotates, which triggers a signal.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
User research at BESSY II: Insights into the visual perception of plants Plants use light not only for photosynthesis. Although the plant cell does not have eyes, it can still perceive light and thus its environment. Phytochromes, certain turquoise proteins, play the central role in this process.
NEWS
Video greetings from Bernd Rech, vol. 3 After six weeks of minimal operation, life is slowly returning to both locations. In a video message Bernd Rech tells us that he is very much looking forward to the open laboratories and new results.
The material consists of Nafion with embedded nanoparticles.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
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.
A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading worldwide and can cause severe respiratory symptoms (COVID-19).
NEWS
04.05.2020 - #Corona: HZB resumes operation step by step the HZB has been converted to minimal operations on 20 March. The User operation at BESSY II is suspended until 31.05.2020.
Protein crystals are analysed in the MX laboratory at BESSY II with hard X-rays.
NEWS
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.
At the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT, Steve Albrecht finds the appropriate techniques to produce the world's most efficient perovskite solar cells.
PORTRAIT
Portrait: The athlete in the lab coat Steve Albrecht is researching on perovskite solar cells and holds several efficiency world records with his team. Back in his schooldays, he was going to become either a competitive gymnast or a scientist. And he chose science.
A bundled soft X-ray beam with a diameter of less than 50 nanometers writes numerous magnetic vortices, which together form the term "MPI-IS".
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
New interaction between light and matter discovered at BESSY II A German-Chinese team from the MPI for Intelligent Systems has discovered a new interaction between light and matter at BESSY II. They succeeded in creating nanometer-fine magnetic vortices, so called skyrmions.
Prof. Dr. Johannes Reuther works at the Freie Universität Berlin and the HZB.
NEWS
Freie Universität Berlin appointed Johannes Reuther as W2 professor On April 6, 2020 Freie Universität Berlin appointed Johannes Reuther to the joint W2 professorship "Theory of Novel Quantum Materials”.
The CIGS-Pero tandem cell was realised in a typical lab size of 1 square centimeter.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Tandem solar cell world record: New branch in the NREL chart The world-record cell combines the semiconductors perovskite and CIGS to a monolithic "two-terminal" tandem cell. It achieves a certified efficiency of 24,16 percent.
NEWS
Happy Easter Holidays! After three weeks of home office and minimal operation, Bernd Rech addresses all employees again with a short video message. He thanks them for their creativity and open-mindedness and wishes everyone a Happy Easter!
In HoAgGe, holmium spins occupy the corners of triangles that are arranged in a Kagome pattern. The alignment of adjacent spins (left, red arrows) must obey the ice rule: Either two spins protrude into a triangle and one protrude out, or vice versa. As a result the individual triangles behave as if they were magnetic monopoles (right).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Neutron research: Magnetic monopoles detected in Kagome spin ice systems At low temperatures, certain crystals can contain so-called quasi-particles that behave like magnetic monopoles. Now an international cooperation has proven that such monopoles also occur in a Kagome spin ice system.
In the ground state the magnetic moments are either upward or downward, the spins antiparallel to the external magnetic field (red) are never together (right). By excitation, further spins can align antiparallel and Bethe chains are formed (white spins, left).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
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.
Schematic representation of the coronavirus protease. The enzyme comes as a dimer consisting of two identical molecules. A part of the dimer is shown in colour (green and purple), the other in grey. The small molecule in yellow binds to the active centre of the protease and could be used as blueprint for an inhibitor.
NEWS
Corona research at BESSY II: Two days of measuring operation to find the right... New measurement campaign helps to accelerate the search for active ingredients
This picture shows an X-ray image of the electron beam in TRIB-mode where two orbits co-exist: the regular orbit and the second one winding around it closing only after three revolutions.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
BESSY II: Ultra-fast switching of helicity of circularly polarized light pulses The ultra-fast change of light helicity is particularly interesting to observe processes in magnetic materials and has long been expected by a large user community.
NEWS
HZB donates urgently needed protective equipment for doctors’ surgery The HZB donates 65 boxes filled with protective equipment for medical practices to the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung.
Schematic representation of the coronavirus protease. The enzyme comes as a dimer consisting of two identical molecules. A part of the dimer is shown in colour (green and purple), the other in grey. The small molecule in yellow binds to the active centre of the protease and could be used as blueprint for an inhibitor.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
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.
NEWS
Working in the home office - important IT tools and hints for IT security Due to the current corona situation, many colleagues work in their home offices. We introduce the most important tools.
NACHRICHT
Neue lichtblick erschienen: Jetzt online lesen Als wir die lichtblick vor zwölf Tagen in den Druck gegeben haben, war die Welt noch eine andere. Doch vielleicht ist die lichtblick gerade jetzt auch ein Zeichen für ein Stück Normalität in unnormalen Zeiten. Wir wünschen viel Spaß beim Lesen.
MXenes are 2D materials forming multi-layered particles (left) from which pseudocapacitors are made. Shining X-ray light on MXenes revealed changes of their chemical structure upon intercalation of urea molecules (right) compared to pristine MXenes (center).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Fast and furious: New class of 2D materials stores electrical energy Two dimensional titanium carbides, so-called MXenes, are being discussed as candidates for the rapid storage of electrical energy. The intercalation of urea between the MXene layers can increase the capacity.
Felix Büttner has set up a holography chamber at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
NEWS
New Helmholtz Young Investigator Group at HZB Topological solitons occur in magnetic quantum materials and can contribute to extremely energy-efficient switching processes. Büttner wants to develop a new imaging technique at BESSY II to study these quasi-particles.
View into the BESSY II experimental hall
NEWS
Important News about the Radiation Safety Requirements As of 1st April 2020, the experiment hall of BESSY II will no longer be a controlled area but a surveillance area and the users are no more required to have the status as radiation workers.
An individual eye shield is made for each patient to protect the surrounding tissue from the proton beam.
NEWS
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 ...
NACHRICHT
Berlins außeruniversitäre Forschungseinrichtungen schließen sich zusammen Berlins außeruniversitäre Forschungseinrichtungen schließen sich zur BR 50 (Berlin Research 50) zusammen. Sie wollen künftig gemeinsam Strategien für die Forschung und den Austausch mit Politik und Gesellschaft zu entwickeln.
NEWS
Call for Application “Helmholtz young investigator groups” We are looking for excellent scientists who are interested in working independently on a topic and building up their own group at an early stage of their career.
60s on the new detector were sufficient to obtain the electron density of the PETase enzyme.
NEWS
New detector accelerates protein crystallography Compared to the old detector the new one is better, faster and more sensitive. It allows to acquire complete data sets of complex proteins within a very short time.
NEWS
Doctoral student receives Erhard Höpfner Thesis Award On 11 February 2020, Max Grischek received the Erhard Höpfner Thesis Prize, worth 2000 euros, which is awarded by a jury of the Berlin Scientific Society for outstanding master theses.
3D architecture of the cell with different organelles: mitochondria (green), lysosomes (purple), multivesicular bodies (red), endoplasmic reticulum (cream).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
X-ray microscopy at BESSY II: Nanoparticles can change cells Nanoparticles easily enter into cells. How they are distributed and what they do there is now shown for the first time by high-resolution 3D microscopy images from BESSY II: Nanoparticles accumulate in certain organelles of the cell.
Bei 25,8 Tesla findet in dem Urankristall ein Phasenübergang statt und ein komplexes magnetisches Muster etabliert sich.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Not everything is ferromagnetic in high magnetic fields Usually, high fields exceeding a certain critical value force the moments to align in the same direction as the field leading to ferromagnetic arrangement. However, a recent study showed that this is not always the case.
The x-ray tomography shows ruptures (black) in the regions of electrical contacts (white).
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
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.
Research on the EU project Sharc25 also took place in the EMIL laboratory, where thin films and materials can be analysed with X-rays from BESSY II.
NEWS
CIGSe thin-film solar cells: EU Sharc25 project increases efficiency The increases have been achieved through post-processing with alkali elements, and the procedures are suitable for industrial-scale production.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Perovskite solar cells: International consensus on ageing measurement protocols Experts from 51 research institutions have now agreed on the procedures for measuring the stability of perovskite solar cells and assessing their quality. The consensus statement is considered a milestone.
The tandem solar cell was realized on a typical laboratory scale of one square centimeter. However, scaling up is possible.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
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.
NEWS
Unique X-ray experiments for school classes: The X-ray mobile will arrive at... From 5 to 13 March 2020, pupils can conduct experiments on X-rays and radiation at the HZB's school laboratory in Berlin-Adlershof. The public is invited to attend on 12 March.
NEWS
Farewell to the research reactor BER II: brochure on 50 years of neutron... You can download the publication "BER II 1973-2019" on our website.
Mint plants have been analysed after having grown on contaminated soil samples.
SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT
Plants absorb lead from perovskite solar cells more than expected Lead from metal-organic perovskite compounds can be absorbed particularly easily by plants. The bioavailability is significantly higher than that of lead from inorganic compounds as found in batteries.
NACHRICHT
Bewerbertag am 23. Januar für die Ausbildung Fachinformatiker*in Wir bieten zwei Ausbildungsplätze als Fachinformatiker/Systemintegration ab September 2020 an. EInfach vorbeikommen und vorstellen!