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Welcome to the HZB User Facility BESSY II

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) operates the large scale research facility BESSY II, a third generation synchrotron source on Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen-Campus in Berlin-Adlershof. BESSY II provides ultrabright photon beams from the long wavelength Terahertz region to hard X-rays with complete control of the polarization of the radiation and energy range. The combination of brightness and time resolution makes BESSY II the ultimate microscope for time and space, since both femtosecond time and picometer spatial resolutions are available. In addition, HZB is home to a number of state-of-the-art on-site laboratories and CoreLabs. All these research facilities are designed to serve researchers from universities, foreign research institutions and industry.

FAST TRACK ACCESS for SARS-CoV-2 proposal

In light of the rapidly changing situation world-wide resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 virus BESSY II would like to ensure that it is doing everything possible to support researchers in their efforts to discover more about the virus and bring us closer to an effective vaccine or treatment. We are offering priority fast track access for groups who require instrument time for projects directly related to SARS-CoV-2. In order to submit a proposal for SARS-CoV-2 related research please contact us by email. More detailed information about our service at BESSY II can be found here.

To slow down the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 we have decided to impose significant restrictions:

  • The Board of Directors of HZB have decided to switch to minimal operation from March 20th
  • The BESSY II accelerator is in standby mode, all laboratories stopped operation
  • Only crucial technical and administrative infrastructure operate with a minimum number of staff
  • User operation is suspended until the end of June
  • All beamtimes cancelled due to COVID-19 will be re-scheduled after the summer shut-down
  • All events will be cancelled until the end of July

Since we cannot predict the spread of COVID-19, we kindly ask you to visit this page regularly. We will keep you informed about any changes and developments.

Stay healthy!

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Science Highlights

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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