News

MBI researchers manipulate the propagation of light in everyday liquids using ultrashort light pulses
Discovery enables new applications for optical measurement technology and communication with light:
The phase and the group velocity of light propagating in conventional optical media cannot exceed the speed of light in vacuum. However, in so-called epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials, light exhibits an infinite phase…

Promoting diversity and inclusion in science
IKZ setzt mit der Unterzeichnung der Charta der Vielfalt auf eine chancengerechte und innovative Arbeitsumgebung:
The Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) is actively committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse work environment that offers all employees, regardless of their background, identity, or personal…

HZB Sets New World Record for CIGS Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells
CIGS-perovskite tandem cell achieves an efficiency of 26.4 %:
Combining two semiconductor thin films into a tandem solar cell can achieve high efficiencies with a minimal environmental footprint. Teams from HZB and Humboldt University Berlin have now presented a CIGS-perovskite…
Story about magical vegetables promotes healthier eating behaviour in preschool children
An international team of psychologists shows how reading a story to children still influences their preference for fruit and vegetables after one to two weeks:
In a study, an international team led by retired Professor Werner Sommer from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin was able to show that children's preference for fruit and vegetables was influenced by being read a story.…

Inspiring start of Workhier!
The Young Academics Career Programme for International PhD candidates and PostDocs in Adlershof!:
On January 30, the Workhier! programme started with the first cohort of 23 young scientists, mainly from the Adlershof campus. Workhier! is designed to support international doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in…

Benefit from the early bird discount for Photonics Days 2025
Trade fair and conference on 8 and 9 October with prominent guests in Berlin-Adlershof:
The Photonics Days 2025 are once again expected to attract more than 400 participants, 100 national and international speakers, 36 exhibitors from all over Germany as well as the visits of our international political…

PicoQuant launches HydraHarp500 on the market
The time tagger sets new standards in speed, precision, and flexibility:
PicoQuant GmbH, based in Adlershof, has unveiled its latest development, HydraHarp 500. The device is described as the next-generation Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) unit. With outstanding time…

TOPTICA EAGLEYARD presents mini laser diodes with high stability and efficiency
Launch of the 780 nm fibre-coupled miniECL:
With the launch of the fibre-coupled miniECL 780 nm at the 2025’s SPIE Photonics West, TOPTICA EAGLEYARD once again shows how convenient and efficient using laser diodes has become. Engineers, design engineers and…

New material for extracting carbon dioxide from air and exhaust gases
Quantum chemical calculations by HU enable the development of porous materials distinct by a high adsorption capacity for CO₂:
Climate experts agree: To tackle the climate crisis, we will not only need to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions but also directly filter the harmful gas from air and exhaust gases. To this end, scientists are…

Nanoislands on silicon with switchable topological textures
A team at HZB demonstrates that swirling polar textures can be stabilised and switched:
Nanostructures with specific electromagnetic patterns promise applications in nanoelectronics and future information technologies. However, it is very challenging to control those patterns. Now, a team at HZB examined…
Biosynex becomes opTricon again
Biosynex Technologies GmbH rebrands to opTricon GmbH following acquisition by German investor:
Biosynex Technologies GmbH, a leading technology company specializing in the development, production, and maintenance of optical readers for lateral-flow- and fluorescence-based rapid tests, announces a significant…

A bandage on many wounds
The life of Etty Hillesum was recently filmed at the studios of the LichtHaus Group:
At Gross-Berliner Damm 83a, the Johannisthal film studio of the LichtHaus Group spans 1,300 square metres and is just 500 metres from the historic Johannisthaler Filmanstalten, or Jofa film studios. It was here that,…

Developing catalysts with robots and AI
Dunia wants to protect Earth from its increasing destruction:
The Adlershof-based start-up Dunia has established a highly systematic approach to material development. A self-repeating cycle in four steps: Design – Make – Test – Analyse. What sets Dunia's approach apart is the…

Pepperl+Fuchs build in Adlershof
A manufacturer of industrial sensors and explosion protection solutions is consolidating its Berlin locations:
What began in 1945 as a radio workshop in Mannheim has since become a global leader in industrial sensors and explosion protection solutions, with over 900 million euros in revenue and 6,850 employees. The…

Significant energy savings through optimised operation of the Metrology Light Source
At PTB's Willy Wien Laboratory, 45 kW of electrical power is permanently saved by adjusting the operating parameters:
PTB uses the Metrology Light Source (MLS) electron storage ring at the Willy Wien Laboratory in Berlin-Adlershof as a very bright and calculable light source for radiometric work in the vacuum and extreme ultraviolet…

Studying together what belongs together
The new BA-level study course IMP at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin combines three core scientific subjects: computer science, mathematics, and physics:
When Laura Michaelis sought to enroll at Humboldt University in 2016, she was initially uncertain. She was interested in the natural sciences but didn't want to commit to just one discipline. This was before the…

The molecule splitter
Michelle Brown is working on producing green hydrogen:
Splitting water—using electrical energy to break the H₂O molecule into its gaseous components, hydrogen and oxygen, to be exact. Could this process be made cheaper, simpler, and more efficient? This question has…

Locomotive practice pieces
Five-hundred apprentices are being trained at the new Apprentice Workshop of Deutsche Bahn (DB):
The new three-story building of the Apprentice Workshop in Johannisthal is flooded with light and accommodates more than 500 trainees. The space on the premises of the S-Bahn railyard in Schöneweide had become too…

Adlershof Journal January/February 2025
Boosting STEM: Play your way to growth:
ESSAY by Matthias Gerschwitz: Tomorrow, children, joy awaits! IN CONVERSATION WITH Melissa Horchemer, who wants to inspire young people for scientific careers PORTRAIT The molecule splitter: Michelle Brown is…

Lithium-sulphur pouch cells investigated at BESSY II
HZB team is working on optimising this promising battery type:
A team from HZB and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (IWS) in Dresden has gained new insights into lithium-sulphur pouch cells at the BAMline of BESSY II. Supplemented by analyses in the HZB…