News
New insights into the structure of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites
Team at HZB has analysed structural data of photovoltaic materials with a novel model:
In photovoltaics, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have made a rapid career. But many questions about the crystalline structure of this surprisingly complex class of materials remain unanswered. Now, a team at HZB…
Bundling unique European expertise for spaceborne devices
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, SweGaN AB, and University of Bristol are partnering in the Kassiopeia project to develop high-performance Ka-band GaN MMICs e.g. for satellite communications and radar applications:
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, SweGaN AB, and University of Bristol are partnering in the European Space Agency funded Kassiopeia project. The teams join forces to develop high-performance Ka-band GaN MMICs (monolithic…
Detection of anisotropy in the optical constants of quartz crystals for soft X-rays
In the PTB, methods for determining the optical constants of materials with synchrotron radiation have been established:
Quartz is an important substrate material for semiconductor structures and is used in a wide variety of industrial fields, for example as a substrate for various mirrors, nanostructures or other functional surfaces…
Solar cells: Losses made visible on the nanoscale
Researchers from HZB and University of Utah, USA, have shown how contact layers of silicon solar cells generate loss currents and what their physical origin is:
Solar cells made of crystalline silicon achieve peak efficiencies, especially in combination with selective contacts made of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). However, their efficiency is limited by losses in these contact…
HZB team researches inexpensive catalysts for the production of hydrogen
With a new instrument at BESSY II, they show how light activates MoS₂ layers to become catalysts:
Thin films of molybdenum and sulfur belong to a class of materials that can be considered for use as photocatalysts. Inexpensive catalysts such as these are needed to produce hydrogen as a fuel using solar energy.…
Spooky materialisation where light beams meet
New processes from Adlershof-based xolo GmbH are revolutionising 3D printing:
The young Adlershof-based xolo GmbH is launching a novel 3D printing process. Their xolography is based on molecules that are fused to form high-precision components under the influence of light beams of different…
The perfect recipe for efficient perovskite solar cells
HZB team improved the composition of material inks for the simple and cost-effective production of solar cells:
A long-cherished dream of materials researchers is a solar cell that converts sunlight into electrical energy as efficiently as silicon, but that can be easily and inexpensively fabricated from abundant materials.…
Optimised transistors: creating a metal with laser light
Researchers from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin make discovery that could increase computing power:
From smartphones to computer processors – much of the technology we nowadays use heavily features transistors. They connect many of the different materials that make up these devices, and are essential for any kind of…
World's first video recording of a space-time crystal
With the help of the scanning transmission X-ray microscope MAXYMUS at BESSY II, the first recording of the recurring periodic magnetization structure in a crystal was captured:
A German-Polish research team has succeeded in creating a micrometer-sized space-time crystal consisting of magnons at room temperature. With the help of the scanning transmission X-ray microscope MAXYMUS at Bessy II…
An efficient tool to link X-ray experiments and ab initio theory
A team at BESSY II has developed a new simulation method that greatly accelerates the evaluation of inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) measurement data:
The electronic structure of complex molecules and their chemical reactivity can be assessed by the method of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at BESSY II. However, the evaluation of RIXS data has so far…
IKZ and IHP plan cooperation for the integration of crystalline III-V platelets on silicon
Development of a new transfer process could bring out the next generation devices for 5G and 6G applications:
The III-V semiconductor materials gallium arsenide and indium phosphide stand out due to their extremely high electron mobility, frequencies in the THz range, and short latency. In addition, they have a direct band…
HZB and Humboldt University agree to set up a catalysis research laboratory
Joint laboratory in the IRIS research building of the HU in Adlershof to further promote catalysis research in Berlin:
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) have signed a cooperation agreement with the aim of establishing a joint research laboratory for catalysis in the IRIS research building of HU in…
Ongoing good business in Brazil
LUM digitally trains the global sales force for the future in 2021:
From January 21st to 22nd, the LUM GmbH International Sales Meeting will take place for the 22nd time in a row. In times of pandemics, as a virtual event for the first time. The sales experts at LUM GmbH and the LUM…
Novel developments for 6G communication systems and green ICT
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) at the virtual “European Microwave Week” (EuMW):
The Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) will present its research results targeting energy-efficient amplifier concepts as well as terahertz (THz) components and systems for broadband communication and imaging at the…
Two researchers breaking down walls
The biochemist Christian Hackenberger, who seeks and destroys cancer cells, and the chemist Chayanika Das, who fights magnesium corrosion:
Vivid, detailed, and laid-back is how Christian Hackeberger presented himself at the Falling Walls Conference, which was held digitally for the first time. He talks of sniffer dogs and bombs, of super glue and plastic…
Xolography as new volumetric 3D printing method
Adlershof start-up develops novel printing process that can produce smooth surfaces at high speed:
It looks like science fiction but in fact could be the future of 3D printing: A blue slice of light wanders through a liquid, while light projections emerge through the window of a glass vessel. Resembling the…
UVC light-emitting diodes to fight coronaviruses
FBH, UVphotonics, TU Berlin and Osram Opto Semiconductors develop suitable irradiation systems:
In the joint CORSA project, SARS-CoV-2 and further respiratory viruses on surfaces and skin are to be inactivated by using UVC light. The project team is developing special UVC LEDs for this purpose and is…
In-depth cooperation agreement between the European Center for Dispersion Technologies and LUM
Exchange of experience and mutual support are intended to further improve the applications and performance of the analysis and measurement technology:
The head of the European Center for Dispersion Technologies (EZD), Selb, Dr.-Ing. Felipe Wolff-Fabris, and the managing director of LUM GmbH, Berlin, Prof. Dr. Dr. Dietmar Lerche, signed an in-depth cooperation…
Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells on the threshold of 30% efficiency
HZB team was able to improve the charge carrier transport and the stability of the solar cells:
An HZB team has published a report in the journal Science on the development of its current world record of 29.15% efficiency for a tandem solar cell made of perovskite and silicon. The tandem cell provided stable…
Dynamics of ferroelectric phase transitions – a new research focus at the IKZ
Fundamental materials science research on ferroelectric thin films will enable active cooling in integrated electronic components:
Scientists at Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) conduct fundamental materials science research on ferroelectric thin films. In the future, these materials will be used to build miniaturized refrigerators in…