News
How heat and cold affect Mercury
Recent research findings from the smallest planet in the Solar System:
Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets in the Solar System, the closest to the Sun, and unusually, it has no atmosphere. Together, these factors make it a unique case in planetary research. The German Aerospace…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Supercharging talent
How the Technology Park in Adlershof supports the next generation of STEM professionals:
According to a study, around one-fifth of young people aged ten to 16 have a ‘fear of mathematics.’ This applies equally to most STEM subjects. Why? And what can we do about it? For Tobias Bohnhardt, these findings…
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut presents laser novelties at Photonics West 2025
The Adlershof-based institute develops tailored diode lasers for use in industry, medical and quantum technologies – from chips to prototypes:
At Photonics West 2025 in San Francisco (USA), the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) will be presenting novel and advanced diode lasers. FBH will be participating in both the trade fair (January 28-30, 2025) and the…
Largest magnetic anisotropy of a molecule measured at BESSY II
Using THz-EPR, a special spectroscopy method at BESSY II, magnetic properties of materials can be determined very precisely:
At the Berlin synchrotron radiation source BESSY II, the largest magnetic anisotropy of a single molecule ever measured experimentally has been determined. The larger this anisotropy is, the better a molecule is…
Progress in Power Electronics with Beta-Gallium Oxide
Joint project “ForMikro-GoNext” with participation of IKZ and FBH successfully completed:
In the joint project “ForMikro-GoNext”, beta-gallium oxide (β-Ga₂O₃) was further developed as a pioneering semiconductor material for efficient power electronics. The partners made significant progress along the…
German Research Funding Atlas 2024: FVB institutes perform very well
Funding increased by more than 28% in 2020-2022 compared to the previous period:
The institutes of the Forschungsverbund were able to increase the amount of DFG funding they acquired compared to previous years. According to the German Research Founding Atlas 2024, between 2017 and 2019, the seven…
IKZ has joined the international Einstein Telescope collaboration
Growing particularly large silicon crystals will support the construction of a gravitational wave observatory:
The Einstein Telescope (ET) is a planned next-generation gravitational wave observatory in Europe, designed to detect and study gravitational waves with unprecedented sensitivity. It will use a network of underground…
Modernisation of BESSY II light source
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin presents the BESSY II+ upgrade programme:
At the 2024 meeting for the users of the electron storage ring BESSY II, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) presented the BESSY II+ upgrade programme. It enables world-class research at BESSY II to be further expanded and…
![[Translate to English:] Dr. Kazuki Morita (links), Dr. Qingping Wu (rechts), HZB Berlin](/fileadmin/_processed_/f/4/csm_hzb-fellows_afc8411f23.webp)
Two Humboldt-Fellows join HZB
Kazuki Morita and Qingping Wu contribute their expertise in materials and energy research at HZB:
In 2024, two young scientists joined HZB as Humboldt Fellows. Kazuki Morita joined Prof. Antonio Abate's group and brings his expertise in modelling and data analysis to solar energy research. Qingping Wu is an expert…
Planet Mercury seen ‘in a different light’ for first time
Fifth flyby of Mercury by BepiColombo space probe:
Mercury is the innermost and smallest of the eight planets. Outwardly, it bears a strong resemblance to Earth's Moon, but the planet differs considerably from it in terms of its structure and composition. Planetary…
Community-driven mini-grids in Nigeria
RLI research project shows ways to sustainably electrify rural regions:
In the project ‘Communities of Practice Nigeria’ (CP Nigeria), researchers from Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI), together with experts from partner organizations, have developed results for the promotion of clean and…