News
New Method for Absorption Correction to Improve Dental Fillings
By combining the laboratory infrastructures at BAM and HZB, more accurate measurements can be conducted:
A research team led by Dr. Ioanna Mantouvalou has developed a method to more accurately depict the elemental distributions in dental materials than previously possible. The used confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence…
Novel Raman spectroscopy technique for investigation of thin films and surfaces
Enhanced surface-to-bulk Raman signal ratio using a transferable porous gold membrane:
In a recent collaboration of the Emmy Noether Research Group "Physics of low-dimensional systems" around IRIS Adlershof member Dr. Sebastian Heeg at HU Berlin, researchers from the Leibniz-Institut für…
Quantum state mixing in photobiology
New insight from ultrafast terahertz Stark spectroscopy:
The membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin is a proton pump, in which proton transport is initiated by the light-induced isomerization of the chromophore retinal. The molecular quantum states involved in this ultrafast…
MXenes for energy storage: Chemical imaging more than just surface deep
Scanning X-ray microscopy (SXM) at MAXYMUS beamline of BESSY II enables the characterization of layered materials in complex systems:
A new method in spectromicroscopy significantly improves the study of chemical reactions at the nanoscale, both on surfaces and inside layered materials. Scanning X-ray microscopy (SXM) at MAXYMUS beamline of BESSY II…
New joint leadership for BESSY II
Andreas Jankowiak as new Technical Director and Facility Spokesperson Antje Vollmer share management responsibilities:
Prof. Andreas Jankowiak has been appointed Technical Director of BESSY II with a term of office of three years as of 1 June 2024 by resolution of the HZB board od directors. Antje Vollmer will start her second term as…
Real-time situation maps for disaster management
DLR creates live situation maps for international exercise for the first time and analyses data with open source AI:
From 21 to 25 May 2024, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) took part in the international disaster relief exercise ACHILLES 2024 in Switzerland. For the first time, a team…
IKZ and Bruker Nano demonstrate a new X-ray topography method
Non-destructive, high-throughput identification of defects in high-quality single crystals can be facilitated:
The IKZ in cooperation with Bruker Nano GmbH, Berlin, demonstrate that high-resolution energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence mapping devices based on a micro focused beam are not restricted to high-speed analyses of…
Alkanes, laser flashes and BESSY's X-ray vision
An international research team has succeeded in observing an intermediate step in the catalysis of alkanes:
An international research team has succeeded in observing an intermediate step in the catalysis of alkanes. By understanding these reactions, existing catalysts can be optimized in the future and new ones found, for…
Dynamic measurements in liquids now possible in the laboratory
Newly developed laboratory spectrometer works with a plasma light source and provides a time resolution of 500 picoseconds:
A team of researchers in Berlin has developed a laboratory spectrometer for analysing chemical processes in solution - with a time resolution of 500 ps. This is of interest not only for the study of molecular…
Nathalie Picqué receives the 2024 William F. Meggers Award
The MBI Director and Professor of Physics at HU Berlin was honored for her path-breaking work on broadband molecular spectroscopy using interfering frequency combs:
The Meggers Award of OPTICA (formerly the Optical Society) was established in 1970 to honour the memory of William F. Meggers, an American physicist specialising in spectroscopy. It is awarded annually in recognition…
Successful start of the BMBF project "UV-KrisP - Coherent continuous wave radiation in vacuum UV"
IKZ and Fraunhofer IPM will develop a new crystal material together:
Over the next three years, the IKZ will develop a new crystal material together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM in Freiburg. This material is capable of generating laser radiation…
Scientists decipher the contribution of electrons to molecular chirality
A new approach offers a way to control physical and chemical properties that result from chiral interactions:
A new experimental approach provides the long-awaited tools to understand the role of electrons in the molecular chiral reactivity and offers a way to control physical and chemical properties that result from chiral…
Watching indium phosphide at work
Research team from HZB, TU Ilmenau and Paderborn University gained insights into the electron dynamics in the surface of the semiconductor:
Indium phosphide is a versatile semiconductor. The material can be used for solar cells, for hydrogen production and even for quantum computers – and with record-breaking efficiency. However, little research has been…
FBH has developed a terahertz line scanner for plastic components
World's first line scanner with monolithically integrated terahertz detectors for industrial applications:
The Ferdinand-Braun-Institut has developed a terahertz line scanner for plastic components, enabling cost-effective realization of larger scan line lengths in industrial environments. For the first time, the…
IRIS beamline at BESSY II extended with nanomicroscopy
The new nanoscope enables nanospectroscopy and nanoimaging of structures smaller than a thousandth of the diameter of a human hair:
The IRIS infrared beamline at the BESSY II storage ring now offers a fourth option for characterising materials, cells and even molecules on different length scales. The team has extended the IRIS beamline with an end…
EPIC Lifetime Achievement Award for Viacheslav Artyushenko
The European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) honored the founder of art photonics GmbH:
Viacheslav Artyushenko, CEO & Founder of the Adlershof art photonics GmbH, has been honored with the EPIC Lifetime Achievement Award by the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) at the EPIC AGM & SUMMIT 2024…
A simpler way to inorganic perovskite solar cells
Annealing in ambient air does not have an adverse effect on the optoelectronic properties of the semiconductor film, but actually results in fewer defects:
Inorganic perovskite solar cells made of CsPbI3 are stable over the long term and achieve good efficiencies. A team led by Prof. Antonio Abate has now analysed surfaces and interfaces of CsPbI3 films, produced under…
Hollow nanospheres as potential reference particles for medical biomarkers
PTB contributed to precise the accurate size characterisation of the particles in its laboratory at BESSY II using small-angle X-ray scattering:
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanometer-sized cell-derived particles in body fluids and can be used as potential biomarkers for diseases such as cancer, inflammation and cardiovascular disease. EVs gained a lot of…
Oxidation processes of phosphoric acid revealed by tender X-rays
Results of research at HZB help to increase the lifetime and efficiency of fuel cells:
The interactions between phosphoric acid and the platinum catalyst in high-temperature PEM fuel cells are more complex than previously assumed. Experiments at BESSY II with tender X-rays have decoded the multiple…
Pioneering work for more efficient food production
The startup Mimotype and the Hybrid Devices Group at HU Berlin are developing protein thin films for the spectral reshuffling of sunlight to increase crop yields:
The challenges are clear: global food demand will increase 56% by 2050; extreme weather events are increasing food supply insecurity. Solutions are tangible: food production gains attributable to greenhouse…