News
Compact electron accelerator for treating PFAS-contaminated water
New approach to breaking down PFAS molecules into harmless components at contamination hotspots using radiolysis:
So-called forever chemicals or PFAS compounds are a growing environmental problem. An innovative approach to treating PFAS-contaminated water and soil now comes from accelerator physics: high-energy electrons can…
Worlds made of ice
How cameras and lasers map Jupiter’s moons:
Far out in the solar system, some 700 million kilometres from Earth, the gas giant Jupiter reigns over an entire army of moons. These are worlds of ice, scarred by kilometre-long cracks and chasms, pockmarked with…
A proving ground for pioneers
Researchers and developers at the Adlershof Technology Park are still making history in the aviation and aerospace sector:
The aviation pioneer Melli Beese died a century ago. In the very place that she once helped shape, researchers and developers are still making history in the aviation and aerospace sector—with excellent technologies…
FBH to present latest advances at Photonics West 2026
From 17 to 22 January, the research institute presents its portfolio in the fields of optics, photonics and microsystems in San Francisco:
The Berlin-based Ferdinand-Braun-Institut develops and manufactures semiconductor-based diode lasers and UV LEDs with the entire process chain in-house. At the trade fair and conferences, the institute will present…
Multi-method approach makes nanomaterials safer
BAM researchers combine modern analytical methods for characterising particle surfaces:
The safe use of nanomaterials and their optimum performance depend largely on their surfaces. However, the reliable characterization of nanomaterial surfaces is still challenging. Two new studies by the Federal…
Observing laser induced shape changes of C₆₀ by time resolved X-ray imaging
Research group examined the football-shaped molecule:
A prototype molecule, the famous football-shaped “Buckminsterfullerene” C60 was studied both experimentally and theoretically by groups from the Max Born Institute (MBI) in Berlin, in the framework of a larger…
TOPTICA EAGLEYARD powers the LISA Space Mission
Adlershof company supplies tailor-made laser diode system for satellite project:
Renowned for its expertise in providing suitable laser diodes for space applications, TOPTICA EAGLEYARD once again plays a vital role in a major space mission. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), led by the…
Observing nanoscale dynamics with soft X-rays
At MBI, a new soft-X-ray instrument has been developed:
Scientists at the Max Born Institute have developed a new soft-X-ray instrument that can reveal dynamics of magnetic domains on nanometer length and picosecond time scales. By bringing capabilities once exclusive to…
Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize and Innovation Award on Synchrotron Radiation 2025
Awards presented at the Helmholtz-Zentrum's User Meeting:
At the 27th BESSY@HZB User Meeting, the Friends of HZB honoured the dissertation of Dr Enggar Pramanto Wibowo (Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg). The Innovation Award on Synchrotron Radiation 2025…
Synchrotron radiation sources: toolboxes for quantum technologies
Directory of key research methods and applications for the further development of quantum technologies published:
Synchrotron radiation sources generate highly brilliant light pulses, ranging from infrared to hard X-rays, which can be used to gain deep insights into complex materials. An international team has now published an…
The future of corals – what X-rays can tell us
Researchers want to find out how marine organisms respond to changes in their environment:
This summer, it was all over the media. Driven by the climate crisis, the oceans have now also passed a critical point, the absorption of CO2 is making the oceans increasingly acidic. The shells of certain sea snails…
Behind the scenes at ESA
Public evening lecture highlights PTB's contribution to the ESA NewAthena mission:
On December 3, 2025, Frédéric Safa and Marcos Bavdaz from the European Space Agency (ESA) will give a public lecture presenting the scientific objectives and technical implementation of the NewAthena mission. This…
ALISE: New application lab for in situ electron microscopy strengthens research and SMEs in Berlin-Adlershof
A new generation of state-of-the-art instruments has been put into operation by IKZ and HU:
A major milestone has been reached at the Joint Lab for Electron Microscopy (JEMA) of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ): under the ERDF-funded project ALISE…
Exploring the Hidden Secrets of Inorganic Particles and Formulations through X-ray Insights
LUM GmbH offers new solutions with the Gravity Separation & Particle Analyser LUMiReader® X-Ray 440:
The new Gravity Separation & Particle Analyzer LUMiReader® X-Ray 440 now complements the product range of LUM GmbH. Based on the patented and decades-proven STEP-Technology® (Space and Time resolved Extinction…
In Memoriam Klaus Thiessen
Optoelectronics specialist and solar energy pioneer:
Professor Klaus Thiessen passed away on 3 July 2025 at the age of nearly 98. The internationally recognised expert in optoelectronics remained a committed bridge-builder between science, industry, and society well…
The timekeeper
Oliver Fartmann is working on an improved atomic clock:
What are the paths into science and research? “I was quite good at maths, I think,” says Oliver Fartmann. Good enough, at any rate, to catch the attention of his physics teacher at the Archenhold Gymnasium in…
MBI researchers characterise ultrashort VUV light pulses with electron FROG
New technique enables complete analysis of femtosecond pulses in the vacuum ultraviolet range:
A team of researchers at the Max Born Institute managed to fully characterise few-femtosecond-long light pulses tunable in the vacuum ultraviolet. These results unlock the possibility for studying valence electron…
Breakthrough in attosecond science
Research team from MBI and DESY develops a plasma lens that can focus attosecond pulses, thereby overcoming significant limitations:
A team of researchers from the Max Born Institute (MBI) in Berlin and DESY in Hamburg has demonstrated a plasma lens capable of focusing attosecond pulses. This breakthrough substantially increases the attosecond…
Crystals and careers
How research is turned into business:
New technologies require one thing above all else. They take time. It takes years for a good idea to grow into a viable spin-off,” says Thomas Schröder, director of the Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth (IKZ) in…
Energy of charge carrier pairs in cuprate compounds
Measurements at BESSY II contribute to a better understanding of high-temperature superconductivity:
High-temperature superconductivity is still not fully understood. Now, an international research team at BESSY II has measured the energy of charge carrier pairs in undoped La₂CuO₄. Their findings revealed that the…