Latest news from microsystems technology and materials research

BAM develops powerful alternative to lithium-ion batteries
Innovative approach to make solid-state batteries more sustainable, cheaper, and more efficient:
Researchers at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) have developed an innovative approach to make solid-state batteries more powerful and suitable for everyday use. Their goal: batteries that…

HU junior researcher Alberto Pérez-Bitrián receives Emmy Noether grant
New Research Group OrgXeMet investigates the properties and reactivity of xenon compounds:
The new Emmy Noether research group OrgXeMet, led by Dr. Alberto Pérez-Bitrián has been launched at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU). The group will be funded with approximately 1.75 million euros over six…

BAM, HZB, and HU Berlin plan joint Berlin Battery Lab
The joint research infrastructure will also be open to industry for battery research projects:
The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), and Humboldt University of Berlin (HU Berlin) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the Berlin…

New violet laser developed at IKZ
Researchers at the Center for Laser Materials (ZLM) at the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) have developed the most efficient direct violet-emitting solid-state laser:
Lasers with short-wave visible light in the blue or violet range have many practical applications. They are used in metalworking, for example, especially with metals such as copper, which strongly reflect infrared…

New materials as highly sensitive X-ray detectors
Organic-inorganic hybrid materials are ideally suited and can be produced in a green way using ball milling:
New bismuth-based organic-inorganic hybrid materials show exceptional sensitivity and long-term stability as X-ray detectors, significantly more sensitive than commercial X-ray detectors. In addition, these materials…

Insight into ultrafast spin processes with femtoslicing
Worldwide unique infrastructure for spintronics research at BESSY II:
An international team has succeeded at BESSY II for the first time to elucidate how ultrafast spin-polarised current pulses can be characterised by measuring the ultrafast demagnetisation in a magnetic layer system…

Ageing processes of lithium button cells made visible
For the first time, scientists were able to observe how the composition of lithium-ion batteries changes during charge cycles:
Lithium button cells with electrodes made of nickel-manganese-cobalt oxides (NMC) are very powerful. Unfortunately, their capacity decreases over time. Now, for the first time, a team has used a non-destructive method…

Nanoparticle shield makes luminescent molecules more durable for high-tech applications
Silica particles shield luminescent molecules from oxygen:
They are tiny but glow intensively: special light-emitting molecules used in environmental analysis, medical diagnostics, and energy research. However, their luminescence intensity can be significantly reduced by…

New instrument at BESSY II for investigating energy materials
OÆSE endstation in EMIL offers insights into dynamic electrochemical processes:
A new instrument is now available at BESSY II for investigating catalyst materials, battery electrodes and other energy devices under operating conditions: the Operando Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy on EMIL…

Technology development for semiconductor material gallium oxide launched
At IKZ, a new application laboratory will be set up to produce epitaxial wafers for components in power electronics:
The EFRE project G.O.A.L. “Gallium Oxide Application Laboratory for Power Electronics”, which was launched in September 2024, completes the value chain created at the IKZ in the field of gallium oxide technology…

A cage structured material transforms into a performant catalyst for producing green hydrogen
The promising material class of clathrates was investigated at BESSY II:
Clathrates are characterised by a complex cage structure that provides space for guest ions too. Now, for the first time, a team has investigated the suitability of clathrates as catalysts for electrolytic hydrogen…

An elegant method for the detection of single spins using photovoltage
The approach of an HZB team could lead to a much more compact design of quantum sensors:
Diamonds with certain optically active defects can be used as highly sensitive sensors or qubits for quantum computers, where the quantum information is stored in the electron spin state of these colour centres.…

Breakthrough: First electron beam in SEALab advances accelerator physics
HZB team generates and accelerates an electron beam from a multi-alkali photocathode:
The SEALab team at HZB has achieved a world first by generating an electron beam from a multi-alkali (Na-K-Sb) photocathode and accelerating it to relativistic energies in a superconducting radiofrequency accelerator…

Optical innovations for solar modules – which are the most promising?
Experts provide a comprehensive overview of the state of solar research:
In 2023, photovoltaic systems generated more than 5% of the world’s electrical energy and the installed capacity doubles every two to three years. Optical technologies can further increase the efficiency of solar…

Catalysis research with the X-ray microscope at BESSY II
Scientists studied changes in catalysts during the synthesis of ammonia from waste nitrates:
Contrary to what we learned at school, some catalysts do change during the reaction: for example, certain electrocatalysts can change their structure and composition during the reaction when an electric field is…
Events / Dates
17.15
Walter-Nernst-Haus, Hörsaal 0’06
WISTA Conventions
09.30 - 15.00
Forumsplatz
17.15
Walter-Nernst-Haus, Hörsaal 0’06
09.00 - 16.00
WISTA conventions
WISTA Conventions
09.00
17.15
Walter-Nernst-Haus, Hörsaal 0’06
17.15
Walter-Nernst-Haus, Hörsaal 0’06
17.15
Walter-Nernst-Haus, Hörsaal 0’06
14.00
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) at Europa-Center
14.00 - 15.30
Erwin-Schrödinger-Zentrum