Patented Nanostructure for Solar Cells: Rough Optics, Smooth Surface
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- Written by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH
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Thin-film solar cells made of crystalline silicon are inexpensive and achieve efficiencies of a good 14 percent. However, they could do even better if their shiny surfaces reflected less light. A team led by Prof. Christiane Becker from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has now patented a sophisticated new solution to this problem.
Effective Deposition of Thin Insulating Layers for Sensors in Hydrogen Technology
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Organische Elektronik, Elektronenstrahl- und Plasmatechnik FEP
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Scientists at the Fraunhofer FEP have investigated new approaches for depositing low-defect insulating layers, part of the joint project “NaFuSS“ (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research/BMBF promotional reference number 13N13171). The aim is to increase the reliability and durability of pressure sensors for hydrogen technology, an area that is becoming increasingly important.
Magnetization in Small Components can now be Filmed in the Laboratory
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- Written by Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
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In the future, today's electronic storage technology may be superseded by devices based on tiny magnetic structures. These individual magnetic regions correspond to bits and need to be as small as possible and capable of rapid switching. In order to better understand the underlying physics and to optimize the components, various techniques can be used to visualize the magnetization behavior.
Graphene Enables Clock Rates in the Terahertz Range
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- Written by Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
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Graphene is considered a promising candidate for the nanoelectronics of the future. In theory, it should allow clock rates up to a thousand times faster than today’s silicon-based electronics. Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P), have now shown for the first time that graphene can actually convert electronic signals with frequencies in the gigahertz range – which correspond to today’s clock rates – extremely efficiently into signals with several times higher frequency. The researchers present their results in the scientific journal “Nature”.
OLED Integration in Textiles: Functional and Eye-catching
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Organische Elektronik, Elektronenstrahl- und Plasmatechnik FEP
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Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) are mainly known from televisions and smartphone displays. They can be used as lighting objects in car tail lights or lights. The Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP as a partner for customer-specific OLED development and production is now presenting OLED elements that can be integrated into textiles at the Electronics System Integration Technology Conference ESTC 2018 from September 18 - 21, 2018 in Dresden at booth no. 29.
Researchers Develop a Solid Material with Mobile Particles that React to the Environment
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- Written by INM - Leibniz-Institut für Neue Materialien gGmbH
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Inside most materials, little is moving. But a new “active nanocomposite” is teeming with motion: small particles connect or separate, thus changing the color of the entire material. It was made by scientists of the Leibniz Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken in an attempt to lend materials more dynamics. The transparent material can “answer” temperature changes or, in the future, the presence of chemical substances and toxins with a color change. The researchers want to create packaging films that change their color when food spoils, for example.
Goettingen Researchers Combine Light and X-ray Microscopy for Comprehensive Insights
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- Written by Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
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Researchers at the University of Goettingen have used a novel microscopy method. In doing so they were able to show both the illuminated and the "dark side" of the cell. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications. (pug) The team led by Prof. Dr. Tim Salditt and Prof. Dr. Sarah Köster from the Institute of X-Ray Physics "attached" small fluorescent markers to the molecules of interest, for example proteins or DNA. The controlled switching of the fluorescent dye in the so-called STED (Stimulated Emission Depletion) microscope then enables highest resolution down to a few billionth of a meter.
Novel 3D Printed Polymer Lenses for X-ray Microscopes: Highly Efficient and Low Cost
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme
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Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart invented a new and cost-effective method for making X-ray lenses with nanometer-sized features and excellent focusing capabilities. By using an advanced 3D printing technique, a single lens can be manufactured under a minute from polymeric materials with extremely favorable X-ray optical properties, hence the costs of prototyping and manufacturing are strongly reduced. High-throughput and high-yield manufacturing processes of such lenses are sought after world-wide, which is why the scientists have filed a patent for their invention.
A Step Ahead in Pharmaceutical Research
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- Written by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
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Researchers of the University of Würzburg have developed a method that makes it possible to measure the activation of receptors in a very short time. This might speed up the development of new drugs. Hormones and other neurotransmitters, but also drugs, act upon receptors. “Their active substances bind to the receptors and modify the three-dimensional receptor arrangement regulating the downstream signal pathways,” says Hannes Schihada from the Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Würzburg (JMU).
IAA Commercial Vehicles 2018: 3D metal printer enables more efficient and lighter components
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- Written by Technische Universität Kaiserslautern
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Components for commercial vehicles such as excavators, trucks or forklifts should be as light as possible, yet stable and durable. At the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (TUK), engineers at the Institute for Mechanical and Automotive Design (iMAD) rely on a 3D metal printer with which they can produce components in one piece. This technology permits to produce more filigree and lighter parts than with conventional processes. At the International Motor Show for Commercial Vehicles in Hanover (IAA) from 20 to 27 September at the research stand (Hall 13, Stand A28) of the Centre for Commercial Vehicle Technology (ZNT), researchers will answer questions about their technology.
Brightest Source of Entangled Photon
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- Written by Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden
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Scientists at Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW) and at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) have developed a broadband optical antenna for highly efficient extraction of entangled photons. With a yield of 37% per pulse, it is the brightest source of entangled photons reported so far.
A Boost for Biofuel Cells
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme
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In chemistry, a reaction is spontaneous when it does not need the addition of an external energy input. How much energy is released in a reaction is dictated by the laws of thermodynamics. In the case of the spontaneous reactions that occur in the human body this is often not enough to power medical implants. Now, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, together with an international team of researchers, found a way to boost the energy output by storing and bundling the energy of many spontaneous enzyme reactions. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Tough Nuts, Cracked in a Smart Way
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- Written by Empa - Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt
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Welding, printing, crushing concrete – an Empa team monitors noisy processes with the help of artificial intelligence. This way you can literally hear production errors and imminent accidents. Kilian Wasmer from the Empa lab for Advanced Materials Processing in Thun keeps shaking his head while speaking, as if he can’t believe the success story himself.
A Transparent and Thermally Stable Polyamide – 100 Percent Biobased
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Grenzflächen- und Bioverfahrenstechnik IGB
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The natural substance 3-carene is a component of turpentine oil, a waste stream of the production of cellulose from wood. Up to now, this by-product has been incinerated for the most part. Fraunhofer researchers are using new catalytic processes to convert 3-carene into building blocks for biobased plastics. The new polyamides are not only transparent, but also have a high thermal stability.
Protein Modifications Pointing to Cancer
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- Written by Universität Zürich
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Researchers from the University of Zurich can, for the first time, precisely characterize the protein modification ADP-ribosylation for all proteins in a tissue sample. The changes, which are a typical reaction to stress, provide information about the condition of a cell. Together with the University Hospital Zurich, they are now testing the new method to diagnose and treat cancer.
Added Disorder Drives Transition to Photonic Topological Insulator
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- Written by Universität Rostock
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As the journal Nature reported recently, a research group led by the Rostock physicist Professor Alexander Szameit, in collaboration with colleagues in Israel and the U.S., experimentally demonstrated that a messy topological insulator can be restored in its properties by inducing random disorder.
