International Award for an HZDR Junior Scientist

Press Release published on September 13, 2012

Dr. Shengqiang Zhou heads a Helmholtz Young Investigators’ Group at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). His research revolves around magnetic semiconductor materials which might play a specific role for the next generation of storage concepts. He was honored for his achievements in this field with the award of the international expert conference IBMM 2012 which was held in Qingdao, China.

The IBMM, which was held in China between September 2 and 7, 2012, is the international meeting point for scientists from the ion beam physics field (the abbreviation IBMM stands for ion beam modification of materials). Ion beams are fast, electrically charged particles which permit the systematic change or precise investigation of materials. About 300 participants from materials sciences and physics who are interested in the interactions of ions and solids attended the conference.

Dr. Shengqiang Zhou has been living in Dresden since 2005. He initially worked at the HZDR as a doctoral candidate from the Technische Universität Dresden [Dresden University of Technology]. Back then, he doped the semiconductor zinc oxide with magnetic ions. In 2008, he continued his research on the magnetic properties of materials as a post-doctoral candidate with a specific focus on more conventional semiconductor materials as silicon and germanium. He is particularly interested in how to impart magnetic properties to these materials with the help of ion beam technologies. During a one year sabbatical leave, he was a research professor at Peking University, a major research university in China. Since February 2011, he has been heading the HZDR’s Young Investigators’ Group which is supported by the Helmholtz Association and conducts research on functional semiconductor materials. Dr. Zhou and his junior research group can rely not only on the multifaceted experimental and analysis facilities available at the HZDR’s Ion Beam Center, but also on the superb research conditions provided by the “Rossendorf Beamline” at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.

Dr. Zhou can look back on a number of excellent scientific publications. For example, in a frequently cited article which was published in the professional journal Physical Review B (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.77.035209), he describes the characteristic properties of nanocrystals in zinc oxide which were generated by implanting cobalt and nickel ions. Another article, which was also published in Physical Review B (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.75.085203), revolves around the characteristic properties of silicon in which magnetic nanoparticles are formed as a result of implanted manganese. Last but not least, his article on the significance of hole concentrations in germanium doped with manganese was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters (DOI: 10.1063/1.3428770).

The IBMM presented Dr. Zhou with the conference award, which comes with a 1,000 dollar prize, for his work on the use of ion beams for magnetic semiconductor materials as well as his thorough and precise analyses of fundamental physical mechanisms. The award was presented in Qingdao, China on September 6, 2012.


For more Information, please contact

Prof. Manfred Helm
Director of the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research
Phone: +49 351 260-2260

Press Contact
Dr. Christine Bohnet
Press Officer
Phone: +49 351 260-2450 or +49 160 969 288 56