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discovered_01_2013

discovered 01.13 FOCUS WWW.Hzdr.DE consortium, the institutes’ scientific quality and their ability to accommodate external users should be well-established, and at the end of the day, having as many nations as possible represented also played a role. Time and again, the word from Brussels is: "SPIRIT is running beautifully." By the time the project will near its end, we will have checked off all the milestones and have reached all of our declared goals. I am so proud but, naturally, without the exceptional contributions by our international partners, it would never have worked. And I can only repeat: The many diverse in-house support functions, whether we’re talking about our EU liaison officer and her colleagues from the International Projects area, the administration, and the other HZDR scientists and technicians involved in the SPIRIT project, were and are key ingredients to our success. Mr. Möller, you seem as excited, level-headed, and youthful as always. Tell me, are you finding that you have more time to yourself now and for your passions like your music? Well, to be perfectly honest, this part-time coordinator position is not keeping me all that busy. I am happy, of course, that, since I retired, I have been able to once again pursue my professional passions. I am able to do research on my own and have revisited an old topic I had been working on in the past: a computer simulation about the interactions between ions and solid bodies that I programmed years ago and which has been used all over the world ever since. I have greatly enjoyed extending this program to three-dimensional simulations in the nanometer range. One of the things it allows you to do is model surface erosion using finely focused ion beams or compute how regular surface structures form under bombardment with ions. This is directly relevant to experimental and other theoretical works at the institute. What’s also especially exciting is that I have a lot more time now for conversations with younger and older colleagues. And it goes without saying that music also has its place in my life as it always has. Of course I have a lot more time for it now – both passively and actively. I play in two string quartets on a more or less regular basis, which is a nice mix of very young and – let’s just say – rather more mature musicians. Let’s get back to the topic of ion beams: Would you mind telling us more about ion beams in practice? What are some of the advantages of rapid charged particles compared with other technologies? It’s difficult to conceive of very many areas of life without ion beam technologies. Without foreign atom implantation in semiconductor materials, computer, cell phone, or digital camera processors or storage chips simply wouldn’t exist. And yet ion beams basically operate like tools that allow one to customize the properties of different materials. This affects their electronic as well as their optical, magnetic, and mechanical properties. In the last few years, there has been considerable progress made in research in these areas but industry still isn’t – or isn’t always – fully aware of their inherent potential in terms of their applicability. Which is why one of SPIRIT’s main goals is to familiarize users from all walks of life with the potential inherent in ion beams and to grant them access to top institutions. At the same time, ion beam based processes are relatively elaborate and costly in terms of their application. In other words, you have to clearly identify those areas in which they can be of use to industry. Besides electronics, I can also imagine photovoltaics or even treatment of specialized tools. Just imagine, say, a large injection molding tool worth several tens of thousands of Euros. It isn’t uncommon for this kind of tool to be exposed to a wear-and-tear only at distinct small fractions of the overall surface. I can see tremendous innovation potential in the implantation of ions into these wear-and-tear points. At this time, one very hot topic is single ion implantation. It’s actually something the HZDR is already working on: If we succeed at positioning individual atoms on a material surface with great precision in a nanometer range, this would represent an important step in the direction of quantum computing. Quantum computers, whatever they may end up looking like, could also become an important ion beam technology market. Ion beams also offer unique opportunities for analysis that in many cases are preceded by extensive development and pilot stages. As such, there exists a tailored analytical technique for light-weight elements like hydrogen or boron that cannot be detected using X-ray analysis or other technologies. Why is this relevant? In semiconductors like solar cells, hydrogen is used for purposes of passivation. On the other hand, the often times uncontrolled entry of hydrogen in thin functional Ion beams are exceptionally versatile tools and can even help with tracking down murderers.

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