Our latest press releases and news
Anomaly in the deep sea - Extraordinary accumulation of rare atoms could improve geological dating methods
Press Release of 10.02.2025
Beryllium-10, a rare radioactive isotope produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere, provides valuable insights into the Earth's geological history. A research team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), in collaboration with the TUD Dresden University of Technology and the Australian National University (ANU), has discovered an unexpected accumulation of this isotope in samples taken from the Pacific seabed. Such an anomaly may be attributed to shifts in ocean currents or astrophysical events that occurred approximately 10 million years ago. The findings hold the potential to serve as a global time marker, representing a promising advancement in the dating of geological archives spanning millions of years. The team presents its results in the scientific journal Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55662-4).
Quantum computers in silicon: Development of a new European quantum technology begins
Press Release of 09.01.2025
The EQUSPACE consortium (Enabling New Quantum Frontiers with Spin Acoustics in Silicon) has received 3.2 million euros from the European Innovation Council's (EIC) Pathfinder Open funding program to advance the development of silicon-based quantum technologies.
Temporarily apart: Research team succeeds in ultra-fast switching of tiny light sources
Press Release of 27.09.2024
Extremely thin materials consisting of just a few atomic layers promise applications for electronics and quantum technologies. An international team led by TU Dresden has now made remarkable progress with an experiment conducted at HZDR: The experts were able to induce an extremely fast switching process between electrically neutral and charged luminescent particles in an ultra-thin, effectively two-dimensional material. The result opens up new perspectives for research as well as for optical data processing and flexible detectors. The research is presented in the journal Nature Photonics (DOI: 10.1038/s41566-024-01512-0).
Metamaterials for the data highway: A new concept offering the potential for more efficient data storage
Press Release of 16.07.2024
Researchers from the HZDR, TU Chemnitz, TU Dresden and Forschungszentrum Jülich have been the first to demonstrate that not just individual bits, but entire bit sequences can be stored in cylindrical domains: tiny, cylindrical areas measuring just around 100 nanometers. As the team reports in the journal Advanced Electronic Materials (DOI: 10.1002/aelm.202400251), these findings could pave the way for novel types of data storage and sensors, including even magnetic variants of neural networks.
Aufbruch in die Quantenwelt: Forschungsmagazin „entdeckt“ gibt Einblick in die faszinierende Welt der Quantenforschung
News of 17.06.2024
Unter dem Motto „Quanten2025 – die Zukunft wissenschaftlich und technologisch gestalten“ feiert die Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG) im nächsten Jahr den 100. Geburtstag der Quantenmechanik. 1925 entwickelten Werner Heisenberg und weitere Physiker*innen den Ansatz für eine konsistente Theorie, die mittlerweile als die am besten per Experiment überprüfte Theorie der Physik gilt.
First funding from the German Research Foundation for CASUS
News of 10.06.2024
When designing advanced materials for applications in energy, electronics, and biotechnology, two-dimensional materials (2DM) are considered particularly promising. Developing novel synthetic 2DMs was the scope of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1415 “Chemistry of Synthetic Two-Dimensional Materials” that started in July 2020.
Properly exploring and controlling matter - Sebastian F. Maehrlein transfers to HZDR
News of 31.05.2024
On June 1, 2024, physicist Sebastian F. Maehrlein will commence his professorship in high-field terahertz physics at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). In a joint appointment with the TU Dresden, he will head the High-Field THz-driven Phenomena group at the Institute of Radiation Physics at the HZDR.
Two times top-level research
Press Release of 30.04.2024
The Helmholtz Association awarded Dr. Lukas Körber and Dr. Anna Vanderbruggen its doctoral prizes in the fields of matter and energy in Berlin on Monday, April 29. They received the prizes for their outstanding doctoral theses, which they completed at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology at HZDR. In her research approach, Vanderbruggen uses a proven method to return the graphite from used batteries, which has hardly been recycled to date, to the material cycle. Körber's work contributes to a deeper understanding of magnetic spin waves, which are significant for various future technologies.
Magnetic with a pinch of hydrogen: Research team develops new idea to improve the properties of ultra-thin materials
Press Release of 22.04.2024
Magnetic two-dimensional materials consisting of one or a few atomic layers have only recently become known and promise interesting applications, for example for the electronics of the future. So far, however, it has not been possible to control the magnetic states of these materials well enough. A German-American research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Dresden University of Technology (TUD) is now presenting in the journal Nano Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c04777) an innovative idea that could overcome this shortcoming - by allowing the 2D layer to react with hydrogen.
New Materials for Energy-Efficient AI: HZDR materials scientist receives prestigious ERC Advanced Grant
Press Release of 11.04.2024
Dr. Denys Makarov from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant in the amount of 2.5 million euros. Over the next five years, this funding will enable him and his team to investigate a promising class of materials known as multiferroics. The aim is to develop novel materials on the basis of which computer chips could work with much higher energy efficiency in particular for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.