Cooperation between DESY and the Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung (IKZ) will quite literally become closer in the future. The Berlin Leibniz Institute will establish a branch office on the Hamburg campus. Yesterday, the two research centers signed a cooperation agreement to this effect.
"We will bring a large number of application-oriented research projects closer to the research facilities at DESY. This will considerably stimulate our scientific cooperation and open up new areas of research and innovation," says IKZ Institute Director Thomas Schröder.
The use of tailor-made crystals is of great importance in research with synchrotron radiation sources. They are the object of research themselves, serve as reference object and carrier material and are used in a variety of fields. At DESY, for example, the cooperation agreement now signed is intended to advance research on single aluminium nitride crystals. These crystals can be used as substrate material for high-performance components and optoelectronics, for example to enable UV disinfection of water and surfaces against dangerous viruses. The IKZ is a world leader in the growth of aluminium nitride prototype crystals. IKZ-produced silicon crystals will also be used for the planned light source PETRA IV, which will place extremely high demands on the technical equipment. In addition, the joint collaboration between IKZ and DESY with industry for possible applications also plays an important role; among other things, there are plans for a start-up for active X-ray optics.
"We are looking forward to the future close cooperation with the crystal experts from IKZ," says Helmut Dosch, Chairman of the DESY Board of Directors. "We expect considerable synergies, from which our experts in laser research and development and the DESY Nanolab will particularly benefit.
The Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung in Berlin-Adlershof is an international competence centre for science, technology, service and transfer in the field of crystalline materials. The research and development spectrum ranges from basic and applied research to pre-industrial research tasks. The IKZ develops innovations in crystalline materials through its expertise in plant engineering, numerical simulation and crystal growth to achieve crystalline materials of the highest quality and with tailored properties. The unique selling point of the institute is the research on volume crystals. This work is accompanied by research and development on nanostructures and thin films as well as strong theoretical and experimental materials research.
Published: Press release - Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY
