Press Releases / Pressemitteilungen

Broad spectrum. Novel hybrid material proves an efficient photodetector

Press release from HZDR, 9 April, 2020

Published on Thu, 09 Apr 2020 in PRESS RELEASES

[Press release from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) on a cooperative work with cfaed's Chair for Molecular Functional Materials (Prof. Xinliang Feng) at TU Dresden | Deutsche Version unter "read more"]

Digital cameras as well as many other electronic devices need light-sensitive sensors. In order to cater for the increasing demand for optoelectronic components of this kind, industry is searching for new semiconductor materials. They are not only supposed to cover a broad range of wavelengths but should also be inexpensive. A hybrid material, developed in Dresden, fulfills both these requirements. Himani Arora, a physics PhD student at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), demonstrated that this metal-organic framework can be used as a broadband photodetector. As it does not contain any cost-intensive raw materials, it can be produced inexpensively in bulk.

Taicang High-Tech Park donates 10.000 Respiratory Protective Masks to TU Dresden

Published on Thu, 26 Mar 2020 in PRESS RELEASES

Board and team members of Sixonia Tech GmbH. left to right: Dr. Ali Shaygan Nia, Dr. Martin Lohe, Prof. Klaus Müllen, Prof. Xinliang Feng, Dr. Kangkai Ma - (c) cfaed

[Press release from the TU Dresden Press Office dated 26 March 2020. The mentioned SIXONIA tech company is a start up from the cfaed Chair for Molecular Functional Materials led by Prof. Xinliang Feng. Deutsche Version unter read more]

The "Taicang High-Tech Park" near Shanghai (China) is donating 10,000 urgently needed respiratory protective masks to TU Dresden and its Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital.

"We are extremely grateful for this gesture of friendship and this strong signal of international solidarity and I am personally deeply touched", says Prof. Hans Müller-Steinhagen, Rector of TU Dresden. "In times of need, such a humanitarian gesture has a significance that goes far beyond its mere material value."

On the trail of organic solar cells’ efficiency: Molecular vibrations reduce the maximum achievable photovoltage in organic solar cells

PRESS RELEASE from cfaed @ TU Dresden, March 20, 2020

Published on Fri, 20 Mar 2020 in PRESS RELEASES

Illustration of the generation of charge pairs (excitons), the precursors of free charge carriers in the active layer of an organic solar cell. Credit: M. Panhans

[Deutsche Version unter read more]

Scientists at TU Dresden and Hasselt University in Belgium investigated the physical causes that limit the efficiency of novel solar cells based on organic molecular materials. Currently, the voltage of such cells is still too low - one reason for their still relatively low efficiencies. In their study, by investigating the vibrations of the molecules in the thin films, the scientists were able to show that very fundamental quantum effects, so-called zero point vibrations, can make a significant contribution to voltage losses. The study has now been published in the journal Nature Communications.

World record in research on π-electron structures: Team succeeds in producing dodecacene for the first time

Published on Mon, 17 Feb 2020 in PRESS RELEASES

STM image and schematic representation of dodecacene overlap in this figure. Twelve bright lobes, representing the 12 benzene rings, are well distinguishable.

[Deutsche Version unter read more]

A team of international scientists under the lead of Francesca Moresco (Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden – cfaed at TU Dresden) and Diego Peña Gil (Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials – CiQUS at University of Santiago de Compostela) has achieved a breakthrough in the field of π-electron structures research. For the first time, they synthesized a chain of twelve benzene rings, called dodecacene, which is the longest acene ever obtained to date. This was made possible by using on-surface synthesis and observed by scanning tunneling microscopy. The investigation of the properties of higher acenes also revealed an unexpected increase in the energy gap of dodecacene. The scientists have now published their results in the journal "ACS Nano".

Hermetically sealed semi-conductors

New encapsulation technique protects electronic properties of sensitive materials

Published on Tue, 28 Jan 2020 in PRESS RELEASES

[Press release from the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) dated 28 January 2020. Dr. Artur Erbe is a cfaed associated member. German version via read more.]

Tomorrow’s electronics are getting ever smaller. Researchers are thus searching for tiny components that function reliably in increasingly narrow configurations. Promising elements include the chemical compounds indium selenide (InSe) and gallium selenide (GaSe). In the form of ultra-thin layers, they form two-dimensional (2D) semi-conductors. But, so far, they have hardly been used because they degrade when they get in contact with air during manufacturing. Now, a new technique allows the sensitive material to be integrated in electronic components without losing its desired properties. The method, which has been described in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b13442), was developed by Himani Arora, a doctoral candidate of physics at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR).