Using particle showers to scan the interior of structures

HZDR researchers seek to harness muon imaging for bridges, chemical parks, and Castor containers

30-Jun-2023 - Earth is constantly being struck by cosmic particles. High-energy muons can easily penetrate several meters of steel or concrete. A team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) seeks to harness the potential of this unavoidable background radiation to view the interior of industrial ...

BAM spin-off develops lightweight explosives trace detector for mobile use

Novel detection chemistry based on chemical-optical measurement technology

16-May-2023 - The detection of explosives is important for civil security. Previous sensors are heavy, expensive and complex to maintain. A team of founders from the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) wants to bring a mobile explosives trace detector to market that detects explosives ...

Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient

Researchers use substrates of metal and dielectrics to boost the light conversion efficiency of perovskites by 250 percent

22-Feb-2023 - Silicon, the standard semiconducting material used in a host of applications—computer central processing units (CPUs), semiconductor chips, detectors, and solar cells—is an abundant, naturally occurring material. However, it is expensive to mine and to purify. Perovskites—a family of materials ...

Researchers use lead recycled from car batteries to make photodetectors

Recycling strategy could keep lead out of landfills and give used car batteries a second life in high-tech equipment

16-Feb-2023 - As lithium-ion batteries continue to decrease in price, they are quickly replacing the lead-acid batteries traditionally used in cars and other vehicles. This is creating a sudden abundance of used lead acid batteries, which would be harmful to the environment and people if not recycled properly. ...

A single instrument determines a total of ten greenhouse gases and air pollutants simultaneously and with high precision

"Innosuisse Certificate" for Empa Spin-off: Ready for sustainable growth

12-Dec-2022 - Founded in February 2018 as an Empa spin-off, the start-up company "MIRO Analytical" received one of the coveted "Innosuisse Certificates" in October. The certificate reflects the remarkable progress the young company made during the funding agency's coaching program and confirms that the ...

Ultra-sensitive optical sensor can reduce hydrogen’s risks

AI technology led the way

09-Dec-2022 - In the pursuit of clean and renewable energy, hydrogen plays an important role. But a major challenge facing this transition is that the gas is explosive when mixed with air. For this reason, it is crucial to be able to detect hydrogen leaks as early as possible. Now researchers at Chalmers ...

Miniaturized infrared detectors

Integration on a chip: Tremendous effects on spectrometers of different kinds – and in various fields

31-Oct-2022 - Extreme miniaturization of infrared (IR) detectors is critical for their integration into next-generation consumer electronics, wearables and ultra-small satellites. Thus far, however, IR detectors have relied on bulky (and expensive) materials and technologies. A team of scientists lead by Empa ...

Organic thin-film sensors for light-source analysis and anti-counterfeiting applications

As integrated components, the thin-film sensors could eliminate the need for external spectrometers in the future

07-Sep-2022 - In a recent publication in the scientific journal “Advanced Materials”, a team of physicists and chemists from TU Dresden presents an organic thin-film sensor that describes a completely new way of identifying the wavelength of light and achieves a spectral resolution below one nanometer. As ...

Pfeiffer Vacuum Opens New Leak Detection and Vacuum Technology Facility in Indianapolis, Indiana

17-May-2022 - Pfeiffer Vacuum opened up a new 40,000 square foot facility on May 13th. This state-of-the-art facility is located at 4037 Guion Lane, Indianapolis, Indiana. The new facility serves North American customers in all technological questions around leak detection and high-vacuum technology, focusing ...

Using ions to find molecules

Physicists use a single trapped ion to detect ultracold molecules

15-Mar-2022 - When we think of ions, we usually think of single atoms that have lost or gained some electrons, but entire molecules can also become ions. In a new publication that was highlighted as an Editor’s Suggestion in Physical Review Letters, physicists from the University of Amsterdam, QuSoft and Stony ...