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Long-term collaboration UT and DIFFER: Pulsed Laser Deposition for Energy Applications

Published on July 20, 2021

DIFFER and University of Twente (UT) have started a long-term collaboration on the fabrication and investigation of thin films for the energy transition. Applications are for example in the field of conversion and storage, like electrodes for water splitting or fuel cells.

Pulsed Laser Deposition
High quality thin films are required both for high performing energy devices as well as for operando studies to identify performance limitations, according to DIFFER scientists. Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) – the main expertise of UT – is the perfect tool here."PLD is a tool that can be used in many kinds of energy research", says Gertjan Koster, projectleader UT. In combination with the ion beam facility at DIFFER, fast characterization cycles for the optimization of thin film quality are possible. The partners will closely work together on these topics and want to design and acquire a PLD tool that bridges the gap between a research device and an industrial tool. DIFFER will host and run the PLD as a user facility for academia and industry. Anja Bieberle, projectleader at DIFFER: "UT and DIFFER complement each other perfectly."

Kick-off: symposium Materials for Energy
On 20 July 2021, the collaboration kicked off with a minisymposium on “Materials for Energy” with scientific presentations from Anja Bieberle, Purushothaman Varadhan, Nitin Puthuval Prasad (DIFFER) and Gertjan Koster, Emma van der Minne, Daniel Moneiro Cunha (UT). After the presentations a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Guus Rijnders, scientific director MESA+ and Marco de Baar, director of DIFFER.

Related stories
Interview Anja Bieberle
News item Symposium Materials for Energy

Guus Rijnders and Marco de Baar sign
the Memorandum of Understanding on PLD.
Photo: DIFFER/Alex Poelman

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