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Since the summer of 2018, DIFFER houses a transmission electron microscope (TEM) that is dedicated for structural analysis of inorganic materials. The microscope is accessible for researchers who want to image newly developed nanomaterials or thin films aimed at energy applications.

Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to tackle complex problems. That is exactly what happened when DIFFER researcher Matthijs van Berkel used a systems engineering approach to study the heat transport in a fusion plasma.

The new plasma diagnostic MANTIS developed by DIFFER is giving a detailed look at the plasma conditions in the Swiss fusion experiment TCV. With 10 different channels and a frame rate of 200-2000 images per second, MANTIS can analyse density, temperature and the presence of impurities in the intense exhaust plasma of TCV.

So-called plasmonic sensors of noble metal nanoparticles follow how electrical charge is transfered during chemical reactions and energy conversion processes.

Ruben Hamans is one of the three finalists for the 2017 KNCV Golden Master Thesis award. Ruben did his thesis in the Nanomaterials for Energy Applications group at DIFFER, working on the assembly of a super-resolution microscope.