Press releases

FZU laser centres are celebrating their tenth birthdays

Abstract

This year marks a decade since the European Commission and the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports approved two unique laser research projects ELI Beamlines and HiLASE, which were both successfully implemented as part of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In celebration of the anniversary, an official meeting attended by the representatives of leading Czech and foreign institutions took place at ELI Beamlines in Dolní Břežany. In a video-call, it was also joined on-line by Gérard Mourou, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics and the initiator of the centre at the European level.

American patent opens the door to the largest nuclear market

Abstract

A patented method of protecting the surface of fuel cells from corrosion, which will extend the life of fuel cells under both emergency and standard conditions, could be used in all 94 nuclear reactors in the United States. Innovative solutions were patented in the Czech Republic by Irena Kratochvílová, František Fendrych, Andrew Taylor (for the Institute of Physics) and Radek Škoda, Jan Škarohlíd (then for the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University) already in 2015.

From superlattices to supercrystals

Abstract

FZU researchers, in a world-wide collaboration led by Dr. Pavlo Zubko from University College London, have found that in superlattices, composed of layers of a ferroelectric material separated by thin metallic spacers, electric dipoles form an unusual pattern of nanoscale domains that order in three dimensions to create a ‘domain supercrystal’, exhibiting outstanding dielectric response.

Robot to Detect COVID-19 from Saliva Samples

Abstract

A device to detect SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples is one step closer to a real-world application.  A unique technology, which was developed by researchers from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, has shown sensitivity comparable to that of PCR testing.