Versuche mit radioaktiven Stoffen im Schulunterricht unterliegen der Strahlenschutzverordnung. Die Broschüre enthält wichtige Schutzvorschriften, die von Schulleitern und Lehrkräften im Umgang mit natürlichen und künstlichen radioaktiven Stoffen zu beachten sind. Die Vorschriften betreffen Erwerb, Lagerung, Kennzeichnung und Dokumentation von radioaktiven Stoffen sowie die personelle Organisation des Strahlenschutzes an Schulen.

Double beta decay is a powerful tool to investigate the properties of the neutrino and of the weak interaction. Studying characteristics of this decay is very challenging because of its long half-life and interfering natural backgrounds. One experiment aiming to investigate double beta decay is the COBRA experiment located at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory. COBRA uses room temperature CdZnTe semiconductor detectors that intrinsically contain multiple double beta decay candidates. The previous COBRA Demonstrator had a relatively high background level and thus is not competitive for double beta decay searches. With the objective of reducing the background as well as increasing the signal sensitivity, the experiment was upgraded using large CdZnTe detectors with a novel electrode design. This work focuses on the study of the new detectors. A pulse shape simulation based on COMSOL and Monte Carlo is developed with the goal of characterizing the new detectors. This simulation framework is also part of a newly developed pulse shape discrimination to suppress background. Applying those analysis cuts the background index improves by a factor of 23 compared to the previous setup. Furthermore, the 2νββ-decay of 116Cd is investigated using data with an exposure of 0.18 kg·yr. The potential for measuring the excited state transition of this decay is also explored. Apart from the double beta decay investigations, a study of the charge non-conserving decay of 113Cd will be presented. The new half-life limit helps to constrain the theoretical presumptions for this exotic decay process.

Current proposals for large-scale quantum technologies rely on the integration of distinct quantum systems within a heterogeneous architecture. Such hybrid composition requires the design and development of interfaces to facilitate the seamless transfer of quantum information. While multiple physical interfaces have been explored based on photons and phonons, interaction mechanisms based on magnetically ordered spin textures are comparatively unexplored. The emerging field of quantum magnonics addresses this research gap by studying the interaction of quantum systems with magnons - the quanta of collective spin excitations. Most of the research progress in this field has been reported for hybrid systems composed of spin qubits in Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond and magnons in yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG), with both materials presenting fabrication challenges for wafer-scale integration. In this thesis, I take a departure from this commonly used hybrid composition and explore hybrid magnetic-quantum systems using more technologically mature material systems. Specifically, I explore silicon vacancy defects in silicon carbide and NiFe (permalloy) microstructures as the components of a hybrid quantum system. I start by describing each subsystem separately, discussing their theoretical basis and experimental methods, before addressing their interactive regimes. Two interaction schemes can be distinguished: one where the magnetic element is 'passive', merely representing a static influence to the spin defects, and another one where it is more 'active', inducing dipole-allowed transitions in the spin states of the vacancy. Remarkably, this 'active' scheme is enabled by magnon nonlinearities in a vortex-state disc, opening up the way towards studying the convergence of quantum systems with the rich nonlinear physics of magnons. I envision the results included in this thesis as a stepping stone for further exploration of magnon nonlinearities to enhance quantum functionalities.

Within the framework of an Institutional Partnership of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics Novisibirsk (BINP) and Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf worked together in a joint project devoted to the research at the coupled GDT-SHIP facility of the BINP with the focus on the study of plasma phenomena within the SHIP mirror section. The project began at July 1st, 2005 and ended on August 30th, 2008. It included work packages of significant theoretical, computational and analyzing investigations. The focus of this final report is on the presentation of results achieved whereas the work that was done is described briefly only. Chapter 2 illustrates the GDT-SHIP facility and describes shortly the planned topics of the SHIP plasma research. Chapter 3 explains the main extensions and modifications of the Integrated Transport Code System (ITCS) which were necessary for the calculations of the fast ion and neutral gas particle fields in SHIP, describes briefly the scheme of computations and presents significant results of pre-calculations from which conclusions were drawn regarding the experimental program of SHIP. In chapter 4, the theoretical and computational investigations of self-organizing processes in two-component plasmas of the GDT-SHIP device are explained and the results hitherto achieved are presented. In chapter 5, significant results of several experiments with moderate and with enhanced plasma parameters are presented and compared with computational results obtained with the ITCS. Preparing neutron measurements which are planned for neutron producing experiments with deuterium injection, Monte Carlo neutron transport calculations with the MCNP code were also carried out. The results are presented. Finally, from the results obtained within the joint research project important conclusions are drawn in chapter 6.

In this thesis we investigate experimentally certain aspects of the interaction of terahertz (THz) radiation with intersubband transitions and excitonic transitions in semiconductor quantum wells. The first part deals with a more fundamental view on an intersubband transition in a symmetric, undoped GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well. After optical excitation of carriers, the considered electronic conduction intersubband transition is probed in the low-intensity linear regime using broadband THz pulses. These pulses are detected via field-resolved electro-optic sampling. While the sample’s terahertz absorption shows the expected single peak of the resonant intersubband transition, the differential transmission spectra, i.e. the photoexcitation-induced changes in transmission, display strong Fano signatures. On the basis of a microscopic theory, we show that they originate from a phase sensitive superposition of THz current and ponderomotive current. The latter one results from the wiggling motion of carriers induced by the accelerating THz field. Our findings demonstrate for the first time that the ponderomotive contribution has to be taken into account also at the lowest THz intensities. The following issues consider the interaction with THz pulses of higher intensity from the free-electron laser (FEL) of the Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. In one experiment we investigate efficient second order sideband generation in the GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well mentioned above. To this end a near-infrared laser tuned to excitonic interband transitions is mixed inside the sample with the inplane polarized FEL beam to create the sum- and difference-frequencies between them. We compare the sideband efficiencies for the THz beam tuned to the interexcitonic heavy-hole light-hole transition and to the intraexcitonic heavy-hole 1s-2p transition. In the latter case we achieve a ten times higher n=+2 low-temperature efficiency around 0.1%. This value is comparable to previous studies in the literature, but our approach involves different transitions in a much simpler geometry. At room temperature the efficiency drops only by a factor of 7 for low THz powers. The last part of this thesis addresses another fundamental quantum-mechanical phenomenon: the splitting of an absorption line in a strong THz field. In the same abovementioned quantum well sample the FEL wavelength is tuned near the intraexcitonic 1s-2p heavy-hole transition. The THz radiation induces a power-dependent splitting of the heavy-hole 1s exciton absorption line which manifests itself in the transmitted spectrum of a broadband near-infrared probe beam. The FEL-wavelength-dependent strength of this so-called Autler-Townes splitting is discussed on the basis of a simple two-level model.

In dieser Arbeit wurde ein Sensorkonzept mit Hilfe der Si-basierten Lichtemitter (MOSLED) zum Östrogennachweis in wässrigen Lösungen entwickelt. Das Sensorkonzept basiert auf einer direkten Fluoreszenzanalyse und besteht aus der Anordnung der Bio-Komponenten und dem Verfahren zu ihrer Herstellung sowie dem eigentlichen Meßverfahren. Die Anordnung besteht aus drei Teilen: die Funktionalisierung der MOSLED-Oberfläche, die Immobilisierung des hER -Rezeptors und die Herstellung der Referenzlösung. Den Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit bildet die Ausführung dieser drei Teile. Die Funktionalisierung der SiO2-Oberfläche der MOSLED wurde mit Hilfe eines im Rahmen dieser Arbeit entwickelten SSC (Spraying Spin Coating)- Verfahrens realisiert. Die Ausgangsmaterialien dieses Verfahrens sind organofunktionelle Silangruppen mit drei unterschiedlichen funktionellen Gruppen, nämlich die Amino-, Carboxyl- und die Thiolgruppen. Die Optimierung dieser Methode erfolgte mittels der zwei Silangruppen APMS ((3- Aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane und Triamino-APMS (N-[3-(Trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine mit der gleichen Molekülstruktur, aber mit einer unterschiedlichen Anzahl an funktionellen Gruppen. Diese Resultate wurden mit in der Literatur beschriebenen Verfahren verglichen. Die Optimierung der SSC-Methode wurde zuerst auf einfache SiO2-Oberflächen und dann auf der Oberfläche der MOSLED angewendet. Die Proben wurden mit Hilfe üblicher Methoden der Oberflächenphysik- wie FTIR-, Raman- und XPS-Spektroskopie untersucht.Die Oberflächenrauhigkeit wurde mittels AFM-Spektroskopie ermittelt, deren Aufnahmen eine glatte Oberfläche bei den mit der SSC-Methode silanisierten Proben zeigen. Während die Hydrophobizität der funktionalisierten SiO2-Oberflächen zunimmt, sinkt dabei die Oberflächenenergie, welche die Anbindung eines hER -Rezeptors mit großer Bindungsenergie begünstigt. Zur Immobilisierung des hER -Rezeptors wurde dieser erst an das Hüllenmolekül des QDots R-655-Farbstoffs gebunden und anschließend an der SSC-silanisierten SiO2-Oberflächen adsorbiert. Der Anteil der immobilisierten Rezeptoren wurde mittels PL-Messung kontrolliert. Eine andere Immobilisierungstrategie des hER -Rezeptors an die SiO2-Oberfläche kann mit Hilfe eines Aminosäure-Derivates um den Rezeptor realisiert werden. Eine Adsorption der Lysinaminosäure an die SSC-APMS silanisierten SiO2- Oberflächen als Funktion des pH-Wertes wurde durchgeführt, und der Adsorbatsanteil des Lysins mittels XPS-Messung durch die Bindungsenergien der Energieniveaus C1s und N1s berechnet. Eine Referenzlösung mit QDots R 800-Farbstoff markierten Östrogenmolekülen kommt zum Einsatz. Dabei wird die Position 17 des β-Estradiolmoleküls, welches mit einem N-Hydroxysuccinimide Derivat versehen ist, an das Hüllenmolekül des QDots R 800-Farbstoff gebunden,sodass der Phenolring des β-Estradiols frei bleibt. Insbesondere ist bei den FTIR-Spektren eine nichtgebunden OH-Gruppe des β-Estradiolmoleküls gut erkennbar. Das gesamte Sensorkonzept wurde an zwei mit Östrogen mit einer Konzentration von 1mM und 1μM versetzten Wasserproben getestet. Die Anordnung der Bio-Komponenten wurde mittels PL nachgewiesen. Der Östrogennachweis wurde mit Hilfe des Ge- und Tb-basierten Lichtemitters demonstriert.

The Institute of Safety Research (ISR) is one of the six Research Institutes of Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V. (FZD), which is a member institution of the Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (Leibnizgemeinschaft). Together with the Institutes of Radiochemistry and Radiation Physics, ISR implements the research programme „Nuclear Safety Research“, which is one of the three scientific programmes of FZD. The programme includes two main topics, i. e. “Safety Research for Radioactive Waste Disposal” and “Safety Research for Nuclear Reactors”.

In computed tomography (CT) cross-sectional images of the attenuation distribution within a slice are created by scanning radiographic projections of an object with a rotating X-ray source detector compound and subsequent reconstruction of the images from these projection data on a computer. CT can be made very fast by employing a scanned electron beam instead of a mechanically moving X-ray source. Now this principle was extended towards high-energy electron beam tomography with an electrostatic accelerator. Therefore a dedicated experimental campaign was planned and carried out at the Budker Insitute of Nuclear Physics (BINP), Novosibirsk. There we investigated the capabilities of BINP’s accelerators as an electron beam generating and scanning unit of a potential high-energy electron beam tomography device. The setup based on a 1 MeV ELV-6 (BINP) electron accelerator and a single detector. Besides tomographic measurements with different phantoms, further experiments were carried out concerning the focal spot size and repeat accuracy of the electron beam as well as the detector’s response time and signal to noise ratio.

The first year of membership of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (HGF) was a year of many changes also for the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research (IIM). The transition period, however, is not yet over, since the full integration of the Center into the HGF will only be completed in the next period of the so-called program-oriented funding (POF). This funding scheme addresses the six core research fields identified by the Helmholtz Association (Energy; Earth and Environment; Health; Key Technologies; Structure of Matter; Aeronautics, Space and Transport) to deal with the grand challenges faced by society, science and industry. Since the Institute has strong contributions to both core fields “Key Technologies” and “Structure of Matter”, intense discussions were held amongst the leading scientists of the Institute, across the Institutes of the HZDR, and finally with leading scientists of other Helmholtz centers, to determine the most appropriate classification of the Institute’s research. At the end we decided to establish ourselves in Structure of Matter, the core field in which most of the large-scale photon, neutron and ion facilities in Germany are located. As a consequence, the Ion Beam Center (IBC) of the Institute submitted an application to become a HGF recognized large-scale facility, providing more than 50% of its available beam time to external users. This application perfectly reflects the development of the IBC over more than a decade as a European Union funded infrastructure in the framework of the projects “Center for Application of Ion Beams in Materials Research (AIM)” (1998-2000, 2000-2003, 2006-2010) and subsequently as the coordinator of the integrated infrastructure initiative (I3) “Support of Public and Industrial Research using Ion Beam Technology (SPIRIT)” (2009-2013). Another part of the Institute’s activities is dedicated to exploit the infrared/THz free-electron laser at the 40 MeV superconducting electron accelerator ELBE for condensed matter research. This facility is also open to external users and funded by the European Union.

The Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL) - located at BM20 of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France - is in operation since 1998. This 7th report covers the period from January 2009 to December 2010. In these two years, 67 peer- reviewed papers have been published based on experiments done at the beamline, more than in any biannual period before. Six highlight reports have been selected for this report to demonstrate the scientific strength and diversity of the experiments performed on the two end-stations of the beamline, dedicated to Radiochemistry (RCH) and Materials Research (MRH). The beamtime was more heavily overbooked than ever before, with an acceptance rate of only 25% experiments. We would like to thank our external proposal review members, Prof. Andre Maes (KU Leuven, Belgium), Prof. Laurent Charlet (UJF Grenoble, France), Dr. Andreas Leinweber (MPI Metallforschung, Stuttgart, Germany), Prof. David Rafaja (TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany), Prof. Dirk Meyer (TU Dresden, Germany), who evaluated the inhouse proposals in a thorough manner, thereby ensuring that beamtime was distributed according to scientific merit. The period was not only characterized by very successful science, but also by intense work on the optics upgrade. In spring 2009, a workshop was held at ROBL, assembling beamline experts from German, Spanish and Swiss synchrotrons, to evaluate the best setup for the new optics. These suggestions was used to prepare the call for tender published in July 2009. From the tender acceptance in November 2009 on, a series of design review meetings and factory acceptance tests followed. Already in July 2010, the first piece of equipment was delivered, the new double-crystal, double-multilayer monochromator. The disassembly of the old optics components started end of July, 2011, followed by the installation of the new components. As of December 2011, the new optics have seen the first test beam and thorough hot commissioning will be continued until May 2012, since the ESRF shuts down for a major upgrade from December 2011 to April 2012. We expect that we will be ready for user operation from June 2012 on, with a better beamline than ever. The beamline staff would like to thank all partners, research groups and organizations who supported the beamline during the last 24 months. Special thanks to the FZD management, the CRG office of the ESRF with Axel Kaprolat as liaison officer and Eric Dettona as lead technician, and to the ESRF safety group members, Paul Berkvens, Patrick Colomp and Yann Pira.