Research news

Smart implants that not only stabilize a fracture but also monitor the healing process from day one – and deliver targeted support when required – are currently being developed at Saarland University by a team of engineers, medical researchers and computer scientists. The engineering team led by Paul Motzki is contributing shape‑memory micro‑actuators with integrated sensing capabilities, while Bergita Ganse and her research group provide the medical expertise in fracture healing. [...]

An ultrathin silicone film being developed at Saarland University enables pumps to operate without motors, without compressed air and without lubricants or external sensors. These film-based pumps can be switched on and off as needed and integrated into designs previously thought impossible. [...]

A sponge is more elastic than an eraser: if you deform it, it returns to its original shape. This phenomenon is often crucial for the development of new materials. Physicists at Saarland University have now demonstrated in an experiment that the elasticity of a material decreases significantly when it is enclosed in pores measuring just a few millionths of a millimetre. This effect is all the more notable the smaller the diameter of the pores. [...]

The transistor is one of the most important components in electronics. By switching or amplifying electrical signals, transistors make sure that our smartphones, computers and even coffee machines do what we want them to do. A new generation of energy-efficient transistors is now being developed based on thin, lightweight, electrically conducting films. Imagine miniature actuators with their own built-in sensing capability integrated into flexible, film-based circuit boards. [...]

Superconductors – materials that allow electricity to flow with zero electrical resistance – are central to many high-tech applications, from quantum computing and medical technologies to high-performance energy systems. Over the next two and a half years, researchers from Saarbrücken, Dortmund, Eindhoven and Toronto will investigate the fundamental physics of these materials, which are still not yet fully understood, as part of a project funded by the Klaus Tschira Foundation. [...]

Hannover Messe: Electric motors are getting smaller, lighter and more powerful – and that makes overheating a growing risk. A research team led by Professor Matthias Nienhaus at Saarland University has developed an AI-assisted method of determining the temperature distribution inside a running electric motor in real time – and without the need for additional hardware. The team will be showcasing the technology at the Hannover Messe (20–24 April). [...]

Last June, the Saarland state government announced that it would provide over €53 million in funding to establish a Center for Quantum Technologies (QuTe) at Saarland University. Today, QuTe officially launches, with a ceremony to mark the occasion. In addition to Saarland's Minister of Finance and Science Jakob von Weizsäcker and University President Ludger Santen, Astrid Lambrecht, Chair of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich, will also be in attendance. [...]

Thinking ahead is a skill taught to learner drivers from the outset – and the intelligent wheels being developed by Professor Matthias Nienhaus’s research team at Saarland University seem to do just that. By anticipating where the user intends to go they can provide a helping push at just the right moment, offer stability when cornering and make manoeuvring under load easier. The team will be showcasing the latest generation of their smart wheel technology at the Hannover Messe. [...]

Even the most advanced AI language models – known as large language models – can go badly astray on logic-based tasks. Calculations may be wrong, sequences misordered, or the AI may hallucinate and fabricate figures or quotations. Computational linguist Michael Hahn has already produced promising research findings that address these problems. For this work, he has now been awarded the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize by the German Research Foundation. [...]

Quantum networks have gained increasing prominence in the research community in recent years. Not only do they have the potential to strengthen the security of critical infrastructure they may also enable new applications –from the secure interconnection of quantum computers through to a future quantum internet. Such networks rely on devices known as quantum repeaters. [...]