PTB News

A system for the synthesis of resinbased nanocomposites has been developed at PTB. It guarantees the defined and reproducible adjustment of the desired material composition for the 3D printing of medical phantoms.

A method for calculating the simulation uncertainty of a virtual ultrasonic flowmeter has been developed in PTB's VirtMet Competence Center. This method allows calibration factors relevant to fluid mechanics to be calculated for real measuring devices. The method is based on the comparison of real and virtual measurements and allows the continuous determination of calibration factors with their...

Using four test masses in the form of hollow cylinders from PTB, the space mission MICROSCOPE was able to verify the equivalence principle with unprecedented precision.

Programmable Josephson voltage standards are electrical quantum standards consisting of series arrays with several thousand Josephson junctions. They typically allow the generation of voltages up to 10 volts with fundamental accuracy and are mainly used by national metrology institutes for the realization of the electrical voltage unit. PTB has now succeeded in realizing the world’s first output...

Radiation therapy requires the determination of a large amount of basic data, including numerous dose distributions. Using artificial intelligence (machine learning), it is possible to replace the complex determination of a detector’s dose response function. A new correction method developed at PTB has the potential to be routinely used in hospitals.

At PTB’s Competence Center for Photovoltaics, a new measuring facility has been developed with which the performance of solar modules under standard test conditions can be determined with much greater accuracy compared to previous methods.

As part of preparations for pilot projects in which private households will be supplied with hydrogen via the normal natural gas grid, PTB investigated whether the devices currently used for natural gas metering would also be suitable for hydrogen. The results show that all maximum permissible errors are complied with.

When optical signals with ultrahigh frequency stability are transmitted via optical fibers, phase instabilities of the light occurring due to path length fluctuations have to be compensated. The path stabilization unit enables this phase-stable transmission of optical signals over long distances. The implementation of the setup is efficient and simple. The optical reference signal can be...

Rotary tables are often used for positioning or angle measurements when measuring rotationally symmetric work pieces on coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). Geometric deviations of rotary tables can be directly measured on a CMM in six degrees of freedom by means of a self-calibrating procedure using a ball plate. PTB has developed a new concept designed to significantly reduce the required...

Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers for stabilizing a process variable are a standard feature in the most common software packages for controlling technical facilities. However, PID controllers are limited by oscillations relating to the noise of an actual value determined in the controlling process. The new stepwise-immediate-follower (SIF) concept enables much smaller control...

Quantum communication promises the tap-free transmission of information. Quantum-based key distribution has been widely researched and, in the meantime, is now ready for the market. In the Innovation Hub for Quantum Communication, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding 36 institutions to connect research institutes with partners from industry. The accompanying...

Experts are needed in order to put the enormous potential that quantum technologies have to offer into practice. Especially for the transfer of research to industry and for product development, there is a lack of qualified staff and no central contact point for further training. To rectify this, the joint “Quantum Technology Courses for Industry” (QTIndu) project was initiated. With the...

PTB is participating in two new large-scale EU projects on artificial intelligence. Both use the abbreviation TEF in their names, which stands for “Testing and Experimentation Facility”. On the one hand, there is the TEF Health project which aims to examine innovative approaches in AI and robotics in healthcare and make them ready for the market more quickly. On the other hand, there is the TEF AI...

In order for the “Made in Germany” label to continue to be a promise of quality in a digital world, the elements of quality infrastructure must also become digital. PTB and the German accreditation body (DAkkS) are working together closely for the introduction of machine- readable calibration certificates (DCCs) with digital national emblems. By doing this, they want to support the German industry...

The need for sustainable cooling and air conditioning is also on the rise due to global warming. Now that climate-damaging chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been banned and their still harmful alternative substances are gradually being reduced, researchers want to investigate a new generation of natural and synthetic coolants with a low potential for global warming. Safety engineering and explosion...