FROM PROTEINS TO STARS
Explore a world of possibilities with unprecedented sensitivity using our stand-alone room temperature infrared and terahertz detectors.
Invisible-Light Labs enables you to achieve new paradigms by allowing you to detect infrared and terahertz radiation at room temperature with our ultra sensitive nanomechanical resonators.
Applications include improved disease understanding, better drugs,increased safety and more efficient protection of the environment.
Applications
The IR to THz region of the electromagnetic spectrum hosts a wealth of intriguing interactions between radiation and matter. The ability to obtain IR/THz molecular fingerprints with high sensitivity at room temperature is of particular interest for a wide range of applications such as pharmaceuticals, fundamental research, food & agriculture, environmental monitoring, security and materials.
PHARMACEUTICALS
What if you could speed up the analysis times of biomolecules, monitor processes online, improve quality control, identify pharmaceutical counterfeits, characterize polymorphism and more?
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
What if you could ensure food safety and minimize waste by monitoring gas by-products of spoilage?
RESEARCH
What if you could achieve ultra-sensitive MIR to FIR detection without cryogenic cooling?
ENVIROMENTAL MONITORING
What if you could detect and characterize low concentrations of environmental pollutants directly at the source?
PHARMACEUTICALS
What if you could speed up the analysis times of biomolecules, monitor processes online, improve quality control, identify pharmaceutical counterfeits, characterize polymorphism and more?
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
What if you could ensure food safety and minimize waste by monitoring gas by-products of spoilage during transport, storage or even directly on the store shelf?
RESEARCH
What if you could achieve ultra-sensitive MIR to FIR detection without cryogenic cooling?
ENVIROMENTAL MONITORING
What if you could detect and characterize low concentrations of environmental pollutants directly in the field?
TECHNOLOGY
We use an ultrasensitive nanomechanical membranes to detect infrared and terahertz radiation. These very sensitive detectors can operate at room temperature, eliminating the need for cryogenic cooling. A broadband absorber allows the detection of mid-IR to far-IR (THz) radiation with high sensitivity.
Proof of concept:
Click here to read our PNAS paper where we demonstrated a sensitivity of a few femtowatt per square root hertz.
Room temperature operation
Our detector operates at room temperature and does not require any cryogenic cooling.
Broad spectral range
A broadband absorber allows the detection
of mid-IR to far-IR (THz) radiation with high sensitivity.
Nanomechanical detector technology
We use an ultrasensitive nanomechanical thermometer to detect infrared and terahertz radiation. Click here to read our PNAS paper where we demonstrated a sensitivity of a few femtowatt per square root hertz. Click here to read about how our new technology expands the IR/THz spectro-scopy toolkit and even allows the drumming up of single-molecule beats
The NEMS detector can be added to the extra port of your spectrometer
Comparison of the different detector technologies available on the market
| Technology | Cooling | Range | Range | NEP W/Hz1/2 | D* cm•Hz1/2/W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NEMS | |||||
| Photonic crystals | MIR (single wavelength) | 3 to 5 µm | 2.0E-15 | ||
| InGaAs Photodiodes | MIR | 3 to 5 µm | 5.0E-15 | 1.0E+13 | |
| 4,2K TES Bolometer | Liquid Helium | FIR | 3 to 5 µm | ||
| Cooled MCT | Liquid Nitrogen | MIR | 3 to 5 µm | 2.0E+11 | |
| Cooled MCT | Liquid Nitrogen | MIR | 3 to 5 µm | 1.1E-12 | 1.0E+10 |
| 195K TE Cooled MCT | MIR | 3 to 5 µm | 1.8E-11 | 1.0E+10 | |
InAsSb photovoltaic detectors | Liquid Nitrogen | MIR (single wavelength) | 3 to 5 µm | 8.5E+10 | |
InAsSb photovoltaic detectors | Vis to FIR | 3 to 5 µm | 1.4E-10 | 5.0E+09 | |
| Uncooled MCT . | UV to FIR | 3 to 5 µm | 3.0E-10 | 2.0E+09 | |
| Golay cell | THz | 1.0E-10 | 7.0E+09 | ||
| DLaTGS Pyroelectric detector | THz | 1.0E-09 | 1.5E+09 | ||
| Shottky diode | MIR | 3 to 5 µm | 1.0E+08 | ||
| Semiconductor cameras | |||||
| Thermopile |
NEP: Noise Equivalent Power
D*: Detectivity
About the company
Invisible Light Labs GmbH was founded 2019 by Dr. Josiane Lafleur and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Silvan Schmid. The company is currently part of the TU Wien i2c incubator.
At Invisible-Light Labs, we strive to make a positive impact on the world we live in by enabling groundbreaking scientific discoveries with our highly sensitive IR sensors. We use the synergy of our multidisciplinary team and apply the mechanics point of view to the optics world to create radically new room temperature IR sensors based on innovative NEMS technology.
Our mission: We strive to make a positive impact on the world with innovative IR technology.
Our Vision: With Nemilie, we want to enable the world to see the invisible, to help in decision-making, drug design, disease understanding, environmental monitoring, quality control and much more, from environmental to industrial, from proteins to stars.
Our values: Honesty, scientific rigour, integrity, openness, trust, accountability, inclusiveness, fairness.
We acknowledge funding by the Austria Wirtschaftsservice (AWS), the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (ERC PoC grant No. 875518 ) and the IPA4SME program. Invisible-Light Labs holds a Seal of Excellence from the European Commission for its NEMS Detector project and is the recipient of an EIC Transition Grant (Project NEMILIES grant No. 1011058011).
TEAM
We have an outstanding international and multi-disciplinary team. We strongly believe that the synergistic combination of our varied backgrounds in an open-minded setting is the best way to come up with innovative ideas to the challenges we face.
Dr. Josiane P. Lafleur
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Josiane has a doctoral degree in Analytical Chemistry (McGill University, Canada). Previously, she was Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark).
“After many years doing research in academia, I decided to finally take the plunge and bring an innovation from the laboratory to the market. I think I can have a positive impact on the world we live in by helping scientists to make new ground-breaking discoveries, improving food safety, environmental monitoring and more.”
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Silvan Schmid
Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor
Silvan has a doctoral degree in Nanomechanics (ETH Zurich).
He is now professor at TU Wien and head of the Research Unit of Micro- and Nanosensors at the Institute of Sensors and Actuator Systems.
“I believe a scientist’s career is defined by their scientific discoveries and their positive impact in the world. We scientists owe it to society to make our discoveries available to everyone. Transforming a research result into a product and making it available to expert users leads to a direct improvement of people’s lives.”
Markus Piller, Dipl.-Ing.
Development Engineer
Markus has a Master degree in Embedded Systems from TU Wien (Austria). He has 6 years of experience in R&D in the field of bioengineering.
“The potential for new discoveries and progress in fields like medicine is a big driving factor for me. I want to give something useful back to society with these new developments.”
Niklas Luhmann, MSc.
Development Engineer
Niklas has a Master degree in Physics from the University of Konstanz (Germany) during which he worked on the very first detector prototypes.
“I always wanted to be a scientist, which is why I studied physics. I have a passion for nanotechnology and its application to sensor systems. I am fascinated by how one can perceive nature with such extraordinary precision.”
Paolo Martini, MSc.
Development Engineer
Paolo has a Master degree in biomedical engineering from Politecnico di Torino (Italy) and specializes in bio-technologies and cleanroom fabrication.
Elizabeth Wistrela, Dipl.-Ing.
Development Engineer
Elizabeth has a Master degree in electrical engineering and is currently completing her PhD in Microsystem Technology at TU Wien (Austria). She is an expert in electronics, sensor integration, and cleanroom fabrication.
“Witnessing outstanding ideas become reality and participating to the development of innovations from their infancy is fascinating.”
Job openings
Senior Project Manager (m/w)
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Wir bieten dir einen Platz, in dem du deine Skills erweitern und neue erlernen kannst. Nach und nach bekommst du mehr Verantwortung, somit wirst du nicht alleine gelassen oder ins kalte Wasser geworfen.Du arbeitest in einem jungen und dynamischen Team im Guid.New-Tower mit flachen Hierarchien und kurzen Entscheidungswegen.Für diese Stelle vorgesehen ist ein Bruttojahresgehalt ab € 50.000,- auf Vollzeitbasis; Überzahlung nach Erfahrung und Qualifikation.
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nEWS
Invisible-Light Labs erhält EU-Förderung von 2,2 Millionen Euro
Invisible-Light Labs is granted 2.2M Euro in the first ever EIC-Transition call.
– Trending Topics, 19.01.2022
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Invisible-Light Labs: Dieses Spin-off will mit Infrarotwellen die Umwelt scannen
Mit Strahlung zu arbeiten, die man nicht sieht, aber durchaus spüren kann, das ist das Gebiet des neuen Wiener Startups Invisible-Light Labs…
– Trending Topics, 12.09.2019
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Invisible-Light Labs featured in Forbes’ list of spin-offs to watch in 2021!
Invisible-Light Labs stands proudly at #20 in this year’s list of 30 spin-offs to watch in the DACH region.
– Forbes DACH, 24.02.2021
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Wie Hightech die Erde entgiften kann
Schadstoffe im Boden gelangen zurück zum Menschen. Wie Technologie entgegenwirkt…
– futurezone, 09.12.2019
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scientific comments & blog posts
WHERE CAN YOU MEET US?
CLEO Virtual conference, Poster jTh3A.47
9-14 May 2021
Contact
our papers
© 2020 Invisible-Light Labs GmbH.
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info@invisible-light-labs.com
Invisible-Light Labs GmbH
Taubstummengasse 11, 1040 Vienna, Austria
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