Microworks

What Microworks does

Microworks is a German GmbH based in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen that manufactures precision X-ray optical components for non-destructive testing (NDT), quality control (QC), and scientific research. Founded around 2007-2009 (firmographic sources and company history disagree on the exact year), the company is headquartered at the Zeiss InnovationHub adjacent to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and operates with a team of approximately seven employees. Following its acquisition by Swiss X-ray optics firm XRnanotech in fall 2024, Microworks operates as a subsidiary under shared managing director Dr. Florian Döring, with founder Joachim Schulz transitioning to a Senior Advisor role.

The company's core technology is the LIGA microfabrication process, combining X-ray, e-beam, UV, and 2-photon lithography with electroplating to produce metallic microstructures with extreme aspect ratios of 20x to 100x. Its product portfolio includes Grating Sets, Apertures, Beamstops, Resolution Targets, X-Ray Lenses, and the TALINT X-ray interferometer system, alongside custom manufacturing services for client-specific designs. The TALINT launch marked a transition from passive optical components into integrated measurement instruments.

Microworks sells primarily to research institutions, universities, and synchrotron facilities (named customers include Diamond Light Source, Johns Hopkins, Hochschule Luzern, and Bar-Ilan University), with industrial NDT/QC identified as the expansion target. Pricing is quote-based and customized to specification. Go-to-market combines direct sales with channel partners Asicon Tokyo (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) and Top Unistar (China) for Asian market coverage, enabling geographic reach disproportionate to the small headcount.

Name

Microworks

Legal name

Microworks GmbH

Website

https://microworks.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Microworks is a German precision manufacturer of X-ray optical components using LIGA microfabrication, serving research institutions, universities, and industrial NDT/QC customers with gratings, apertures, beamstops, lenses, and the TALINT interferometer system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision X-Ray Optics

NAICS

Irradiation Apparatus Manufacturing (334517), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), X-Ray Apparatus & Tubes & Related Irradiation Apparatus (3844)

akta.pro primary industry

NDT/NDE Inspection Equipment (Ultrasonic, eddy current, radiography, thermography) (IMAGAFAI)

Keywords

• X-ray optical components
• Precision microstructures
• Lithography manufacturing
• Non-destructive testing equipment
• X-ray imaging components

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Precision X-Ray Optical Components: Sale of standardized and custom products for X-ray nondestructive testing (NDT) and X-ray quality control. Products include gratings, apertures, beamstops, resolution targets, X-ray lenses, and TALINT interferometer systems. Custom and standard product offerings with quote-based pricing.
2. Custom Product Manufacturing: Custom production services for X-ray gratings, apertures, beamstops, resolution targets, and X-ray lenses to customer specifications including particular shapes, sizes, heights, energies, and geometries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Microworks manufactures standardized and custom precision X-ray optical components for nondestructive testing (NDT) and X-ray quality control. The portfolio includes X-ray gratings, apertures, beamstops, resolution targets, refractive X-ray lenses, and the TALINT grating-based X-ray interferometer system, all produced using LIGA technology (X-ray, e-beam, UV, and two-photon lithography combined with gold and nickel electroplating) and serving the 1-100 keV energy range.

Product overview

Microworks manufactures precision X-ray optical components for non-destructive testing (NDT) and X-ray quality control applications. The product portfolio consists of six core offerings: Grating Sets (for Talbot-Lau interferometry and edge illumination from 1-100 keV), Precision Apertures (gold apertures in various shapes for beam control), Beamstops (freestanding gold cylinders for X-ray blocking), Resolution Targets (calibration devices including Yxlon and NanoXSpot variants), X-Ray Lenses (compound refractive lenses, Fresnel lenses, and prism lenses in epoxy polymer), and TALINT (a modular X-ray interferometer enabling absorption, phase-contrast, and dark-field imaging modes). The company operates as part of the XRnanotech Group and serves researchers, educators, and industrial customers using LIGA technology (X-ray, e-beam, UV, and 2-photon lithography combined with electroplating).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grating Sets X-ray gratings designed for Talbot-Lau interferometry and edge illumination imaging, operating from 1 keV to 100 keV. Available in various layouts (60×20 mm² to 160×90 mm²) with standard options including 6 µm period at 40 keV, 2.4 µm period at 8 keV, 4.8 µm period at 20 keV, and 8.0 µm period at 55 keV. Custom gratings including 2D hole arrays for Hartmann sensors are available. Targeted at researchers and synchrotron facilities requiring high-precision diffraction, interferometry, and spectroscopy components.
• Apertures Precision X-ray apertures that control the size and shape of X-ray beams while efficiently blocking stray light. Available in various shapes (square, round, star-shaped, slitted) with gold heights ranging from 50 µm to 200 µm depending on aperture width. Standard slits are 10 mm long in 50 µm sections separated by 2 µm gaps. For researchers and instrument builders requiring customizable size and shape options and precision slit arrays.
• Beamstops Freestanding miniature gold cylinders that block X-rays, designed for X-ray microscopy applications. The unique freestanding design allows operation from a few 100 eV to several keV. Standard devices feature 16 beamstops with diameters ranging from 10 µm to 160 µm in 10 µm increments, with gold thickness exceeding 80 µm. For X-ray microscopy and beam attenuation applications requiring broad energy range and freestanding design.
• Resolution Targets Quality control and machine performance verification devices for X-ray imaging systems. Standard offerings include Yxlon Targets (8 mm × 8 mm chip with line widths from 5.0 µm down to 0.3 µm on 200 µm silicon substrate with 3 µm gold absorbers) and NanoXSpot Targets (10 mm × 10 mm chip with modified Siemens stars featuring line and space widths from 12 µm to 3 µm). For calibration and verification of X-ray imaging systems with tight tolerances for accurate measurements.
• X-Ray Lenses Refractive X-ray lenses made of epoxy polymer (SU-8 resist) for focusing X-rays in analysis applications. Types include Compound Refractive Lenses (CRL), compact motorized zoom lenses, Fresnel-type lenses, and prism lenses. Specifications include radius of curvature greater than 5 µm, photon energy greater than 8 keV (optimal 8-40 keV), focal length greater than 30 mm, physical aperture 100 µm to 2 mm, and minimum focal spot size greater than 0.5 µm. Customizable options available for X-ray imaging applications requiring superior resolution, contrast, and image quality.
• TALINT X-Ray Interferometer Advanced grating-based X-ray interferometer providing three imaging modes: absorption, phase-contrast, and dark-field contrast. The modular system includes TALINT EDU, TALINT ONE, and TALINT PRO variants. Designed for 40 keV (6.00 µm period, greater than 120 µm gold absorber height) or 21 keV (4.80 µm period, greater than 40 µm gold absorber height) with 35 mm field of view. Assembles in under 30 minutes and integrates with existing X-ray tube and detector setups, providing detailed insights within minutes using grating-based interferometry. Compatible with high-power, large focal spot sources and standard CT image acquisition pipelines.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30-minute assembly time for TALINT system
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Asicon TokyocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMicroworks representative in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Distributes Microworks products in these regions.
• Top UnistarcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMicroworks representative in China. Distributes Microworks products and is also listed as a customer of custom gratings and X-ray interferometers.
• Fachhochschule Oberösterreich (FHOO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner displayed on TALINT product page. Academic institution collaborating on X-ray imaging technology.
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicroworks is located in close proximity to Campus North of KIT. Uses KIT's synchrotron (KARA) for X-ray lithography. Access to KIT/IMT's EBPG5200Z e-beam lithography system.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bruker: Large scientific instruments manufacturer with a significant X-ray analytical and nano-CT portfolio. Overlaps with Microworks in the X-ray components and analytical instrument ecosystem and competes for advanced imaging customers.
• Sigray: US-based X-ray technology company producing X-ray sources, optics, and complete instruments for research and industrial applications. Broader portfolio than Microworks, but comparable customer base in synchrotrons and advanced imaging, and listed as a Microworks partner.
• Carl Zeiss (ZEISS): German optics and metrology giant that operates the Zeiss InnovationHub where Microworks is headquartered. Operates broadly in optics, semiconductor metrology, and industrial quality control, making it a thematic and physical ecosystem peer.
• Rigaku: Japanese manufacturer of X-ray analytical and imaging equipment with broad global reach in crystallography, materials, and semiconductor inspection. Comparable customer overlap in advanced X-ray imaging with broader systems offering.
• YXLON International: German-based X-ray inspection equipment manufacturer offering complete industrial and security inspection systems. A partner of Microworks and broader incumbent that integrates X-ray optical components from suppliers like Microworks.

Emerging players

• AdlOptica: Berlin-based optical systems company specializing in adaptive optics and deformable mirrors for advanced imaging applications. Compares as a smaller, specialized European optics innovator with adjacent technology positioning to Microworks' lithography-based optics work.

Others

• Microworks (self-reference) — alternative: Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) spinoff ecosystem: Research institutes like PSI, DESY, and ESRF host LIGA/X-ray lithography infrastructure and produce in-house optical components, sometimes via spinoff companies. They are ecosystem participants that overlap with Microworks in serving synchrotron customers with specialized X-ray optics.
• KETEK GmbH: German manufacturer of silicon drift detectors and X-ray detectors used in spectroscopy and analytical instrumentation. Adjacent ecosystem participant that complements X-ray optics in complete imaging systems rather than competing directly.

Direct peers

• Imagine Optic: French provider of X-ray optics and metrology solutions including wavefront sensors and adaptive optics. Comparable in offering X-ray optical components to research and industrial customers; partner logo on Microworks website.
• XRnanotech: Swiss parent company of Microworks and direct peer in X-ray optics, specializing in refractive X-ray lenses and nanofocusing optics for synchrotrons and laboratories. Most directly comparable peer given overlapping LIGA-derived X-ray optics product lines and shared KIT-adjacent ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/microworks-precision-structures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Microworks