SkuTek.com

Name

SkuTek.com

Legal name

SkuTek Instrumentation

Website

https://skutek.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Data Acquisition Instrumentation

NAICS

Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Test & Measurement Equipment (Oscilloscopes, DAQ, signal analyzers, calibration benches) (IMAGAFAC)

Keywords

• Digital data acquisition
• FPGA digitizers
• Nuclear physics instruments
• Gamma spectroscopy systems
• Scientific research hardware

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - Digitizers: Sale of data acquisition hardware including FemtoDAQ Vireo (2-channel), FemtoDAQ Kingfisher (10-channel), Chickadee-32 (32-channel), and associated modules like RTM. Products are scientific instruments with customizable configurations sold to research institutions and national laboratories.
2. Data Management Hardware: Sale of Solidago UDP Event Generator systems for network stress testing and data management solutions. 160 Gbps FPGA-based network testing equipment.
3. Custom Software Services: Custom software development and integration services for specialized data acquisition requirements. DOE SBIR-funded research combined with commercial product development.
4. Customized DAQ Solutions: Purpose-built hardware engineering and customization services for specialized research requirements beyond standard product configurations.
5. DOE SBIR Research Grants: Small Business Innovation Research grants from DOE Office of Science, Nuclear Physics for technology development including digital DAQ with high resolution/linearity and data management for high-speed distributed systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SkuTek Instrumentation designs, manufactures, and sells FPGA-based digital data acquisition (DAQ) systems for nuclear physics, particle detection, and gamma spectroscopy research. The product line spans 2-channel bench-top digitizers (FemtoDAQ Vireo, FemtoDAQ Kingfisher), 32-channel scalable digitizers (Chickadee-32), a 160 Gbps UDP network stress-testing generator (Solidago), SiPM detector assemblies, and complementary software libraries, supported by custom engineering services.

Product overview

SkuTek Instrumentation provides advanced data acquisition (DAQ) solutions for scientific research, from bench-top tabletop systems to facility-scale installations. The product portfolio centers on digitizers (FemtoDAQ Vireo, FemtoDAQ Kingfisher, Chickadee-32) that convert analog detector signals to digital data using 14-bit ADCs at 100 MHz sampling with FPGA-based real-time pulse processing. The Chickadee-32 RTM is an add-on module enabling 10G Ethernet streaming. Data management products include the Solidago UDP Event Generator for network stress testing and Liatris/Monarda data collectors. Software ecosystem includes open-source Python/C libraries (skutils, SPEW, Data Management Utilities) and Globus integration for automated file transfers to HPC centers. All products share a common software framework enabling seamless workflows from 2-channel educational setups to 1500+ channel experiments like LUX-ZEPLIN.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FemtoDAQ: Line of bench-top digitizers for nuclear physics data acquisition, including FemtoDAQ Vireo (2-channel) and FemtoDAQ Kingfisher (10-channel).
• Chickadee
• Solidago
• SkuTek Utilities (skutils)
• SkuTek Globus Auto File Transfer System
• SkuTek Performance Writing Library (SPEW)

Products and services

• FemtoDAQ Vireo A 2-channel bench-top digitizer with 14-bit resolution at 100 MHz sampling, integrated 11-56V SiPM bias supply, web-based GUI, FPGA-based real-time pulse processing, built-in MCA firmware for gamma spectroscopy, and Python/C API control. Designed for small-scale nuclear physics research and educational applications.
• FemtoDAQ Kingfisher A 10-channel bench-top digitizer with 14-bit resolution at 100 MHz sampling, integrated SiPM bias supply, on-board pulse processing firmware, event recording, and multi-channel analyzer (MCA) for real-time histograms. Targeted at mid-scale nuclear physics research and educational applications.
• Chickadee-32 A 32-channel high-performance digitizer with embedded Linux, 14-bit resolution at 100 MHz sampling, 1 Gbps streaming (10 Gbps optional), VME form factor, real-time pulse processing with pulse height, shape analysis, and timestamp extraction. Scalable from 32 to thousands of channels for facility-scale nuclear physics installations.
• Solidago UDP Event Generator (160 Gbps) An FPGA-based high-performance UDP streaming system that emulates digitizer arrays for stress-testing DAQ systems and network infrastructure. Generates 16 synchronized 10 Gbps UDP streams (up to 160 Gbps total) with configurable packet and event formats, nanosecond timing precision, and web/REST API control. Used by DAQ system developers for validation testing.
• SiPM Array Assembly A commercial gamma ray detector assembly integrating scintillating plastic with SiPM sensors in a light-tight enclosure, available in 1-channel and 32-channel configurations. Designed to work with SkuTek digitizers for gamma ray detection experiments.
• FemtoDAQ Vireo Educational Kit An educational kit featuring the FemtoDAQ Vireo 2-channel digitizer, NaI(Tl) scintillator detectors, Jupyter notebook experiments, and web-based GUI. Designed for student training and classroom demonstrations in nuclear physics and radiation detection at undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Firebird 40-Channel DAQ System A 40-channel digital data acquisition system with embedded 1 GHz local processor running Linux, VME crate compatibility, and 14-bit precision (16,384 voltage levels). Designed for facility-scale nuclear physics research deployments.
• Liatris Data Collector (80 Gbps) An 80 Gbps data collector computer for high-density digitizer arrays, designed for streaming and managing large volumes of data in facility-scale DAQ installations.
• Monarda Data Collector (10 Gbps) A 10 Gbps data collector for smaller DAQ systems, providing efficient data collection and transfer capabilities for mid-scale research installations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero reported failures over 5+ years continuous operation in LUX-ZEPLIN underground environment
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSURF houses the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment where SkuTek's FemtoDAQ Vireo is installed underground working alongside the LZ DAQ system. Over 5 years of continuous operation with zero reported failures in the demanding underground environment.
• LUX-ZEPLIN Dark Matter ExperimentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkuTek built over 1500 channels for the world's largest dark matter search. The LZ experiment has adopted SkuTek's DAQ system with 1359 channels, validated through publication 'The Data Acquisition System of the LZ Dark Matter Detector: FADR' (arXiv:2405.14732).
• Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive installation of SkuTek DAQ systems including shipment of 40-channel Firebird DAQ system with embedded Linux. Participation in Nuclear Science Day for Scouts educational outreach.
• Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBIR partnership for Chickadee-32 digitizer upgrade. SiPM board arrays developed and tested at Argonne for integration with SkuTek digitizers.
• Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive installations at FRIB for nuclear physics research. Participation in NEXTGENDD workshop on New Generations of Detector and Data Acquisition Systems.
• University of RochestermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on LZ dark matter experiment electronics development. SiPM board arrays used for student training and gamma ray detection education at University of Rochester labs.
• Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternship program hosting computer engineering and mechanical engineering students for summer research. Students work on DOE SBIR research and future SkuTek products.
• Tennessee Tech UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative development of educational kits and starter experiments for undergraduate labs using Vireo digitizer.
• Berkeley Lab K-12 STEM Education & OutreachminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupport for Nuclear Science Day for Scouts event demonstrating cosmic-ray detection using Vireo digitizer.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Broad incumbents

• National Instruments (NI / Emerson Test & Measurement): Broad incumbent offering PXI-based DAQ and modular instrumentation used across research and industrial test. Overlaps with SkuTek's measurement/DAQ scope but lacks nuclear-physics specialization.
• Hamamatsu Photonics: Leading supplier of photodetectors (SiPMs, PMTs) and detector electronics used in radiation detection and physics experiments. Adjacent supplier/customer relationship to SkuTek's SiPM array assemblies.
• Keysight Technologies: Broad test-and-measurement incumbent whose high-speed digitizers and oscilloscopes can serve scientific DAQ applications. Competes for the same procurement dollars at large labs but is not specialized in nuclear physics DAQ.

Direct peers

• CAEN S.p.A. Italy-based manufacturer of digitizers and DAQ electronics for nuclear and particle physics. Closest direct competitor to SkuTek's FemtoDAQ and Chickadee lines, serving the same national-lab and university research customers.
• XIA LLC: U.S. designer of digital pulse processors and multi-channel analyzers for nuclear and radiation detection. Comparable to SkuTek's FPGA-based gamma spectroscopy and pulse processing capabilities.
• Struck Innovative Systeme: German vendor of VME-based digitizers and DAQ systems widely used in nuclear physics experiments (e.g., SIS3300/SIS3316). Direct peer to SkuTek's Chickadee-32 in the same VME-form-factor facility-scale deployments.
• Mesytec: Manufacturer of VME and stand-alone nuclear physics data acquisition modules (ADCs, TDCs, QDCs). Competes with SkuTek in mid- and large-scale physics experiment DAQ.
• Amptek: U.S. manufacturer of compact digital pulse processors and SiPM/gamma-ray detector electronics for nuclear instrumentation. Adjacent to SkuTek's SiPM-based gamma ray detection assemblies.
• Teledyne SP Devices: Swedish-origin maker of high-performance digitizer cards (e.g., ADQ series) used in scientific and physics applications. Overlaps with SkuTek's high-resolution digitizer positioning.
• CAENels: Spinoff of CAEN providing high-performance digitizers and power supplies for physics experiments. Directly comparable FPGA-based DAQ architectures to SkuTek's offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/skutek

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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 SkuTek.com