IRSWEEP AG

Their core work

IRSWEEP AG is a Swiss deep-tech SME specializing in infrared laser spectroscopy instrumentation, with a core technology built around quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). They develop and apply high-resolution spectroscopic systems capable of measuring molecular fingerprints with exceptional speed and precision — technology that sits at the boundary between fundamental quantum photonics and real-world analytical instrumentation. In EU-funded research, they have contributed QCL-based expertise to quantum physics consortia studying frequency combs and entanglement, while also leading their own project translating that technology toward industrial process analytics. Their commercial proposition is turning advanced laser physics into practical sensing tools for monitoring gases, chemicals, or process streams.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IRSWEEP's early H2020 engagement (Qombs, 2018) was deeply embedded in fundamental quantum photonics — frequency combs, ultracold Fermi gases, Bose-Einstein condensates, entanglement, and quantum transport — reflecting a research-facing role where their QCL hardware enabled cutting-edge physics experiments. By 2021, their coordinated project RESPAC signals a deliberate pivot toward applied industrial spectroscopy, with no quantum physics keywords at all and a title explicitly referencing "process analytics." This trajectory — from quantum physics contributor to industrial analytics coordinator — is consistent with a deep-tech SME maturing from research supplier to product-driven company.

IRSWEEP is moving from supplying specialist hardware for physics research toward leading application-oriented projects in industrial sensing — making them increasingly relevant as a technology provider rather than a pure research partner.

How they like to work

IRSWEEP has taken both coordinator and participant roles, which for a two-project SME suggests strategic flexibility — they join large physics consortia as a specialist hardware contributor, and lead smaller, focused projects when translating that technology to applications. Their consortium footprint is small (11 partners, 4 countries), consistent with a niche specialist rather than a broad network hub. Working with them likely means access to a highly focused team with deep QCL instrumentation capability, not a generalist research partner.

IRSWEEP has worked with 11 unique partners across 4 countries, a compact network typical of deep-tech instrumentation SMEs that engage selectively with academic physics groups and applied research consortia. Their geographic reach spans Switzerland and a small number of European partners, with no indication of global collaboration.

What sets them apart

IRSWEEP occupies a rare niche as a private SME bridging quantum photonics research and industrial infrared sensing — a combination few companies can offer credibly. Unlike academic groups that work on QCL physics but rarely build deployable instruments, or large analytical instrument vendors that lack quantum optics depth, IRSWEEP sits at the intersection of both. For consortia needing a QCL instrumentation partner with both fundamental research credentials and commercial product orientation, they are an unusual and valuable option.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Qombs
  The largest project by funding (€962,800 EC), Qombs placed IRSWEEP inside a frontier quantum physics consortium studying entanglement and quantum simulation in QCL frequency combs — unusually deep science engagement for a private SME.
• RESPAC
  IRSWEEP's only coordinator role, RESPAC demonstrates their ability to lead EU projects and signals their strategic pivot from research supplier to application-driven technology provider in process analytics.