PETER · Project

Ultra-Sensitive Magnetic Microscope That Sees Material Defects 10,000x Better

manufacturingPrototypeTRL 4Thin data (2/5)

Imagine you have a metal detector, but instead of finding coins on a beach, it can spot invisible magnetic defects inside materials — and it just got upgraded to be about 10,000 times more sensitive. This team built tiny antennas (smaller than a hair) that amplify terahertz signals to boost the power of a technique called Electron Paramagnetic Resonance. The result is a scanning microscope that can map magnetic properties of a surface with resolution below 1 micrometre — like going from seeing a city on a map to seeing individual houses. It works across chemistry, biology, medicine, and materials science, anywhere you need to know what's happening magnetically at a tiny scale.

By the numbers

~10,000x

Improvement in EPR sensitivity (about four orders of magnitude)

~100x

Enhancement of magnetic sensing field (about two orders of magnitude)

below 1 μm

Spatial resolution beyond the diffraction limit

100 × 100 μm²

Scanning sample stage area (X, Y range)

Consortium partners across 4 countries

Total project deliverables

The business problem

What needed solving

Current EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance) instruments lack the sensitivity and spatial resolution to detect and localize magnetic defects, free radicals, and paramagnetic species at the micro-scale. Companies in semiconductor quality control, pharma R&D, and advanced materials testing are limited to bulk measurements that average over large sample areas, missing critical local information. This forces expensive workarounds or leaves defects undetected.

The solution

What was built

The team built a working prototype of a scanning probe microscopy unit with a 100 × 100 μm² scanning stage, optimized cantilever tips with plasmonic antennas fabricated by electron beam lithography and focused ion beam, and a complete platform-prototype integrating the SPM unit into a liquid helium cryostat EPR apparatus. They also developed and characterized plasmonic structures optimized for THz frequencies, including metallic, doped semiconductor, and graphene-based designs.

Audience

Who needs this

EPR spectrometer manufacturers (Bruker, JEOL) looking for next-generation instrument capabilitiesSemiconductor fabs needing sub-micrometre magnetic defect mapping in wafersPharmaceutical R&D labs studying free radical chemistry and drug stabilityMaterials science laboratories characterizing magnetic properties of advanced materialsContract research organizations offering analytical testing services

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Scientific Instruments & Analytical Equipment

mid-size

Target: Manufacturers of EPR spectrometers and scanning probe microscopes

If you are a scientific instrument maker competing in the EPR spectrometer market — this project developed a working platform-prototype that enhances EPR sensitivity by about four orders of magnitude using plasmonic antennas on scanning probe tips. That means your next-generation product could detect paramagnetic species at concentrations currently invisible to existing instruments. The prototype scans samples over a 100 × 100 μm² area with sub-micrometre resolution, a capability no commercial EPR system offers today.

Semiconductor & Electronics Manufacturing

enterprise

Target: Semiconductor fabs and quality control labs needing defect analysis

If you are a semiconductor manufacturer dealing with hard-to-detect paramagnetic defects in wafers and thin films — this project built a scanning microscope that maps magnetic properties with spatial resolution below 1 micrometre, going beyond the diffraction limit. Instead of bulk measurements that average over your entire sample, you can now localize defect sites across the surface. The about two orders of magnitude stronger sensing field means you can spot impurities and structural anomalies that current tools miss entirely.

Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Research

any

Target: Pharma R&D labs and contract research organizations doing molecular analysis

If you are a pharma or biotech company that uses EPR spectroscopy to study free radicals, drug stability, or protein structure — this project delivered a platform that improves sensitivity by about four orders of magnitude. That means you could study functional centres in biological samples in situ at concentrations far below current detection limits. The scanning capability with resolution below 1 micrometre also lets you map paramagnetic species across tissue or material surfaces, opening new assay possibilities.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would this technology cost to license or integrate?

The project has not published pricing or licensing terms. The technology is based on a working prototype built by a 4-partner academic-industrial consortium. Any commercialization would likely require a licensing agreement with the coordinator (Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic) or the industrial partner in the consortium.

Can this scale to industrial production volumes?

Currently this is a laboratory prototype — the SPM unit scans a 100 × 100 μm² area using precision piezo stages. Scaling to production-line integration would require significant engineering beyond the current platform. The plasmonic structures are fabricated using electron beam lithography and focused ion beam, which are precise but slow for mass production.

What is the IP situation and who owns the results?

The project ran under Horizon 2020 FET Open rules, meaning IP typically stays with the partners who generated it. The consortium includes 1 industrial partner (SME) alongside 2 universities and 1 research organization across 4 countries. Specific patent filings would need to be checked with the coordinator.

How does this compare to existing EPR instruments on the market?

The key differentiator is about four orders of magnitude improvement in EPR sensitivity and spatial resolution below 1 micrometre — current commercial EPR systems operate at much coarser resolution and lower sensitivity. This is the first platform to combine THz plasmonics with EPR scanning microscopy. Based on available project data, no competing instrument offers this combination.

What stage of development is this — lab research or ready for deployment?

The project delivered a working prototype of the scanning probe microscopy unit and a platform-prototype for plasmon-enhanced THz EPR microscopy. They tested and optimized cantilever tips and plasmonic structures. This is firmly in the prototype stage — functional in a lab, but not yet packaged as a commercial instrument.

What materials or samples can this analyze?

Based on the project objective, the platform works on paramagnetic organic and inorganic species and materials. Applications span chemistry, biology, medicine, materials science, and physics — essentially any sample with unpaired electrons (free radicals, transition metals, defect centres). The scanning capability lets you map these properties across a sample surface.

Consortium

Who built it

The PETER consortium is compact but internationally diverse — 4 partners across Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, and the UK. The coordinator is Brno University of Technology (Czech Republic), a major technical university. The team includes 2 universities, 1 research organization, and 1 industrial partner (which is an SME), giving a 25% industry ratio. For a business looking to license or adopt this technology, the presence of an SME in the consortium suggests at least some commercialization intent, though the project is fundamentally research-driven under the FET Open programme. The multi-country spread means expertise in both plasmonic fabrication and EPR instrumentation was assembled from leading European groups, but commercial negotiations would involve multiple parties across different jurisdictions.

VYSOKE UCENI TECHNICKE V BRNECoordinator · CZ
ASOCIACION CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION COOPERATIVA EN NANOCIENCIAS CIC NANOGUNEparticipant · ES
UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGARTparticipant · DE

How to reach the team

Coordinator is Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic. SciTransfer can locate the project lead and facilitate an introduction.

Order a report on this consortium See VYSOKE UCENI TECHNICKE V BRNE profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing this EPR microscopy platform or integrating it into your instrument portfolio? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the research team and help structure the conversation.

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