Lynkeas develops tunable terahertz sources for contactless real-time gas spectroscopy
Lynkeas
Garching near Munich (c/o Walter Schottky Institute, TU Munich)New on Amplifa
About Lynkeas
Lynkeas is a deep-tech research and development venture from Garching near Munich working on patent-protected metasurface technologies for generating tunable terahertz light. The core product Thelioz 1.0 is a room-temperature CW THz source with a tuning range of 2–15 THz, a linewidth below 100 MHz, and an output power of up to 50 µW. The fabrication of the nanometer-thin semiconductor multiple quantum well structures (MQW) as well as the assembly of the prototypes (including a portable 30×30-cm benchtop system) take place at the Walter Schottky Institute of the Technical University of Munich. Based on this source technology, gas sensing and spectroscopy solutions for real-time molecular fingerprinting are developed. Application areas include security screening, bioprocess analytics, quality control in agriculture, breath gas analysis, process safety in the chemical and semiconductor industries, as well as space and atmospheric research. Lynkeas is not yet a registered legal entity.
- Site
- Garching bei München
- Processes
- Tunable THz sources (Thelioz 1.0), Gas sensing/spectroscopy solutions, Real-time molecular fingerprinting
- Materials
- Semiconductor multiple quantum well metasurface, Commercial off-the-shelf optical components
- Certificates
- University of Leeds validation
- Employees
- 6
- Industries
- Security/Aviation Screening, Bioprocess Analytics/Pharma, Agriculture/Storage, Medical/Breath Gas Analysis, Chemical/Semiconductor/Energy (Process Safety), Space & Atmospheric Research
- 01
THz source design (metasurface design)
- 02
Nanofabrication at the Walter Schottky Institute
- 03
System integration (optics, pump sources, hardware)
- 04
Scientific validation
- 05
Demonstrator and customer pilot
Technology and Processes
Semiconductor multiple quantum well metasurface
Nanometer-thin semiconductor layers with nanostructure resonators generate THz radiation via difference frequency generation.
Commercial off-the-shelf optical components
Lenses, parabolic mirrors and filters are integrated together with the proprietary metasurface.
Locations
Garching near Munich
DEResearch, metasurface fabrication and prototype assembly (c/o Walter Schottky Institute, TU Munich)
- Lot size
- Prototype
- Materials
- Semiconductor MQW metasurface
- Metasurface fabrication
- Prototype assembly
Industries
Additional services
Validation and Quality
The technology was independently validated at the University of Leeds in December 2025: below 5 MHz spectral resolution and identification of more than 10 target gases at room temperature, sensitivity baseline 100 ppm.
| Evidence | Garching near Munich |
|---|---|
| University of Leeds validation |
Milestones
- 2023–2024
Metasurface research: design and fabrication at the Walter Schottky Institute, TU Munich; 1–12 THz tunability, up to 20 µW CW output power
- 2025
Scientific validation at the University of Leeds; first low-pressure H₂O measurement at 6–10 THz, 5 MHz resolution, 10+ vapor gases
- 2026 Q1–Q3
MVP Alpha & demonstrator; 10 target analytes recorded, field tests with industrial partners
- 2026 Q3
TUM Innovation Award Finalist (March 2026), Nature Photonics publication (April 2026), Cluster Winner XPlore Venture Creator (July 2026)
- 2026 Q4
First customer pilot with partners planned