About us
From DESY spin-off to a global detector manufacturer
X-Spectrum develops, produces and distributes advanced detector systems for X-ray and electron imaging in science and industry. Founded as a DESY spin-off, we combine cutting-edge detector technology with practical usability, reliable operation, and close customer collaboration. From synchrotron beamlines to industrial inspection environments, our goal is to deliver detector solutions that enable better measurements, better data, and better decisions.
Our mission
X-Spectrum GmbH is passionate about turning cutting-edge detector technology into real-world impact – at synchrotrons and beyond. Our flagship, LAMBDA, is a photon-counting X-ray detector built for experiments where speed, sensitivity, and dependable data quality matter. Alongside LAMBDA, we develop and supply AMBER for electron microscopy, SPARTA for ultra-high-speed X-ray measurements at next-generation sources, and AEON – the newest frame- and event-driven X-ray detector. All four detector systems are designed as versatile tools for advanced research and laboratory workflows.
At the same time, we are actively expanding toward industrial applications. High-throughput inspection and imaging-driven quality assurance place demanding requirements on detectors—exactly the kind of performance and reliability our technology is built to deliver. Together with our partners and customers, we are bringing our detector technology into industrial environments, focusing on seamless integration and long-term operational value.
X-Spectrum is a spin-off from DESY in Hamburg, founded in 2014 by five members of DESY’s detector development group. Today, we have 19 permanent employees and are excited to grow further. Our headquarters at the Start-Up Labs Bahrenfeld are located directly on the DESY campus, giving us a unique advantage: close access to an exceptional research ecosystem, beamline environments, and a culture of hands-on problem solving. This proximity supports a continuous innovation cycle—new ideas can be tested, validated, and refined quickly, then transferred into robust detector systems for users worldwide.
Our mission is to make advanced detector systems genuinely easy to use. That’s why we deliver not only the detector hardware, but also dedicated IT equipment and software for smooth integration into common control environments. We believe detectors can be truly “plug-and-play”, and we back that belief with experienced support—from first setup to routine operation—so our systems become reliable workhorses, beamtime after beamtime and, increasingly, shift after shift.
The Management
