FIRsense revolutionizes trace-gas sensing having developed the only room-temperature THz source with a tuning range from 2 - 15 THz. We are building an in-line chemical threat detection platform that identifies explosives, narcotics, and hazmat at scale.
Detection technology has barely changed in four decades. Fewer than 10% of passengers at airports and just 2–5% of cargo at major ports are chemically screened. This leaves a structural gap as passenger and cargo volumes keep climbing.
Chemical screening today relies on manual swab testing with unpacking, handling, and repacking. This does not scale to the 20 billion annual passengers projected by 2050.
New compounds and concealment methods appear constantly. Hardware-bound systems can't adapt without physical recalibration or major overhaul.
No existing technology combines remote operation, chemical accuracy, and throughput. Operators patch together partial solutions which is expensive, complex, and still incomplete.
Today's technologies each solve part of the problem. None delivers throughput, accuracy, and flexibility at the same time.
Current methods force a trade-off between chemical-ID accuracy and operational speed. FIRsense combines both in a single platform, deployable at airport checkpoints, mobile operations, freight logistics and many more locations and application fields
Remote in-line systems based on X-Ray tomography are fast, but they can only identify shape and density, not chemicals. Chemical-ID systems require swabs, trained operators, and still produce high false-alarm rates. Every deployment today is a patchwork. FIRsense is the first to achieve both.
In-line detection at luggage screening points. Replaces swab testing via random sampling. Adds chemical-ID to CT scanners to slash false positives.
Portable unit for temporary checkpoints, events, and vehicle screening. A consistent, scalable, software-updateable alternative to K-9 and mobile IMS.
High-sensitivity screening at harbors, land borders, and freight airports, at throughput levels where K-9 and mobile IMS aren't viable.
Explosives and narcotics emit trace gases with unique THz absorption signatures. These precise chemical fingerprints let FIRsense's platform continuously monitor ambient air, identifying hazardous substances remotely, in real time, and contactless.
Compounds are identified via an expanding spectral database. New threats can be added by software update, with no hardware change required.
Continuous air sampling enables real-time detection and eliminates chemical-ID as a throughput bottleneck.
Our compact platform integrates into existing checkpoint architectures, adding a chemical-ID layer to physical-only systems.
Automated air sampling enables fully contactless, remote detection. It reduces manual effort and risk to personnel.
Chemical ID of vapor gases demonstrated on a portable 30×30 cm bench top system at room temperature, achieving a 100 ppm sensitivity baseline.
The sharpest, most selective chemical fingerprints of explosives and narcotics sit in the terahertz band, which has until now remained largely inaccessible to both electronic and optical sources. This is the terahertz gap.
FIRsense closes it for the first time with patented metasurface technology, unlocking the THz spectrum for real-world trace gas detection.
Our patented metasurface is the first room-temperature source to cover the full 1–15 THz gap, where the most distinctive molecular absorption lines are found.
Fully tuneable with high output power, both required to resolve the rich absorption fingerprints of explosives and narcotics.
Room-temperature operation with narrow linewidth. Resolves complex spectra even in ambient air with moisture and interfering compounds.
Our THz platform unlocks sensing capabilities unavailable in any other frequency range. Below is how we think about the market stack, from the commercial wedges driving near-term revenue to the platform-enabled research frontiers.
The commercial wedges. Active LOIs, committed partners, and near-term revenue paths.
Continuous mycotoxin and spoilage-MVOC fingerprinting (geosmin, 1-octen-3-ol, aflatoxin markers) inside silos, shipping containers, and cold chains, catching contamination and decomposition long before conventional sampling can.
Real-time multi-species off-gas monitoring of bioreactors and fermenters (CO₂, O₂, ethanol, methanol, ammonia, metabolites) for tighter process control, faster batch release, and GMP-grade visibility.
Active exploration with clear technical fit and initial customer or KOL signal. On the roadmap, not yet the core commercial focus.
Identification and quantification of volatile compound profiles in perfumes, flavor mixes, and cosmetic formulations, replacing slow GC-MS workflows with a single continuous spectroscopic fingerprint.
Tunable 1–15 THz room-temperature CW source for atmospheric remote sensing, heterodyne astrophysics receivers, and planetary molecular spectroscopy. Replaces cryogenic and narrow-band legacy sources on future Earth-observation and planetary missions.
Multi-species leak and hazard detection (HF, HCl, NH₃, SO₂, Cl₂, and organic solvents together) for chemical, semiconductor, and energy plants, where commodity single-gas sensors miss cross-reactive chemistries.
Research and exploratory applications demonstrating the breadth of the FIRsense platform. Available for collaboration, pilot projects, and academic partnerships.
Non-invasive disease-marker screening (oncology, respiratory, metabolic, infectious, and GI indications) via ultra-narrow-linewidth detection of trace volatile organic compounds in human breath.
Contactless sub-surface characterization of dopants, layer thicknesses, and buried defects in advanced-node wafers, exploiting THz transparency through silicon.
Broadband identification of polymers, including black and carbon-filled plastics invisible to NIR sorters, enabling closed-loop recycling streams for the circular economy.
Tunable THz signal generation for 6G channel sounding, wireless backhaul testbeds, and next-generation communications research.
Developed at the Walter Schottky Institut in Garching, at the intersection of optics and semiconductor technology. Hover over each component below to see its role in THz generation.
Two mid-IR lasers at frequencies f₁ and f₂ are combined and fed into the metasurface. Via difference-frequency generation, THz radiation emerges at exactly |f₁ − f₂|.
Precise control of the pump lasers directly defines the THz output. This is the foundation for tunable, selective spectroscopy.
Apart from the proprietary metasurface, the system uses commercial off-the-shelf optics: lenses, parabolic mirrors, and filters.
Our proprietary metasurface consists of nanometer-thin semiconductor layers forming a multi-quantum well (MQW). The nonlinear interaction of incoming mid-IR light generates THz inside this MQW. Nanoscale resonators patterned into the surface boost both pump coupling and THz emission efficiency.
THz frequency, linewidth, and power inherit directly from the mid-IR pump lasers. Because laser technology is mature, we deliver CW or pulsed emission, narrow linewidth, full tunability, and high output, all tailored per application.
Core THz source technology derisked. Now transitioning into product development and commercialisation.
Design and fabrication at WSI, TU Munich. 1–12 THz tunability, up to 20 µW CW output power.
University of Leeds. First low-pressure H₂O at 6–10 THz. 5 MHz resolution, 10+ vapor gases.
Demonstrator unit, 10 target analytes recorded, MVP Alpha built. Field testing with industry partners.
First customer pilot with committed partners. Continuous database expansion, field-feedback iteration.
Recent milestones, awards, and recognition on our journey from lab to market.
Our peer-review paper demonstrates record generation of continuous-wave 1–11 THz radiation.
Read paper →Selected for one of Munich's leading deep-tech incubator program, providing mentorship, prototyping access, and go-to-market support.
Archive entryRecognised among the top deep-tech ventures at TU Munich's annual innovation competition for our novel metasurface THz source.
Archive entryFIRsense originated at the Walter Schottky Institut, TU Munich. Our patented metasurface was developed during Jonas Krakofsky's PhD in the group of Prof. Mikhail Belkin, who continues to support the company as scientific mentor. The team combines THz physics, photonics, spectroscopy, hardware, and deep-tech commercialisation.
Former consultant and product manager at Nanogami with 3+ years leading deep-tech development teams. Bridges commercial strategy and technical execution.
contact@firsense.de
Expert in THz source design and manufacturing with 7+ years of research experience at Walter Schottky Institute. Principal architect of FIRsense's metasurface technology.
jonas.krakofsky@firsense.deSupporting the founding team across metasurface design, hardware, spectroscopy, and scientific mentorship.
Developed novel THz metasurfaces during his Master's at WSI. Supports FIRsense in metasurface design.
markus.rieder@firsense.de
Built the first portable prototype at WSI in his Master's thesis. Responsible for system assembly, CAD design, and hardware commissioning.
simon.schmid@firsense.de
Former Staff Engineer at Qualcomm with 10 years of RF industry experience. Leads FIRsense's expansion into telecommunications.
naim.tahsin@firsense.de
Finishing her PhD in quantum sensing. Leads translation of core technology into measurement systems and builds the spectral database.
lina.todenhagen@firsense.de
Professor with decades of expertise in metasurfaces and THz technology. Advises FIRsense on all matters of science and technology.
Strong institutional partners across venture creation, academic research, and international scientific validation.
XPlore Venture Creator provides go-to-market support and a network of deep-tech operators to accelerate FIRsense's commercialisation path.
TUM Venture Labs Semicon provides infrastructure, mentoring, and ecosystem access for semiconductor and photonics startups within the TU Munich network.
World-leading semiconductor research institute at TU Munich. Fabrication home of FIRsense's patented metasurface and host to Prototypes #1 and #3.
Host of Prototype #3 validation (Dec 2025). Independently confirmed <5 MHz spectral resolution and identification of 10+ target vapor gases at room temperature.
Whether you are an investor, a partner, or a collaborator, we would be glad to walk you through the technology, validation data, and roadmap to first pilot.