xemX operates a high-throughput combinatorial PVD platform producing 342 unique thin-film compositions per campaign with fully automated characterization at every composition point. If you have a multi-element material problem and the composition space is too large to navigate sequentially, we map it.
The platform produces a continuous composition gradient across up to eight elements simultaneously. Every point in that gradient (342 on a 100mm wafer) is characterized for the properties relevant to your application. The result is a composition-property map: a dataset showing where in the element space your required properties exist, and how those properties change as composition shifts.
This is structurally different from sequential material evaluation. Conventional approaches test one composition at a time. The xemX platform tests the entire space at once.
| Deposition | Magnetron co-sputtering, 8 cathodes simultaneous. DC, RF, pulsed DC, and reactive sputtering (N2, O2). Covers metals, nitrides, and oxides. |
| Substrate | 100 mm wafers |
| Compositions | 342 unique points per campaign, continuous gradient |
| Composition mapping | EDX / WDX automated scanning |
| Phase mapping | Automated XRD at each composition point |
| Mechanical | Nanoindentation: hardness and elastic modulus |
| Electrical | 4-point probe: sheet resistance / resistivity |
| Electrochemical | Scanning Droplet Cell: activity, stability, corrosion potential |
| Optical | Reflectance spectroscopy (UV-VIS) |
| Magnetic | MOKE: magnetic property mapping |
| Output | Full composition-property maps, structured dataset delivery |
Every application involves a multi-element composition space where the target properties are known but the optimal composition is not.
OER and HER catalyst composition spaces mapped for activity, stability, and PGM loading tradeoffs using the Scanning Droplet Cell. Bipolar plate coatings screened simultaneously for corrosion resistance and contact resistance under acidic and alkaline operating conditions.
Quaternary and quinary nitride systems for cutting tools and wear-resistant components screened for hardness, elastic modulus, and phase stability. The composition space for high-entropy nitrides exceeds what sequential testing can cover. The platform maps it in one campaign.
Transition-metal nitride diffusion barriers applicable to systematic screening for amorphous phase stability and resistivity at sub-5nm thickness. Multi-element spin Hall layer composition spaces are directly mappable using MOKE and 4-point probe, relevant to SOT-MRAM integration.
Al-Sc-N and higher-order nitride systems are well suited to composition-spread screening for phase stability and crystal structure across the full composition gradient using automated XRD. Relevant to BAW filter, FBAR, and MEMS device development where Sc content and alloying element choice determine device performance.
Multi-element alloy spaces applicable to systematic mapping of coercivity, saturation magnetization, and phase formation using automated MOKE and XRD. Covers both RE-free permanent magnet candidates and functional magnetic thin films for sensors and memory.
Solar control, low-emissivity, and color-functional coatings screened for transmittance, reflectance, and emissivity across the composition space using UV-VIS spectroscopy. Transparent conductive oxide alternatives to ITO mapped simultaneously for sheet resistance and optical performance.
Solid-state battery interface layers screened for ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability window. High-temperature oxide systems screened for phase stability, thermal conductivity, and oxidation resistance, relevant to aerospace thermal barrier and nuclear fuel cladding applications.
Multi-element composition spaces screened for superconducting transition temperature, novel phase formation, and emergent electronic properties using XRD and resistivity mapping. The platform is well suited to any system where the target property depends non-linearly on composition.
Lead scientist and platform architect. His doctoral research focused on high-throughput thin-film deposition and automated characterization methods for materials discovery, with particular emphasis on combinatorial electrochemistry using the Scanning Droplet Cell. Corresponding or contributing author on the core publication series. He built the physical and computational infrastructure that xemX operates.
Leads commercial and partnership development. Manages engagement with industrial partners across electrochemistry, hard coatings, semiconductor materials, and energy systems, translating application requirements into research campaigns and structuring xemX's relationships with customers and funding programs.
One of Europe's foremost researchers in combinatorial and high-throughput materials science. Scientific Director of the ZGH (Center for Interface-Dominated High-Performance Materials). Pioneer of combinatorial thin-film methods for discovery of shape memory alloys, superconductors, catalysts, and functional coatings since the early 2000s. The methodological foundation of the xemX platform originated in his group. 14,000+ citations.
World authority in electroanalytical chemistry and scanning electrochemical methods. His group developed and validated the Scanning Droplet Cell methodology that provides xemX's electrochemical characterization capability. 600+ publications. 2018 Alessandro Volta Medal, Electrochemical Society.
You define the target properties, the element set, and any constraints. We establish which characterization methods are relevant and what a useful output dataset looks like for your application.
We determine the deposition geometry and cathode configuration to cover the relevant slice of composition space. For higher-order systems, permutation strategies extend coverage across multiple libraries.
A 100mm wafer is co-sputtered with up to 8 elements simultaneously, producing a continuous composition gradient across 342 measurement points. Automated characterization runs across every point: XRD, electrochemistry, nanoindentation, resistivity, and others as required.
You receive a structured composition-property dataset identifying where in the element space the target properties exist. If a promising composition is identified, we can produce homogeneous coatings of that composition for further validation on your substrates.
High-entropy alloy electrocatalysts offer a vast composition space for tuning catalytic properties, but the combinatorial explosion of possible compositions makes sequential testing impractical. A data-guided combinatorial synthesis strategy was used to map activity and stability across the full quaternary Co-Fe-Ni-Mn composition space in a single campaign.
342 unique compositions were deposited and characterized by automated Scanning Droplet Cell electrochemistry and XRD phase mapping. The resulting dataset was used alongside computational modeling to identify composition-activity-stability trends that would be inaccessible to conventional one-at-a-time experimentation.
The campaign identified multi-metal compositions with activity competitive with benchmark catalysts at significantly reduced noble metal content, directly addressing the cost and scarcity constraints on PEM electrolyzer scale-up.
Seven papers representing the full range of what the platform does: composition screening, AI-guided exploration, autonomous characterization, phase mapping, hard coatings, high-entropy nitrides, and electrochemical discovery.