xemX materials space exploration GmbH
We create
materials.
Combinatorial thin-film synthesis and automated property characterization across hundreds of compositions in a single campaign. Real samples. Measured properties. A complete picture of your composition space.
Materials
We create alloys and thin-film materials.
xemX deposits real, physical thin-film samples across a continuous composition gradient on a single 100 mm wafer. One campaign produces 342 distinct compositions. Every point is characterized directly. The result is a complete composition-property map, not a model or calculation. Rather than evaluating one material at a time, your team can screen hundreds in a single run and focus on the candidates that matter.
Combinatorial co-sputtering
Up to 7 elements are deposited simultaneously via magnetron sputtering in a single run. DC, RF, pulsed DC, HiPIMS, and reactive sputtering (N2, O2) are all available, covering metals, alloys, nitrides, and oxides. The composition varies continuously across the wafer, producing a laterally resolved library of 342 unique thin-film compositions.
Multi-element and high-entropy systems
The platform was built for composition spaces too large to navigate sequentially. Core operating domains include transition metal nitrides, high-entropy alloys, and multi-component oxides. Transition metals and their combinations form the primary operational range of the system.
Initial study or multi-round campaign
A campaign can be a single exploratory study or a multi-round program. The first run maps a slice of the composition space. Subsequent campaigns use property data from earlier runs to direct focus toward the most informative regions.
From composition map to prototype
Once a campaign identifies target compositions, controlled uniform depositions on flat or structured substrates are available for downstream validation and prototyping. Scale-up to production is handled via established manufacturing partners.
37 elements available in the xemX system
Contact us to confirm availability for your specific element combination.
Applications & Use Cases
Where the platform applies.
The platform is suited to any problem where composition determines functionality and the relevant space is too large to navigate one material at a time. The following domains represent active and completed campaigns.
Electrochemistry
Water electrolysis catalysts
Activity-stability tradeoffs mapped across HEA composition space using the Scanning Droplet Cell. Published results across the Ni-Pd-Pt-Ru and Co-Fe-Ni systems.
Electrochemistry
CO2 electrolysis catalysts
Multi-element composition screening for CO2 reduction electrocatalysts. Completed campaigns with industrial customers in energy and specialty chemicals.
Coatings
Hard nitride coatings
Reactive co-sputtering of multi-element nitride systems. CrAlN and related transition metal nitride systems mapped by XRD phase analysis, plasma diagnostics, and nanoindentation.
Coatings
Functional optical coatings
Optical property mapping across multi-element composition gradients using UV-VIS reflectance spectroscopy combined with 4-point probe electrical characterization.
Metal manufacturing
Alloy composition optimization
Systematic screening of multi-element alloy composition spaces with integrated structural and mechanical characterization.
Semiconductor
Diffusion barrier layers
Ternary and quaternary composition screening beyond binary TaN. 4-point probe resistivity and XRD phase mapping across the full composition gradient.
Magnetics
Rare-earth-free magnets
MOKE maps magnetic properties across all 342 composition points simultaneously, combined with XRD phase identification.
Electrochemistry
Bipolar plate coatings
Corrosion potential mapping via SDC and contact-resistance mapping via 4-point probe across multi-element composition gradients.
Technology Overview
Platform capabilities.
The xemX platform integrates a combinatorial PVD deposition system with a full suite of automated characterization instruments. Every composition point in a campaign is measured directly.
Deposition Platform
| Deposition method | Magnetron co-sputtering |
| Cathodes per run | Up to 7 elements simultaneously |
| Sputtering modes | DC, RF, pulsed DC, HiPIMS, reactive (N2, O2) |
| Material classes | Metals, alloys, nitrides, oxides |
| Wafer | 100 mm, single campaign |
| Compositions per run | 342 unique measurement points |
| Library geometry | Continuous lateral composition gradient |
| Elements available | 37 across the periodic table |
| Campaign design | Bayesian optimization for iterative sub-space selection |
Integrated Characterization
- Automated XRD phase mappingCrystal structure and phase identification at every composition point
- EDX / WDX composition mappingQuantitative elemental analysis across the full wafer
- 4-Point probeSheet resistance and electrical resistivity
- NanoindentationHardness and elastic modulus
- Scanning Droplet Cell (SDC)Operando electrochemical activity, stability, and corrosion at each composition point
- UV-VIS reflectance spectroscopyOptical property mapping
- MOKEMagneto-Optic Kerr Effect for magnetic property mapping
Campaign
How a campaign works.
A campaign replaces sequential material evaluation with a single, complete composition-property map. A first campaign can serve as a standalone initial study. Multi-round programs use earlier results to direct subsequent runs toward the most informative composition regions.
Define the space
Identify elements and composition ranges. We will scope the right sub-space and characterization targets together.
Deposition run
Up to 7 elements co-sputtered onto a 100 mm wafer in one run. 342 unique thin-film compositions. Real physical samples.
Automated characterization
Every composition point is measured for the relevant properties: phase, mechanical, electrical, electrochemical, optical, or magnetic.
Composition-property map
You receive a full dataset showing where the properties you need exist across the scanned composition space.
Iterate
Bayesian optimization uses results to direct the next campaign toward the most informative composition sub-spaces.
Validated candidates
Target compositions are produced as controlled uniform depositions for downstream validation, prototyping, and scale-up.
Team
The people behind the platform.
CTO
Dr.-Ing. Lars Banko
xemX materials space exploration GmbH, Bochum
Lars built the combinatorial PVD and automated characterization platform. His PhD (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) focused on combinatorial methods and machine learning for microstructure optimization, with primary systems in Cr-Al-N transition metal nitrides and HEA electrocatalysts. 47 research works, 856 citations as of early 2026. Named inventor on the Mo-Ru water electrolysis catalyst patent and the electrode production process patent. His dissertation produced three open-source tools, including XCA, an automated XRD phase identification tool co-developed with Brookhaven National Laboratory.
COO
M.Sc. Sven Maihöfer
xemX materials space exploration GmbH, Bochum
Sven leads business development, operations, and partnerships at xemX. He manages industrial customer relationships, coordinates participation in European funding programs and technology networks, and oversees the commercial pipeline.
Scientific Advisor
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alfred Ludwig
Chair for Materials Discovery and Interfaces, Scientific Director ZGH, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Alfred Ludwig holds the Chair for Materials Discovery and Interfaces at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and serves as Scientific Director of the Center for Interface-Dominated High Performance Materials (ZGH). His group developed the combinatorial thin-film methodology on which the xemX platform is based. Over 14,800 Google Scholar citations.
Scientific Advisor
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schuhmann
Senior Professor, Center for Electrochemical Sciences (CES), Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Wolfgang Schuhmann is Senior Professor at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and leads the Center for Electrochemical Sciences (CES). His research spans micro- and nanoelectrochemistry, with the Scanning Droplet Cell (SDC) methodology enabling operando electrochemical characterization at every composition point in an xemX campaign. Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the International Society of Electrochemistry; recipient of the 2018 Alessandro Volta Medal and the 2019 Giulio Milazzo Prize. Author of 898 peer-reviewed publications with h-index 105.
Publications
Selected publications.
Advanced Science · 2025 · Wiley-VCH
Accelerating Combinatorial Electrocatalyst Discovery with Bayesian Optimization: A Case Study in the Quaternary System Ni-Pd-Pt-Ru for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Thelen, J.; Zehl, G.; Zerdoumi, R.; Burgel, L.; Banko, L.; Schuhmann, W.; Ludwig, A.
Adv. Sci. 2025, 12, 2507302.
https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202507302Advanced Energy Materials · 2022 · Wiley-VCH
Unravelling Composition-Activity-Stability Trends in High Entropy Alloy Electrocatalysts by Using a Data-Guided Combinatorial Synthesis Strategy and Computational Modeling
Banko, L. et al.
Adv. Energy Mater. 2022, 12, 2103312.
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202103312npj Computational Materials · 2021 · Springer Nature
Deep Learning for Visualization and Novelty Detection in Large X-ray Diffraction Datasets
Banko, L.; Maffettone, P. M.; Naujoks, D. et al.
npj Comput. Mater. 7, 104 (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-021-00575-9ACS Combinatorial Science · 2019 · American Chemical Society
Effects of the Ion-to-Growth-Flux Ratio on the Structure of Cr1-xAlxN Thin Films: A Combinatorial Study with Reactive DC Magnetron Sputtering, Automated XRD, and Plasma Diagnostics
Banko, L. et al.
ACS Comb. Sci. 2019, 21(6), 401-410.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acscombsci.9b00123Contact
Start a conversation.
If you have a multi-element composition problem, reach out. We will scope the right campaign together.
Website
www.xemx.space