Amsterdam Scientific Instruments

Amsterdam Scientific Instruments (ASI) is a Dutch technology company based in Amsterdam that designs and builds event-based hybrid pixel detectors for scientific instrumentation. Founded in 2011 by Jan Visser, Niels van Bakel and Hans Roeland Poolman, the company grew out of the conviction that detector technology developed largely within the CERN ecosystem — specifically the Medipix family of chips — deserved broader access across the scientific community. ASI's detectors are used in chemistry, physics, materials science and biology, and are designed to sit at the heart of analytical instruments, determining how fast data can be collected, how faint a signal can be trusted, and which experiments are possible. The company's product line spans multiple particle and radiation types. For electrons, ASI offers CheeTah, an ultra-fast event-based detector for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) supporting 4D-STEM, ptychography, time-resolved EELS and ultrafast TEM, and FeliS, a hybrid pixel detector for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) enabling 3D electron diffraction and 4D-STEM. For photons, the Phoebe single-photon camera is based on Timepix3 or Timepix4 and supports time-resolved imaging and photon-correlation experiments. For neutrons, the Lumina scientific image intensifier adds single-photon sensitivity to existing CCD or scientific CMOS cameras. The company also addresses X-ray and ion detection applications. ASI positions itself not primarily around technology but around the measurement problem: the company states that it starts with what the customer is trying to measure, then adapts its core hybrid pixel detector technology into systems that are easy to integrate, easy to run, maintenance-free and flexible enough to fit existing experimental setups. This customer-centric framing is central to its brand identity in the scientific instrumentation market. ASI began operations inside the Nikhef building in Amsterdam, sharing benches, equipment and expertise with the Nikhef development group. That proximity to a leading physics research institute helped accelerate early product development, including the company's first X-ray systems built around Timepix chips. Since then, ASI has expanded its detector portfolio across electron, photon, neutron, X-ray and ion applications, serving researchers and instrument builders worldwide. The company remains privately held and operates from the Netherlands.

Amsterdam Scientific Instruments was founded in 2011 by Jan Visser, Niels van Bakel and Hans Roeland Poolman. The founding conviction was that detector technology which had until then lived mostly inside CERN — specifically the Medipix family of chips — deserved access by the broader scientific community. The Medipix2 collaboration had produced two new detector chips, Medipix-2 and Timepix-1. Both were built for X-ray work such as synchrotron beamlines, and both were frame-based detectors despite the Timepix name. It did not take long for the founders to notice that the chips were just as interesting for transmission electron microscopy and ion detection. Even in those first chips, the obsession with speed and sensitivity was already clear. In its early days ASI lived inside the Nikhef building in Amsterdam, sharing benches, equipment and expertise with the Nikhef development group. That closeness paid off quickly: the first ASI X-ray systems were built around Timepix chips. From this base, ASI developed a portfolio of event-based hybrid pixel detectors spanning electrons, photons, neutrons, X-rays and ions. Over time the company expanded its product line to address specific scientific instruments and techniques. For transmission electron microscopy it developed CheeTah, an ultra-fast event-based electron detector with data-driven mode and noise-free readout, supporting 4D-STEM, ptychography, time-resolved EELS and ultrafast TEM with nanosecond timing and low-dose sensitivity. For scanning electron microscopy it introduced FeliS, a hybrid pixel detector that mounts inside the SEM chamber and enables 3D electron diffraction and 4D-STEM for crystal-structure determination and orientation mapping at nanometer-scale resolution while keeping all SEM functions available. For photon science it offers Phoebe, a Timepix3- or Timepix4-based single-photon camera for time-resolved imaging and photon-correlation experiments, capable of time-stamping individual photons with sub-nanosecond precision when coupled to an optical intensifier. For neutron applications it provides Lumina, a fully integrated scientific image intensifier that mounts in front of an existing CCD or scientific CMOS camera to add single-photon sensitivity. ASI's stated approach is to start with what the customer is trying to measure rather than leading with the technology. The company describes its job as taking its core hybrid pixel detector technology and turning it into something users can live with: easy to integrate, easy to run, maintenance-free, and flexible enough to fit the setup they already have. The detector is framed as the heart of any analytical instrument, deciding how fast data can be collected, how faint a signal can still be trusted, and which experiments are even possible. The company's mission was summarized internally by senior application scientist Erik Maddox as "We make fancy detectors." ASI remains a privately held company based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

• 2011

  Amsterdam Scientific Instruments founded by Jan Visser, Niels van Bakel and Hans Roeland Poolman.

• Early operations located inside the Nikhef building in Amsterdam, sharing facilities with the Nikhef development group.

• First ASI X-ray systems built around Timepix chips.

• CheeTah ultra-fast event-based electron detector for TEM introduced.

• FeliS hybrid pixel detector for SEM introduced.

• Phoebe Timepix3/Timepix4-based single-photon camera introduced.

• Lumina fully integrated scientific image intensifier for neutron detection introduced.

Customer-centric scientific detector maker that starts from the measurement problem and delivers easy-to-integrate, maintenance-free hybrid pixel detector systems for demanding imaging and characterization applications.

• CheeTah

  An ultra-fast, event-based electron detector for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Its data-driven mode and noise-free readout enable up to 1000x faster acquisition with far smaller datasets, supporting 4D-STEM, ptychography, time-resolved EELS, and ultrafast TEM with nanosecond timing and low-dose sensitivity.

• FeliS

  A hybrid pixel detector for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It mounts inside the SEM chamber and enables 3D electron diffraction (3D-ED) and 4D-STEM, bringing crystal-structure determination and orientation mapping of electron-transparent samples to nanometer-scale resolution while keeping all SEM functions available.

• Phoebe

  A Timepix3- or Timepix4-based single-photon camera for time-resolved imaging and photon-correlation experiments. In event-driven mode it time-stamps individual photons with sub-nanosecond precision when coupled to an optical intensifier.

• Lumina

  A fully integrated scientific image intensifier that mounts in front of an existing CCD or scientific CMOS camera, adding single-photon sensitivity.

1. 1Amsterdam Scientific Instruments | Event-Based Hybrid Pixel Detectorsamscins.com
2. 2About Us | Amsterdam Scientific Instrumentsamscins.com
3. 3Amsterdam Scientific Instruments (The Netherlands) - Wikidatawikidata.org