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SCALE Lasers – Disrupting Sensor Innovation

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The project management is responsible for the content of the information provided.

Project data

  • Project no: GRS-058/25 
  • Amount of funding: CHF 150'000 
  • Approved: 22.10.2025 
  • Duration: 01.2026 - 12.2026 
  • Area of activity:  InnoBooster, seit 2018

Project management

Project description

Air pollution and global warming demand widely accessible gas sensors capable of analyzing the complex gas mixtures around us. Mid-infrared semiconductor lasers are ideal for this task, but today they are expensive, bulky, and complex, which limits their widespread adoption. SCALE Lasers, a startup project at ETH Zurich, is developing a novel quantum cascade laser platform that combines miniaturization with surface emission to enable low-cost, low-power lasers for seamless integration into environmental and industrial sensors. The initial product will unlock the broader deployment of laser-based sensors and ultimately pave the way for biomedical applications.

Status/Results

The goal of the project is to conclude the prototyping phase with a minimum viable product and to prepare the transition to the production phase. To achieve this, we will work closely with our early adopters and integrate their feedback into the next device generation. A key focus is to expand and qualify the supply chain to meet industrial standards and ensure scalability, while in parallel refining our cost structure and market assumptions to support subsequent financing and commercialization.

Links

Persons involved in the project

Dr. David Stark, Project leader at ETH Zurich, Co-founder & CEO at SCALE Lasers
Dr. Killian Keller, Co-project leader at ETH Zurich, Co-founder & CTO at SCALE Lasers

Last update to this project presentation  26.11.2025