About us

The Minds Behind the Precision.

ISO-TEM was founded in 2026 as a spin-off of Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany, with the mission to advance innovation in electron microscopy. The company develops high-performance sample holders for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).

Its technology integrates sample preparation, transfer, and mounting into a seamless workflow, enabling advanced in situ characterization under realistic conditions with greater efficiency and precision.

Portrait of Michael Schaaf

Michael Schaaf

CEO

I’ve been passionate about technology for more than 25 years, including over 20 years in R&D. As a mechanical engineering project engineer, I develop customized solutions when standard products reach their limits.

My focus is on the development of special-purpose machines and innovative technical systems. I oversee projects from the initial idea through design to successful commissioning. It is particularly important to me to translate complex requirements into practical, efficient, and sustainable solutions.

I work in a structured, solution-oriented manner with a clear goal: to develop technology that truly works and creates added value.

Portrait of Michael Schaaf

Dr. Benjamin Zingsem

CEO

I am a physicist with a background in advanced transmission electron microscopy, magnetism, and RF/Microwave Instrumentation. For more than 12 years, my work across academic research and postdoctoral development has centered on designing, building, implementing, and using bespoke scientific equipment for electron microscopy, microwave spectroscopy, cryogenics, and in-situ experiments.

At ISO-TEM, I bring together scientific method development and hands-on hardware engineering to turn complex experimental requirements into practical, reliable solutions. My work focuses on sample holder technologies, high-frequency excitation, ultra-short pulses, electrical biasing, cryogenic operation, and dynamic materials experiments inside the TEM.

What drives me is the development of technology that enables new insights — instrumentation that is scientifically meaningful, technically robust, and built around real experimental needs.