11 December 2025
Oxford Instruments Wins Prestigious Institute Of Physics Business Award
Oxford Instruments has been awarded a prestigious Institute of Physics Business Innovation Award for the development of BEX, a breakthrough analytical technique in scanning electron microscopes, enabling new capabilities and accelerating time to results by at least an order of magnitude.
Pictured, left to right: IOP president-elect, Professor Paul Howarth CBE; Oxford Instruments Lead Product Manager (BEX), Dr Haithem Mansour; Oxford Instruments Director of Research & Technology, Dr Philippe Pinard; IOP chief executive, Tom Grinyer.
Oxford Instruments introduced Unity, a new detector type for a revolutionary new analytical technique in the SEM. It is the world’s first Backscattered Electron and X-ray (BEX) imaging detector. Based on an innovative design, which includes both backscattered electron and X-ray sensors within the same sensor package, Unity is located directly beneath the SEM pole piece and has been engineered to maximize signal collection, ensuring it can be used at normal SEM imaging speed and operating conditions. It seamlessly combines electrons and X-ray signals to deliver rapid high-definition colour images embedded with elemental data as users navigate around the sample, making SEM imaging elementary. BEX is a breakthrough for microanalysis as it accelerates by up to 100 times the time to results and opens the door for new applications in SEM.
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for physics in the UK and Ireland. With a rich history of supporting business innovation and growth, it is committed to working with ‘physics-powered’ businesses, and companies that apply and employ physics and physicists.
The IOP’s prestigious Business Awards are unique in the UK and Ireland in recognising the significant contribution that physicists and physics make in industry and this year’s cohort of awardees contains the 100th IOP business award winner.
There are three categories of awards – Business Innovation, Business Start-Up and the Lee Lucas Award (for the medical and healthcare sector) – so businesses at any stage of their development are eligible; from start-ups to multi-national corporations.
The IOP Business Innovation Award specifically recognises and celebrates companies that have excelled in innovation, delivering significant economic and/or societal impact through the application of physics.
Oxford Instruments CEO Richard Tyson said:
"Receiving this prestigious business award from the Institute of Physics is a tremendous honour and a testament to the transformative impact of our Unity detector and BEX technique. At Oxford Instruments, we are driven by a purpose to accelerate the breakthroughs that create a brighter future for our world. This recognition underscores the innovation, precision, and reliability our technology brings to the scientific community, empowering scientists to focus on critical areas and fast-tracking discoveries."
Institute of Physics President Professor Michele Dougherty said:
“Physics drives discovery and innovation, transforming our understanding of the world. And it is the innovations of physics-powered businesses that are driving our economy, creating jobs and addressing the challenges that face us today.
“In the coming years, physics will continue to shape our lives, hopefully making a better world for us all, and it is companies like those we are honouring with a 2025 IOP Business Award that are leading the way towards a prosperous, sustainable future. My sincerest congratulations to them all."