Mosaic to Work with AIM Photonics; Materion Lands $5M Contract: Week in Brief: 11/3/23

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded microelectronics glass packaging technology developer Mosaic Microsystems a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract that will enable Mosaic to develop ultrathin glass interposers with through-glass via technology. Per the award, Mosaic will collaborate with AIM Photonics to demonstrate the integration of fiber optics, waveguides, and photonic integrated circuits with glass.

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — Materion Corp. received a two-year, $5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory for the R&D of additive manufacturing for beryllium and aluminum-beryllium alloys. The research targets the production and performance of optics structures, guidance systems, and thermal management applications used in defense and aerospace markets.

PREMSTATTEN, Austria — Ams OSRAM signed sale and leaseback agreements totaling up to MYR 2 billion ($420.9 million) in gross proceeds. The agreements are part of the company’s previously announced financing plan and is limited to its newly constructed 8-in. semiconductor facility’s primary and secondary structures in Kulim, Malaysia. The lease financing transaction is expected to close in winter 2023/2024 and run for a 10-year term.

Seaurat’s Alpha printer at its pilot factory in Wilmington, Mass. Courtesy of Seurat Technologies.

WILMINGTON, Mass. — 3D metal printing provider Seurat Technologies raised $99 million in series C funding. The funds will go toward the creation of printing factories that will use area printing technology developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that delivers high-precision, high-volume, decarbonized manufacturing. Seurat anticipates that the change of technology has the potential to directly mitigate as much as 100 million tons of CO₂ by 2030.

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — IDEX Corp. acquired STC Material Solutions, an integrated provider of advanced material science solutions, from parent company Artemis. STC specializes in the design and manufacturing of technical ceramics and hermetic sealing products and has relationships with manufacturers in the semiconductor, aerospace, defense, industrial technology, medical technology, and energy sectors. The $206 million deal is expected to close this year.

TUBINGEN, Germany — Quantifi Photonics is opening a European subsidiary, Quantifi Photonics GmbH, based in Tubingen, Germany. The office will serve as a customer support and R&D center, as well as a hub for sales and technical support for the company’s European customers.

Aalyria launched a study with Airbus on the feasibility of ultrahigh-speed optical networks that connect aircraft and spacecraft with existing terrestrial fiber networks. Courtesy of Aalyria.

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Global advanced networking and laser communications technologies company Aalyria launched a collaborative study with Airbus to study the feasibility of ultrahigh-speed optical networks that connect aircraft and spacecraft with existing terrestrial fiber networks. The collaboration also aims to develop network traffic engineering and orchestration techniques to meet the needs of future air- and spaceborne networks.

Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, & Railways Shri Ashwini Vaishnav unveils the 160-µm optical fiber at IMC 2023. Courtesy of STL.

NEW DELHI — STL, an optical and digital solutions company, reported its development of a 160-µm optical fiber. The solution packs three times the capacity of traditional 250-µm fiber with a reduced diameter cable of 6.4 mm, the company said. The fiber was unveiled at STL’s booth at Internet Measurement Conference 2023, a three-day event focusing on internet measurement and analysis.

GOLETA, Calif. — Lidar and semiconductor company Aeluma Inc. received funding from the U.S. Navy to develop photonics reliability methodologies for defense and aerospace applications. Aeluma intends to collaborate with The Aerospace Corp., a national nonprofit that operates a federally funded R&D center across the space domain. The funding will go toward both defense and commercial applications.