Enables Access to Large and Fast Growing Defense Market
ORLANDO, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 9, 2022 / LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) ("LightPath," the "Company," or "we"), a leading vertically integrated global manufacturer and integrator of proprietary optical and infrared components and high-level assemblies, today announced that its Diamond Like Carbon ("DLC") coating process for its proprietary Black DiamondTM ("BD6") chalcogenide-based material to manufacture infrared ("IR") lenses has now been qualified for all U.S. military applications.
Sam Rubin, President and Chief Executive Officer of LightPath Technologies, said, "Military qualification of our DLC coating process for BD6 IR lenses is a very important technological and manufacturing milestone for the Company. Commercial production of high durability DLC infrared coatings for optics made at the Company's facilities in Riga, Latvia commenced in early 2021, increasing our capacity for this technology already in place in our Orlando headquarters. The U.S. military qualification, which typically sets the pace globally, for DLC coating required more rigorous testing and was recently approved after a lengthy review process.
"As a result of receiving military qualification, we may now tap into the vast defense market with an even more compelling value proposition. The typical military contract requires high volume production quantities and competitively priced materials, which we believe our molding technology with BD6 glass and now military-qualified coating process allows. There are few, if any, optical technology companies anywhere in the world that can rival our high volume, vertically integrated, end-to-end production capabilities. We are clearly becoming an increasingly important partner for commercial development of engineered solutions for Department of Defense agencies, Defense Industrial Base (DIB), prime contractors and other IR optical imaging businesses."
The receipt of DLC coating military qualification dovetails with the Company's recently secured exclusive optical usage license to manufacture products using the IR patent portfolio developed and owned by the United States Navy's U.S. Naval Research Laboratory ("NRL"). DLC IR coatings can be applied to optics made from materials such as germanium, silicon, and chalcogenides, further bolstering LightPath's reach into the military and defense markets.
The agreement with NRL provides LightPath with access to unique chalcogenide glass compositions to develop more comprehensive optical systems targeting some of the fastest growing IR markets, including the IR imaging market which is expected to grow from $5.8 billion in 2020 to $8.3 billion by 20251 and the multispectral imaging market which is estimated to grow from $10.9 billion in 2020 to $17.6 billion by 20252.
LightPath's proprietary BD6 material is an ideal replacement for germanium optics and has many superior characteristics, such as it is lower cost, contains no rare earths, is lighter and has a wider thermal operating range. BD6 glass is a softer material which had previously been a deterrent to its use in applications where exposure to the elements was required, such as many defense use cases. LightPath's recent military qualification of DLC coating resolves this issue by stabilizing the outer surface of the lens and making it essentially impenetrable to external factors.
DLC coatings protect infrared lenses against harsh environmental conditions and are a requirement for many applications that demand resilient coatings that can withstand severe abrasion. Applications such as thermal imaging for military and defense applications benefit from the protections offered by DLC coatings. Other addressable markets include firefighting, space applications, including satellites and drones, IR imaging, multispectral imaging, thermography, medical imaging and related diagnostics, security/surveillance, and freeform optics for augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) headgear. Through the implementation of LightPath's ongoing new product development and capital investment strategies, optical fabrication, optical assembly, and high-performance coatings can now all be done at a single facility, reducing lead times and expanding coating capacity worldwide to accommodate current and anticipated demand.
LightPath intends to substantially manufacture NRL IR products in the U.S. at the Company's expanding headquarters in Orlando, Florida. Current proprietary BD6 material is being made internally at LightPath's Orlando facilities, alongside multiple molding presses, processing equipment for high efficiency anti-reflective coatings and DLC machines for added lens protection. LightPath is making over 200 kilos per week of chalcogenide glass and may increase its volumetric capacity as demand increases.
LightPath's BD6 glass for IR applications is made from chalcogenide materials which are increasingly replacing germanium and other crystal materials for IR optics due to lower cost. Germanium, in particular, has been subject to rising or volatile pricing due to the material being primarily sourced from China. LightPath began to replace its IR lens raw materials by offering first BD2, and later BD6, a general-purpose chalcogenide glass. Due to BD6 or chalcogenide glass being lighter and more malleable, LightPath is able to mold lenses for higher quantity commercial applications as compared to slower, more labor intensive and more costly diamond turning of lenses made from germanium glass which is a harder substance. The NRL glasses offer a wide range of refractive indices and wavelength dispersion for optimal chromatic correction. In addition, various thermal constants and mechanical properties give optical designers many choices for athermalizing optical designs. NRL glasses are ideally suited for the infrared imaging market which is estimated to grow by over 40% through 2025, which includes thermal imaging cameras operating in the medium wave to long wave IR bands and for applications such as thermography, diagnostics, security and surveillance.
About LightPath Technologies
LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPTH) is a leading global, vertically integrated provider of optics, photonics and infrared solutions for the industrial, commercial, defense, telecommunications, and medical industries. LightPath designs and manufactures proprietary optical and infrared components including molded glass aspheric lenses and assemblies, custom molded glass freeform lenses, infrared lenses and thermal imaging assemblies, fused fiber collimators, and proprietary Black DiamondTM ("BD6") chalcogenide-based glass lenses. LightPath also offers custom optical assemblies, including full engineering design support. The Company is headquartered in Orlando, Florida, with manufacturing and sales offices in Latvia and China.
LightPath's wholly-owned subsidiary, ISP Optics Corporation, manufactures a full range of infrared products from high performance MWIR and LWIR lenses and lens assemblies. ISP's infrared lens assembly product line includes athermal lens systems used in cooled and un-cooled thermal imaging cameras. Manufacturing is performed in-house to provide precision optical components including spherical, aspherical and diffractive coated infrared lenses. ISP's optics processes allow it to manufacture its products from all important types of infrared materials and crystals. Manufacturing processes include CNC grinding and CNC polishing, diamond turning, continuous and conventional polishing, optical contacting and advanced coating technologies.
For more information on LightPath and its businesses, please visit www.lightpath.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements that constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "forecast," "guidance," "plan," "estimate," "will," "would," "project," "maintain," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "prospect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "believe," "continue," "opportunity," "potential," and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, and include, for example, statements related to the expected effects on the Company's business from the COVID-19 pandemic. These forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the duration and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic and impact on the demand for the Company products; the ability of the Company to obtain needed raw materials and components from its suppliers; actions governments, businesses, and individuals take in response to the pandemic, including restrictions on onsite commercial interactions; the impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response to the pandemic on global and regional economies and economic activity; the pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global economic conditions or low levels of economic growth; the effects of steps that the Company could take to reduce operating costs; the inability of the Company to sustain profitable sales growth, convert inventory to cash, or reduce its costs to maintain competitive prices for its products; circumstances or developments that may make the Company unable to implement or realize the anticipated benefits, or that may increase the costs, of its current and planned business initiatives; and those factors detailed by LightPath Technologies, Inc. in its public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on 10-Q. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties, or facts materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by the forward-looking statements contained herein. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Except as required under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we do not have any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Company Contacts:
Mark Palvino, VP of Global Sales
LightPath Technologies, Inc.
Tel: 407-382-4003
mpalvino@lightpath.com
Rob Myers, Product Manager
LightPath Technologies, Inc.
Tel: 407-382-4003
rmyers@lightpath.com
Investor Contact:
Jordan Darrow
Darrow Associates
Tel. 631-766-4528
jdarrow@darrowir.com
1https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/infrared-IR-sensing-imaging-market-593.html
2https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/hyperspectral-imaging-systems-market
SOURCE: LightPath Technologies, Inc.
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