What Lattice Materials does

Lattice Materials LLC is a Bozeman, Montana-based precision optics manufacturer founded in 1989 and operating as a member of The Partner Companies (TPC) industrial consortium. The company specializes in custom Czochralski (Cz) crystal growth of monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon and germanium, with stated capabilities up to 12.5" monocrystalline silicon, >13" polycrystalline silicon, 10" monocrystalline germanium, and 14" polycrystalline germanium. From these crystals it produces a vertically integrated suite of precision optical components including lenses, windows, mirrors, EO/IR assemblies, and semiconductor support parts, with sub-Angstrom surface roughness (10 Å RMS), 1/10th wave flatness, and 20/10 scratch/dig specifications, supported by an in-house metrology lab with X-ray crystallography and white light interferometry.

The company's customer base is concentrated in U.S. defense and aerospace, including named programs such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, UAVs, thermal targeting systems, and self-guided missiles, with secondary exposure to semiconductor fabs, laser manufacturers, thin-film coating operations, and research institutions. Pricing is quote-based against custom specifications, with Net30 standard terms, and go-to-market is enterprise field sales direct to systems integrators and prime contractors; the company holds ITAR registration and ISO 9001:2015 certification.

Lattice's business model is anchored by the December 2025 award of $18.5 million from the U.S. Department of War under Title III of the Defense Production Act, which is funding an 80,000 sq ft expansion in Bozeman (breaking ground April 2026, completion 2027) expected to more than double the existing footprint, create 50 jobs, add germanium recycling capability, and position the site as the largest optical boule growth facility in North America. The investment explicitly responds to Chinese export restrictions on germanium and aims to onshore critical defense optics supply chains.

Name

Lattice Materials

Legal name

Lattice Materials LLC

Website

https://latticematerials.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lattice Materials is a Bozeman, Montana-based manufacturer founded in 1989 that custom-grows silicon and germanium crystals and machines them into precision infrared optics, lenses, mirrors, and semiconductor parts for U.S. defense primes, EO/IR system integrators, and semiconductor fabs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Infrared Optical Components

NAICS

Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441), Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (3344)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Silicon Wafers (Prime/Test/SOI) (HDAHAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser) (HDAHACAG)

Keywords

• Infrared Optics Manufacturing
• Germanium Crystal Growth
• Silicon Crystal Growth
• Precision Optical Components
• Defense Optics Supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Silicon and Germanium Crystal Sales: Sale of custom-grown silicon and germanium crystals to defense, aerospace, semiconductor, and optical industries. Crystals are sold as raw material (boules) or semi-finished blanks.
2. Precision Machined Optical Components: CNC machined, polished, and finished optical components including lenses, mirrors, windows, and custom shapes. Components are precision-manufactured to customer specifications for mission-critical applications.
3. Thin Film Coating Materials: Sputtering targets in silicon and germanium materials, including the largest diameter targets currently on the market (up to 17.5"/450mm) for thin film coating operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lattice Materials custom-grows silicon and germanium crystals using the Czochralski (Cz) process and converts them into precision optical components through vertically integrated CNC machining, curve generation, optical polishing, and metrology. The company manufactures transmissive infrared optical components (lenses, windows, mirrors, EO/IR assemblies), laser mirror blanks, semiconductor fabrication parts, and silicon/germanium sputtering targets, primarily for defense, aerospace, semiconductor, and laser system customers.

Product overview

Lattice Materials is a U.S.-based manufacturer of custom-grown silicon and germanium crystals with comprehensive precision machining and finishing capabilities. The company operates as part of The Partner Companies (TPC) group of specialty manufacturers. Their core offerings center on custom Czochralski (Cz) crystal growth producing monocrystalline silicon up to 12.5 inches and germanium up to 10 inches diameter. These crystals feed into a vertical integration of precision manufacturing services including basic machining, CNC machining, curve generation, optical polishing, and metrology. The resulting optical components span silicon and germanium optics, lenses, windows, mirrors, EO/IR materials, semiconductor support products, witness samples, and thin film coating materials. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 certification and ITAR registration, serving critical defense applications including F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, UAVs, thermal targeting systems, and missiles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Crystal Growth Services (Silicon and Germanium) Custom Czochralski (Cz) crystal growth of monocrystalline silicon up to 12.5 inches, polycrystalline silicon greater than 13 inches, monocrystalline germanium up to 10 inches, and polycrystalline germanium up to 14 inches. Delivers crystals with custom electrical resistivity, special optical transmissions, hard-to-find sizes, and unique orientations for defense, semiconductor, and optoelectronic customers.
• Basic Machining Services Precision coring, grinding, and slicing of silicon and germanium parts up to 18 inches dimension and 15 inches thickness, with CNC bevels and break edges. Uses high-precision saws and grinders designed to minimize subsurface damage.
• CNC Machining Services Multi-axis CNC vertical milling for complex silicon and germanium parts, from prototype through high-volume production. Uses specially developed handling and machining techniques to eliminate sub-surface damage and chipping.
• Curve Generation Services Precision CNC spherical curve generation for optical lenses, producing precise radius of curvature for infrared optical lenses. Handles prototype through full production volumes.
• Optical Polishing Services High-precision optical polishing for silicon and germanium components including flats, windows, prisms, and lenses. Achieves scratch/dig better than 20/10, 1/10th wave flatness, and surface roughness better than 10 Angstroms RMS. Flat polishing available up to 14+ inches diameter, with AR and DLC coating options.
• Metrology Services Precision measurement including interferometry for flatness to 1/20th wave, white light interferometry for sub-Angstrom surface roughness, X-ray crystallography for crystal orientation tolerances to +/-15 minutes, and dimensionality measurement accuracies to 0.0001 inches.
• EO/IR Materials and Components Silicon and germanium optical components for electro-optic and infrared systems, including manned aircraft, UAVs, thermal targeting systems, self-guided missiles, and night vision goggles. Components polished to optical specifications better than 20/10 scratch/dig, 1/10th wave flatness, and down to 10 Angstroms RMS.
• Silicon Optics Silicon optical components including lenses, mirrors, and windows for infrared optics and optoelectronics. In-house crystal growth enables custom resistivity and just-in-time delivery on blanket orders; transmits efficiently in the MWIR range for high-resolution imaging.
• Germanium Optics High-refractive-index germanium optical components including lenses, windows, and mirrors for infrared optical systems. Custom Czochralski growth of crystals in hard-to-find sizes and unique orientations, with custom electrical resistivity and special optical transmissions.
• Silicon Lenses Czochralski optical-grade silicon lenses for near-infrared, SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR applications. Available as plano-convex, spherical, and aspherical lenses up to 14.5 inches diameter with high-precision curve generation.
• Germanium Lenses High-performance germanium lenses for infrared imaging, remote sensing, and thermal imaging systems. Precision CNC curve generation produces spherical and aspheric lenses with high refractive index enabling efficient light focusing and high-resolution thermal imaging.
• Germanium Windows Optical germanium windows for infrared transmission with broad transmission range from 2 to 16 micrometers. Suited to MWIR and LWIR applications, polished to 40/20 scratch/dig, 1/10th wave flatness, and down to 10 Angstroms RMS, with high mechanical strength and thermal stability.
• Silicon Mirrors Custom silicon mirrors for low-power CO2 lasers and optical systems. Low coefficient of linear thermal expansion with excellent thermal stability; surface quality 40-20, wavelength range 700-2000nm, up to 440mm diameter.
• Semiconductor Support Products Silicon parts for semiconductor fabrication including specialty wafers, furnace components, wafer handling, gas distribution, and etching components. Silicon purity greater than 99.999% with precision machining minimizing sub-surface damage.
• Thin Film Coating Materials (Silicon and Germanium Sputtering Targets) Silicon and germanium sputtering targets up to 17.5 inches (450mm) diameter, currently the largest diameter targets on the market. Custom resistivity of intrinsic material available for thin film coating operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest optical boule growth capacity in North America
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Partner CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLattice Materials is a proud member of The Partner Companies, a group of specialty manufacturers sharing commitment to excellence, precision, and innovation. TPC supports member entities with expertise in business growth, finance, human resources, and supply chain management.
• e-fabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium, serving defense, aerospace, medical, telecommunications, semiconductor, and renewable energy industries.
• elconprecisionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium.
• fotofabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium.
• ltprecisionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium.
• optiformsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium.
• Photofabrication Engineering Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium, with 50-year history producing precision EMI shielding enclosures.
• upgintlminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium.
• pinnaclemetalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium.
• microphotominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company within The Partner Companies consortium.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Coherent (formerly II-VI Incorporated): One of the largest diversified photonics and materials platforms, with significant exposure to infrared optics, semiconductor materials, and defense applications. Competes with Lattice Materials across multiple IR optics and crystal product lines but as part of a much broader portfolio.
• Thorlabs: Broad optics and photonics components manufacturer serving research, industrial, and defense customers. Comparable in optical-component manufacturing capabilities and end markets, though its catalog model and scale differ from Lattice's custom defense focus.
• Edmund Optics: Major global supplier of optical components including lenses, mirrors, windows, and IR optics. Overlaps with Lattice on precision optical components and shares defense, laser, and semiconductor customer segments, but operates at a much larger scale with a standardized catalog.
• Ophir (MKS Instruments): Manufacturer of IR optics, lenses, and laser measurement equipment now part of MKS Instruments. Overlaps with Lattice's IR optics and laser mirror products serving defense and industrial laser customers.

Direct peers

• Janos Technology: Specialty manufacturer of infrared optics, including germanium and silicon lenses, windows, and mirrors for defense and aerospace applications. Closely comparable in product mix and customer base to Lattice Materials' infrared optics business.
• ISP Optics (ISP-Sintez): Manufacturer of infrared optics and crystal materials, including germanium and zinc selenide components, serving defense, industrial, and medical laser markets. Direct competitor in the custom IR optics segment where Lattice Materials operates.
• Rochester Precision Optics: Precision optics manufacturer serving defense, medical, and industrial markets with custom lens, window, and mirror fabrication. Comparable in mission-critical, low-volume custom defense optics work and precision manufacturing capabilities.
• Crystran: Specialty manufacturer of optical crystal materials and components, including germanium, silicon, and other infrared-transmitting crystals. Comparable to Lattice's custom crystal growth and finishing capabilities, though primarily serving research and commercial markets.

Emerging players

• OptiGrate (IPG Photonics): Specialty optics company developing advanced optical components for laser and photonics applications. Overlaps with Lattice Materials on the laser optics customer segment and shares similar precision-manufacturing requirements.

Regional players

• Knight Optical: UK-based custom optics manufacturer serving European defense, industrial, and research markets with IR and visible optics. Comparable product offerings to Lattice Materials' custom optical components, but serves a different geographic customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lattice-materials-llc
• Facebookfacebook.com/LatticeMaterials

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lattice Materials