What IJ Research does

IJ Research is a specialty manufacturing company founded in 1988 in Santa Ana, California, that engineers hermetically sealed brazed assemblies joining dissimilar materials — primarily ceramic, glass, and metal — for extreme-environment applications. The company's core technical capabilities span five ceramic-to-metal sealing techniques (brazing/soldering of metallized ceramic, active metal element brazing, diffusion bonding, glass sealing, and patent-pending co-fired bonding), a proprietary four-tier metallization classification system (UHT, HT, MT, LT) for diverse substrate chemistries, custom glass frit formulation, and a flux-less soldering process achieving 98%+ yields. End products include hermetic window assemblies, electrical feedthroughs and connectors, and medical device components.

The company serves six primary verticals: medical device manufacturers (FDA Class II and III implants including cochlear implants, pacemakers, and neurostimulators), aerospace and defense contractors (opto-electronic assemblies, ceramic armor, laser components), oil and gas exploration firms (down-hole sensor assemblies, high-temperature/pressure components), telecommunications (fiber-optic and laser packages), semiconductor (microelectronic packages), and analytical instrumentation (extreme-environment feedthroughs). The customer base includes large multinational corporations, start-ups, researchers, and individual entrepreneurs, accessed through direct technical sales engagement and a quote-based custom manufacturing model.

IJ Research was acquired by Superior Technical Ceramics (STC) in 2020, with the acquisition finalized in 2021, and now operates as STC Material Solutions – Hermetics Division. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certifications, enabling qualified vendor status with US DoD contractors and major medical OEMs. Revenue derives from project-based custom manufacturing, turnkey production, and prototype/R&D services, with no publicly disclosed pricing or revenue figures. The company maintains 11–50 employees at its Santa Ana headquarters.

Name

IJ Research

Legal name

IJ Research, Inc.

Website

https://ijresearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IJ Research (now STC Material Solutions – Hermetics Division) is a US specialty manufacturer founded in 1988 that engineers hermetic ceramic-to-metal seals and assemblies for medical, aerospace/defense, oil & gas, telecom, semiconductor, and analytical instrumentation customers, operating on a quote-based custom manufacturing model from its Santa Ana, California facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Ana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Manufacturing Services: Project-based custom manufacturing of hermetic seals, ceramic-to-metal assemblies, and related components. Services include design assistance, material selection consultation, prototyping, and production. Operates on a quote-based model with no standard pricing publicly listed.
2. Turnkey Manufacturing: Complete manufacturing services including brazing, soldering, metallization, and quality testing for customers requiring full production runs of hermetic components.
3. Prototype and R&D Services: Initial development, qualification, and prototype services for new products, often transitioning to production. All current production orders started as prototypes or small qualification lots.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IJ Research manufactures custom hermetically sealed ceramic-to-metal brazed assemblies, including hermetic window assemblies, electrical feedthroughs, medical device feedthroughs, glass-to-metal seals, and metallized ceramic components. The company offers turnkey manufacturing and prototype-to-production services using proprietary metallization, brazing, flux-less soldering, and direct bonding techniques for medical, aerospace, defense, oil and gas, telecommunications, and semiconductor customers.

Product overview

IJ Research (now operating as STC Material Solutions – Hermetics Division) is a manufacturing company specializing in the joining of dissimilar materials, primarily producing brazed ceramic-to-metal assemblies. The core product portfolio includes Hermetic Window Assemblies, Electrical Feedthroughs, Ceramic-to-Metal Sealing Services, Metallization Services, and Medical Feedthroughs. These products are enabled by specialized manufacturing capabilities including ceramic-to-metal brazing, glass-to-metal sealing, diffusion bonding, flux-less soldering, and thick/thin film metallization. Quality Assurance Services including helium leak testing and thermal shock testing support the product line. Founded in 1988 and acquired by STC Material Solutions in 2020, the company serves medical, aerospace, defense, oil & gas, telecommunications, and semiconductor industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hermetic Window Assemblies Hermetically sealed ceramic window assemblies manufactured from sapphire, optical spinel, quartz, fused silica, BK7, or grin lenses for high-temperature or high-pressure applications across medical, aerospace, defense, oil and gas, and analytical instrumentation customers.
• Electrical Feedthroughs and Connectors Electrical feedthroughs for implantable medical devices and other applications, featuring metallic pins brazed to ceramic insulators and then to metallic flanges or housings. Used across medical, aerospace, defense, and analytical instrument markets.
• Ceramic-to-Metal Sealing Services Five ceramic-to-metal sealing techniques offered as services: brazing/soldering of metallized ceramic, active metal element brazing, diffusion bonding, glass sealing, and co-fired bonding. Provided as custom manufacturing services to enterprise customers.
• Metallization Services Thick film and thin film metallization techniques (UHT, HT, MT, LT/PVD) and electrolytic plating (Nickel, Gold, Copper) for ceramic, glass, graphite, and polymer substrates. Provided as custom services to enterprise customers.
• Flux-less Soldering Custom flux-less soldering service that lowers surface energy of molten solder without flux, achieving processing yields over 98% (vs. a customer's 30% internal rate) with over 90% flow consistency. Sold as a custom process service to enterprise customers.
• Medical Feedthroughs and Devices Biocompatible feedthroughs and electronic packages for FDA Class II and III medical devices, including cochlear implants, pacemakers, neurostimulators, medical sensors, detectors, and endoscope/surgical imaging systems. Sold to major medical OEMs globally.
• Glass-to-Metal Sealing Glass-to-metal sealing using vitreous glass, devitrifying glass, or glass composite, including matched and compression seals with custom glass frit formulations per customer requirements. Provided as custom manufacturing services.
• High Temperature Anti-Reflective Coating for Sapphire Proprietary anti-reflective coating applied to sapphire windows that withstands 1,000°C high temperature braze processing without delamination, crazing, or degradation of optical properties such as transmission and reflectance. Sold as a custom coating service.
• Direct Bonding of Ceramic and Metal Direct diffusion bonding process for sealing ceramic and titanium alloy with no filler material in-between, using interdiffusion of titanium atoms into the ceramic lattice at an angstrom-thickness interface. Used for FDA-approved medical implants.
• Graphite Metallization Proprietary metallization process for graphite enabling structural bonding of ceramic to graphite for defense applications. Developed after 6 months of R&D and supplied for over two decades.

Quantifiable outcome

• Flux-less soldering yields improved from customer's 30% to IJ Research's 98%+
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• CoorsTek: Large engineered ceramics manufacturer offering metallized ceramic substrates and custom ceramic components to medical, semiconductor, and aerospace customers – comparable in adjacent ceramic manufacturing capabilities, not a direct hermetic seals specialist.
• SCHOTT AG (Electronic Packaging): Global specialty glass and hermetic packaging manufacturer; glass-to-metal sealing, feedthroughs, and optoelectronic packages overlap directly with IJ Research, but SCHOTT serves these as one segment within a much broader specialty materials portfolio.
• Kyocera (Fine Ceramics / Semiconductor Components): Diversified ceramics and electronics manufacturer producing ceramic packages, feedthroughs, and hermetic components for semiconductor, medical, and industrial customers – material and product overlap with IJ Research at scale.
• Amphenol (Hermetic & Sealed Connector Products): Global interconnect specialist with hermetic and sealed connector product lines (e.g., Amphenol Alden, Amphenol Military/Aerospace) supplying aerospace, defense, and medical OEMs – overlapping feedthrough and hermetic connector applications.
• CeramTec: Large industrial ceramics manufacturer producing technical ceramics, metallized ceramic components, and hermetic assemblies used in medical, automotive, and electronics – overlapping applications and customer base, though broader portfolio than IJ Research.

Direct peers

• Elan Technology: Custom manufacturer of hermetic seals, glass-to-metal and ceramic-to-metal components for aerospace, medical, and defense markets – directly comparable niche product portfolio.
• SRI Hermetics: Manufacturer of hermetic seals, headers, and feedthroughs for medical, aerospace, and industrial applications, with overlapping capability in ceramic-to-metal brazing and glass-to-metal sealing.
• Hermetic Seal Technology (HST): Specialty manufacturer of glass-to-metal and ceramic-to-metal hermetic seals, headers, and feedthroughs serving aerospace, defense, medical, and oil & gas – directly comparable product category and customer overlap to IJ Research.
• Superior Technical Ceramics (STC): Parent company since 2020, STC is a custom technical ceramics manufacturer serving overlapping medical, aerospace, semiconductor, and analytical instrumentation customers with molded and machined ceramic components that are complementary to IJ Research's brazing and hermetic sealing capabilities.

Emerging players

• MDC Vacuum Products (Heraeus / MDC): Supplier of vacuum hardware including UHV feedthroughs, viewports, and hermetic flanges for analytical instrumentation and semiconductor customers – partial overlap with IJ Research's hermetic window and feedthrough product lines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 IJ Research