Isoflux

What Isoflux does

Isoflux Incorporated is a private, small-capitalization (1-10 employee) surface treatment technology company founded in 1993 by Dr. David Glocker in Pittsford, New York (Rochester area), specializing in physical vapor deposition (PVD) using its proprietary inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering cathodes. Its core technology surrounds substrates with cylindrical targets rather than using planar magnetrons, enabling uniform deposition on complex 3D geometries without substrate rotation, achieving approximately 75% target utilization and up to 4x the Overall System Efficiency of conventional planar magnetrons. The company also holds patents on unbalanced magnetic field geometries that enable off-axis ion-assisted sputtering without a separate ion source, demonstrated at ±0.25% thickness uniformity over 16 cm.

The product portfolio centers on biomedical coatings, specifically the VisTa nanostructured tantalum coating (providing radiopacity, polymer-free drug delivery, and bone-growth promotion for nitinol stents and orthopedic implants), the AuRa flexible radiopaque gold coating, standard cylindrical magnetron cathode models, the co-developed VIPER optical coating system (with Kurt J. Lesker Company), plus contract coating and custom development services. The company monetizes through four streams: direct hardware sales of cathodes and turnkey systems, technology licensing (a non-exclusive VisTa license to Boston Scientific in 2016), contract coating services through ACS, and custom coating development for biomedical, energy, industrial, and aerospace customers.

Isoflux serves a small base of enterprise customers including Boston Scientific, Kurt J. Lesker Company (worldwide exclusive licensee of the sputtering sources), other Fortune 500 corporates, universities, and government entities. Distribution is channel-led through the KJLC partnership, with direct enterprise sales for licensing and contract services. The company holds ISO 9001:2008 certification (since January 2013), multiple patents including US 8,002,822 for radiopaque biomedical coatings, and has produced technical evidence including animal studies supporting VisTa performance on PEEK and titanium orthopedic substrates.

Name

Isoflux

Legal name

Isoflux Incorporated

Website

https://isofluxinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Isoflux is a private New York-based PVD coating technology company founded in 1993, manufacturing proprietary inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering cathodes and patented biomedical coatings (VisTa, AuRa) for medical device, optical, industrial, and aerospace customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sputtering Equipment & Advanced Coatings

NAICS

Paint and Coating Manufacturing (32551)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Protective Coatings (IMAEAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty & Functional Coatings (Anti-microbial/Anti-slip/Insulating) (IMAIAKAM)

Keywords

• Magnetron sputtering equipment
• Thin film coatings
• Physical vapor deposition
• Medical device coatings
• Cylindrical cathodes

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Coating Equipment Sales: Isoflux designs and manufactures proprietary inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering cathodes and complete coating systems. Equipment is sold to Fortune 500 corporations, major universities, and government entities for in-house coating capabilities. Both standard models and custom-designed cathodes are offered.
2. Contract Coating Services: Isoflux provides contract coating services through a partnership with ACS (Advanced Coating Service) for low to moderate scale production. Services include feasibility studies with sample coatings, short runs for clinical trials, and ongoing production coating. This provides a recurring service revenue stream and lowers customer adoption barriers.
3. Technology Licensing: Isoflux licenses its patented VisTa coating technology to medical device manufacturers. A non-exclusive license was executed with Boston Scientific Corporation in December 2016. The company is in discussion with other potential partners for use of the VisTa coating technology on different medical devices.
4. Custom Coating Development: Isoflux offers custom coating development services, acting as an extension of customers' R&D departments to develop coatings for specific applications. This service supports the biomedical, energy, and industrial/aerospace markets with customized inorganic coatings and plasma surface treatments.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Isoflux designs and manufactures proprietary inverted cylindrical magnetron (ICM) sputtering cathodes and complete coating systems, and supplies advanced thin-film PVD coatings such as its patented VisTa nanostructured tantalum and AuRa radiopaque gold coatings. The company also offers contract coating services through a partner network (ACS) and licenses its coating technologies to medical device manufacturers.

Product overview

Isoflux is a surface treatment technology company specializing in PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating solutions. Its core technology is the proprietary inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering cathode, which surrounds substrates with coating materials for uniform deposition on complex 3D shapes. The product portfolio centers on the VisTa nanostructured tantalum coating (for medical device radiopacity, drug delivery, and orthopedic applications), AuRa gold coating, and the broader coating services and equipment line (optical coatings, wear-resistant coatings, precious metal coatings, capacitance-enhancing coatings, and off-axis sputtering). Isoflux complements its proprietary equipment sales (Standard Cylindrical Magnetron models and the co-developed VIPER optical coating system with Kurt J. Lesker Company) with contract coating services and custom coating development. The company holds several patents relating to magnetron sputtering and was founded in 1993, with ISO 9001:2008 registration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VisTa: Proprietary nanostructured tantalum coating for medical applications including improved radiopacity and non-polymeric drug delivery.
• AuRa
• VIPER

Products and services

• VisTa (Nanostructured Tantalum Coating) Proprietary nanostructured tantalum PVD coating for medical devices that delivers enhanced radiopacity under fluoroscopy, flexibility for nitinol stents, polymer-free drug delivery via nanoporous columnar structure, and bone ingrowth for orthopedic implants. Sold to medical device manufacturers.
• AuRa (Radiopaque Gold Coating) Gold-based thin-film PVD coating that produces a flexible (10% strain), smooth, radiopaque, biocompatible and conductive surface for medical devices such as stents, catheters, vascular guidewires, neuro implants, grafts and cardiovascular implants.
• Standard Cylindrical Magnetron Cathodes Line of standard inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering cathodes (Models 1520, 1921, 2525, 3421, 516, 522 UHV, 6217) ranging from 5.5 to 30 inch diameters, with high target utilization (~75%), high deposition rates, and DC/Pulsed DC/AC operation. Sold to industrial manufacturers, Fortune 500 corporations, universities, and government entities.
• VIPER Optical Coating System High precision optical coating system co-developed with Kurt J. Lesker Company, featuring the Isoflux ICM. Provides zero changeover time using mask-less design for flat, convex and concave parts, dual cathode for simultaneous high/low index material sputtering, load lock for fast throughput, and ion-enhanced coating quality without a separate ion source. Sold to optical coating companies.
• Contract Coating Services Fee-based contract coating services delivered through a partnership with ACS (Advanced Coating Service), providing feasibility studies with sample coatings, short runs for clinical trials, and ongoing production coating using Isoflux technology. Targeted at customers seeking access to Isoflux coatings without capital equipment investment.
• Custom Coating Development Customized inorganic coating and plasma surface treatment development services for medical device, energy, and industrial/aerospace customers. Provided by a team holding numerous patents in surface engineering technology, acting as an extension of customers' R&D departments.
• Precious Metal Coating Services Coating services for precious metals (e.g., gold, platinum, silver) using cylindrical magnetron technology that achieves up to four times the Overall System Efficiency of planar magnetrons, with approximately 75% target utilization and the ability to reclaim nearly 100% of undeposited material.
• Wear and Corrosion Resistant Coatings Coating services that improve wear and corrosion resistance for machine parts, medical devices, and scratch-resistant optical surfaces, using nitride family coatings (titanium nitride, zirconium nitride) and nanocomposite Mo-Ti-N coatings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 4x Overall System Efficiency compared to conventional planar magnetrons
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Boston Scientific CorporationcoreTechnology or Integration · 14 December 2016Isoflux executed a strategic non-exclusive license providing Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) access to the Isoflux-patented VisTa coating technology. VisTa was developed to improve the visibility of interventional devices and implants under fluoroscopy, specifically for devices made of nitinol which do not show up well under X-ray. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Isoflux noted it was in discussion with other potential partners for use of VisTa on different medical devices.
• Kurt J. Lesker CompanycoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 27 January 2013Kurt Lesker Company (KJLC) entered into a worldwide, exclusive licensing agreement with Isoflux, whereby KJLC manufactures and markets Isoflux's revolutionary and patented inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering sources. KJLC also develops a systems product line based on Isoflux technology. KJLC is a worldwide force in the vacuum industry headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, established in 1954. CEO John Lanzafame described this as allowing Isoflux to focus on further development of PVD technology.
• ACS - Advanced Coating ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIsoflux offers contract coating services through a partnership with ACS (Advanced Coating Service), applying coatings to customer parts for low to moderate scale production. ACS handles the actual coating application while Isoflux provides the technology and expertise. This partnership enables customers to access Isoflux coatings without incurring costly capital equipment purchases.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kurt J. Lesker Company: Established vacuum coating equipment manufacturer and Isoflux's exclusive worldwide licensee for cylindrical magnetron sputtering sources and co-developer of the VIPER optical coating system. Directly comparable because it markets and sells Isoflux-derived products alongside its broader thin-film deposition portfolio.
• PVD Products: Specialist supplier of sputtering and thin-film deposition systems, including cylindrical and rotatable cathodes. Directly comparable to Isoflux as a focused sputtering equipment vendor serving research and industrial customers.
• Semicore Equipment: Manufacturer of PVD, sputtering, and optical coating equipment. Comparable as a direct peer selling sputtering systems and custom coating platforms to similar industrial, optical, and research end users.
• Angstrom Sciences: Specialist manufacturer of magnetron sputtering cathodes, including cylindrical and planar designs. Directly comparable to Isoflux in core product category (sputtering sources) and customer base (PVD coating system builders and end users).
• Ionbond (IHI Group): Worldwide PVD and CVD coating services and equipment provider. Comparable as a direct peer in contract coating services and specialty coated components, overlapping with Isoflux's contract coating and biomedical wear-resistant coatings.

Broad incumbents

• Applied Materials: Global semiconductor and display thin-film equipment incumbent with extensive PVD/cathode offerings. Comparable as a broad incumbent in thin-film deposition, with overlapping customer adjacencies even though its focus is large-scale semiconductor and display.
• Veeco Instruments: Large thin-film deposition equipment vendor serving semiconductor, photonics, and industrial customers. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the same PVD/cathode equipment category, though its focus and scale exceed Isoflux's niche specialty.
• Shincron: Japanese PVD equipment maker specialized in optical and functional thin films. Comparable as a broad incumbent in optical coating systems, directly relevant to Isoflux's VIPER/optical coating customer use cases.
• HEF (formerly HEF Groupe): French-founded global surface engineering and coatings services company with PVD capabilities. Comparable because it serves the same kind of industrial and tribological/wear-resistance customers as Isoflux's industrial segment.
• ULVAC: Japanese vacuum and thin-film equipment maker with a broad sputtering and PVD product line. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing in the same end-customer markets (optical, electronic, and industrial coatings) where Isoflux's cylindrical magnetrons are sold.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Isoflux