What Intelligent Quartz Solutions does

Intelligent Quartz Solutions (IQS GmbH) is a privately held German specialty materials company headquartered in Ilmenau, founded in April 2013. The company manufactures synthetic fused silica glass components using a proprietary Sol-Gel process that enables near-net-shape molding of complex geometries — flanges up to 380mm in diameter, rings with 50mm wall thicknesses, microlens arrays down to 5x5 µm structures, and integrating spheres — that are difficult or uneconomical to produce with conventional fused silica forming methods. IQS sells three registered material families: Diffusil (opaque, tunable bubble concentration for semiconductor, high-temperature, and optical grades), Verusil (high-purity transparent fused silica for analytical and optical use), and Zerosil (black fused silica with carbon nanoparticles for uniform UV-to-IR absorption).

IQS serves four primary application segments — semiconductor manufacturing, optical instrumentation, analytics & laboratory, and high-temperature industrial processes — with customers including Analytik Jena and Metrohm (analytical instrument OEMs), opsira GmbH (optical instrumentation channel partner and co-developer), and NASA, whose SHERLOC spectrometer on the Mars Perseverance rover uses IQS Diffusil-UV calibration targets. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 certification (initial 2023, recertified 2024 without deficiencies) and has received multiple EFRE grants for research, innovation, and university-industry technology transfer.

The business model is B2B-only, quote-based, and structured around three revenue streams: custom product development against customer drawings (4-14 week cycles with mold costs passed to customers), standard product assortments (combustion boats, hooks, DIN-standard threads and flanges, Diffusil-UV diffusers) sold directly or via sales partner opsira GmbH, and product development services including mold design and sample parts at fixed prices. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; terms are ex-works (Incoterms 2010) with payment due within 10 days, and the company contracts exclusively with entrepreneurs, legal persons under public law, or public separate estates.

Name

Intelligent Quartz Solutions

Legal name

IQS GmbH

Website

https://iqs.glass

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Intelligent Quartz Solutions (IQS GmbH) is a German specialty materials manufacturer that uses a proprietary Sol-Gel process to produce synthetic fused silica glass components — Diffusil, Verusil, and Zerosil — for semiconductor, optical, analytical, and high-temperature industrial customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Glass Materials

NAICS

Other Pressed and Blown Glass and Glassware Manufacturing (327212)

SIC

Glass & Glassware, Pressed Or Blown (3220), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Silica (Quartz, Fumed, Precipitated) (IMAEAFAD)

Keywords

• Fused silica materials
• Sol-gel glass manufacturing
• Precision glass components
• Optical diffuser elements
• Custom quartz products

Headquarters

HQ city

Ilmenau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Fused Silica Products: IQS develops and manufactures customer-specific fused silica products based on technical drawings and specifications. Revenue generated from custom product development, mold fabrication costs passed to customers, and production of prototypes or pilot series. Delivery terms typically ex-works with 10-day payment terms.
2. Standard Product Sales: Standard product assortments including combustion boats, hooks, threads, small flanges, spherical ground joints according to DIN standards, and optical diffusers distributed through sales partner opsira GmbH.
3. Product Development Services: Customer-funded product development including design and manufacture of casting molds, with optional complete packages combining mold design, manufacture and sample parts at fixed prices.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Intelligent Quartz Solutions GmbH manufactures and sells synthetic fused silica glass materials and engineered components using a proprietary Sol-Gel molding process. The company offers three material families — Diffusil (opaque), Verusil (transparent), and Zerosil (black) — together with finished parts such as combustion boats, crucibles, trays, flanges, diffusers, microlens arrays, and integrating spheres for industrial and scientific applications.

Product overview

Intelligent Quartz Solutions (IQS GmbH) is a manufacturer of synthetic fused silica glasses and products, offering a portfolio of three distinct material families: Diffusil® (opaque), Verusil (transparent), and Zerosil (black). The company uses a proprietary Sol-Gel molding process that enables innovative forming of fused silica into complex geometries previously not possible with conventional methods. The product portfolio includes: (1) Material grades - Diffusil®-S for semiconductor applications, Diffusil®-T for high-temperature applications, Diffusil®-UV for optical applications, Verusil for analytical and optical uses, and Zerosil for absorption applications; (2) Analytical products - combustion boats, loading hooks, gas-heater modules, and standard laboratory components; (3) Semiconductor products - near net shaped flanges and rings for liners; (4) High-temperature products - crucibles and annealing trays; (5) Optical products - planar and conical diffusers, microlens arrays, diffractive optical elements, integrating spheres, and freeform fixture devices. IQS serves diverse markets including optics, analytics, semiconductor manufacturing, and high-temperature processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Diffusil: Opaque fused silica glass material family with adjustable opacity and homogeneous light scattering properties
• Verusil
• Zerosil

Products and services

• Diffusil (opaque fused silica material family) Synthetic opaque fused silica material family offered in grades S, T, and UV for use as a high-purity opaque glass base material in industrial and scientific applications.
• Verusil (transparent fused silica material family) Synthetic transparent fused silica material supplied as a high-purity base material for components requiring optical clarity, such as crucibles, trays, and optical parts.
• Zerosil (black fused silica material family) Synthetic black fused silica material supplied as a specialty high-purity glass base material for applications requiring light-absorbing or opaque optical behavior.
• Combustion Boats (Verusil) Verusil transparent fused silica combustion boats designed for use in analytical and laboratory instruments where high-purity, thermal-shock-resistant sample holders are required.
• Loading Hooks Custom-engineered fused silica loading hooks produced via Sol-Gel molding for high-purity handling and processing applications.
• Near Net Shaped Flanges Near-net-shaped fused silica flanges manufactured via the Sol-Gel process to provide complex, high-purity glass flange geometries for industrial and scientific equipment.
• Fused Silica Rings for Liners Fused silica rings designed as liner components, providing high-purity, thermal-resistant sealing or support elements in process equipment.
• Fused Silica Crucibles High-purity fused silica crucibles used as containers in high-temperature and analytical processes where material purity is critical.
• Fused Silica Trays Fused silica trays used as high-purity sample or part carriers in thermal processing and laboratory applications.
• Planar Diffusers Planar fused silica diffusers for optical/photonic systems, producing controlled light diffusion in a flat form factor.
• Conical Diffusers Conical fused silica diffusers for optical/photonic systems, providing controlled light diffusion in a conical geometry.
• Microlens-Arrays (MLA) Microlens arrays manufactured from fused silica via the Sol-Gel molding process for advanced optical/photonic applications.
• Diffractive Optical Elements (DOE) Diffractive optical elements fabricated from fused silica for beam shaping, homogenization, and other precision optical functions.
• Integrating Sphere (Ulbrichtkugel) Fused silica integrating sphere (Ulbrichtkugel) for optical measurement and light-collection applications requiring a high-purity, diffuse-reflecting cavity.
• Freeform Fixture Device Freeform fused silica fixture device produced via Sol-Gel molding for custom mounting, handling, or optical applications.
• High Purity Gas-Heater Module High-purity fused silica gas-heater module for gas heating applications where contamination from the heater material must be minimized.
• Standard Assortments Pre-defined standard assortments of fused silica products offered off-the-shelf for common laboratory and industrial use cases.
• Custom Product Development Custom product development services in which IQS engineers application-specific fused silica components using its Sol-Gel molding process for individual customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Diffusil-UV long-term stable under rough space conditions verified through extensive NASA testing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• opsira GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributoropsira GmbH serves as the exclusive sales partner for standard Diffusil-UV diffuser products in the 4mm-160mm diameter range. Additionally, IQS and opsira co-developed the Diffusil integrating sphere (optical Ulbrichtkugel), with opsira contributing to the product design and IQS manufacturing the Diffusil material components.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tosoh Quartz: Japanese fused silica and silicon products specialist serving semiconductor diffusion and etching processes with high-purity crucibles, flanges and tubes. Direct comparator to IQS's Diffusil-S semiconductor offerings and high-purity fused silica processing expertise.
• Raesch Quarzglas: German-based specialty fused silica manufacturer serving semiconductor, optics, lighting and laboratory applications. Comparable to IQS on geography (Germany), custom fused silica parts and high-purity material focus.
• QSIL Ceramics: European specialty manufacturer of fused silica, quartz glass and ceramic components for semiconductor, optics and high-temperature industrial applications. Closest direct peer to IQS in terms of product portfolio and target end markets, including custom high-purity components.

Broad incumbents

• Corning Inc. Global specialty glass and ceramics leader with semiconductor optics, optical communications and life-science glass capabilities. Comparable to IQS on high-purity glass and optics applications, but operating at hyperscaler scale across multiple product families.
• Nippon Electric Glass: Japanese specialty glass maker producing fused silica, display glass and functional glass for electronics, optics and industrial uses. Comparable to IQS in fused silica material and optical component spaces, though primarily in high-volume display/electronics applications.
• Heraeus Quarzglas: World's leading producer of high-purity fused silica for semiconductor, optical and aerospace applications, with extensive material expertise and global manufacturing footprint. Directly comparable to IQS across semiconductor, optical and high-purity fused silica use cases, but at vastly larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Ohara Inc. Specialty optical glass manufacturer offering fused silica, low-expansion glass and lens blanks for laser, semiconductor and scientific optics. Comparable to IQS's Verusil transparent fused silica and microlens/DOE offerings for high-precision optics.
• Momentive (GE Quartz): Specialty fused silica and ceramic products heritage from GE Quartz, serving semiconductor, lighting and optical fiber markets. Comparable in terms of fused silica material offering targeting semiconductor and high-purity applications, but with a much wider global footprint.
• Schott AG: German specialty glass, ceramics and quartz glass maker with broad portfolio spanning semiconductor, optics and analytical applications. Comparable to IQS's fused silica materials for optical and analytical use cases as part of a much wider specialty materials portfolio.

Others

• Sico BV (Specialty Industrial Optical Manufacturing): opsira (IQS's existing channel partner) is a German-based optical engineering and measurement specialist that co-developed IQS's integrating sphere. They are an adjacent optical systems integrator rather than a materials competitor, but a relevant ecosystem participant and direct contact for IQS's diffuser products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iqs-gmbh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Intelligent Quartz Solutions