Jenoptik and Hellma Materials (both in Jena, Germany) have entered an agreement in which Hellma Materials will take over Jenoptik’s germanium crystal growth business, enabling Jenoptik to continue to focus its business on photonic applications. The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval, which is expected within the month.
Hellma Materials specializes in the production of synthetic crystals and optical ceramics for various applications, primarily for microlithography, optics, laser technology, and radiation detection. Jenoptik’s crystal growing activities are bundled in Photonic Sense (Eisenach, Germany); the produced blanks from optical germanium and silicon are the base material for, as an example, infrared optics.
With the acquisition, Hellma Materials will take over all 25 employees of Photonic Sense and will continue the production at the company’s Eisenach site.