Company Name

II-VI Infrared: Our Company Name

II-VI Infrared. The name is synonymous with the world’s greatest CO2 laser optics and infrared optical materials. But what, exactly, does the name mean?

The Roman numerals “II-VI” refer to Column II and Column VI of the Periodic Table of Elements. By chemically combining elements from Column II and Column VI, we produce the infrared optical crystalline compounds zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, and zinc sulfide MultiSpectral. These compounds, and others created from Column II and Column VI elements, are commonly referred to as “II-VI materials.” When we were founded in 1971, company founder, Dr. Carl J. Johnson, paid homage to our II-VI materials heritage and called our new company “II-VI Incorporated.”

In the ensuing years, as our infrared optics manufacturing capabilities expanded into precision diamond-turning and world-class thin-film coatings, our corporation grew as well. Through strategic acquisitions, II-VI Incorporated expanded far beyond infrared optical materials and finished optics products, building a portfolio of companies that share in our materials heritage yet bring a vastly diversified range of products to market, including gamma-ray detectors, thermoelectric coolers, and silicon carbide substrates.

In recognizing that “II-VI Incorporated” represents far more today than when originally founded, we recently christened our core optical materials and finished optics business unit “II-VI Infrared.” This differentiates it from the corporate whole, and reflects upon our 35-year heritage of producing the world’s finest infrared and CO2 laser optics.

To learn more, visit any of the pages on our website.