History

After receiving Grant Funding provided by The US Department of Energy, Incom was able create an infrastructure and demonstrate a pathway toward pilot production of Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors (LAPPDs). Incom was able to develop critical process methods to successfully hermetically seal a full size (20 cm X 20 cm) functional LAPPD.

In early 2015, Incom won an SBIR contract to develop curved MCPs for spaceflight use. Curvature allows the MCPs to conform to the natural geometry of a compact spaceflight instrument. MCPS in virtually any shape are possible with the Incom approach of bending a glass substrate to the desired form, then applying thin films to obtain MCP performance. Incom produced two pair of cylindrical curved MCPs in late 2015. One pair had a 75 mm radius of curvature, 90 degrees of arc, and a 25 mm width. The other pair had a 20 mm radius of curvature, a 180mm degree arc, and a 25 mm width. There is no other known source of MCPs with such considerable curvature.

In February 2012, Incom completed its acquisition of Paradigm Optics. The purchase of Paradigm Optics represented Incom’s continued investment and commitment to providing the most advanced fused fiber optic technology available to their customers. Paradigm’s polymer fiber optic technology will allow Incom to further service the needs of its customers allowing it to service the display industry with polymer-based image guides. Paradigm Optics President and CEO David Welker remained as director of polymer products, continuing to oversee all activities at the Washington location.

In November 2008, the genome of an extinct Wooly Mammoth is sequenced almost to completion with the key to success being an Incom microwell faceplate. Incom’s microwell fiber optic faceplate is one that has been etched to remove the core material, creating millions of tiny wells (test tubes) for the depositing of DNA beads for sequencing tests. Incom was able to produce an abundance of plates for 454 Life Sciences which helped pave the way to the discovery.

In 2003, Incom manufactures the largest diameter fiber optic tapers ever made. These tapers capture huge imaging areas up to 200 mm in diameter with very high and unprecedented resolution, becoming the dominant enabling technology in x-ray crystallography. Incom tapers and faceplates also play an increasingly vital role in the digital revolution in medical x-ray technology and electron microscopy.

Incom responds to tightened government requirements for night vision equipment by utilizing its patented MEGAdraw process. The process allows for the most blemish-free, low distortion, zero-shear fused fiber optic components available for night vision goggles, helmet-mounted displays and cameras. Incom quickly became a trusted supplier to the U.S. government.

Incom’s foray into night vision is launched in 1985 when the company begins to produce a fiber optic taper for image intensification in a viewer used by U.S. Army combat tanks. Next came the IRIS system, a technological breakthrough that helped facilitate U.S. superiority in night warfare.

Capitalizing on the vast capabilities of the company’s faceplates for Cathode Ray tubes, Incom enters a new market with dental curing tips. Incom becomes the most relied upon manufacturer of light guides and eventually expands this technology to include light guide tapers for endoscope illuminators.

By the beginning of 1973, Incom successfully manufactures its first fiber optic faceplate, a product that becomes a core focus for the company and eventually paves the way for Incom’s state-of-the-art development and dominance in the digital x-ray industry.

With a tiny office in Southbridge, MA and a fledgling staff of four, Incom is born. Entrepreneurial spirit, combined with a novel approach to fiber optic manufacturing and a desire to innovate served as the foundation of the newly formed company.