Agilent will buy American Holographic

Boosting its presence in a specialty area, Agilent Technologies (Palo Alto, CA) has acquired American Holographic (Fitchburg, MA), a manufacturer of holographic diffraction gratings and spectral sensor modules. American Holographic will become a wholly owned subsidiary within Agilent's Communication Solutions Group and will remain at its current location. Terms of the deal were not announced, but American Holographic brings a product line and skills that include fiberoptics communications, optical test equipment, pulse compression, and spectrographs. Company president and CEO Tom Mikes said that the acquisition will allow American Holographic to more quickly develop, manufacture, and market next-generation gratings.—W. Conard Holton