Silicon Sensor International opens subsidiary
Silicon Sensor International AG (Berlin, Germany) has opened a new US subsidiary called Pacific Silicon Sensor (Westlake Village, CA). Founded in 1991 with 39 employees, Silicon Sensor International develops and manufactures custom silicon photosensors for the detection of IR through x-ray radiation, as well as alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. The new subsidiary will manufacture PIN photodiodes, UV photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes, and photodiode arrays. It will be headed by George Pankau, formerly CEO of Centronic Inc. (Newbury Park, CA)—another maker of sensors for light and ionizing radiation.
Nortech sells division to Image Systems
Image Systems Corp. (Minnetonka, MN) will acquire the assets of the Imaging Technologies Division of Nortech Systems (Wayzata, MN). Image Systems manufactures high-resolution, large-format monitors intended for the air-traffic and medical industries. Nortech's Imaging Technologies Division makes high-performance gray-scale CRT display monitors for medical imaging, document imaging, radar, and industrial applications. Nortech's other divisions produce wire harnesses, cable and electromechanical assemblies, printed-circuit-board assemblies, and higher-level assemblies for commercial and military use. The transaction allows Nortech to narrow its focus to its core contract manufacturing operations, while at the same time expanding Image Systems' customer base.
Group promotes optoelectronics in New York
The University of Buffalo (UB; Buffalo, NY) has formed an institute to develop optoelectronics technologies and promote economic growth in western New York. The Institute for Lasers, Photonics, and Biophotonics will be headed by Paras Prasad, a professor of chemistry and physics, and UB provost David Triggle. It will be staffed by faculty from the schools of engineering, science, and medicine. The institute will collaborate with the University of Toronto and Photonics Research Ontario (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). UB will continue to work with the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY), and plans to cooperate with Alfred University (Alfred, NY), a center for ceramics and fiberoptics, and with Corning Incorporated (Corning, NY).
Nanometrics buys technology from Phase Metrics
Nanometrics (Sunnyvale, CA) has acquired an exclusive license to optical tester technologies from Phase Metrics (San Diego, CA). The license includes intellectual property and technical information for use exclusively in the semiconductor and flat-panel-display industries. The agreement includes a one-time payment, purchase of inventory, and royalty payments based on the number of sales. In existence since 1975, Nanometrics manufactures imaging-based critical-dimension metrology systems.
Cuda is bought by investment group
Cuda Products Corp. (Jacksonville, FL), a maker of imaging and remote viewing devices, light sources, and fiberoptic illumination assemblies for imaging applications, has been bought by the Sovereign Capital Group (Miami, FL) for an undisclosed sum. Formed in 1978, Cuda supplies stock and custom components for use in machine-vision systems, blood-gas analysis and other medical uses, inspection, colorimetry, and automobile manufacturing. Sovereign Capital acquired Cuda to build a full-service source of fiberoptic components and assemblies, according to Chris Black, president and CEO of Sovereign Capital.
Also in the news . . .
Space Imaging (Denver, CO) has begun selling 1-m-resolution satellite images of the Earth. . . . L-3 Communications (New York, NY) was awarded an $11.2 million contract by the US Navy to provide additional information displays for the F-14D Tomcat airplane. . . . SpatiaLight (Novato, CA) raised $2.9 million in a private placement to mass-produce liquid-crystal-on-silicon microdisplays.
John Wallace
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