Axsys Technologies Inc., a Rocky Hill, Conn., supplier of precision optical systems for applications in the aerospace, defense and high-performance commercial markets, announced it has received a $6.9 million order to manufacture thermal camera systems for an undisclosed military program in the Middle East. These high-performance, multiple-field-of-view cameras enable users to execute surveillance missions in complete darkness. The order specifies product delivery over the next eighteen months.    . . .    IMRA America Inc., an Ann Arbor, Mich., developer of fiber laser technologies for commercial applications, has signed a license agreement with the University of Michigan that enables it to extend patent rights to system integrators and end-users who buy IMRA laser products as part of a femtosecond laser-based micromachining station or setup. The license agreement is for the university's US patents RE37,585 and 5,656,186, involving a method for producing micron-level features in a variety of materials without inducing thermal damage to surrounding material. The method uses ultrashort laser pulses such as the ones produced by IMRA's ultrafast fiber lasers. Applications include mask repair, glass trimming, semiconductor devices and microfluidics. As a result of the license agreement, IMRA's customers may purchase either a full micromachining laser system, such as its FCPA uJewel, or a regenerative amplifier system using an IMRA seeder laser, such as its Femtolite Ultra FX-10. . . . Quintessence Photonics Corp., a Sylmar, Calif., maker of semiconductor lasers, has received a multiyear production contract for high-brightness, direct-diode semiconductor lasers from a medical laser manufacturer. QPC’s BrightLase semiconductor laser technology will be used in procedures to treat varicose veins.