Daily News Briefs

Pro-Lite Technology, a Milton Keynes, England-based specialist laser and photonics distributor to scientific and industrial markets, announced it is moving to a larger headquarters, in Cranfield Technology Park, Cranfield, by Jan. 5. . . . Japanese machinery manufacturer Meidensha Corp. and Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. have announced a strategic relationship to provide remanufactured pre-owned chipmaking systems and related repair and maintenance services to Asia's semiconductor manufacturers. Production at the new Shanghai Meiden Semiconductor Co. Ltd., in Shanghai, China, will begin this month. . . . Actinix, of Soquel, Calif., announced it has received a contract from the National Science Foundation to develop a new ultraviolet laser to be implemented into a photomask inspection and metrology tool for the 90-, 65- and 45-nm semiconductor process nodes. The new solid-state, 193-nm light source is based on a patented Actinix method of generating sub-200-nm light via frequency mixing; it is designed to enable high-resolution actinic imaging and precision phase shift measurements of advanced photomasks. Actinex said the contract will accelerate the development of its phase metrology platform, the PMT-193, which measures the phase shift of extremely small features (less than 200 nm) on next-generation phase shift photomasks. The laser is expected to have lithographic and optical measurement applications.