Daily News Briefs

Applied Materials Inc. and DuPont Photomasks Inc. have announced a joint development program for advanced photomasks supporting 90-nm and 65-nm technology. The collaboration will bring Applied Materials' newest deep ultraviolet laser-based pattern generation system, the Applied ALTA 4700, into production early next year at DuPont Photomasks' advanced photomask production facility in Round Rock, Texas. . . . The Automated Imaging Association (AIA) seeks practical, solutions-oriented presentations for The Vision Show and Conference West, to be held May 17-19 in San Jose, Calif. It said it is particularly interested in papers on advances in vision software, 3-D vision, advances in camera technology, smart cameras and smart sensors, nonvisible imaging, successful applications (any industry) and emerging applications for machine vision; also: vision solutions for packaging, machine vision for security, nanotechnology, machine vision for robot guidance, lighting applications for a specific industry, flat panel inspection, vision solutions for the medical device market and camera standard comparisons. To submit a brief abstract, visit: www.machinevisiononline.org/forms/form.cfm?id=88 . . . Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc. announced it has completed the acquisition of San Diego-based Laser Diagnostic Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of diagnostic laser scanning ophthalmoscopes used for glaucoma detection. Carl Zeiss Meditec, based in Jena, Germany, makes systems for the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases including refraction, cataract, glaucoma and retinal disorders. The acquisition was announced last month; terms were not disclosed. . . . Mark Thompson has been named executive vice president, Manufacturing and Technology Group, at Fairchild Semiconductor. He will be located at the company's corporate headquarters in South Portland, Maine. Thompson was previously vice president and general manager of Tyco Electronics Power Components Division and, prior to its acquisition by Tyco, vice president of Raychem Electronics OEM Group. Most recently, Thompson he was CEO of Big Bear Networks, a Sunnyvale, Calif., maker of optical subassemblies and transponders used in communications network equipment. He will continue to serve on the Big Bear Networks board.