News Briefs

Germany's Aixtron AG, a provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, has completed the installation and commissioning of a Thomas Swan 19-by-2-in. close-coupled showerhead GaN (gallium nitride) production reactor at Blue Photonics Inc. in Walnut, Calif., a startup company specializing in the development of GaN-based materials and devices. The new system will be used to produce GaN-based epitaxial materials for a variety of electronic and optoelectronic products, including high-power transistors, blue laser diodes, high efficiency blue, green and white LEDs and solar-blind photodetectors. Applications for these advanced nitride materials include next-generation DVD players, future communication devices and solid-state lighting. . . . Spectranetics Corp. of Colorado Springs, Colo., a manufacturer of single-use medical devices used with its excimer laser system in minimally invasive surgical procedures, announced that Will McGuire has been appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer. McGuire joined the company from Guidant Corp., where he was Latin America div. general manager. . . . Advance Nanotech, a provider of financing and support services for nanotechnology discoveries, has increased its financing by $1 million to Owlstone Nanotech Inc., bringing its total funding in the company to $3 million. Owlstone will use the capital to fund enhanced research and development programs for its micro- and nanofabrication techniques to create chemical detection systems with security, defense, automotive and healthcare applications.