News Briefs (Jan. 17, 2006)

Optical products and laser components maker LightPath Technologies Inc. of Orlando, Fla., recently signed a three-year assured supply agreement with Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., a provider of advanced imaging, communications and information solutions to the government and commercial aerospace markets, to supply fiber delivery systems used in laser delivery applications. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. LightPath provides, through its patented Fusion products, fiber delivery systems to defense and aerospace applications requiring high reliability and the capability to handle many watts of energy. . . . Brookfield, Conn.-based Photronics Inc., a supplier of photomask-based imaging solutions for the global electronics and display industries, announced its plans to build a state-of-the-art photomask fabrication facility in Korea to support the development and volume production of advanced photomask technologies required to produce semiconductors utilizing 65 nm and 45 nm and smaller production processes. The company says it is finalizing a site, plans a groundbreaking ceremony in mid-2006 and the facility to be completed in mid-2007. Investment in the new facility is expected to be between $150 million and $300 million. Photronics CEO Michael J. Luttati said the 65-, 45- and 32-nm process nodes are popular for image resolution technology and services to semiconductor manufacturers and will represent the fastest-growing segments of the photomask industry over the next few years. Photronics has a Corporate Research & Development Center in Korea that has been working on 65-nm technologies for the past year. The company says the decision to locate the new nanotechnology fab in Korea was made because the country has a large pool of qualified engineering talent, investment incentives and is among the fastest-growing regions in the Asian market. . . . Sherwood Technology has changed its name to that of its signature brand, DataLase, effective immediately. The DataLase process uses a combination of color-change chemistry and low-power laser light for a wide range of coding and marking applications. The change also coincides with the Widnes, England-based company's opening of a new US facility this year.