News Briefs (Feb. 24, 2006)

C-MAC MicroTechnology, a Durham, N.C., provider of electronic systems, modules and components to the automotive, medical, communications and aerospace industries, said it is preparing to enter the medical and automotive systems markets with the appointment of its new CEO, Indro Mukerjee, formerly executive vice president and general manager of Philips Semiconductors' Automotive & Identification Business Unit. . . . Fiber laser maker IPG Photonics Corp., based in Oxford, Mass., and the Fraunhofer USA Center for Coatings and Laser Applications in Plymouth, Mich., have formed an alliance to develop new welding, cutting and brazing applications for the automotive, aerospace and oilfield industries using IPG's unique kilowatt fiber lasers and Fraunhofer's applications expertise. Fraunhofer will demonstrate new laser applications using an IPG 5-k fiber laser at the 14th Annual Automotive Laser Application Workshop (ALAW), to be held March 28-30 at the Inn at St. John’s, Plymouth, Mich. ALAW 2006 -- themed "Lasers are Ready. Are You?" -- will outline how several automotive manufacturers and suppliers have used laser material processing technologies. The event is sponsored by the university's college of engineering professional development center. The Fraunhofer Center, in partnership with Michigan State University, provides research and development services involving coating technologies and laser applications. . . . Leica Microsystems' Semiconductor Equipment Division has a new name: Vistec Semiconductor Systems, as a result of last year's takeover of Leica's semiconductor business by San Francisco investment company Golden Gate Capital. Vistec Semiconductor Systems is comprised three business units: Vistec Semiconductor Systems GmbH, previously Leica Microsystems Semiconductor GmbH, of Wetzlar, Germany; Vistec Electron Beam GmbH, previously Leica Microsystems Lithography GmbH, in Jena, Germany; and Vistec Lithography Ltd., previously Leica Microsystems Lithography Ltd., in Cambridge, England. The units' products and services include inspection systems; defect detection and classification; metrology systems for mask and wafer manufacturing; and electron beam systems, used for microchip production, integrated optics, and scientific and commercial research. In addition to its production facilities in Germany and England, the company has support centers in the US, Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea, with more than 500 employees. Vistec will exhibit at Semicon Europe, to be held April 4–6 in Munich, Germany.