News Briefs (March 15, 2006)

A checklist of FDA-approved lasers for lasik (laser-assisted In situ keratomileusis) is available at www.fda.gov/cdrh/LASIK/lasers.htm. The list includes approved devices, their approval dates and a summary of what they are approved for in the treatment of vision problems. . . . Lumera Corp., a Bothell, Wash., developer of light-applied nanotechnology, has promoted Tim Londergan and Raluca Dinu to head its Bioscience and Electro-Optics business units, respectively. Both joined Lumera in 2000, Londergan as a senior chemist and Dinu as a physicist. Dinu developed the company's business opportunity in terahertz imaging. . . . NEC Electronics America Inc. announced recently it will expand its semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in Roseville, Calif., to add 0.15-micron process using eight-inch wafers in addition to current 0.35- and 0.25-micron processes using six-inch wafers, to meet demand primarily from customers in the automotive industry. The company said it also expects increased demand for 0.15-micron technology for general-purpose semiconductors in consumer devices like digital cameras, memory sticks and mobile and handheld products. . . . Pittcon 2007 (Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy) will held in Chicago (Feb. 25 to March 1), and Pittcon 2008 will return to New Orleans as planned, said Kevin McKaveney, Pittcon president and chairman. Organizers recently met with New Orleans tourism and city officials there. McKaveney said, "We believe that moving Pittcon 2007 to Chicago will give New Orleans adequate time to reshape its image and pave the way for a successful return in 2008." Pittcon 2006 is being held this week in Orlando, Fla. The conference is sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh. . . . Suss MicroTec, a Munich, Germany-based supplier of precision manufacturing equipment for semiconductor markets, has installed an additional wafer-bonding system at Innovative Micro Technology in Santa Barbara, Calif., to provide additional wafer bonding capacity for volume production of several new MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) products, including infrared emitters and switches.