Laser Firm Settles Export Charges

An $80,000 civil penalty settles charges that Opto Power Corp. of Tucson, Ariz., exported diode lasers to Israel without the required export licenses.

The US Department of Commerce says the company, recently renamed Spectra-Physics Semiconductor Lasers, illegally exported lasers to Israel 16 times from 1995 to 1997.

The laser company reported the violations and cooperated with the investigation by the Bureau of Export Administration. The government agreed to suspend half of the penalty for one year and to waive that portion entirely if the company does not commit additional violations.