Nortel Networks Corp. of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, has formed High Performance Optical Components Solutions. The new unit consolidates Nortel's optical components group with its design and development efforts in high-speed optical modules and integrated circuits, affecting approximately 6000 employees at its facilities in Harlow and Paignton, UK; Ottawa; and Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Barbara Callaghan has been named president of the unit, which will focus on the production of lasers, high-bandwidth receivers, transmit and receive modules, and semiconductor chips. The move follows on the heels of the $3.25 billion acquisition of Xros Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based manufacturer of optical cross connects, and the purchase of CoreTek Inc., a manufacturer of tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers in Wilmington, Mass., for $1.43 billion in stock.