Rod Schuster has joined Alpine Research Optics (ARO), of Boulder, Colo., as western area sales manager, responsible for marketing the company's high-damage threshold laser optics and subassemblies. Schuster was most recently a regional sales manager for Newport Corp.    . . .    Electronics distributor AMS Technologies AG, based in Munich, Germany, has announced an agreement with Exalos AG, a Swiss developer and manufacturer of superluminescent light-emitting diodes (SLEDs) for rights to distribute Exalos products in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK. The SLEDs are the key optical components in several fiber optic-based applications including fiber optic gyroscopes, medical imaging, test equipment and fiber optic sensors.