Around the Circuit

Industry News
Alcatel has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire wide area networking solution designer and manufacturer Newbridge Networks Corp. The acquisition is subject to Newbridge shareholders’ approval of a merger agreement that will allow for the ultimate conversion of each Newbridge share into 0.81 Alcatel ADS. The transaction is valued at $7.1 B. In related news, Alcatel has entered into an agreement with STMicroelectronics Inc. whereby Alcatel will adopt the STMicroelectronics ST100 digital signal processor core that is designed specifically for communications applications where a powerful, high end embedded core is required. Under the terms of the agreement, Alcatel intends to embed this core in a variety of system-on-chip solutions for digital subscriber line, voice-over-Internet protocol and other leading-edge technologies.

Specialty optical fiber and fiber-optic product designer and manufacturer SpecTran Corp. has been acquired by Lucent Technologies. Lucent’s Specialty Fiber Technologies division will offer customers integrated solutions for industrial, telecommunications, medical, transportation, aerospace and geophysical applications.

Telaxis Communications Corp. , South Deerfield, MA, has completed the sale of its Millitech Division to Millitech LLC , an entity formed by private investors. In connection with the sale, Telaxis received $1.75 M in cash payment, a subordinated note and a minority equity interest in Millitech LLC as well as a seat on the Millitech management advisory board for at least three years. The purchase price is subject to post-closing adjustment.

Varian Inc. , Palo Alto, CA, has acquired the Poway, CA-based electronics manufacturing operation of Inter-Tel Inc. Under the terms of the acquisition, Varian is expected to receive inventory and fixed assets for a net book value of $6.6 M and the assumption of the lease for a 112,000-square-foot facility. In addition, Varian is assuming responsibility for the operation’s computer telephony products as well as procurement, assembly, test and depot repair.

Electron tube manufacturer Burle Industries has created Burle GmbH , a new European subsidiary to market and support all of the company’s power tube and electro-optic products, including high energy power tubes, silicon target imaging devices, scientific detectors and spectroscopy products.

Wyle Electronics , a member of the VEBA Electronics Group , has created RF Vision , a new subsidiary business unit that will provide technical distribution solutions to manufacturers in the wireless and electro-optics industries. The new company, which will be located at Wyle’s Northern California facility in Silicon Valley, will specialize in advanced RF/microwave and fiber-optic technology.

Thermal management solution provider Aavid Thermal Products Inc. , a wholly owned subsidiary of Aavid Thermal Technologies Inc. , has changed its name to Aavid Thermalloy LLC to reflect its recent acquisition of Theramalloy Inc.

Pulse , a Technitrol company, San Diego, CA, has formed a group dedicated to developing and supporting a broad range of off-the-shelf electronic components for the cable market. The Cable Products Group will focus development efforts on products that support the accelerating deployment of hybrid fiber-coax networks as well as cable access equipment.

Tektronix Inc. has formed a new group within its Measurement Business Division to focus on meeting the ever-increasing customer desire to access information and conduct business online. The Internet Business Group is expected to develop a more interactive and collaborative Web environment with expanded information on products, applications, technologies and other services.

Rockwell Collins , Cedar Rapids, IA, has created an electronic business unit that will offer expanded e-business solutions to its customers. The company intends to consolidate its information technology, enterprise resource planning and e-commerce departments to form a strategic working group that brings together business unit, customer and supplier requirements.

Taiyo Yuden Inc. of Japan has announced plans to open Taiyo Yuden (Guangdong) Company Ltd. , a new 42,650-square-foot manufacturing plant located in the People’s Republic of China, in an effort to upgrade existing manufacturing processes and dramatically increase production of high frequency, multilayer chip inductors and multilayer ceramic capacitors. The $8.4 M facility is expected to begin operations in July.

EMP TrexCom has moved to a new 85,000-square-foot facility located at 900 Enchanted Way, Simi Valley, CA 93065 (805) 581-7868, fax (805) 581-7821 or e-mail: info@emptrexcom.com. The new facility is equipped with state-of-the-art engineering, manufacturing and testing systems including near- and far-field test ranges for accommodating antennas up to 13 m in diameter.

Emerson & Cuming Microwave Products has opened a new 6000-square-foot, state-of-the-art processing center for carbon-loaded foam microwave absorber products in Randolph, MA. The new facility has the capacity to produce 10,000 to 20,000 square feet per week of both sprayed and dipped carbon foam products.

RFIC solution designer and manufacturer ANADIGICS Inc. has announced plans to expand its state-of-the-art six-inch InGaP HBT, pHEMT and MESFET manufacturing facility to include additional Class 10 cleanroom space and equipment installation. The $10 M expansion, which is scheduled for completion by the middle of this year, is expected to approximately double current production capacity. In related news, ANADIGICS has shipped high volumes of power amplifiers for use in Ericsson T-class, dual-band mobile phones. The amplifiers were designed specifically to meet Ericsson’s requirements for a low cost device that combines the high performance and functionality of two power amplifiers in a single, small package.

Brush Wellman Inc.’s Electronic Packaging Products Group , Newburyport, MA, has formed a strategic partnership with RJR Polymers , Oakland, CA, to supply the wireless industry with a complete electronic packaging solution. The partnership is expected to reduce cycle times for the design of new packages and enable customers to have packages and lids that are optimized to work together.

RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) and QUALCOMM Inc. have entered into an alliance to provide advanced power amplifiers for the CDMA market. The companies have agreed to cooperate on the development of CDMA power amplifiers for inclusion in existing and future QUALCOMM CDMA chipsets. Under the terms of the agreement, QUALCOMM will market and sell the jointly developed CDMA power amplifiers using RFMD’s wafer foundry manufacturing process. In related news, QUALCOMM has entered into an agreement with Ericsson Microelectronics to jointly develop and market the world’s first wireless technology solution that supports both the Bluetooth standard and the CDMA digital wireless standard. Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will develop a Bluetooth-compatible radio unit and QUALCOMM will develop the Bluetooth digital baseband processing to be integrated into its future Mobile Station Modem (MSM™) chipset and software solutions. Both companies will work together to optimize the RF and digital designs for operation within a CDMA handset environment to create the most complete, high performance solution available for CDMA-based wireless data applications.

RF power semiconductor designer and manufacturer UltraRF has entered into a strategic alliance with GHz Technology Inc. for the supply of LDMOS RF power transistor technology. Under the terms of the agreement, UltraRF will supply UltraGOLD silicon LDMOS wafers to GHz Technology for inclusion in devices that target avionics, broadcast and other nonwireless applications. The alliance is part of a strategy that will allow GHz Technology to reach an expanded market while building on its core design and manufacturing competencies.

Chomerics , a division of Parker Hannifin Corp. , Woburn, MA, and Nypro Inc. , Clinton, MA, have formed a strategic alliance to provide telecommunications customers with an efficient and integrated manufacturing resource for obtaining conductive gaskets. The alliance will streamline the production of insert-molded conductive products against electromagnetic interference in cellular phones and other electronic devices. As a result, customers can expect simplified ordering, faster deliveries and better-quality parts. In related news, Chomerics’ Hudson, NH facility has received QS-9000 certification. The Hudson, NH facility designs, develops and manufactures thermal interface materials, EMI shielding laminates and the SOFT-SHIELD™ 4000 and 5000 lines of EMI shielding gaskets.

Agilent Technologies Inc. has signed a licensing agreement with SyntheSys Research Inc. for its error-analysis technology, which enables engineers to locate the causes behind errors in digital components and system hardware. Under the terms of the licensing agreement, Agilent will develop and market bit error ratio products that incorporate Synthesys’ BitAlyzer technology.

Calibre Inc. , San Jose, CA, has entered into an agreement with Infineon Technologies Corp. under which both companies will dual-source selected products in their IrDA-compatible data transceiver product lines. The companies initially are expecting to dual-source a fast infrared IrDA-compatible transceiver with an innovative power architecture that will prolong battery life in IR-enabled personal digital assistants, digital still cameras, portable printers and other battery-powered electronic applications.

Mitel Semiconductor (a division of Mitel Corp. ), Philsar Semiconductor and Matsushita Electronic Components Co. Ltd. have entered into an agreement to co-develop a module for next-generation Bluetooth systems. The companies will combine a silicon chipset designed by Mitel and Philsar with Matsushita’s Panasonic high density packaging and RF expertise to provide a high performance and power-efficient route to Bluetooth 1.0-compliant systems. The agreement is expected to accelerate the adoption of Bluetooth technology in personal wireless connectivity solutions.

Microcosm Technologies Inc. , Cary, NC, and Cronos Integrated Microsystems Inc. , Research Triangle Park, NC, have entered into an alliance to offer JumpStart,™ a design kit that provides a low risk, inexpensive, efficient turnkey method for developing and prototyping microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. The unique MEMS design solution will comprise Microcosm’s Catapult™ MEMS design tool with integrated layout generators, an engineering design kit for the Cronos certified multi-user MEMS processes (MUMP™) and a reserved slot on a Cronos MUMPs fabrication run.

KCA Electronics , Anaheim, CA, has purchased a model 9098 universal double-density grid test system from Everett Charles Technologies , Pomona, CA. In related news, Adaptive Circuits , San Jose, CA, has purchased the A2/16 flying probe test system from Everett Charles Technologies. The A2/16 flying probe test system has the capability to load and test multiple boards at the same time.

EPCOS Inc. (formerly Siemens ), Iselin, NJ, has selected Eastern Components Inc. , West Conshohocken, PA, as an authorized distributor of the company’s ferrites and accessories.

Deltec Telesystems has entered into a distribution agreement with Huber + Suhner of Switzerland. Under the terms of the agreement, Huber + Suhner will distribute Deltec’s Teletilt™ and omni range of telecommunications antennas and antenna management systems throughout Europe.

Essential process management tool supplier Electroglas Inc. has licensed essential measurement technology from Cascade Microtech Inc. The licensing agreement is expected to reduce noise and measurement settling times in probers for wafer productions, thereby enabling faster and more accurate testing of advanced semiconductor devices, including high speed telecommunications and computing devices.

Signal Technology Corp.’s Arizona Operation has received ISO 9001 registration by AOQC Moody International Inc.

Digital video compression system provider Enerdyne Technologies Inc. , a subsidiary of Advanced Remote Communication Solutions , has received ISO 9002 certification.

Times Microwave Systems has announced that its LMR-900 LLPL series 50 W flexible, low loss plenum cables have qualified for in-building applications according to Underwriters Laboratories standards. The LMR-900 LLPL series complies with fire spread and smoke emission requirements, which allow cables to be installed within buildings directly in air-return plenum spaces such as dropped ceilings without the need to be installed in metal electrical conduit.

ARINC Inc. has received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for its KC-10 aircraft, a DC-10-30 commercial airframe modified to a tanker and passenger-carrying aircraft for the US Air Force. The STC was issued by the Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office for a series of safety-related modifications, which include an AlliedSignal Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System and an Enhanced Ground Proximity and Warning System.

RF component and subassembly manufacturer RF Monolithics Inc. (RFM) , Dallas, TX, has received the Delphi Automotive Systems Division Delphi-Delco Absolute Zero Defect Award. The award is presented to vendors who delivered units with zero failures or defects during the previous year. RFM is one of eight vendors out of 671 suppliers who received the award.

Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI) has received a purchase order for 27 SuperFilter® systems from an unnamed cellular service provider, increasing its backlog to 56 systems. STI has shipped and delivered more than 200 SuperFilter systems during the past two years. The company is expected to announce a new line of SuperFilter products for third-generation high bandwidth networks for wireless communications and wireless Internet access.

JDS Uniphase Corp. has delivered its first shipment of 10 Gbps transmitter and receiver modules to meet the growing demand for higher functionality modules. The modules provide customers with a low cost solution for error-free data transmission for distances over 2 km.

Crosspan , a newly named telecommunications division of Raytheon Commercial Electronics , has announced that its active antennas, which are integrated into Ericsson’s GSM Maxite™ 1900 system, were successfully deployed in Powertel’s Jacksonville, FL PCS network. As the first North American PCS operator to use micro base stations with macro coverage capability, Powertel has 18 Maxite cell sites currently in operation.

The Center for the Study of Wireless Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) at the University of Oklahoma has announced that EMI gasketing solution provider Instrument Specialties has become a charter member of the center’s Industry Advisory Board. The Oklahoma EMC Center is chartered to work with the wireless and medical device industries as well as government agencies to resolve inter-industry EMC issues.

Financial News
Signal Technology Corp. reports sales of $20.3 M for the fourth quarter, ended December 31, 1999, compared to $23.4 M for the same period in 1998. Net income was $1.6 M (20¢/diluted share), compared to $371 K (5¢/diluted share) for the same quarter in 1998.

Ansoft Corp. reports sales of $8.4 M for the third quarter, ended January 31, compared to $6.1 M for the same quarter last year. Net income was $458 K (4¢/diluted share), compared to a net loss of $356 K (3¢/diluted share) for the same period last year.

Superconductor Technologies Inc. reports sales of $2.2 M for the fourth quarter, ended December 31, 1999, compared to $1.8 M for the same period in 1998. Net loss was $3.0 M (42¢/share), compared to a net loss of $2.6 M (35¢/share) for the same quarter in 1998.

Cascade Microtech Inc. has completed a $10 M round of equity financing from the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America. The funds will be used to accelerate the company’s marketing and manufacturing capabilities in support of its new Pyramid Probe™ technology, which provides advanced testing capabilities for the development and production environments as well as today’s sophisticated semiconductors.

Iridium LLC has secured interim financing in an effort to expedite the transition of its assets and personnel to a new operating company. The financing, which was approved by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, is valued at $5 M with investments from Eagle Rivers Investments LLC, Craig McCaw’s investment company and Motorola. Iridium expected to file a motion to establish procedures for a sale under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and to secure additional debtor-in-possession financing to cover the period extending until the middle of this month, when a sale was expected to be completed.

RangeStar Wireless has entered the final stages of its mezzanine round of financing. The private placement of funds will allow the company to fully capitalize on immediate marketing opportunities and generate additional embedded antenna technological developments. The investment is expected to accelerate the scheduled initial public offering date to early fall.

REMEC Inc. has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering of 4.31 million shares of common stock. Of the offered shares, 3.5 million will be sold be the company; 250,000 will be held by one shareholder; and 562,000 shares will be held by certain selling shareholders, if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option. A copy of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Needham & Company Inc., 445 Park Ave., New York, NY 10022.

Contracts
REMEC Inc. has entered into an agreement with a major mobile telecommunications network equipment manufacturer for the production of base station products, including integrated assemblies that provide signal conditioning and RF filtering functions. The agreement is valued at approximately $27 M with deliveries forecast over the next 12 months.

Signal Technology Corp. , Danvers, MA, has been awarded a contract by Raytheon Systems Co. for the supply of microwave oscillators in support of low rate initial production of the Brilliant Anti-armor (BAT) Submunition Program. The BAT Submunition Program employs passive acoustic and infrared sensors to locate, attack and destroy moving tanks and other armored vehicles deep in enemy territory. The contract is valued at $276 K. Future contracts for production hardware could exceed $4 M.

Robinson Nugent Inc. has received a contract to supply the backplane connector for the newly released MAX TNT multiprotocol wide area network access switch. The switch enables carriers, ISPs, corporations and major network providers to offer a variety of access services, including analog, integrated services digital network, leased T1/E1 and frame relay. Financial details of the contract were not released.

EPI MBE Products Group , St. Paul, MN, has received an order for a GEN2000 multiwafer production molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system from RF Micro Devices. The GEN2000 will be utilized for mass production of epitaxial wafers used in the fabrication of high performance GaAs circuits. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Personnel
ANADIGICS Inc. has elected Dennis F. Strigl to the company’s board of directors. Strigl is currently president and CEO of Bell Atlantic Mobile and Bell Atlantic Global Wireless.

American Microwave Technologies (AMT) has appointed Pete Manno president and CEO. Manno brings to the company more than 30 years of experience in the RF industry and, most recently, was an independent consultant. Also, John Carollo has been named VP and general manager of the company’s Wireless Business Unit. Carollo was director of marketing at Hewlett-Packard Co.’s power amplifier division prior to joining AMT.

Ken Wadors has been appointed president and CEO at RF Vision, a subsidiary of Wyle Electronics. Most recently, Wadors was senior VP and director of RF/small-signal business at Avnet Inc.

Martin S. McDermut has been named CFO and VP of finance and administration at Superconductor Technologies Inc. Most recently, McDermut was VP of finance and administration at International Remote Imaging Systems Inc.

Edwin K. Walters has been named CFO at Larus Corp. Walters brings to the company more than 19 years of management responsibility in financial services.

Andrew Corp. has promoted Guy Campbell to president and director. Campbell joined the company one year ago as group president, Wireless and In-Building Products Group. Prior to that, he held numerous executive positions at Ericsson.

Rockwell Collinshas appointed John-Paul Besong VP, Electronic Business. Besong has been with the company for 20 years and, most recently, was executive, enterprise resource planning.

STMicroelectronics Inc. has promoted Enrico Villa to corporate VP, direc-tor of European region and Carmelo Papa to corporate VP, region five. Most recently, Villa was corporate VP, region five and Papa was director of product marketing and customer service for transistors and standard ICs.

Cascade Microtech Inc. has appointed Mark Olen VP and general manager, Pyramid Probe Division and Ken Smith VP, corporate technology and Pyramid Probe operations. Most recently, Olen was VP of sales and marketing at Fluence Technology Inc. and Smith was director of operations at Cogent Research.

Trompeter Electronics Inc. has appointed Adolf Cheung VP, engineering and Garry Heverly regional sales manager for the eastern US. Most recently, Cheung was director of engineering at Dow- Key Microwave Corp. and Heverly was direct sales manager at Robinson Nugent Inc.

Tektronix Inc. has made several new personnel appointments, including Bob Agnes as VP and general manager, Video Business Unit; Scott Bausback as VP and general manager, Communications Business Unit; Karsten Beutnagel as VP, human resources; David Churchill as VP and general manager, Instrumentation Business Unit; David Coreson as VP, central operations; Richard McBee as VP, global marketing and strategic initiatives; and Craig Overhage as VP and general manager, Digital Systems Business Unit.

Otis E. Hayes has been named director of quality at CTS Corp. Most recently, Hayes was the director of quality assurance at Coto Technology.

Robinson Nugent Inc. has appointed Dennis Frischkorn district sales manager for the Pacific Northwest. Frischkorn brings to the company more than 20 years of sales experience and, most recently, was area sales manager for the San Francisco Bay area at FCI Berg Electronics.

Web Sites
iMark.com Inc.
, a business-to-business Internet marketplace for used equipment, has added three new services to speed the buying and selling processes. ActiveSearch,™ ActiveLead™ and ActiveTransfer™ allow customers to access more than 100,000 pieces of used equipment and complement the company’s existing services, which include transportation, financing, spare parts, maintenance supplies, inventory, appraisal and data entry.

Micro Networks Corp. , Worcester, MA, has launched a new Web site that enables design engineers to search for products and information by product family, application, part number or keyword. The site, which is located at www.micronetworks.com, includes current product information, specifications, data sheets and the company’s short-form catalog.

SearchMil.com , a MaxBot.com Internet search engine that covers US military Web sites, has reached the one millionth mark in the number of unique publicly accessible Web pages indexed. SearchMil.com specializes in military targeted searches, combining in-depth coverage of the .mil domain with powerful search engine technology that ranks results in order of popularity.