Business briefs

• Agilent Technologies has completed the acquisition of Adaptif Photonics. The majority of Adaptif's employees have joined Agilent, and financial details were not disclosed. The acquisition expands Agilent's portfolio in optical polarization testing, allowing the company to offer a full range of electrical and optical test equipment for high-speed broadband networks.

• A contract worth $36.4 million has been awarded to the thermal imaging and camera systems developer Flir by the US Army's Space and Missile Defense Command, Alabama. Flir will supply its Star SAFIRE III stabilized multi-sensor systems, to support the US Marine Corps G-BOSS (Ground-Based Optical Surveillance System) program. The work will be performed in Flir's Portland, Oregon production facility, and deliveries will begin immediately.

• Plextronics has been awarded $3 million from the US Department of Energy's Solar America Initiative (SAI). The award comes from the SAI's Photovoltaic Technology Incubator, a program created to make solar photovoltaic technologies competitive with existing technologies by 2015. Plextronics' project, to be completed within the next 18 months, will focus on commercializing thin-film organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology to enable low-cost solar modules.

• Eagleyard has announced that its high power laser diodes will be distributed in France, Italy, Spain and the UK by AMS Technologies, Germany. The agreement represents part of eagleyard's move towards stronger marketing of its high-power lasers in Europe. AMS serves display imaging, medical instrumentation and material analysis markets.

• The US Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center has awarded General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems a $6.4 million contract modification to continue work on the Alternative Infrared Satellite System (AIRSS) program, which is being developed to provide strategic and tactical missile warning for the US as an alternative to the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program. The contract will enable General Dynamics to perform the design work leading to a system design review. The company recently completed a two-day AIRSS System Requirements Review (SRR) in Arizona, during which government and industry participants reviewed requirements, space and ground system architectures, and operational concepts.

• Powerlase, a UK manufacturer of nanosecond Q-switched, diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers, has announced the placement of a laser with Fraunhofer ISE, Germany, to be used in programs relating to the processing of solar cells.

• The US Marine Corps has announced that Northrop Grumman's laser Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) system will be fitted into the Corps' CH-46E helicopters. The DIRCM automatically detects missile launches, assesses the threat and activates a high-intensity laser-based countermeasure system. The initial agreement provides for the design, trial installation and flight tests of the DIRCM system, leading to a production program and integration onto the Marines' CH-46E fleet. This is the second agreement for the supply of DIRCM systems, joining an existing program for the CH-53E.

People

• Jie Fu, a laser applications engineer specializing in ultra-fast solid-state laser systems technology, has joined the Applications Engineering Group at J P Sercel Associates. Fu earned his Masters and PhD degrees in Optics from the University of Central Florida, and his BS degree in Optical Engineering from Tsinghua University, China.

• Candela, a UK supplier of lighting products, has appointed Jonathan Kateman as vice president and general manager for home products. He will oversee Candela's entry into the home and consumer market including product development, marketing, sales, service and support. Home Products is part of Candela's Emerging Opportunities Unit, which will focus on developing, acquiring and integrating new and emerging technologies. Kateman was previously vice president of strategy and corporate development at 3Com.