Putting Photonics on the Line

Hank Hogan

The scene inside XeTel Corp. of Austin, Texas, is one that Henry Ford could relate to -- though it's a far cry from yesterday's automobile plants. The manufacturing floor within the 120,000-square-foot facility is brightly lit. It is almost spotless, and the temperature is suitable for high-tech work. Row upon row of hulking beige machines mutter as they mate components to printed circuit boards. Employees work in white smocks, complete with protective eye gear and grounding straps.

But it is an assembly line, a manufacturing concept that Ford pioneered...