FREMONT, Calif., Dec. 29 -- AXT Inc. will discontinue its laser diode and consumer product lines in 2001 in order to concentrate on manufacturing compound semiconductor substrates and optoelectronic devices. Over the past year, we have experienced tremendous growth in our gallium arsenide and indium phosphide substrate businesses, successfully launched our new high-brightness blue, green and cyan LED products and introduced vertical cavity surface emitting laser wafers and chips, said Morris Young, president and CEO of the company. We are very encouraged by the market demand for our products, and believe that by focusing our efforts in these core areas, we can most effectively utilize our resources for continued expansion.