IRVINE, Calif., and BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 2 -- Newport Corp. and EM4 Photonics have signed a letter of intent to jointly develop and refine photonics device manufacturing equipment and process solutions and to establish an equipment supplier relationship. EM4 will provide Newport an exclusive license to use portions of EM4's proprietary optoelectronic packaging technology as part of Newport's automated manufacturing solutions, and Newport will become a preferred supplier to EM4 for test and assembly equipment to support its optical manufacturing services business. "The combination of Newport's automation expertise and our manufacturing processes and services allows for tremendous advancements in the evolution of bringing lower cost active optoelectronic devices to the market," said Basil Garabet, EM4's CEO. "This alliance with Newport will allow us to take advantage of the latest automation solutions for high-volume manufacturing while focusing on our core business of providing optical component and sub-assembly manufacturing services." For more information, visit: www.EM4photonics.com or www.newport.com