This study examines the relationship between market requirements focus, manufacturing characteristics focus, and manufacturing performance. Results from a sample of plants serving the automotive industry support the general argument that market requirements focus and manufacturing characteristics focus have an impact on manufacturing performance, and provide partial support for a mediation model of focus proposed by Bozarth (1993). The results also show that focused work cells or plants‐within‐a‐plant might not be entirely successful at buffering plants from the negative impact of diverse market requirements.

Photoluminescence spectra were obtained at 77 K for three undoped CdTe single crystal specimens whose surfaces were prepared by mechanical, conventional chemimechanical, and modified hydroplane polishing techniques, respectively. The hydroplane polished sample was found to be a much brighter source of photoluminescence than either of the other two specimens. In addition, hydroplane polishing produced a photoluminescence spectrum in which nearly all of the emission occurred in a band centered at 1.58 eV rather than in the well-known defect band at 1.42 eV. We interpret these results as providing evidence that hydroplane polishing of CdTe produces a surface having a low density of defects.

Photoluminescence studies at 77 K are reported for CdTe/sapphire films prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. The CdTe/sapphire epilayers exhibited very bright photoluminescence spectra that were dominated by the near-edge emission band at 1.58 eV. The best CdTe/sapphire film proved to be the brightest source of luminescence of any CdTe specimen studied in our laboratories, including homoepitaxial films and bulk hydroplane polished samples. The CdTe/sapphire films also exhibited the best lateral uniformity as manifested by a nearly constant luminescence intensity over their surfaces. These results provide new evidence that high quality CdTe epitaxy on sapphire has been achieved.

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