14 July 2003

The micro- and nano-electronics research centre IMEC (Leuven, Belgium) and leading materials specialists, Umicore and Soitec, have signed a co-operation agreement to meet the challenges posed by developing chip processing technologies with dimensions of less than 45 nanometers.

The standard chip processing technology uses silicon as its basic material. There is universal agreement that the physical limits of the miniaturised material layers and traditional transistor structures will soon be reached. Due to its attractive chemical and electrical properties, germanium has recently been discussed as a possible replacement for silicon.

The technology which is being developed in this partnership will use germanium as the basic material and will be suitable for high-speed applications in the computer and telecommunication market. The objective is the production of germanium-on-insulator (GeOI) substrates and the development of transistors on these substrates. The results of this co-operation will be applied in a new research programme at IMEC which aims to create a germanium-chip technology which is compatible with the latest standard chip manufacturing processes. This should provide a solution for the further miniaturisation of conventional chip technologies.

Each partner will contribute its own know-how and exchange data and results. Umicore, which has extensive experience in the marketing and development of germanium substrates, will be responsible for developing and producing germanium wafers with diameters of both 200mm and 300mm (the recent standard diameter for chip substrates). Soitec will apply its knowledge of fabrication methods, making use of its own Smart Cut^TM process in order to transfer a germanium layer to make such a GeOI substrate. IMEC will apply its expertise in the latest chip processing steps and characterisation techniques to demonstrate the potential of GeOI for the further scaling of chip technologies below 45 nanometers. The complementary know-how of these three companies will make it possible to meet the challenges of developing miniaturised germanium-based chip technologies.

Editors' notes:
About IMEC: IMEC (Inter-university Micro-electronics Centre) was founded in 1984 and today is the largest independent European research centre in the field of micro-electronics, nanotechnology, design methods and technologies for ICT systems. IMEC's activities concentrate on design technologies for integrated information and communication systems, development of process stages and modules for the next generations of chips, chip production processes, nanotechnology, development of microsystems, components and packagings, solar cells an training in micro-electronics and ICT. IMEC currently has a budget of more than 138 million euro which comes from agreements and contracts with the Flemish Government and companies in Flanders, semiconductor and system companies and equipment and material suppliers throughout the world, the European commission, MEDEA+ and ESA. IMEC has over 1250 employees, of whom more than 380 are industrial residents and guest researchers. You can find news about IMEC at www.imec.be 

About Umicore: Umicore is an international metals and materials group. Its activities are centred on four business areas: Advanced Materials, Copper, Precious Metals and Zinc. Each business area is divided into market-focused business units.
Umicore focuses on application areas where it knows its expertise in materials science and metallurgy can make a real difference, be it in products that are essential to everyday life or those at the cutting edge of exciting, new technological developments. Umicore's overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on this ambition to develop, produce and recycle metals in a way that fulfills its mission: materials for a better life.
The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents and serves a global customer base; it generated a turnouver of EUR 3.2 billion in 2002 and currently employs some 9,000 people. More news about Umicore at www.umicore.com 

About Soitec: Soitec is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of SOI wafers, with greater than 80-percent market share. Headquartered in Bernin, France, Soitec provides a broad range of advanced thin-film substrates for IC manufacturing, including bonded SOI (UNIBOND^TM) and silicon-on-quartz (SOQ) wafers. Soitec is traded on the French "Nouveau Marché" of Euronext Paris (Sicovam code 7206). You can find news about Soitec at www.soitec.com 

Mr Eddy CORNELIS, External Communication - Tel. +32 2 227 70 64 - eddy.cornelis@umicore.com
Mrs Isabelle MICHOTTE, Investor Relations - Tel. +32 2 227 73 98 - isabelle.michotte@umicore.com

SOITEC:

Camille Darnaud-Dufour, Marketing Communications - Tel/Fax +1 650 251 9066 - camille@attglobal.net