15 September 2010

IQE plc (AIM: IQE) , the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor epitaxial wafer products and wafer services to the semiconductor industry, is pleased to announce that IQE’s Singapore operation, MBE Technology Pte Ltd, has been recognized as a top supplier to leading wireless chip manufacturer, TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TQNT).

TriQuint, a leading RF front-end product manufacturer and foundry services provider, announced its Top Supplier Awards for 2009 during TriQuint’s Supplier Day Conference, an annual educational and networking event for TriQuint’s top suppliers held in Portland, Oregon.

Winners were selected by members of TriQuint’s Supply Chain and Business Unit organizations in recognition of TriQuint’s top suppliers for their overall performance to TriQuint including innovation, operational excellence, service levels, and industry leadership.

Steve Grant, Vice President of Worldwide Operations said:

“The capability of our strategic suppliers to provide us with zero-defect material, position capacity to support TriQuint’s continued growth, and collaborate on reducing costs while developing innovative solutions greatly contributes to our ability to deliver RF solutions that improve the performance and lower the cost of our customers’ applications.”

Receiving the award, together with Dr J Jiang Sales Director of MBET, Dr. Drew Nelson, IQE Group CEO and President said:

“We are delighted that MBE Technology has been honoured with this award from one of the leading chip manufacturers in the wireless industry. IQE enjoys a close working relationship with many of its customers globally and the particular recognition of our Singapore operation by TriQuint demonstrates the Group’s commitment to providing the highest level of quality in terms of products, services and innovation.

IQE offers the industry’s broadest product portfolio, which includes gallium arsenide (GaAs) based epitaxial wafers for RF wireless applications, including PHEMTs, HBTs and BiHEMTs, in addition to the industry’s leading performance GaN based devices.”


Note to Editors

ABOUT IQE

IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers, with products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an innovative, outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers.

IQE uses advanced crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and supply bespoke semiconductor wafers ('epi-wafers'). The world’s major chip manufacturing companies use IQE’s wafers to make the leading-edge components which form the heart of virtually all of today’s high-tech devices. IQE is unique in being able to supply wafers using all of the leading crystal growth technology platforms and has developed and maintained significant intellectual property in relation to its products and services.

IQE's products are found in many leading-edge consumer, communication, computing and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer products for the wireless industry. Our technology is an integral part of mobile handsets, particularly smartphones, wireless infrastructure, Wi-Fi, GPS, and satellite communications. The unique optoelectronic properties of IQE’s materials are also found in applications including optical communications, optical connectors, optical storage, laser printers/copiers, thermal imaging, leading-edge medical products, finger navigation devices and ultra high brightness LEDs. IQE’s expertise also extends to a variety of advanced silicon based systems and high-efficiency concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells.

The epitaxy production process is complex and highly specialised. As such, chip manufacturers are increasingly seeking to outsource wafer production to specialist foundries such as IQE in order to reduce overall wafer costs and accelerate time to market. The Group is also able to lever its global purchasing volumes to reduce the cost of raw materials. In this way IQE's outsourced services provide compelling benefits in terms of flexibility and predictability of cost, thereby significantly reducing operating risk.

IQE also provides bespoke R&D services to deliver customised materials for specific applications and offers specialist technical staff to manufacture to specification either at its own facilities or on the customer's own sites.
IQE operates six manufacturing facilities located in Cardiff (two) and Milton Keynes in the UK; in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Somerset, New Jersey in the USA; and Singapore. The Group also has a dedicated R&D facility in Bath, UK and operates 11 sales offices located in major economic centres worldwide.


ABOUT TRIQUINT (www.triquint.com/rf)

Founded in 1985, we “Connect the Digital World to the Global Network”® by supplying high-performance RF modules, components and foundry services to the world's leading communications companies. Specifically, TriQuint supplies products to four out of the top five mobile phone manufacturers, and is a leading gallium arsenide (GaAs) supplier to major defense and space contractors. TriQuint creates standard and custom products using advanced processes that include gallium arsenide, surface acoustic wave (SAW) and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) technologies to serve diverse markets including wireless handsets, laptops, GPS/PND, base stations, broadband communications and military. TriQuint is also the lead researcher in a multi-year DARPA program to develop advanced gallium nitride (GaN) amplifiers. TriQuint, as named by Strategy Analytics1, is the number-three worldwide leader in GaAs devices and the world’s largest commercial GaAs foundry. TriQuint has ISO9001 certified manufacturing facilities in Oregon, Texas, and Florida and a production plant in Costa Rica; design centers are located in North America and Germany.