2002/05/30

Raytheon and WIN Semiconductors Jointly Signed Agreements on Wafer Production and Share Purchase

Taipei, Taiwan, May 30, 2002 - Raytheon Company (NYSE; RTN), a leading provider of defense, government and commercial electronics and WIN Semiconductors Corp. (WIN), the world's first dedicated 6" GaAs MMIC foundry, today jointly announced that the two companies have reached agreements on Share Purchase and Wafer Production for the wireless telecommunication market. In addition to an equity investment of US$5 million in WIN and the guarantee of Raytheon's long term access to a portion of WIN's foundry capacity, the two companies are committed to developing new process technologies together in these agreements.

 

After extensive evaluation, Raytheon RF Components (RRFC) of Raytheon Company has chosen WIN as its partner to address the handset power amplifier market. The international team has taken an innovative approach in moving an InGaP/GaAs HBT fab process and a RF product line simultaneously from a 4", dual-use defense & commercial fab to a high volume 6" commercial foundry. Prototyping of InGaP/GaAs HBT started from the 4th quarter of 2001 and was completed in the 1st quarter of 2002. This development was made possible by leveraging the technical expertise of both companies' internal research and development teams and manufacturing organizations. Creating chip-for-chip drop in replacements by "porting" the process and moving cell-by-cell without changing the products made using them was accomplished in world record time. As a result, RRFC will utilize WIN's foundry services for InGaP/GaAs HBT which is well suited for the production of wireless power amplifiers and other components for the handset and wireless local area network (WLAN) markets.

 

"We are delighted to be among the first to make use of WIN's advanced production line and process technology," said Mr. Steven Kaspar, President of Raytheon RF Components. "Expanding operations into Asia, continual technology development and access to WIN's foundry strengthens our position as a key supplier to the wireless market. This alliance also allows RF Components to focus its internal manufacturing capabilities on lower volume commercial and aerospace and defense products."

 

"These agreements not only validated that the concept of GaAs foundry services is feasible, but also endorsed WIN's state-of-the-art 6" GaAs processing technology," said Dr. C.S. Wu, President & CEO of WIN. "By association with RRFC, WIN has derived multiple benefits. As a new company, WIN seeks to develop credibility as well as technology to ensure success. Securing a customer of the size and reputation of Raytheon reinforces WIN's credentials as a volume producer of GaAs MMICs and brings enhanced opportunities to participate in the development of new technologies."

 

"Our 6" GaAs foundry fab is one of the most advanced production lines in the industry for volume production," emphasized Dr. C.S. Wu. "It has become apparent that the 6" wafer manufacturing has represented the mainstream for GaAs MMIC in the years to come. To date, we have delivered fully-functional GaAs MMIC products to more than 50 customers and have dozens additional expressing their interest in joining the test run. Our technology roadmap enables our customers to utilize leading-edge architectures, such as RRFC's GaAs/InGaP HBT, quickly ramping to volume production. This partnership certainly will catalyze more customers to start volume production at WIN."

 

This collaboration with Raytheon, one of the world's leading Integrated Devices Manufacturers (IDMs), allows WIN to contribute its experience and strength in advanced technologies and manufacturing capabilities. Together with its partners, WIN is looking forward to proliferating its GaAs MMIC process while achieving world-class yields and qualities.

 

In addition to the win-win solution created by WIN's high-quality, low-cost manufacturing of Raytheon's volume products, a model for future technology collaboration has been established between Raytheon and WIN who share a range of fabrication capabilities up to millimeter wave.

 

Raytheon RF Components
Raytheon's RF Components Division is a developer and high volume manufacturer of components for the wireless communications industry. Included among an extensive list of products are GaAs MMICs, transmit and receive modules, and semiconductor devices. Applications include pHEMT and HBT power amplifiers, and low noise amplifiers. Other products include components for wireless base stations, data communications systems, millimeter wave systems and mobile phones, as well as transmit/receive modules for space-based communication and land-based radar systems. For more information, contact website at WWW.RAYTHEONRF.COM, or call Customer Service line at 978-684-8900.

 

About Raytheon
Based in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon Company is a global technology leader focused on defense, government and commercial electronics and business aviation and special mission aircraft.

 

About WIN
WIN Semiconductors Corporation was founded in October 1999 and has established an advanced, 6-inch GaAs MMIC wafer fab in recognition of the growing demand for low cost manufacturing of high speed and high quality III-V MMIC's (monolithic microwave IC's) and RFIC's (radio frequency IC's). The company provides dedicated foundry services to Design as well as System Houses. WIN supplies HBT, pHEMT and mHEMT MMIC fabrication services to worldwide communication IC manufacturers, using state-of-the-art GaAs process technology.

 

WIN is the first, pure-play, 6" GaAs foundry in the world. The company has developed Asia's first 6-inch, GaAs HBT and the world's first, 6-inch, 0.15mm GaAs pHEMT MMIC wafers. The company has also produced wafers with a final thickness of 50mm. The planned annual full production capacity for current fab is 100,000 wafers in 2005. For more information, contact website at http://www.winfoundry.com