1st Silicon Begins Production Shipments of 0.25um Embedded Flash Technology

Kuching, Sarawak MALAYSIA; February 28, 2005 -- 1st Silicon (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., a premier semiconductor-manufacturing foundry, announced that it has completed qualification and begun production shipment of 0.25µm embedded flash technology. Today’s announcement meets a goal set by the Company last summer to have production services ready in the first calendar quarter of this year.

1st Silicon’s embedded flash process features a state-of-the-art bit-cell size with supply voltages of 2.5V – 3.3V. Combining 1st Silicon 0.25µm logic process with the SST's SuperFlash® split-gate flash cell, 1st Silicon can readily support the embedded micro-controllers used in consumer, communications and computer applications.

“Differentiation through value-based technologies separates 1st Silicon from other foundries,” said Dr. John Nelson, 1st Silicon Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus is on excelling in niche markets and offering the best services. Embedded flash matches this overall strategy by offering the industries most popular embedded flash technology with an industry compatible CMOS process and full design support.“

Andrew Brown, 1st Silicon Vice President of Worldwide Sales added, “Embedded flash memories are crucial for many emerging markets. Multiple embedded flash macros are being tested and several other pieces of embedded flash specific IP are being prepared to enable our customers to implement their designs in these markets.”

“Meeting the delivery timetable promised last summer has been a primary objective for the technology team here,” said Dr. Steve Yang, 1st Silicon Vice President of Technology. “We have demonstrated our capability to achieve the reliability specifications as well as functional yield of devices from several customers. To this end, close collaboration with our customers and technology partners tops our list of priorities.”

Integrating flash memory helps to simplify memory interface, increases speed and performance, and reduces total system cost compared to other alternative off-chip configurations. On-chip flash also offers improved data security, making the technology a popular choice among systemmanufacturers today. 1st Silicon’s embedded flash can also increase device functionality by further integrating SRAM and mixed-signal functions on the same chip.

The 0.25µm embedded flash technology will be available on the MPW service in the third quarter of 2005. 1st Silicon will provide macros that can be designed to specific densities and configuration, reliability testing, and design quality and reliability assurance. A comprehensive process design kit, which includes fully characterized device models and technology files for popular electronic design automation tools, is available now by contacting the company at www.1si.com

About 1st Silicon ( Malaysia ) Sdn. Bhd.

1st Silicon (http://www.1si.com) is a dedicated semiconductor foundry founded in 1998 by the Malaysian State of Sarawak. 1st Silicon’s 200mm wafer fab has a capacity in excess of 45,000 wafers per month when fully ramped. The Company offers volume production of digital and mixed-signal CMOS technologies in 0.25µm and 0.18µm processes. 0.15µm logic and 0.13µm Flash technology will be available by first quarter of 2005. The company also focuses on niche markets by offering reliable and cost-effective embedded non-volatile memory, high-voltage, CMOS image sensor and CCD processes. 1st Silicon’s customers include integrated device manufacturers and fabless semiconductor companies worldwide. 1st Silicon has its headquarters in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, and sales offices in US, Korea and Taiwan.

SuperFlash® is a registered trademark of Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.