RF Micro Devices® Press Release - June 10, 2009 |
RFMD® Announces Availability of Gallium Nitride (GaN) Foundry ServicesFoundry Services Business Unit to Leverage RFMD's Industry Leadership In Compound Semiconductor Technology and Manufacturing to Deliver High-Reliability, High-Performance and Price-Competitive GaN Technology BOSTON, Jun 10, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- RF Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq:RFMD), a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance semiconductor components, today announced the Company has formed a gallium nitride (GaN) Foundry Services business unit to supply high-reliability, high-performance and price-competitive GaN semiconductor technology into multiple RF power markets. The RFMD GaN Foundry Services business unit will leverage the Company's industry leadership in gallium arsenide (GaAs) manufacturing capacity and cycle times, as well as a range of new customer services, to drive shorter time-to-market and minimize time between initial wafer order and final delivery. RFMD is the industry's leading manufacturer of GaAs compound semiconductors. RFMD's GaN manufacturing is interchangeable with its GaAs manufacturing and directly benefits from the scale and demonstrated expertise of RFMD's industry-leading wafer fabrication capability. Bob Van Buskirk, president of RFMD's Multi-Market Products Group, said, "RFMD's Foundry Services business unit is providing GaN foundry customers access to RFMD's industry-leading compound semiconductor technology and production facility and the many benefits of RFMD's scale manufacturing, including reliability, uniformity, cycle time and quality. RFMD GaN is a breakthrough technology that can change the RF power component industry as a result of its superior linearity, bandwidth and RF power density. Additionally, RFMD GaN is a "green" technology enabling higher efficiencies than previously possible, thereby requiring less power consumption to achieve similar performance or superior performance at similar power consumption levels." RFMD's offering of GaN foundry services is distinctive in the industry because RFMD operates the industry's largest GaAs fabrication facility (fab) and has supplied its customers billions of high-reliability, high-quality compound semiconductor based RF components. By utilizing its existing, high-volume manufacturing assets, RFMD is able to deliver foundry customers GaN technology with predictable, industry-leading reliability and increased uniformity. RFMD offers industry-leading cycle times and estimates its GaN cycle times through its wafer fab are typically 30-40% faster than its competition. Also, by leveraging RFMD's deep knowledge of semiconductor process models to accurately predict product performance, RFMD's Foundry Services business unit can lower customer development costs by reducing the number of prototype runs necessary to meet customer specifications. Customer applications expected to benefit from RFMD GaN include commercial and defense power applications including wireless infrastructure, CATV line amplifiers, broadband communication, power amplifiers and various defense radar systems. Additionally RFMD's Foundry Services customers gain access to a seasoned Foundry Services support team with first-hand knowledge of foundry customers' expectations and requirements. RFMD's Foundry Services support team combines more than 50 years of foundry services experience, both as foundry customers and foundry suppliers. Additionally, RFMD's Foundry Services support team has implemented a full set of services intended to minimize the total time from order entry to customer delivery. Services include simulation models that enable a high probability of initial success and business processes that enable little or no queue time. RFMD GaN is a next-generation compound semiconductor technology that delivers much higher power density and breakdown voltage than competing technologies and is ideally suited for very high performance power devices. Typical operating characteristics of RFMD GaN include operating voltages of 48 (or 65) volts, power density of 6 to 8 watts/mm, FTs of 11 GHz and F max of 18 GHz and MTTF greater than 100M hours at 150 degrees C channel operating temperature. RFMD is exhibiting at the IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium 2009, June 9-11, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, MA, in booth 2412. Customers interested in foundry services are invited to discuss the details of their requirements with RFMD's Foundry Services support team. About RFMD RF Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq GS: RFMD) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance semiconductor components. RFMD's products enable worldwide mobility, provide enhanced connectivity and support advanced functionality in the cellular handset, wireless infrastructure, wireless local area network (WLAN), CATV/broadband and aerospace and defense markets. RFMD is recognized for its diverse portfolio of semiconductor technologies and RF systems expertise and is a preferred supplier to the world's leading mobile device, customer premises and communications equipment providers. Headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., RFMD is an ISO 9001- and ISO 14001-certified manufacturer with worldwide engineering, design, sales and service facilities. RFMD is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol RFMD. For more information, please visit RFMD's web site at www.rfmd.com. This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations and contentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements included herein represent management's current judgment and expectations, but our actual results, events and performance could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. We do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements or publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, other than as is required under the federal securities laws. RF Micro Devices' business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including variability in quarterly operating results, the impact of global macroeconomic and credit conditions on our business, the rate of growth and development of wireless markets, risks associated with our planned exit from our wireless systems business, including cellular transceivers and GPS solutions, the risk that restructuring charges may be greater than originally anticipated and that the cost savings and other benefits from the restructuring may not be achieved, risks associated with the operation of our wafer fabrication facilities, molecular beam epitaxy facility, assembly facility and test and tape and reel facilities, our ability to complete acquisitions and integrate acquired companies, including the risk that we may not realize expected synergies from our business combinations, our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel and develop leaders, variability in production yields, our ability to reduce costs and improve gross margins by implementing innovative technologies, our ability to bring new products to market, our ability to adjust production capacity in a timely fashion in response to changes in demand for our products, dependence on a limited number of customers, and dependence on third parties. These and other risks and uncertainties, which are described in more detail in RF Micro Devices' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any of these forward-looking statements. RF MICRO DEVICES(R), RFMD(R) and FastWave(TM) are trademarks of RFMD, LLC. All other trade names,
trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Doug DeLieto VP, Investor Relations +1-336-678-7968, or Jerry Neal Executive Vice President +1-336-678-7001, both of RFMD Web Site: http://www.rfmd.com (RFMD) Posted 6/10/2009 |