Atmel Advances Wafer Fabrication Plans Through Alliance With 1st Silicon

San Jose, California and Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
(ots/PRNewswire) - Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a global
leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor
solutions, and 1st Silicon, a premier semiconductor-manufacturing
foundry, announced today the start of Atmel Flash memory production
at 1st Silicon's Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia foundry.

Production of Atmel's 0.18 micron serial flash is now ramping at
1st Silicon's state-of-the-art fab. In addition to the 0.18 micron
flash production, Atmel will also manufacture 0.18 micron CMOS Mixed
Signal products and 0.13 micron flash at 1st Silicon. The two
companies are discussing furthering their relationship in other
areas.

Atmel gains both lower cost for its 0.18um technology and
additional capacity for its 0.13um products, and 1st Silicon expands
its customer base, allowing further economies of scale. The move fits
with Atmel's previously announced outsourcing strategy.

"Using 1st Silicon's high-quality wafer facility fits our
aggressive cost-reduction and production capability goals," said
Steve Schumann Vice President, General Manager, Non-Volatile
Memories. "Atmel is the leader in Serial Flash memory and this action
will help us remain so."

"Continuing our successful partnership with a world-class customer
like Atmel underscores our charter to provide customized
manufacturing processes tailored to specific company requirements,"
said Dr. John Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of 1st Silicon. "We
have experienced teams working extensively in both memory and logic
technologies, making the alliance with Atmel ideal."

About 1st Silicon

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 facility is designed for production of more
than 45,000 wafers per month for 0.25um down to 0.13um geometries.
The Company offers volume production of digital and mixed-signal CMOS
technologies in 0.25um and 0.18um processes. 1st Silicon started
production of 0.25um in Q1 2001 and 0.18um qualification in Q1 2003.
0.15um will go into production in Q3 2005. 0.13um flash is in
production. 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.

About Atmel

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of
microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory
and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's
broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is
able to provide the electronics industry with complete system
solutions. Focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications,
computing and automotive markets, Atmel ICs can be found Everywhere
You Are(R).

NOTE: Atmel(R), logo and combinations thereof, Everywhere You
Are(R) and others, are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel
Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and product names may be
trademarks of others.

Information:

For more information about Atmel Corporation, please visit
http://www.atmel.com .

Atmel Press Contacts:
Ford Kanzler, Manager of Corporate Press Relations - USA and Asia
Phone: +1-408-436-4343, Email: fkanzler@atmel.com
Veronique Sablereau, Corporate Communications Manager - Europe
Phone: +33-1-30-60-70-68, Fax: +49-71-31-67-24-23
Email: veronique.sablereau@atmel.com
1st Silicon Press Contacts:
Sia Siaw Chuan
Phone: +60-82-354-888
Email:scsia@1si.com
Barbara Kalkis
Maestro Marketing & Public Relations
Phone: +1-408-996-9975
Email: kkalkis@compuserve.com
Web site: http://www.atmel.com
http://www.1si.com

Rückfragehinweis:
Ford Kanzler, Manager of Corporate Press Relations - USA and Asia,
+1-408-436-4343, fkanzler@atmel.com, or Veronique Sablereau,
Corporate Communications Manager - Europe, Phone: +33-1-30-60-70-68,
or fax, +49-71-31-67-24-23, or veronique.sablereau@atmel.com, both
of Atmel Corporation; or Sia Siaw Chuan of 1st Silicon,
+60-82-354-888, or scsia@1si.com; or Barbara Kalkis of Maestro
Marketing & Public Relations, +1-408-996-9975, or
kkalkis@compuserve.com, for 1st Silicon

OTS-ORIGINALTEXT UNTER AUSSCHLIESSLICHER INHALTLICHER VERANTWORTUNG DES AUSSENDERS | PRN

print