World-Leading Semiconductor Foundry to offer NROM Two and Four Bit-Per-Cell Technology Shanghai and Netanya, July 28 2005 – Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (“SMICâ€; NYSE: SMI and HKSE: 981), a world-leading semiconductor foundry, and SAIFUN Semiconductors, a provider of intellectual property (IP) solutions for the non-volatile memory (NVM) market, today announced that SMIC has licensed SAIFUN NROM® technology for production of flash memory-based products.
“SMIC has successfully used its DRAM filler strategy to navigate through the semiconductor industry’s recent downturn and has sought a filler strategy for its advanced logic fabs. SMIC believes that Saifun’s NROM technology, which is primarily based on an advanced logic process, will be ideal to fill this role,†said Mr. Marco Mora, Chief Operating Officer of SMIC. “SMIC is excited about partnering with a recognized innovator in the flash memory market by entering into license and design service agreements. These agreements will allow us to maintain our leadership position and to offer leading-edge NVM solutions.â€
“With this agreement, SMIC joins other leading semiconductor manufacturers that are adopting our technology to expand their business and maintain their competitive edge,†said Kobi Rozengarten, President of SAIFUN Semiconductors. “The Chinese semiconductor market is an extremely important and high-potential market for us and we are proud that SMIC, the leader in this market, chose SAIFUN as its technology partner. We are confident that the combination of SMIC resources and NROM technology will set new standards in the industry.â€
About SMIC SMIC (NYSE: SMI, SEHK: 0981.HK) is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world, providing integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing at 0.35-micron to 0.11-micron and finer line technologies to customers worldwide. Established in 2000, SMIC has four 8-inch wafer fabrication facilities in volume production in Shanghai and Tianjin. In the first quarter of 2005, SMIC commenced commercial production at its 12-inch wafer fabrication facility in Beijing. SMIC also maintains customer service and marketing offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and a representative office in Hong Kong. As part of its dedication towards providing high-quality services, SMIC strives to comply with or exceed international standards and has achieved ISO9001, ISO/TS16949, OHSAS18001, TL9000, and ISO14001 certifications. For additional information, please visit
http://www.smics.com.
About Saifun Semiconductors Ltd. Saifun is a provider of intellectual property (IP) solutions for the non-volatile memory (NVM) market. The company’s innovative Saifun NROM® technology allows semiconductor manufacturers to deliver high performance, reliable products at a lower cost per megabit, with greater storage capacity, using a single process for all NVM applications. Saifun licenses its IP to semiconductor manufacturers who use this technology to develop and manufacture a variety of stand-alone and embedded NVM products. These include Flash memory for the telecommunications, consumer electronic, networking and automotive markets. Among the companies licensing Saifun NROM are Infineon Technologies, Macronix International, Sony Corporation, Spansion, and Tower Semiconductors.
