May 2, 2002 – Munich, Germany and Toayuen, Taiwan – Following successful cooperation talks, Infineon Technologies and Nanya Technology Corp. have signed a non-binding MoU for the two companies to cooperate on standard memory chips (DRAMs).

Under the terms of the agreement, the two semiconductor manufacturers will co-develop 0.09- and 0.07-micron production technologies for 300mm wafers, starting October 2002, sharing the development costs. The companies have also agreed to set up a 50:50 joint venture for the production of DRAM chips and to build a new joint 300mm facility in Taiwan.

The first 300mm wafers will be produced at the end of 2003, and in the first stage production should reach a capacity of approximately 20,000 wafer starts/month by 2H04. The joint venture will be based in Taoyuen, Taiwan, close to Nanya’s current production facility.

The transaction still requires approval by the antitrust authorities.

The two companies will jointly develop the new 0.09- and 0.07-micron production technology at Infineon’s Dresden plant and also use it in the new joint venture facility.

Production of 300mm wafers using the new 0.09-micron process will start in the new joint plant in Taoyuen at the end of 2003. Furthermore, it is planned to deploy the 0.09-micron production technology also for 200mm wafers.

The production joint venture in Taoyuen will be integrated into Infineon’s international cluster of DRAM production sites, which comprises the production facilities in Dresden, Germany, Richmond, Virginia, and ProMOS Technologies, the joint venture with Mosel Vitelic in Hsinchu, Taiwan.