CEA and Soitec file a patent infringement lawsuit against MEMC
GRENOBLE, France — May 19, 2008 — The CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission) and S.O.I.TEC Silicon On Insulator Technologies (Euronext Paris), the world’s leading supplier of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and other engineered substrates used in the microelectronics industry, have announced today that they have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against MEMC Electronic Materials Inc., located in St.Peters, Missouri, United States.
The lawsuit, filed on May 19, 2008 in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, alleges that MEMC has infringed and is infringing United States Reissue Patent No. RE 39,484 and United States Patents No. 6,809,009, and No 7,067,396, all related to SOI and other technologies. The patents are owned by CEA, and exclusively licensed to S.O.I.TEC.
The CEA and Soitec are seeking a permanent injunction against MEMC’s use of the patented technologies and monetary damages for infringement.
About the CEA: The CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission), a public organization for technological research, carries out its missions in the domains of energy, information and health technologies, and defense, built on the foundations of a fundamental research at the highest level. Strengthened by the competence of its 15,000 researchers and collaborators, CEA is renowned internationally and constitutes a strong source of original ideas for public authorities, institutions and industries in France and in Europe.
Located in Grenoble, the CEA- Leti division (Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory of CEA) is at the leading edge of European research in microelectronics, microtechnology and nanotechnology. Its workforce is 1200 people; It filed more than 200 patents in 2007 and it hold a portfolio above 1400 patents.. With 30 start-ups created or in the course of creation, it is one of the most important partners of the industrial world .
Instigator of the MINATEC innovative center , CEA-Leti is also one of its principal partners, alongside of the INP Grenoble (Grenoble Institute of Technology) and local authorities. Further information on www.cea.fr
MINATEC is a registered trademark of the CEA.
About the Soitec Group: The Soitec Group is the world’s leading innovator and provider of the engineered substrate solutions that serve as the foundation for today’s most advanced microelectronic products. The group leverages its proprietary Smart Cut™ technology to engineer new substrate solutions, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, which became the first high-volume application for this proprietary technology. Since then, SOI has emerged as the material platform of the future, enabling the production of higher performing, faster chips that consume less power.
Today, Soitec produces more than 80 percent of the world’s SOI wafers. Headquartered in Bernin, France, with two high-volume fabs on-site, Soitec has offices throughout the United States, Japan and Taiwan, and a new production site in the process of customers’ qualification in Singapore.
Two other divisions, Picogiga International (Les Ulis) and Tracit Technologies (Bernin), complete the Soitec Group. Picogiga focuses on delivering advanced substrates solutions, including III-Vs epiwafers and gallium nitride (GaN)-based wafers, to the compound material world for the manufacture of high-frequency electronics and other optoelectronic devices. Tracit, on the other hand, focuses on thin-film layer transfer technologies used to manufacture advanced substrates for power ICs and microsystems, as well as generic circuit transfer technology for applications such as image sensors and 3D-integration. Shares of the Soitec Group are listed on Euronext Paris.
Soitec, Smart Cut and UNIBOND are trademarks of S.O.I.TEC Silicon On Insulator Technologies.
For further information, please contact:
Soitec
Olivier Brice
Investor Relations – Financial Communication
Tel:+33 4 76 92 93 80
olivier.brice@soitec.fr