ATMI Atmi Inc. (MM)

ATMI Announces Commercial Sales of Improved 2-Inch Gallium Nitride Substrates Uniformly Low Dislocation Density and Semi-Insulating GaN Wafers Available DANBURY, Conn., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ATMI, Inc. , a supplier of materials to the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers, today announced commercial sales of improved two-inch diameter and smaller gallium nitride (GaN) substrates. The new free-standing GaN substrate products have a uniform dislocation density of 10^6 cm^-2, in contrast to other GaN wafer products that have a low dislocation density only in select regions, which restricts device size and placement. ATMI is also offering engineering samples of semi-insulating GaN substrates for high frequency, high power electronics. "We expect the introduction of uniformly low dislocation density GaN substrates to set a new standard in Gallium Nitride substrates. We've delivered our GaN wafers to major consumer electronics companies and into every major semiconductor region in the world, and the early feedback is very good, with customers obtaining improved device performance on our GaN substrates," said George Brandes, Director of ATMI's GaN venture. Brandes continued, "We are confident GaN wafers will help to allow full realization of the enormous benefits of blue laser capabilities. Because of the novelty of our work, we've made significant efforts to protect our intellectual property, and already have more than 20 patents filed or issued around ATMI's GaN processes and substrate growth and fabrication." "We are producing free-standing two-inch GaN wafers in large volumes with reasonable lead times," said Bob Vaudo, Manager of ATMI GaN Substrates. "We have improved our growth process to enable a reduction in dislocation density by an order of magnitude. ATMI's GaN wafers now meet the critical parameters needed to extend laser lifetime and performance. In high performance electronics, we have developed semi-insulating GaN wafers and are beginning to offer them to select R&D customers in engineering quantities." As a solid-state blue light emitter, gallium nitride (GaN) is the ideal material for blue laser diodes. Blue lasers can potentially quadruple data storage on DVDs and print resolution in laser printers, make biomedical laser surgery safer and more "invisible," and could ultimately lead to solid-state lighting that could make incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs obsolete. For high-performance electronics, GaN offers the potential to handle much higher powers and frequencies than conventional materials, potentially doubling the effective range for radar and satellites while increasing bandwidth. GaN-based devices should ultimately lead to increased system efficiency, reduced system costs, and new market applications. ATMI's Gallium Nitride (GaN) venture business supplies GaN substrates and III-nitride epiwafers to the electronic device community. ATMI provides specialty materials and materials packaging to the worldwide semiconductor industry. As the Source of Semiconductor Process Efficiency, ATMI helps customers improve wafer yields and lower operating costs. For more information, please visit atmi.com. Statements contained herein that relate to ATMI's future performance, including, without limitation, statements with respect to ATMI's anticipated results of operations or level of business for 2003 or any other future period, are forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on current expectations only and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including, but not limited to: changes in semiconductor industry growth or ATMI's markets; competition, problems, or delays developing and commercializing new products; problems or delays in integrating acquired operations and businesses into ATMI; problems or delays associated with any restructuring activity; and other factors discussed in ATMI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ from those projected. ATMI undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. DATASOURCE: ATMI, Inc. CONTACT: Dean Hamilton of ATMI, Inc., +1-203-207-9349, or +1-203-794-1100, ext. 4202, or Web site: http://www.atmi.com/

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