IQE plc : IQE's Wafer Technology substrate divi...

Cardiff, UK, 07 January 2015 - IQE plc (AIM: IQE; "IQE", the "Group") the leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductor wafer products to the global semiconductor industry, announces that it has received a new purchase order agreement for indium phosphide (InP) materials to the value of $3.25m from a leading global substrate manufacturer.

InP crystals, produced by IQE's Wafer Technology division based in Milton Keynes, UK, is the source material for the manufacture  of InP wafers used in the production of high-performance photonic components for a wide range of applications in infrared sensing, communications and gesture recognition applications

Demand for photonics products is continuing to grow as new and emerging technologies increasingly rely on the properties of light for a growing range of technological applications. InP is the material of choice due to its advantageous photonic properties, particularly in the short wavelength infrared (IR) range commonly used for a host of sensing applications as well as high speed optical communications, high definition night vision and gesture recognition.

Dr. Drew Nelson, CEO and President of IQE plc commented:

"We are very pleased to receive this order from a long term customer of our InP products and the scale of this commitment reflects our status in the semiconductor industry for the supply of a diverse range of semiconductor materials in addition to substrates and epiwafers.

We continue to see growing demand for products with optoelectronic properties and it is apt that IQE's first significant order of the year should relate to photonics products. This order underlines the importance of the photonic industry sector over the coming years and decades as recognised by 2015 being designated the International Year of Light"

Further information about the International Year of Light is available at http://www.light2015.org/Home.html

Contacts:

IQE plc [phone]
Drew Nelson
Phil Rasmussen
Chris Meadows

IQE Infrared [phone]
Mark Furlong (technical/sales)

Canaccord Genuity + 44 (0) 20 7523 8000
Simon Bridges
Cara Griffiths

Peel Hunt [phone]
Andy Crossley
Richard Kauffer

Broker Profile [phone]
Simon Courtenay
Harry Rippon

NOTE TO EDITORS

ABOUT IQE

www.iqep.com

IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers with products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an innovative outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers.

IQE uses advanced crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and supply bespoke semiconductor wafers ('epiwafers') to the major chip manufacturing companies, who then use these wafers to make the chips which form the key components of virtually all high technology systems. IQE is unique in being able to supply wafers using all of the leading crystal growth technology platforms.

IQE's products are found in many leading-edge consumer, communication, computing and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer products for the wireless industry, such as mobile handsets and wireless infrastructure, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, base stations, GPS, and satellite communications; and optical communications.

The Group also manufactures advanced optoelectronic and photonic components such as semiconductor lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and optical sensors for a wide range of applications including optical fibre communications, optical storage (CD, DVD, BluRay), thermal imaging, leading-edge medical products, pico-projection, finger navigation ultra-high brightness LEDs, and high efficiency concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells.

The manufacturers of these chips are increasingly seeking to outsource wafer production to specialist foundries such as IQE in order to reduce overall wafer costs and accelerate time to market.

IQE also provides bespoke R&D services to deliver customised materials for specific applications and offers specialist technical staff to manufacture to specification either at its own facilities or on the customer's own sites. The Group is also able to leverage its global purchasing volumes to reduce the cost of raw materials. In this way, IQE's outsourced services, provide compelling benefits in terms of flexibility and predictability of cost, thereby significantly reducing operating risk.

IQE operates a number of manufacturing and R&D facilities across Europe, Asia and the USA. The Group also delivers its products and services through regional sales offices located in major economic centres worldwide

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Source: IQE plc via Globenewswire

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