IQE plc

Reach

Cardiff, UK

21 October 2021

IQE announces strategic partnership with GlobalFoundries

-     IQE's first development collaboration program with GlobalFoundries

-     Builds on IQE's strong track record of gallium nitride (GaN) innovation

IQE plc (AIM:  IQE, "IQE" or the "Group"), the leading global supplier of advanced compound semiconductor wafer products and material solutions to the semiconductor industry, is pleased to announce the commencement of a long-term strategic collaboration with GlobalFoundries® (GF®) to develop vital gallium nitride on silicon (GaN on Si) technologies for mobile and wireless infrastructure applications. GF is a global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing and the result of this collaboration will be a GaN on Si offering at GF's Fab 9 facility in Burlington, Vermont, using wafers supplied by IQE.

Due to its unique material properties, gallium nitride is the material of choice for high-power, high-frequency applications and the global deployment of 5G networks has relied heavily on the use of such GaN technology. Future 5G systems, including mmWave, will address significant increases in data across mobile and digital ecosystems, supporting further growth for GaN-enabled solutions. Working together, GF and IQE will pool their expertise and facilitate the development of crucial building blocks for current and future communications systems.

Dr Wayne Johnson, Executive Vice President - Wireless & Emerging Products at IQE, commented:

"IQE's collaboration with GlobalFoundries marks a step change for us. It recognises the quality of our market-leading GaN products and demonstrates how IQE's ever-closer customer relationships can bring more innovative products to market, at scale. This is a unique opportunity to leverage the performance of GaN with the cost structure of high-volume silicon manufacturing. We look forward to working closely with GlobalFoundries over the coming years."

Dr. Bami Bastani, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile and Wireless Infrastructure at GlobalFoundries added:

"GlobalFoundries continues to lead with innovative and feature rich solutions for 5G. Our collaboration with IQE will enable us to deliver differentiated gallium nitride on silicon solutions that enable next-generation connectivity and user experiences that will help enable our customers' innovations."

Contacts:

IQE plc

+44 (0) 29 2083 9400

Phil Smith

Tim Pullen

Amy Barlow   

Headland Consultancy (Financial PR)
+ 44 (0) 20 38054822

Andy Rivett-Carnac: +44 (0) 7968 997 365

Chloe Francklin: +44 (0)78 3497 4624

About IQE:

http://iqep.com

IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced compound semiconductor wafers and materials solutions that enable a diverse range of applications across:

·    handset devices

·    global telecoms infrastructure

·    connected devices

·    3D sensing

As a scaled global epitaxy wafer manufacturer, IQE is uniquely positioned in this market which has high barriers to entry. IQE supplies the whole market and is agnostic to the winners and losers at chip and OEM level. By leveraging the Group's intellectual property portfolio including know-how and patents, it produces epitaxy wafers of superior quality, yield and unit economics.

IQE is headquartered in Cardiff UK, with c. 660 employees across nine manufacturing locations in the UK, US, Taiwan and Singapore, and is listed on the AIM Stock Exchange in London.

About GlobalFoundries:

https://gf.com/

GlobalFoundries Inc. (GF) is one of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers. GF delivers feature-rich solutions that enable its customers to develop innovative products for pervasive chips for high-growth markets. GF provides a broad range of feature-rich process technology solutions with a unique mix of design, development and fabrication services. With an at-scale manufacturing footprint spanning the U.S., Europe and Asia, GF is a trusted technology source to its customers across the globe.