ADFLex Launches Flip-Chip Technology in Thailand.

CHANDLER, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 1998--ADFlex Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq/NM:AFLX) Tuesday announced that it has deployed advanced "flip-chip" volume assembly capability to operations in its Lamphun, Thailand (ATL) facility.

ADFlex developed flip-chip-on-flex technology and tested it on several applications at its U.K. Technology Center. The deployment of flip-chip capability to Thailand marks another milestone in the company's strategy to integrate flex fabrication and assembly in the region and thus service an important segment of its customer base.

This action complements the high-volume process for surface mount (SMT) and chip-on-flex (COF) assembly already in place in Thailand and strongly positions ADFlex as a low-cost supplier across all forms of flex-assembly technologies.

Industry experts have widely reported that flip-chip technology offers key advantages in the implementation of advanced flexible packaging. Compared to previous technologies such as surface mount and wire-bonded chip-on-flex, flip-chip requires significantly less space on the substrate, offers improved electrical performance due to reduced resistance and inductive effects, and exhibits excellent reliability.

"We believe the demand for flip-chip technology will grow significantly over the next eighteen months," said ADFlex Chairman and CEO Rolando C. Esteverena. "Flip-chip technology is widely viewed as the ultimate answer to industrywide miniaturization problems that also require high performance.

"Bringing this capability to our Thailand facility positions us to capture a large portion of a new generation of flex interconnect designs now underway."

The flip-chip assembly involves attaching silicon chips directly to flexible circuits without the need for additional wire-bonds or connection leads as with traditional flex circuit assembly methods. The silicon chips are mounted face down with "bumps" on the chip pads that form electrical and mechanical joints to the circuit substrate.

An under-fill encapsulate is then added between the chip surface and the flex circuit to achieve the high reliability demanded in applications such as hard disk drives.

ADFlex is a leading supplier of flexible circuit-based interconnect solutions to the computer, computer peripheral, communication and other industries. Applications for flex-based interconnects include cellular telephones, hard disk drives and other storage systems, high-end consumer products, notebook computers, pagers and personal communications systems. -0

Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts, may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, anticipated flip-chip market growth, the ability to capture such growth, the continuing ability of the Thailand facility to successfully qualify new processes, parts and programs and to increase production, risks of fluctuations in customer demand, and other factors that will impact the need for and success of expanded manufacturing capacity in Thailand and elsewhere during 1998 and thereafter, and other risks detailed in the company's annual report on form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1996, quarterly reports on form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 1997, June 30, 1997, and Sept. 30, 1997, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

CONTACT: ADFlex Solutions Inc., Chandler

Donald E. Frederick, 602/963-4584

Lisa D. Peterson, 602/786-8400