Cypress Introduces 0.2-Micron Process; Rapid Progress Provides Company With Competitive Advantage in Process Technology.

Business Editors/Technology Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2000

Cypress Semiconductor today announced that its new 0.2-micron RAM6(TM) technology is now yielding in its high-volume, 8-inch fabrication facility in Bloomington, Minnesota (Fab IV). Cypress is sampling products manufactured on RAM6, and will ship production volume quantities of its first RAM6 product, a high-speed synchronous 8 Mbit SRAM, in the second quarter. A rapid transition of Cypress's synchronous SRAM product portfolio to RAM6 will follow. Fab IV currently produces devices at line widths of 0.25 microns, with 90% of its output at or below 0.35 microns. An innovative new cell layout coupled with a geometric shrink to 0.2-micron will yield greater than 60% more die per wafer than equivalent 0.25-micron products and provide Cypress, currently the No. 2 American SRAM supplier, with a competitive advantage in that market.

Cypress began high-volume production of its patented high-speed, low-power, six-transistor (6T) cell in 1996 at 0.5-micron (RAM3(TM)). The company has made dramatic progress since then, culminating with today's announcement of its fourth-generation process, which moves Cypress into a leadership position in SRAM technology. The RAM6 cell size, with a 4.4-square-micron area, enables cost-effective solutions to 16-Mbit densities.

"We are extremely pleased with the success we've had in shrinking our line widths," said Jose Arreola, Cypress vice president of research and development. "We developed our 6T technology when most companies were still producing four-transistor, two-resistor cells (4T-2R). Today, the industry-standard is 6T, and because we've been working on 6T cells for years, we have a significant advantage over companies that are now going through the transition. Currently under development is our fifth-generation 6T SRAM technology, a 0.16-micron process that shrinks cell size even further."

Eliminating the resistors in the standard 4T-2R cell with its RAM3 technology, Cypress was able to "optically shrink" the cell to 0.35-micron (RAM4(TM)) by the end of 1997, and then to 0.25-micron (RAM5(TM)) in 1999. Because optical shrinks do not require cell redesign, they reduce the time required to put a new generation into production and dramatically increase the probability that first silicon will be successful. RAM6 is Cypress's first cell redesign since the introduction of its 6T cell.

"The RAM6 development process has been exceptional," Arreola continued. "We have continued our rapid shrink path while adding new features that bring us to the forefront of semiconductor technology."

SRAM Leadership

Cypress is the second leading U.S. supplier of SRAMs, offering a broad range of products for numerous market segments. For battery-powered applications, Cypress recently introduced MoBL(TM) (More Battery Life(TM)) SRAMs, a family of devices that uses less power than any competing SRAMs. In partnership with IDT and Micron, Cypress has also introduced QDR(TM) (Quad Data Rate(TM)) SRAMs, a new family of very-high-performance SRAMs geared toward the networking market. The QDR family will complement Cypress's current NoBL(TM) (No Bus Latency(TM)) networking SRAMs.

About Cypress

Cypress Semiconductor provides high-performance integrated circuit solutions "By Engineers. For Engineers.(TM)" for fast-growing companies in fast-growing markets, including data communications, telecommunications, computation, consumer products, and industrial-control. With a focus on emerging communications applications, Cypress's product lines include networking-optimized and micropower static RAMs; high-bandwidth multiport and FIFO memories; high-density programmable logic devices; timing technology for PCs and other digital systems; and controllers for Universal Serial Bus (USB). Cypress is No. 1 in the USB and clock chip markets.

More than two-thirds of Cypress's sales come from fast-growing datacom/telecom markets and dynamic companies such as 3Com, Alcatel, Cisco, Ericsson, Lucent, Motorola, and Nortel Networks. Cypress's ability to mix and match its broad portfolio of intellectual property enables targeted, integrated solutions for high-speed systems that feed bandwidth-hungry Internet applications. Cypress aims to become the preferred silicon supplier for Internet switching systems and to have every Internet data stream pass through at least one Cypress IC.

Cypress employs more than 3,600 people worldwide with international headquarters in San Jose, California. Its shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CY. More information about Cypress is accessible electronically on the company's worldwide web site at http://www.cypress.com or by CD-ROM (call 1-800-858-1810). An electronic investor forum and other investor information is located at http://www.cypress.com/investor/index.html.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements herein that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" involving risks and uncertainties. Please refer to Cypress's Securities and Exchange Commission filings for a discussion of such risks.

RAM3, RAM4, RAM5, RAM6, MoBL, More Battery Life, NoBL, and No Bus Latency are trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. QDR SRAMs and Quad Data Rate comprise a new family of products developed by Cypress Semiconductor, IDT, and Micron Technology.