Infineon Enhances Leadership Position in Optical Communications, Adds XFP Modules to Expand ``Single-Source'' 10 Gbps Portfolio.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

OFC 2003

MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 2003

Shows Series of New Products at OFC Conference

Infineon Technologies AG (FSE:IFX)(NYSE:IFX) today announced several product and business developments in its Wireline Communications Business Unit, broadening the company's portfolio of optical communications products and demonstrating its commitment to leadership in the high-speed data- and telecommunications markets. All of the products will be on display in the Infineon booth at the Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Conference, in Atlanta Ga., March 25 - March 27.

-- Availability of optical transceiver (TRX) modules that comply with the newly approved XFP standard. Together with Infineon's existing XPAK modules, this creates a single source for 10 Gbps (gigabit-per-second) optical modules.

-- Availability of a family of "intelligent" small-form-factor pluggable (iSFP) TRX modules with data rates of up to 2.5 Gbps.

-- Availability of the second generation of Infineon's parallel optical link devices, the PAROLI(R) 2 family, with data rates of up to 3.125 Gbps.

-- A joint PAROLI device marketing and product development agreement with Molex Inc., with all PAROLI products fully second-sourced by Molex.

-- A BIDI(R) (Bi-Directional) TRX module with a 1.25 Gbps data rate.

-- The TenGiPHY(TM) product, Infineon's 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GE) XAUI-to-serial transceiver, has begun shipping to customers.

For convenient access by print and on-line media, the announcements are summarized below. For further information, please refer to the Web URLs, or contact the Media Relations contacts listed in this news alert.

Infineon Now Shipping XFP Transceiver Modules; Availability Adds to "Single-Source" 10 Gbps Optical Communications Product Portfolio -- Infineon has begun shipping the first member of its 10G XFP Transceiver Series, a family of high-performance, low-cost TRX modules for serial optical data communication applications. The 10G XFP SR (Short Reach) module that is now available uses an 850 nm VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) to support transmission at distances of up to 300 meters over high-bandwidth multi-mode optical fiber. An LR (Long Reach) module using a 1310 nm DFB laser will be added to the family later in 2003.

Infineon is the first supplier to announce that it is shipping 10 Gbps 850 nm VCSEL-based transceivers in both XFP and XPAK MSA form factors, giving its customers a single source for of standards-compliant 10G optical products.

The Infineon 10G XFP Transceiver Series modules comply with all the applicable 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Fibre Channel and OC192 STM-64 standards, and also meet all the specifications of the XFP MSA (Multi-Source Agreement). Included in the modules are such features as a dual Clock and Data Recovery (CDR) function that supports trance lengths of up to 12 inches and an interface that provides "intelligence" by allowing access module operation status information as over-temperature conditions, loss of transmission, reception or synchronization, laser bias current and DC supply voltage levels.

Sample quantities of the 850 nm 10 Gbps XFP SR transceiver are available now at competitive prices, with volume production planned for the second half of 2003. A 1310 nm XFP LR transceiver module will also be available later this year. More information on the XFP MSA is available at www.xfpmsa.org. Additional information about Infineon's XFP modules can be found at www.infineon.com/xfp.

iSFP Modules Allow Cost-Effective Monitoring of Optical Links -- A new family of TRX modules from Infineon has "intelligent" capabilities that allow communications companies to implement cost-effective, accurate and reliable performance monitoring of an optical link. The iSFP modules are fully compliant with the small-form-factor-pluggable (SFP) MSA and also provide an enhanced Digital Diagnostics Monitoring Interface, based on the SFF-8472 specification, that allows real-time access to such operating parameters as laser bias current, transmitted optical power, received optical power, internal transceiver temperature and supply voltage.

The iSFP modules also feature internal calibration of measurements over operating temperature, as well as built-in alarm and warning threshold sensors that allow the user to determine when a particular value is outside of its operating range.

Advanced packaging and electro-optical design capabilities give Infineon's new iSFP transceiver family such features as extended temperature ranges, the industry's lowest EMI performance and best-in-class jitter performance.

Infineon's iSFP TRX modules are available now in a range of data rates up to 2.5 Gbps. Pricing varies, dependent upon reach and laser type. Additional information can be found at www.infineon.com.

3.125 Gbps PAROLI 2 Devices Offer 25 Percent Data Throughput Increase -- The second generation of Infineon's 12-channel Parallel Optical Link product line, the PAROLI 2 family, is now available. With a single-channel data rate of 3.125 Gbps and 12 channels operating in parallel, the total data throughput of the new device reaches 37.5 Gbps, a 25 percent increase over what was previously available. This high data throughput, combined with an FIT (Failure In Time) rate below 500 and a low power consumption of 1.4 W, makes PAROLI modules a favored solution for multi-processor architectures, high-speed (Internet) switching systems, and the channeling of 10 Gbps Ethernet and SONET OC192 for short-distance interconnections, such as backplanes.

Sample quantities of the 3.125 Gbps PAROLI devices are available now at a price of US$1200 for a transmitter and receiver pair. Additional information about Infineon's PAROLI products can be found at www.infineon.com.

Marketing, Product Development and Second-Source Agreements with Molex Will Help Build Market for PAROLI Devices -- Infineon and Molex announced that, under the terms of a recently signed agreement, they will jointly develop and market next-generation PAROLI (Parallel Optical Link) devices. The companies also announced that the entire current Infineon PAROLI product portfolio is now second-sourced by, and is interoperable with, the ParaLink(TM) modules of Molex. More information can be found at www.infineon.com and www.molex.com.

1.25 Gbps BIDI Module Introduced -- Infineon has introduced a BIDI-TRX module with a data rate of 1.25 Gbps that will be available for general sampling in the fall of 2003. The module will conform to the Bellcore GR-468-CORE, IEEE 802.3z Gigabit Ethernet and ITU G.957 Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) specifications. Infineon's BIDI-TRX modules, which currently have data rates of 155 Mbps (megabits per second), allow two-way communication over a single optical network fiber, eliminating the cost of the second fiber that is normally required for such communication, and are ideally suited for use in point-to-point networks, as a media converter in access applications, and for intra-office communication between switches, cross-connects, routers and servers. Additional information about Infineon's BIDI-TRX modules can be found at www.infineon.com.

TenGiPHY Begins Shipping -- Infineon's TenGiPHY single-chip transceivers, announced in June 2002, are now shipping to customers. The 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GE) XAUI-to-serial transceivers, the TenGiPHY-W and TenGiPHY-L, are the lowest power single-chip 10GE transceivers implemented in pure CMOS with XAUI and 10G interfaces, and may be used as universal 10GE WAN (wide-area network) or LAN (local-area network) PHY devices. They are primarily intended for use in XPAK-form-factor fiber optic modules and on host boards with XFP-form-factor modules, and are ideally suited for such applications as 10GE line cards, Ethernet backbones in LANs and MANs (metropolitan-area networks), storage network interface cards and terabit routers.

Fabricated using Infineon's 0.13 um CMOS process, the TenGiPHY-L and TenGiPHY-W are packaged in a small-footprint, 15 mm x 15 mm ball grid array package. The TenGiPHY-L chips are available now, with small-volume pricing at US$200. The TenGiPHY-W chips will be available in the third quarter of 2003, with small-volume pricing of approximately US$400.

More information on the TenGiPHY products can be found at www.infineon.com.

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2002 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 5.21 billion with about 30,400 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at http://www.infineon.com.

This news alert is available at http://www.infineon.com/news.