Infineon Technologies Sets New Standard for Mobile Communications ICs; Announces High-Speed, Low-Power SiGe BiCMOS Process Technology.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2000

Infineon Technologies (NYSE:IFX) today introduced its Silicon Germanium (SiGe) Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology, called B7HFc.

To demonstrate the technology's ability to support high-speed, low-power integrated circuit (IC) designs for next-generation mobile communication applications, Infineon also announced that it has implemented a 10 GHz Phase Locked Loop (PLL) circuit using the B7HFc process.

At 10 GHz, Infineon's SiGe BiCMOS PLL sets a worldwide RF benchmark in high speed, low power and integration in a radio frequency (RF) IC. At typical operating frequencies for mobile phones, the PLL offers the benefit of improved RF performance while reducing supply current by 50% compared to conventional Silicon BiCMOS designs. Highly integrated low-power RF transceivers can now be realized with the B7HFc technology, resulting in extended talk time and standby time for portable applications.

"This innovation in chip manufacturing illustrates our technological strength and expertise in providing solutions for next-generation mobile communications," said Maurice van Riek, vice president and general manager of the radio frequency ICs business unit at Infineon Technologies. "By addressing the specific requirements of higher operating frequencies, reduced power consumption and increased levels of integration, our SiGe BiCMOS technology provides an ideal basis for future mobile communication and wireless internet standards such as 2.5G, 3G, and HiperLAN."

About the process

The B7HFc technology has been specifically designed to meet requirements of mobile communication systems and high-speed data transmission standards. The process combines state-of-the-art RF bipolar transistors with transit frequencies up to 75GHz, and an advanced analog 0.35um Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) process. The new SiGe BiCMOS process will enable innovative solutions for analog, mixed-signal and high-level integrated RF products, such as Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA - with minimum noise figures of 0.65dB at 1.8GHz), Mixers, PLLs (up to 10 GHz), Transceivers and Analog/Digital Converter (ADC) circuits.

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor solutions for applications in the wireless and wired communications markets, for the automotive and industrial sectors, for security systems and chip cards as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the United States from San Jose, Calif., in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 1999 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 4.24 billion (US $ 4.51 billion) with about 26,000 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 www.infineon.com.