Mitsubishi Electric Announces New Semiconductor Division to Support North American Optoelectronic and Microwave/RF Customers.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2003

Mitsubishi Electric & Electronic USA, Inc., today announced it will establish the new Semiconductor Division on April 1, 2003, to provide compound semiconductors in discrete and module form for optoelectronic and microwave/radio frequency (RF) customers based in North America. The new division will remain headquartered in California's "Silicon Valley" area and will provide marketing, sales and application engineering support. Regional sales offices and third-party sales and distribution channels will also be located throughout the United States and Canada.

"We are establishing the new Semiconductor Division to demonstrate our continued commitment to our optoelectronic and microwave/RF customers," said Kiyoshi Kawakami, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric & Electronic USA, Inc. "Although the overall high-technology market continues to go through challenging times, we believe that compound semiconductors will remain a strong and viable market over the long term. Our new division will enable us to continue offering world-class products to these customers."

"At a time when many of our competitors are receding, we have increased our efforts in next-generation optoelectronic and microwave/RF technologies," said Daniel Chen, general manager of the new division. "We believe that by making the investment now, we will be in the best position to provide our customers with the most advanced technologies when the market demands them. We have a highly qualified team of professionals ready to bring these technologies to market with sensitivity to the unique needs of each customer."

Mitsubishi Electric Optoelectronic Products

Mitsubishi Electric offers a diverse range of optoelectronic products for synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH), synchronous optical network (SONET), 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE), fiber channel, coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM), dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), data communication and optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) applications, as well as passive optical network systems, test and instrumentation applications and cable television (CATV) distribution. Discrete light sources include electro-absorption (EA) modulators; Fabry-Perot (FP), distributed feedback (DFB), and pump laser diodes; and EA modulated laser (EML) diodes. Other discrete products include avalanche and PIN photodiodes, laser drivers, and receiver pre-amplifiers. The company also manufactures laser diode and detector modules, as well as integrated transmitters-receivers (transceivers) and transponders.

The company's optoelectronic product families conform to leading-edge current and future multi-source agreements such as XENPAK, X2, XPAK, and XFP for transmission speeds ranging from 155 megabits per second (Mbps) to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps), with 40-Gbps products beginning introduction. Mitsubishi Electric milestones include the introduction of the world's first single-chip, 10-gigabit Ethernet physical-layer transceiver large-scale integrated circuit (LAN-PHY LSI) manufactured using silicon-on-insulator complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (SOI-CMOS) technology.

Mitsubishi Electric Microwave/RF Products

Mitsubishi Electric manufactures a variety of microwave and RF semiconductors for linear, low-noise and high-power communications applications such as basestations, including satellite and terrestrial transmitters and receivers, mobile radios, cellular phones and subscriber units. The company produces gallium arsenide (GaAs) field-effect transistors (FETs), modules and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) using hetero-bipolar transistor (HBT), pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT), metal semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) and heterostructure FET (HFET) technologies. The company also manufactures silicon RF power transistors and modules using metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) and lateral diffused MOS (LDMOS) technologies for the industrial and consumer markets.

Mitsubishi Electric offers low-noise, unmatched and internally matched GaAs FETs that cover the L, S, C, X and Ku bands. The company also produces phone modules for CDMA and GSM applications. Mitsubishi Electric is in the process of introducing a consolidated line of metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) based broadband RF transistors and modules that cover a wider frequency range than previous-generation devices.

For more information about Mitsubishi Electric's optoelectronic and microwave/RF semiconductor products, please visit www.mitsubishichips.com.

About Mitsubishi Electric US Companies

Mitsubishi Electric US represents roughly a dozen companies that market an extensive line of consumer, commercial and industrial electronics products. These include semiconductor devices; high-definition televisions, DVD players and VCRs; stadium display screens; systems and components for automobile manufacturers, elevators and escalators; heating and air conditioning systems; factory automation equipment, power products and other items. With nearly 6,000 employees in 30 locations throughout North America, sales in fiscal year 2001 were approximately $2.7 billion.

For additional information visit www.MitsubishiElectric.com.

Trademark Information

Mitsubishi and the Mitsubishi logo are registered trademarks of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in the U.S.A., Japan, and other countries.

Keywords

Mitsubishi, optoelectronic, microwave, RF, high frequency.