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EpiWorks Completes Phase II Production Capacity Expansion

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS –January 8th, 2010 – Today, EpiWorks, a leading developer and manufacturer of compound semiconductor epitaxy, announced the completion of its Phase II production facility expansion.

“We have carefully planned the additional cleanroom space and production capacity with customers to ensure that EpiWorks continues to stay ahead of demand. With the new cleanroom on-line, the additional wall-to-wall capacity also enhances our ability to quickly add more production tools and provides greater flexibility for new product development.” said Dr. David Ahmari, Executive Vice President at EpiWorks.

EpiWorks provides 4” and 6” wafers to the wireless and solar cell industry as well as 2”, 3”, 4” and 6” wafers to the semiconductor laser and detector industry. The phase II expansion provides enough cleanroom space for EpiWorks to produce over 200,000 6” wafers per year at this facility.

“We are excited by the progress we made with customers in 2009, despite the unusual economic conditions. In addition to maintaining profitability, EpiWorks qualified several new wireless, laser and detector products and established a new solar cell wafer product line. The new production floor will allow us to increase output in each of these areas. Our contractors and employees have done a fantastic job meeting our timing and budgetary goals, thus providing a smooth runway for increasing production in 2010 and beyond.” said Quesnell Hartmann, CEO at EpiWorks.

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EpiWorks, Inc. develops and manufactures compound semiconductor epitaxial wafers for application in optical components, wireless devices and high-speed communication systems. The company’s products provide these applications additional performance, such as greater bandwidth, higher power efficiency and better reliability. EpiWorks’ business model includes high-level customer interaction and co-development to rapidly advanced its customers’ technology capability and product performance. To learn more about EpiWorks visit www.epiworks.com.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is well known for its research and development of III-V materials and devices. Professor Nick Holonyak, Jr. invented the first practical light emitting diode, and Professor Feng is credited with demonstrating the fastest bipolar transistor to date.