ISONICS CORPORATION AND CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR SIGN SILICON-28 R&D AGREEMENT
GOLDEN, Colo., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Isonics Corporation (OTC
Bulletin Board: ISON) and San Jose-based Cypress Semiconductor
Corporation (NYSE: CY) announced today that they have signed a joint
research and development agreement to explore the use of isotopically
pure silicon-28 in semiconductor memory devices. The joint program
calls for Cypress to produce 0.25 micron CMOS memory devices on
isotopically pure silicon-28 wafers supplied by Isonics and compare the
performance of these devices with those made on natural silicon wafers.
Results are expected to be available in 9 to 12 months.
According to Cypress Vice President of Research and Development Jose
Arreola, "As memory speeds become greater, our goal is to define the
best possible manner to manage that speed without the resultant heat
becoming a performance issue. The use of silicon-28 wafers has very
real possibilities in this area and is an avenue that we are eager to
explore."
Laboratory tests have shown that isotopically pure silicon-28 has 50
percent higher thermal conductivity than natural silicon. Isonics
believes that the improved thermal conductivity of silicon-28 will
facilitate the manufacture of higher density integrated circuits
resulting in increased performance and improved chip yields. The
attractiveness of silicon-28 is that while it has improved properties
over standard silicon, it can be used without any changes in existing
semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Dr. Stephen J. Burden, Isonics' Vice President of Semiconductor
Materials, commented, "Isonics is encouraged that Cypress has
recognized the potential advantage that silicon-28 could provide their
products. We believe the better thermal conductivity of silicon-28
will favorably impact the performance of next generation memory
technologies, such as direct Rambus DRAM."
James E. Alexander, Isonics' President & CEO, stated, "Now that Isonics
has secured relevant patents covering silicon-28 devices and has
established a road map for production scale-up of the technology, we
are proceeding to establish relationships with manufacturers in many
segments of the industry to evaluate silicon-28 in actual products.
Our plans call for substantially increasing our epitaxial wafer
capacity in 1999 and producing the first bulk 200 mm silicon-28 wafers
in mid-2000."
On April 12, Isonics announced that it had entered into a licensing
agreement with Yale University that entitles the Company to exclusive
intellectual property rights to patents covering semiconductor devices
derived from isotopically engineered materials. These patents cover
silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide and most other isotopically pure
semiconductors and are the basis for Isonics' silicon-28 wafer
development and commercialization.
Isonics is an advanced materials and technology company which
develops and commercializes products based on enriched stable isotopes.
Stable isotopes can be thought of as ultra-ultra pure materials. This
high degree of purification provides enhanced performance properties
compared to normal materials. Stable isotopes have commercial uses in
several areas, including energy; research, medical diagnostics, and
drug development; product tagging and stewardship; semiconductors;
lasers; and optical materials. For more information on silicon-28 and
other Isonics products, please visit the Isonics web site at
(www.isonics.com).
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation is a global supplier of semiconductor
products for leading computer, networking, and telecommunications
companies worldwide. The company's worldwide web site is
(www.cypress.com).
|
