To: John Pitera who wrote (980 ) 5/5/2000 12:14:00 PM From: John Pitera Read Replies (2) | Respond to
AXTI-- Makes the Gallium Arsenide Substrates that RFMD,AHAA and others use. "Demand is booming"semiconductor substrates (including gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, indium phosphide, and germanium substrates) used in electronic and opto-electronic applications such as wireless and fiber-optic telecommunications, lasers, LEDs, satellite solar cells, and consumer electronics. American Xtal's Visible Emitter division manufactures visible semiconductor laser-diode chips and high- brightness visible LEDs; and its Consumer Products division makes laser-pointing, laser-alignment, and LED products. The company acquired Lyte Optronics in 1999. Announces a 3x Expansion of Its GaAs Substrate Capacity By Q301 triple its gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate production capacity by the end of the third quarter of 2001. The majority of the expansion is expected to take place at its Beijing, China facility.AXT currently operates a 62,000 square foot facility in Beijing for the purpose of GaAs substrate production. The company has just purchased a 36,000 square foot building adjacent to this facility, and may acquire additional surrounding buildings that would increase its capacity in Beijing to approximately 160,000 square feet by the end of the third quarter of 2001.AXT's primary substrate production facility is in Fremont, Calif . This facility currently produces gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, germanium and gallium nitride substrates for a wide range of communications and consumer applications. The company plans to expand its production in Fremont by another 20,000 square feet this year.``We are experiencing a pressing demand for our gallium arsenide substrates as several of our customers are substantially increasing their ordering patterns,'' said Morris Young, president and chief executive officer. ``We believe that this demand is due in part to the strong growth in the wireless handset market and the increasing popularity of six inch gallium arsenide substrates. Our capacity expansion will help relieve some of the near-term industry shortage, particularly for six inch substrates.light-emitting diodes (LEDs), such as red, blue, cyan and green LEDs , for the display and lighting industries. The company's proprietary Vertical Gradient Freeze (VGF) crystal growth technology produces low-defect, semi-insulating and semi-conducting gallium arsenide, germanium and indium phosphide wafers. The company has also introduced gallium nitride substrates for manufacturing blue LEDs. For more information, see American Xtal Technology's website at www.axt.com. The company can also be reached at 4281 Technology Drive, Fremont, California 94538 or call 510-683-5900. American Xtal Technology is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol AXTI.
