CARSEM SIGNS TECHNOLOGY MOU WITH STMICROELECTRONICS

Scotts Valley, CA-6 October, 2003- Carsem, a leading provider of turnkey packaging and test services to the semiconductor industry announced today they recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with STMicroelectronics related to the development and implementation of a "bond-less" interconnect packaging technology whereby a small metal slab attached to the die surface replaces bonding wires.

The process connects the active area of a die to the package leadframe using a specially designed copper conductor rather than making the connection with multiple thermo-sonically bonded gold wires. The technology is typically used for MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Silicon Field Effect Transistors) devices in various package types including System in Package (SiP). The advantage of the bond-less technology is that it provides a significantly improved electrical performance when compared to using multiple gold wires. For example, on a MOSFET device one copper clip can replace 15 gold wires and lower the R_DSon (Static Drain-Source on-resistance) by about 30 % in addition to providing an improved current distribution into the device.

The MOU provides that ST's Discretes and Standard ICs Group (DSG) will advise and provide technical support to Carsem in order to develop a copper clip interconnect technology for the Micro Leadframe Package (MLP) family. Carsem will install the relevant process, tooling and materials for copper clip interconnect solutions for both prototyping and production purposes. Through a collaborative effort, Carsem and ST will perform functional, thermal, and mechanical simulations to validate the packaging technology and will include these studies and results in their respective product offerings. Other than some specific patented die related technologies by ST, Carsem will be able to provide the copper clip technology solution to their customer base across their package portfolio.

According to Maurizio Ferrara, Product Engineering Manager, Discretes and Standard ICs Group, STMicroelectronics, "The last few years have seen an acceleration in product development for non-isolated DC/DC converters for Communication applications in the QFN Ôhalved brick' package size. The MLP is the right technology solution to make the most of advanced silicon in a chip scale package to meet the challenge of creating advanced circuitry and well performing thermal design, so that suppliers can differentiate their products portfolio for the most demanding customers/applications."

David Comley, Carsem's group-managing director stated, "We have a long standing relationship with STMicroelectronics and I am very pleased to have established this technology partnership. This combined effort both benefits STMicroelectronics and further enhances our ability to offer leading technology solutions to the industry."

About Carsem
Carsem is a leading provider of turnkey packaging and test services to the semiconductor industry, and offers one of the widest ranges of package & test portfolios in the world. To meet the growing demands of the telecommunications and wireless markets for smaller, faster, thermally-efficient devices, Carsem's portfolio includes several advanced technologies, such as the Micro Leadframe Package (MLP), Small Scale Ball Grid Array (SSBGA), Flip Chip On Leadframe (FCOL), and a SiP (System-in-Package) capability. Carsem also offers a full range of turnkey test services for RF, mixed-signal, linear, digital and power devices. Our factories maintain world-class quality standards having achieved SAC Level 1, ISO-9001, ISO-14001, QS-9000, TS16949 certifications, and are supported with a global network of sales and engineering support offices. Carsem is a member of the Hong Leong Group with factories located in Ipoh, Malaysia, Suzhou, China and sales offices across the USA, plus the UK. Carsem, Inc. sales headquarters is located at 269 Mt. Hermon Road, Suite 104, Scotts Valley, CA 95066, phone (831) 438-6861, fax (831) 438-6863, web site: www.carsem.com.