CARSEM ANNOUNCES AN OPTICALLY TRANSPARENT MLP (QFN)

Scotts Valley, CA- September 14, 2004-Carsem, a leading provider of turnkey packaging and test services to the semiconductor industry, announced today they now offer MLP's (Micro Leadframe Package) that are encapsulated with an optically transparent molding compound. The new Clear MLP package offering uses the saw singulation technology for the MLPQ (Quad) and MLPD (Dual) versions and typical body sizes range from 2x2 mm to 4x5 mm with I/O counts of 5 to 30 leads.

Paul Smith, Carsem's Director of Marketing stated, "We already completed the initial qualification for a few key customers and we are now ready to accept qualification lots from new customers. The Clear MLP is a very cost effective alternative to the more commonly used OCOB (Optical Chip on Board) package as well as some of the other transparent package options. Currently the Clear MLP is primarily being used for optical sensor devices such as Photo Detectors and Advanced Power Control amplifiers that are used in a wide range ofÊ DVD and CD products. We expect this package to ramp into production volumes during the first quarter of 2005 and, as this package gains popularity, we anticipate the number of applications will expand significantly."

David Comley, Group Managing Director, stated, "We faced a number of major challenges in the development of this packaging technology and the Carsem team of engineers did an outstanding job in meeting those challenges. Once again Carsem has demonstrated a leadership position in providing our customers with innovative and cost effective MLP package solutions."

Carsem MLPQ's are QFN (Quad Flat No-lead) type packages that are compliant to JEDEC's MO220 and MLPD's are SON (Small Outline No-lead) type packages that are MO229 compliant.

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.