Infineon Austria awarded the National Innovation Prize

Neubiberg and Villach, Austria, March 14, 2013 – Infineon Technologies AG has been honored with the 2013 National Innovation Prize in Austria. The company received the prize for the 300-millimeter thin wafer technology it developed at its site in Villach, Austria. Yesterday evening, March 13, 2013, Dr. Sabine Herlitschka, Member of the Management Board of Infineon Technologies Austria AG with responsibilities for Technology and Innovation, accepted the award on behalf of Infineon Austria in the "Aula der Wissenschaften" in Vienna from Austrian Minister for Economic Affairs Reinhold Mitterlehner.

Infineon is the first and only company worldwide to produce power semiconductors on 300-millimeter thin wafers. Thanks to their larger diameter compared to standard 200-millimeter wafers, two-and-a-half times as many chips can be made from each one. Customers benefit from the new technology, from the ready availability, enhanced capacity and improved productivity. Power semiconductors from Infineon feature low energy loss and compact design. Although not much thicker than a sheet of paper, the chips have electrically active structures on the front and back. Thin-wafer technology is the basis for this.

"For the fast-moving semiconductor branch, this quantum leap represents a technical revolution. We are very proud of this performance," said Dr. Sabine Herlitschka. In fall 2012, Infineon's innovative power was honored for the third time with the presentation of the Innovation Prize of the Austrian state of Carinthia. In Austria, Infineon prevailed this year in the "large companies" category as one of six finalists among a total of 592 submissions that came from that country.

Infineon adopted this new manufacturing technology early on, providing the necessary investments for the project even in economically difficult times. In addition, through the coordination of two EU research projects, the network for targeted research and production of this key technology in Europe has been further developed. With the resulting innovative performance, Infineon sets new global standards in regard to base materials, machines, processes and procedures for the manufacture of power semiconductors, which act as pacemakers for future developments in the worldwide energy efficiency market.

On March 9, 2013, Infineon was already honored as a finalist in the "large companies" category for the "Innovationspreis der deutschen Wirtschaft" (German Innovation Prize) in Frankfurt a.M. The jury thus honored the company's innovative concept of linking the semiconductor material silicon carbide with an innovative arrangement of transistor components. The power transistors based on these are especially efficient and minimize losses during the transmission and conversion of electrical energy. The new technology can thus be seen as a fundamental element of power electronics for new energy strategies.

"Both awards impressively document our innovative power. This is an essential building block for our success and the basis for ensuring that good ideas become reality," said Dr. Reinhard Ploss, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. Infineon power semiconductors are used everywhere where high currents and voltages are controlled and switched, e.g. in servers, PCs, notebooks, in consumer electronics and mobile infrastructures, in lighting systems and wind power or photovoltaic systems. Last year, the independent market research firm IMS Research (part of the IHS Group) confirmed Infineon's market leadership in power semiconductors for the ninth time in a row.

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