Soitec updates on MEMC lawsuit

Printer-friendly versionPDF version

Bernin, France, October 14, 2010- Soitec (Euronext Paris), the world's leading supplier of silicon-oninsulator (SOI) and advanced solutions for the electronics and energy industries, announced today that the United States District Court for the District of Delaware has issued rulings on certain pretrial motions in Soitec's patent infringement lawsuit against MEMC. The Court rejected a number of MEMC's contentions, and found that the asserted claims of Soitec's patents were either invalid or not infringed. Soitec disagrees with conclusions reached by the District Court of Delaware to the extent that it ruled against Soitec's claims of infringement. Soitec intends to appeal to these conclusions and those portions of the case will ultimately be decided by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The case regarding to Soitec's and MEMC's remaining claims against one another is scheduled for trial starting Monday, October 25, 2010.

Soitec has a worldwide portfolio of more than 1000 patents covering SOI cost effective fabrication processes and improved SOI products, all of which remain in full force and effect.

About Soitec

Soitec is the world’s leading innovator and provider of the engineered substrate solutions that serve as the foundation for today’s most advanced microelectronic products. The group leverages its proprietary Smart Cut™ technology to engineer new substrate solutions, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) semiconductor wafers, which became the first high-volume application for this proprietary technology. Since then, SOI has emerged as the material platform of the future, enabling the production of higher performing, faster chips that consume less power.
Today, Soitec produces more than 80 percent of the world’s SOI wafers. Headquartered in Bernin, France, with two high-volume fabs on-site, Soitec has offices throughout the United States, Japan and Taiwan, and a new production site in Singapore.
Three other divisions – Picogiga International, Tracit Technologies and Concentrix Solar – complete the Soitec Group. Picogiga delivers advanced substrates solutions, including III-V epi wafers and gallium nitride (GaN) wafers, to the compound materials market for manufacturing high-frequency electronics and other optoelectronic devices. Tracit provides thin-film layer transfer technologies used to manufacture advanced substrates for power ICs and microsystems as well as generic circuit transfer technology, Smart Stacking™, for applications such as image sensors and 3D integration. In December 2009, Soitec acquired 80 percent of Concentrix Solar, the leading provider of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar systems for the industrial production of energy. With this acquisition, Soitec has entered the fast-growing solar market. Shares of the Soitec Group are listed on Euronext Paris. For more information, visit: www.soitec.com.

Soitec, Smart Cut, Smart Stacking and UNIBOND are trademarks of S.O.I.TEC Silicon On Insulator Technologies.

International Media Contact

Camille Darnaud-Dufour
+33 (0)6 79 49 51 43
camille.darnaud-dufour@soitec.fr

Investor Relations

Olivier Brice
+33 (0)4 76 92 93 80
olivier.brice@soitec.fr

French Media Contact

Muriel Martin, H&B Communication
+33 (0)1 58 18 32 44
m.martin@hbcommunication.fr

News Source : Soitec updates on MEMC lawsuit