Silicon Wafer Shipments Increase in Second Quarter 2006

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased 4 percent during the second quarter 2006 when compared to the first quarter 2006 areas shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

Total silicon wafer area shipments were 1,966 million square inches during the most recent quarter, an increase from the 1,884 million square inches shipped during the previous quarter. The new quarterly total area shipments are about 22 percent above second quarter 2005 shipments.

“Silicon wafer shipments continue to remain strong for all wafer sizes during the second quarter,” said Tatsuhiko Shigematsu, chairman SEMI SMG and technology officer of SUMCO Corporation. “Continuing demand for semiconductors is driving strong growth for silicon wafers.”

                   Quarterly Silicon Area Shipment Trends                Silicon Shipments- Millions of Square Inches                                           Millions of Square Inches                                    Q2 2005         Q1 2006       Q2 2006   Polished                          1,207           1,390         1,452   Epitaxial                           345             431           452   Nonpolished                          54              63            62                     TOTAL           1,606           1,884         1,966    

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin round disks are produced in various diameters (from one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or “chips” are fabricated.

All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.

SEMI is a global industry association serving companies that provide equipment, materials and services used to manufacture semiconductors, displays, nano-scaled structures, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and related technologies. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose (California), Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.semi.org/ .

SEMI

CONTACT: Scott Smith, +1-408-943-7957, or ssmith@semi.org, or Dan Tracy,+1-408-943-7987, or dtracy@semi.org, both of SEMI

Web site: http://www.semi.org/