AIXTRON to participate in a new Belarus-German solid state lighting project

Press Release

AIXTRON to participate in a new Belarus-German solid state lighting project

AIXTRON cooperates with ITHE, RWTH Aachen University of Technology and National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

Aachen/Minsk, 12th July, 2004 - AIXTRON is pleased to announce the participation in a new project targeting at the improvement of the LED technology for solid state lighting. The 3 years project will be conducted by the Laboratory of Semiconductor Optics, Stepanov Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and is funded by the International Science & Technology Center in Russia (ISTC).

The target of this new project is to improve the LED performance and to explore silicon as a low cost alternative for substrates. Conventionally, more expensive sapphire or silicon carbide substrates are used. Using silicon would allow to drastically reduce the LED costs which is a precondition for the introduction of LEDs in general lighting applications.

World wide all major industrial nations run development programs for solid state lighting (SSL) based on the technology of LEDs (light emitting diodes). SSL can save a significant amount of energy when replacing conventional incandescent lamps. Furthermore, its extremely long lifetime makes replacement of lamps nearly obsolete. Starting an LED project in Belarus is an important milestone in order to establish this promising new technology also in this region.

Prof. Dr. Michael Heuken Vice President Corporate Research & Development comments: "We are delighted to participate in this interesting and challenging research project and looking very much forward to a good cooperation with our colleagues from the Laboratory of Semiconductor Optics of the Stepanov Institute in Belarus and the ITHE of the RWTH Aachen. We are convinced that this project will push the LED technology in Belarus forward."

AIXTRON is, as verified by a independent market research institute, the world leading supplier of equipment for semiconductor epitaxy. Its equipment is used by a diverse range of customers worldwide to manufacture critical, advanced components such as HBTs, PHEMTs, MESFETs, Lasers, LEDs, Detectors and VCSELs used in fiber optic communication systems, wireless and mobile telephony applications, optical storage devices, illumination, signaling and lighting, as well as a range of other leading edge technologies. AIXTRON AG (FSE: AIX ISIN DE0005066203) is listed in the Prime Standard and Tec-DAX of the German Stock Exchange (Deutsche Börse) and is included in the MSCI World Index.

For further information please contact:

Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
AIXTRON AG
Kackertstr. 15 - 17
D-52072 Aachen, Germany
Phone:+49 241 8909 444
Fax: +49 241 8909 445
E-mail: invest@aixtron.com