AIXTRON ANNOUNCES INSTALLATION OF TRICENT® STO TOOL AT IQE

!!! Press Release !!!

AIXTRON ANNOUNCES INSTALLATION OF TRICENT® STO TOOL AT IQE

Aachen (Germany) and Cardiff (UK), 6th May 2002 ------ AIXTRON (FSE: AIX) is pleased to announce a further strengthening of the existing Strategic Alliance with IQE (LSE: IQE.L). IQE Silicon Compounds Ltd (IQE-SC), a wholly owned subsidiary of IQE plc, the world's leading outsource manufacturer of specialist epitaxial wafers and services, has chosen to partner with AIXTRON to further develop its entry into the mainstream silicon market sector and will install its second Tricent® MOCVD Module to enable the development of Strontium Titanate (STO) template films on Silicon wafers of up to 300 mm. STO based technology has major applications for high k dielectrics in the silicon industry but also has the potential through Three-Fives-on-Silicon (TFOS) to open new avenues into cost reductions for Compound Semiconductor applications, also easing integration of optoelectronics onto large scale, low cost silicon wafers and circuits.

The Tricent® STO CVD module has already undergone several years of development at AIXTRON targeted initially at the high-k materials made from Multimetal-Oxides. STO process development on the TricentÒ tool has already been successfully demonstrated earlier at ST Microelectronics in France in connection with a MEDEA+ joint development program.

Whilst IQE have used AIXTRON's MOCVD tools for many years within the III-V compound semiconductor industry, the need to extend the epitaxial process into traditional silicon fabs has been limited until recently. In order to increase the functionality and performance of electronic devices, designers are moving away from the increasingly expensive reductions in device linewidths and instead, are turning towards materials re-engineering. Increasingly, wafer fabs are embracing the outsource model in order to gain rapid and cost effective access to advanced epitaxial products in order to ensure timely introduction of new materials technologies. Customers find that the most effective route to accessing new materials technologies is through the skills, experience and technology available within a world leading foundry operation.

During the last two years, IQE has built a powerful position as the dominant outsource foundry in both the established compound semiconductor markets as well as in emerging technologies based on silicon such as STO for TFOS (Three-Fives on Silicon), SiGe and Strained Silicon. IQE has recently announced some major strategic alliances based on these new technologies, with Motorola for Three-Five-on-Silicon technology (TFOS) and AmberWave (strained silicon).

The AIXTRON Tricent® STO Tool, which will be delivered to IQE during this quarter, is equipped with the Trijet® Liquid Precursor Delivery and Evaporation System for precisely-controlled and highly repeatable delivery and evaporation of the liquid precursors used during STO growth. This Trijet® Precursor Delivery System, together with the reaction chamber of the Tricent® Module, which is optimised for highest uniformity, efficiency, reproducibility and throughput, satisfies the high requirements of full-scale production of 150, 200 and 300mm wafers. The Tricent® Tool is available as a CVD module for STO, BST, PZT, SBT, metal deposition, as well as SiGe and Strained Silicon. The family of Tricent® modules is complimented with a cluster platform and RTP-clean (TriClean®) or RTA modules.

Steve Byars, Managing Director of IQE Silicon Compounds Ltd., said that "IQE's long standing relationship with AIXTRON and its MOCVD platform for III-V compound semiconductor production confirms AIXTRON's solid position in supplying and supporting leading edge CVD equipment. We have every confidence that the Tricent® Tool will provide IQE with a key route to achieving high throughput on large diameter substrates in a technology area that is becoming increasingly important within the silicon industry sector."

Media Contacts:

IQE plc
Chris Meadows
Telephone: +44 2920 839 400
E-mail: cmeadows@iqep.com
Web: www.iqep.com

AIXTRON AG
Dr. Claus Ehrenbeck
Telephone:+49 241 8909 444
E-mail: invest@aixtron.com
Web: www.aixtron.com

Notes for Editors:

About IQE

IQE plc (LSE: IQE.L, NASDAQ EUROPE: IQEP) is the leading global outsource supplier of advanced epi-wafers to the Semiconductor Industry with manufacturing operations in Cardiff and Milton Keynes, UK and Bethlehem, PA, USA. Its wafer products are used by a diverse range of customers worldwide to manufacture the critical, advanced components such as HBTs, PHEMTs, MESFETs, Lasers, Detectors and VCSELs used in fibre optic communications systems, wireless and mobile telephony applications, optical storage devices and a range of other leading edge technologies. The group currently employs around 400 people worldwide. IQE Silicon Compounds Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of IQE plc and was established in November 2000 at a brownfield site in Cardiff, UK to offer Europe's first fully flexible, dedicated outsource services for silicon based epitaxial structures. The facility in Cardiff includes a class 1 cleanroom equipped with the very latest in wafer preparation and characterization tools. The Silicon Compounds business unit focuses on providing a high quality, sub-contract epitaxial deposition service, specializing in high technology inter-layer epitaxial films, principally for Silicon Germanium (SiGe) and high-end Bi-CMOS semiconductor processes. For further information visit

www.iqep.com.

About AIXTRON

AIXTRON AG (FSE: AIX) is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World and the MSCI World Index. As the world leading supplier of semiconductor epitaxy equipment with an installed base of well over 600 systems worldwide, according to VLSI Research Inc. AIXTRON is the forth largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer in Europe. AIXTRON is represented with an extensive service and support network in over 15 countries, which has been rated once more among the 2001 10 BEST in its category in VLSI Research Inc's Customer Satisfaction Survey. Its equipments are used by a diverse range of customers worldwide to manufacture the critical, advanced components such as HBTs, PHEMTs, MESFETs, Lasers, LEDs, Detectors and VCSELs used in fibre optic communications systems, wireless and mobile telephony applications, optical storage devices, illumination, signalling and lighting, and a range of other leading edge technologies. AIXTRON's many customers include Agere, Alcatel, Anritsu, ATMI, Avalon, AXT, Epson, Honeywell, Infineon, IQE, IQE Silicon Compounds, ITT, JDS-Uniphase, Kopin, LumiLeds, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Nortel, Optospeed, Osram, Procomp, Samsung, Showa Denko, Siemens, ST Microelectronics, Sumitomo, Thales, UEC, VPEC as well as numerous Japanese corporations. AIXTRON systems have also been installed in the most renowned research institutes worldwide, including CNRS, Fraunhofer Institute, ITRI-OES, JPL, Meijo University, Research Center Jülich, RIKEN, Sandia Nat Lab and the University of Tokyo. AIXTRON is very active in advancing MOCVD technology through collaborations and joint R&D projects with major partners worldwide.

www.aixtron.com.

For further information please contact:

Dr. Claus Ehrenbeck
Head of 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