IQE plc : IQE's Infrared business unit wins $3....

Cardiff, UK. 26 January 2016: IQE plc (AIM: IQE, "IQE" or the "Group"), the leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductor wafer products to the global semiconductor industry, announces that it has received a new purchase order agreement for indium phosphide (InP) materials to the value of $3.7m from a leading global substrate manufacturer.

High Purity InP, produced by IQE's Infrared business unit based in Milton Keynes, UK, is the source material for the manufacture of InP wafers used in the production of high-performance photonic components for a wide range of applications in infrared sensing and telecommunications with a particular trend towards high definition imaging applications enabled by InP materials.

Demand for photonics products is continuing to grow as new and emerging technologies increasingly rely on the properties of light for a growing range of technological applications. InP is the material of choice due to its advantageous photonic properties particularly in the short wavelength infrared (SWIR) range, complementing IQE's industry leading position in indium antimonide (InSb) and gallium antimonide (GaSb) substrate materials which form the key enabling technology base for multiple imaging technologies found in defence, security, medical and industrial applications.

IQE Infrared is uniquely positioned to offer an unrivalled range of IR materials, from substrates to epiwafers, with a completely secure, dual sourced supply of InP, InSb and GaSb to the semiconductor industry, with IQE's US (Galaxy) and UK (Wafer Technology) operations collectively meeting the requirements of its customers.

Dr. Mark Furlong, VP of IQE's Infrared Business Unit commented:

"We are very pleased to receive this order from an existing long term customer of our InP products and the scale of this commitment reflects our status in the semiconductor industry for the supply of a diverse range of semiconductor materials in addition to substrates and epiwafers.

"We continue to see growing demand for products with optoelectronic properties and it also confirms our position as a technology leader for advanced semiconductor products for photonics applications."

Contacts:

IQE plc [phone]
Drew Nelson
Phil Rasmussen
Chris Meadows

IQE Infrared [phone]
Mark Furlong (technical/sales)

Canaccord Genuity (Nomad and Joint Broker) + 44 (0) 20 7523 8000
Simon Bridges
Cameron Duncan

Peel Hunt (Joint Broker) [phone]
Richard Kauffer
Euan Brown

Capital Access Group [phone]
Simon Courtenay
Harry Rippon

NOTE TO EDITORS

ABOUT IQE

www.iqep.com

IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers with products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an innovative outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers.

IQE uses advanced crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and supply bespoke semiconductor wafers ('epiwafers') to the major chip manufacturing companies, who then use these wafers to make the chips which form the key components of virtually all high technology systems. IQE is unique in being able to supply wafers using all of the leading crystal growth technology platforms.

IQE's products are found in many leading-edge consumer, communication, computing and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer products for the wireless industry, such as mobile handsets and wireless infrastructure, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, base stations, GPS, and satellite communications; and optical communications.

The Group also manufactures advanced optoelectronic and photonic components such as semiconductor lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and optical sensors for a wide range of applications including optical fibre communications, optical storage (CD, DVD, BluRay), thermal imaging, leading-edge medical products, pico-projection, finger navigation ultra-high brightness LEDs, and high efficiency concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells.

The manufacturers of these chips are increasingly seeking to outsource wafer production to specialist foundries such as IQE in order to reduce overall wafer costs and accelerate time to market.

IQE also provides bespoke R&D services to deliver customised materials for specific applications and offers specialist technical staff to manufacture to specification either at its own facilities or on the customer's own sites. The Group is also able to leverage its global purchasing volumes to reduce the cost of raw materials. In this way, IQE's outsourced services, provide compelling benefits in terms of flexibility and predictability of cost, thereby significantly reducing operating risk.

IQE operates a number of manufacturing and R&D facilities across Europe, Asia and the USA. The Group also delivers its products and services through regional sales offices located in major economic centres worldwide

---

This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: IQE plc via Globenewswire

HUG#1981113