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SEMATECH Subsidiary ATDF to Develop Metal Source Drain Transistor for Acorn Technologies

ATDF, a leading technology R&D center for the semiconductor industry, has been selected by Acorn Technologies, Inc., to fabricate its proprietary, patented metal insulator source/drain transistor technology, called XMOS, for advanced integrated circuits (ICs). These transistors replace the traditional doped silicon junctions with passivated metal-silicon interfaces (Schottky junctions). Such transistors have the potential to scale to much smaller dimensions, with higher performance, improved yield, faster switching and lower power dissipation.

Acorn Technologies is a privately held R&D intellectual capital management company based in Los Angeles, CA. Under a recently signed agreement, ATDF will fabricate prototype field-effect transistors (FETs) using Acorn's XMOS technology in place of source/drain diffused junctions. A significant advantage of these devices is their potential to scale to very small feature sizes, enabling the continuation of Moore's law well beyond the limitations of conventional doping techniques.

"Acorn has been developing this technology for some time in-house. When it became time to fabricate our device using the most advanced processing capability we looked at several processing facilities in the industry. We chose ATDF because of their speed of execution and ability to fabricate advanced technology," said Tom Horgan, Acorn's Chief Executive Officer.

For Acorn, the advantage of working with ATDF is that it operates an advanced industrial quality fab capable of producing semiconductor chips that meet the SIA 65 nanometer node and smaller. It is used by SEMATECH's members and other companies to develop new state-of-the-art semiconductor devices and chips.

Using full-flow transistor processing, ATDF engineers and technicians will work toward fabricating the Acorn devices through a series of graduated milestones. The project will take approximately seven months to develop new process technology and device integration to realize functioning XMOS transistors.

"We're looking forward to this project as a demonstration of our company's role as a catalyst for commercialization," said Juergen Woehl, ATDF General Manager. "This is exactly the kind of work that we do best, advanced processing with leading-edge tools in a compressed timeline."

About ATDF: ATDF, a wholly owned subsidiary of SEMATECH, is a leading technology R&D center where research meets manufacturing for semiconductor manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, and others. ATDF customers can confidentially test new designs, integration methodologies, and prototype systems while protecting their own intellectual property, and development partners can work closely with one another in a custom manufacturing environment. ATDF also develops baseline processes, accepted industry-wide, that bring new tools and materials to manufacturing faster, at lower cost. More information can be found at .

About Acorn Technologies, Inc: Acorn Technologies, Inc., located in Pacific Palisades, and La Jolla CA, is an intellectual property development and licensing company. Acorn engages in the research and development and licensing of inventions with significant commercial potential. It supports commercialization of technologies from companies or universities, including development, licensing, brokering and sales of patents and intellectual property. Acorn's portfolio of technologies is in the semiconductor, communications including an advanced filter for noise cancellation and biotechnology markets. www.acorntech.com

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