Siliconix Unveils TrenchFETs® Built on 178 Million Cell/Square Inch Process: New Technology Enables Record-Breaking Solutions for Portable Power Management

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA- November 28, 2000 - Siliconix incorporated (NASDAQ: SILI), an 80.4%-owned subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH), has announced that it is sampling power MOSFETs built on an advanced silicon technology that will enable a new generation of record-breaking devices for power management and power conversion in end products from cell phones to the fixed communications infrastructure that powers the internet.

The new proprietary TrenchFET® process enables smaller, higher-efficiency devices by increasing the transistor density on the silicon level to 178 million cells per square inch, a more than five fold improvement over the previous state of the art. For a given area of silicon, the new Vishay Siliconix process will allow on-resistance, the key figure of merit for power MOSFETs, to be reduced by upwards of 30% for a given device.

Based on this technology breakthrough, Siliconix is now able to offer a power MOSFET in the SO-8 PowerPAK package with record on-resistance of just 2 milliohms. Complete families of devices aimed at such applications as cell phone and notebook computer power management, and dc-to-dc conversion for desktop computers and the fixed telecom infrastructure, will be released by Siliconix over the next few months.

"Siliconix was the first in the industry to offer power MOSFETs built on trench silicon technology, which has now become the standard for this device type," said Dr. King Owyang, President and CEO of Vishay Siliconix. "With this latest advance, we're pushing the envelope again with devices that will play a key role in enabling smaller, lighter end products that will run longer on smaller batteries."

Siliconix pioneered in the development of vertical trench power MOSFETs to overcome the limitations of planar DMOS devices, where a parasitic junction FET effect places a severe limit on the benefit of increasing transistor cell densities. TrenchFETs overcome this barrier by vertically redirecting the current flow in the device's channel in a direct path between the topside source and the backside drain contact. The first Siliconix TrenchFETs, built on an 8 million cells per square inch technology, were released in 1994, and were the first commercially available devices of their kind.

Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., a Fortune 1,000 Company listed on the NYSE (VSH), is one of the world's largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors (diodes, rectifiers, transistors, and optoelectronics and selected ICs) and passive electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, sensors, and transducers). These components are used in virtually all types of electronic devices and equipment, in the industrial, computing, automotive, consumer, telecommunications, military, aerospace, and medical markets. Its product innovations, successful acquisition strategy, and ability to provide "one-stop shop" service have made Vishay a global industry leader. Vishay can be found on the Internet at http://www.vishay.com.

TrenchFET is a registered trademark of Siliconix incorporated. PowerPAK is a trademark of Siliconix incorporated.