Press

Xitronix Receives $500,000 Investment from Texas Emerging Technology Fund

AUSTIN, TX, April 3, 2008 – Governor Rick Perry today announced Texas’ investment of $500,000 in Xitronix Corporation, an Austin-based semiconductor metrology company, through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.  Xitronix will use the investment to bring its powerful measurement and characterization technology for atomic-scale devices to market in a fully-automated 300mm platform for use by semiconductor manufacturers.

“We are excited to receive this investment from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund,” said Bob Shepard, a Xitronix board member.  “This confirms Rick Perry and the leaders of Texas’ commitment to creating high value jobs and economic prosperity in Texas.”

Xitronix was selected for investment after an extensive due diligence process based on multiple criteria, including a stringent analyses of the market and financial opportunity, technology potential, management team and economic impact to Texas.  Xitronix is first to market with disruptive technology that meets critical process control needs in advanced semiconductor manufacturing for active dopant, strained silicon and gate channel mobility.  Xitronix technologies are protected by US and international issued patents and patents pending.

“Consumer demand for increased speed, power and integration in computing and electronic devices drives semiconductor manufacturers to scale the size of transistors in integrated circuits smaller and smaller in order to pack more performance onto a single chip.  As transistor sizes get smaller, due to the limits of physical scaling, manufacturers are encountering a proliferation of manufacturing problems at each process node,” said Judd Chism, CEO of Xitronix.  “Xitronix’ PMPR technology enables manufacturers to directly measure and control nanophysical properties immediately after each critical step in the process is completed, instead of after the entire device is completed.”

About the Emerging Technology Fund

The TETF is a $200 million initiative created at the governor’s request by the Texas Legislature in 2005 to ensure a vibrant economy and a global leadership position for Texas.  A 17-member advisory committee of high-tech leaders, entrepreneurs and research experts reviews potential projects and recommends funding allocations to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House. To date, the TETF has allocated $109 million in funds to Texas companies and universities.  Further information on the Texas Emerging Technology Fund can be found at www.emergingtechfund.com.

Xitronix Appoints Phil M. Bryson Chief Operating Officer

AUSTIN, TX, March 10, 2008 – Xitronix Corporation, a provider of advanced process control equipment to the semiconductor industry, today announced that Phil M. Bryson has been named Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Bryson will oversee all elements of the Company's operations, including worldwide sales and marketing as well as the Company's manufacturing and worldwide service and support operations.

Mr. Bryson joins Xitronix after successful careers at Tokyo Electron and KLA-Tencor and brings over 24 years of industry experience in sales and marketing, product development, manufacturing and service and support in the semiconductor market. Mr. Bryson has held a number of positions in his career, most recently as Director, Advanced Inspection and Metrology of Tokyo Electron and Vice President of Field Operations at Timbre Technologies, a TEL subsidiary. He served previously as Technical Director – Motorola Global Operations and Director of Worldwide Application's Engineering at KLA-Tencor.

“Bringing Phil to the management team is a significant step forward for Xitronix,” said Judd Chism, CEO of Xitronix, “The Company will immediately benefit from Phil's extensive experience and global industry knowledge, and the impact on the Company will be valuable for years to come. He is an ideal choice to lead the Company's operations as we continue to execute our growth strategy and expand our reach in the market.”

Xitronix Announces 2008 Shareholders' Meeting

AUSTIN, TX, March 1, 2008 – Xitronix Corporation will hold its 2008 Shareholders' Meeting on April 11, 2008 at its corporate headquarters, 3925 W. Braker Lane, Austin, Texas, 78759. The meeting will begin at 8 am and is open to all stockholders of record at the close of business on February 29, 2008.

Xitronix Unveils Latest Innovation in Semiconductor Process-Control Metrology

Xitronix Corporation is introducing the XP450 active dose and strain measurement tool at SEMICON West 2007 in San Francisco. This breakthrough product allows semiconductor manufacturers to quantitatively and rapidly determine whether critical steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process have been successfully completed.

“The XP450 offers manufacturers like AMD and IBM the best of front-end process control capabilities,” says Judd Chism, CEO of Xitronix. “In today’s complex manufacturing environment, this metrology is absolutely critical.  Xitronix’s photoreflectance technology has been proven effective for precision characterization of activated dopant in ultra-shallow junctions and of strain in ultra-thin strained Si layers.

“For the industry, this means manufacturers will be able to precisely control strained silicon and dopant activation processes at the 45nm node and below.  It substantially reduces the time required to receive accurate feedback and the costs associated with processing defective wafers to completion before the device performance can be tested.  It also allows manufacturers to adjust recipe parameters from wafer to wafer during processing.”

One of the main advantages of photo-reflectance is that it is rapid and nondestructive, which makes it useful in a fully automated manufacturing environment. Photo-reflectance techniques have been historically accepted by the industry in process control for ion implant. With Xitronix’s proprietary approach, photo-reflectance now can be used for measurement of strain and active dose.  As described in a paper presented at the NIST International Conference on Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics in March 2007, the technology can be used for ultra-thin strained silicon layers and ultra-shallow junction active dopant profiling.

Xitronix is on the cutting edge of innovation in the semiconductor equipment market. Last year, worldwide spending on semiconductor capital equipment totaled $41.95 billion, a 22.9 percent increase from 2005, according to a report from information technology research company Gartner Inc.

About Xitronix

Xitronix Corporation provides semiconductor manufacturers with process control equipment that allows them to directly, rapidly and non-destructively characterize the electronic properties of semiconductor nanostructures during the manufacturing process, thus accelerating the adoption of advanced technologies into full-volume production. The Company’s PMPR solutions include 200mm and 300mm technology platforms that effectively measure active dopant, strain and mobility at the 45nm process node and beyond. Xitronix provides sales and support to customers worldwide and is an Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) member company.