20 January 2016

IQE's wireless business unit renews major contract with tier-1 customer

Epiwafer foundry and substrate maker IQE plc of Cardiff, Wales, UK has renegotiated its long-term supply contract with its premier tier-1 customer for the supply of wafer products used in wireless applications. IQE estimates that the contract will contribute more than $55m of revenue during 2016.

The new supply contract guarantees IQE at least 75% of the customer's demand for epiwafers that are produced using its metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) platform. It will also see an expansion in terms of additional products from its molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) platforms. IQE says that the contract renewal underlines the strength of the long-term customer relationship that it has developed over many years, having consistently been recognized as one of the customer's best-performing suppliers.

IQE's Wireless business unit continues to leverage its global manufacturing facilities to fulfill the supply contract from its North American facilities in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania as well as its manufacturing site in Taiwan.

The contract covers epiwafer products for radio frequency (RF) applications including power amplifiers (PAs), low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) and switches used in connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, PCs, routers, satcoms, and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

"Wireless products continue to represent a key part of IQE's core business," notes IQE's CEO & president Dr Drew Nelson. "This tier-1 customer is a global leader in wireless connectivity solutions, and our long-term supply contract demonstrates a strong commitment to IQE," he adds.

"Global adoption of 4G/LTE and WiFi systems continues, and this majority supply contract is testimony to the world-leading performance which IQE products provide for current and next-generation wireless applications," says Daily Hill, head of IQE's Wireless business unit. 

See related items:

IQE launches dedicated wireless products division

Tags: IQE

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