Odyssey Semiconductor Completes Strategic Acquisition of Wafer Manufacturing Facility

Positions Company to Advance Development of Its Disruptive GaN High-Voltage Power Switching Components and Systems

ITHACA, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 22, 2019 / Odyssey Semiconductor Technologies, Inc. ("Odyssey" or the "Company"), a semiconductor device company developing innovative high-voltage power switching components and systems based on proprietary Gallium Nitride (GaN) processing technology, announced today the acquisition of an integrated semiconductor design, fabrication, test, and packaging facility as well as associated tooling.

Located in Ithaca, NY, the 10,000 sq. ft. facility is complete with with a mix of class 1,000 and class 10,000 clean space as well as tools for advanced semiconductor development and production. It is ideal for compound semiconductor device development and small-scale production with a wafer capacity exceeding 10,000 wafers/year.

Advanced lithography capabilities include i-line steppers adapted for handling small pieces up through 200 mm diameter wafers. High-throughput metal and dielectric deposition equipment, advanced etch and packaging tools will allow Odyssey to accelerate the development of its proprietary > 1,000 V GaN power-switching transistor technology. The facility will also expand Odyssey's existing world-class semiconductor device development and foundry service.

To date, Odyssey has been developing its proprietary vertical-conduction GaN transistor technology at various user-facility labs. With the acquisition of this facility, the Company can significantly accelerate the development of its disruptive GaN power-switching transistor products operating above 1,000V.

Commenting on the announcement, Odyssey co-founder and CEO, Dr. Rick Brown, stated, "This acquisition dramatically improves our ability to design and manufacture our proprietary disruptive GaN-based high voltage switching power conversion devices and systems and should accelerate our timeline into prototype and commercial production."

Odyssey is currently developing its innovative and disruptive technology to produce GaN-based high voltage switching power conversion devices and systems that may quickly supplant silicon carbide (SiC) as the dominant premium power switching device material.

GaN-based systems outperform silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) based systems due to the superior material properties of GaN. To date, processing challenges have limited GaN devices to operating voltages below 1,000 V. Odyssey has developed a novel technique that will allow GaN to be processed in a manner that, for the first time, will make production of high voltage GaN power switching devices operating above 1,000 V viable.

The premium power switching device market - which is described as applications where Si systems perform insufficiently - is projected to reach over $3.5B by 2025 and is currently dominated by the semiconductor material SiC. This growth is largely driven by the rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and the growing number of installations of renewables such as solar and wind power as well as increased demand for more efficient industrial motor drives.

About Odyssey Semiconductor Technologies, Inc.

Odyssey is developing disruptive proprietary technology that will allow for gallium nitride (GaN) to replace silicon carbide (SiC) as the leading high voltage power switching semiconductor material. Based in Ithaca, NY, the Company operates a 10,000 sq.ft. semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility complete with with a mix of class 1,000 and class 10,000 clean space as well as tools for advanced semiconductor development and production. Odyssey also offers a world-class semiconductor device development and foundry service, filling the gap between university labs and large-scale wafer foundries. For more information, please visit https://www.odysseysemi.com/.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations and contentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated include, without limitation, risks relating to the results of our research and development activities, including uncertainties relating to semiconductor process manufacturing; the early stage of our GaN-based technology presently under development; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights that are valuable to our business, including patent and other intellectual property rights; our ability to successfully market and sell our technologies; the ability to achieve high volume manufacturing and the size and growth of the potential markets for any of our technologies, the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our technologies and our ability to raise funding to support operations and the continued development and qualification of our technology.

In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking statements regarding future events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or privately any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

Odyssey Semiconductor Technologies, Inc.

Richard Brown, Ph.D., CEO
607-351-9768
rick.brown@odysseysemi.com

SOURCE: Odyssey Semiconductor Technologies, Inc.

Released October 22, 2019