NIST Grants 25M For Development of Nano-Technology"

Standard MEMS, Inc. and Zyvex Corporation Announce Collaborative Efforts For The On-Going Development of Emerging Nano-Technology.

(Burlington, Ma -- October 11, 2001) Standard MEMS Inc., in collaboration with the Zyvex Corporation, announced today the award of a five-year NIST ATP (National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Technology Program), which is intended to accelerate the production and commercialization of low-cost assemblers for micro and nano-scale components and subsystems. Under this program Standard MEMS, Inc., its joint venture partner Zyvex Corporation, and technology focused university collaborators (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Texas at Dallas, University of North Texas) will bring together their expertise to develop low-cost, computer controlled, micro-scale assemblers that will ultimately operate in parallel to assemble three-dimensional micro-scale components. The underlying belief of this collaboration is that this process will eventually extend to nano-scale assemblers.

Standard MEMS, Inc. is the worldwide leader in the design and manufacturing of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, otherwise known as MEMS. With wholly owned fabrication facilities manufacturing over 50 million MEMS devices annually, on board engineering and design expertise, as well as, the proven experience in manufacturing micro-mechanical technology solutions for broad based MEMS capabilities, make it easy to understand why Standard MEMS, Inc., would be involved in such a award.

Nicholas E. Ortyl, Chairman and CEO of Standard MEMS, Inc. said, "We are pleased to be included among one of the pioneering teams to be awarded a Nano-technology ATP grant from NIST. During the past year, our development partnership with Zyvex Corporation [see press release dated January 19, 2001], has moved the science of nano-technology closer to producing three-dimensional assembled microsystems. This assembly approach was simply impossible to create and demonstrate in prior years. The work conducted under this ATP grant will allow Standard MEMS and Zyvex to enable the nanotechnology era and improve the technology to benefit the general public."

The NIST-ATP program's goal is to bridge the gap between the research lab and the marketplace by stimulating prosperity through innovation. Through partnerships with the private sector, ATP's early stage investment accelerates the development of innovative technologies that promise significant commercial payoffs and widespread benefits for the nation. As part of the highly regarded National Institute of Standards and Technology, the ATP program provides a mechanism for industry to extend its technological reach, thereby extending the envelope of what can be attempted.

The technology that will be developed under this program will have a significant impact in solving a broad range of commercial problems in the space, medical, telecom, and military arenas. The team is developing capabilities for heterogeneous assembly in business sectors including medical (microsurgical tools, drug delivery, in-vitro diagnostics, bio/chemical sensors), optical assemblies, telecommunications (MEMS tunable capacitors, microinductors, microrelays), consumer electronics (mirror arrays, motion sensors), microfluidics, and mass memory devices.

"We are extremely proud receive this grant," said James R. Von Ehr, president and CEO of Zyvex. "The contract, along with the unique expertise of our venture partners, will allow us to speed up our development time frame and achieve our goals of flexible, automated manufacturing at ever-decreasing sizes. We believe that all businesses dependent on micro-technology, nano-technology, and miniaturization will benefit from our proposed program and we applaud the NIST ATP program for having the foresight to stimulate the growth of this crucial and emerging technology."

The Zyvex Corporation anticipates that about $1B will be spent developing and applying emerging nano-technology in Texas alone over the next five years. The total potential market that this program could impact is approximately $470B in the U.S., and $1,360B worldwide. The cumulative ten-year economic benefit of this NIST-ATP program could well exceed $90B for the U.S. and $265B worldwide.

About the companies:

Standard MEMS, Inc. is a fully integrated, high volume supplier to the general commercial market of Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) for high technology markets. The company offers concurrent engineering and technology solutions in all areas of MEMS production, from design
through production. The company has supplied in excess of 50 million MEMS devices and MEMS-based packaged products, and sensor solutions, to leading companies in various markets segments, including Telecommunications, Medical and Biomedical, Industrial & Automotive and
Information Peripherals.

Zyvex Corporation is the first molecular nanotechnology company. It was formed in 1997 to address the needs of nano and molecular assembly with the mission to provide adaptable, affordable, molecularly precise manufacturing. Zyvex performs research in positionally-controlled
molecular assembly as well as MEMS-based system development. It is creating a micro-system assembler, capable of handling and assembling a variety of micro-scale parts, and is designing a parts library to facilitate rapid prototyping of complex micro-systems.

Contact information:

Standard MEMS               
Jenna Breitenbucher            
Marketing Communications         
631-592-1460            
www.standardmems.com   
jbreiten@smems.com

         
Zyvex Corporation
Katharine Green
Director of Corporate Communications
972-235-7881 x220
kgreen@zyvex.com
www.zyvex.com

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