Shanghai  [2003-12-18]

Shanghai, China, December 18, 2003 ― Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Brillian Corporation (Nasdaq: BRLC), a developer and manufacturer of 720p and 1080p high-definition television (HDTV) products, today announced a supply agreement focused on delivering silicon back-planes for Brillian’s HDTV products. Under terms of the agreement, SMIC is providing silicon back-planes for Brillian’s high-contrast liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS®) Gen II micro-displays for rear projection, high-definition television products. Brillian’s first HDTV production light engine with SMIC back-planes will premiere in January at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

SMIC has successfully pioneered a unique wafer-finishing process optimized for Brillian’s LCOS® Gen II micro-display technology through close collaboration with Brillian over the last year. The new process features both higher reflectivity enabling brighter images, as well as smoother surfaces for clear, haze-free images. The combination of SMIC’s back-plane process and Brillian’s industry-leading Gen II LCOS® micro-display architecture has resulted in new performance and quality benchmarks for LCOS® HDTV products ?C with on-screen contrast ratios as high as 2500:1 for very crisp cinematic picture quality.

“The HDTV market is poised for explosive growth ?C both here in Asia and globally,” said Dr. Richard Chang, president and CEO, SMIC. “We are committed to delivering superior quality silicon solutions that address the performance needs in this market. Our collaboration with Brillian is an excellent example of how two companies with complementary expertise can work together toward the common goal of delivering the absolutely best HDTV products.”

According to Vincent F. Sollitto, president and CEO, Brillian, “Our strategy is to leverage our proprietary and patented LCOS® Gen II technology, our systems integration expertise, and relationships with the industry’s premier companies, such as SMIC, to offer complete 720p and 1080p HDTV systems in the over 50-inch diagonal screen size ?C the market witnessing the highest growth. The close and collaborative nature of our relationship with SMIC has enabled us to usher in what we believe will be a whole new era in high-contrast, brilliant picture quality HDTVs.”

Technology Differentiation
By leveraging SMIC’s silicon back-planes and unique wafer-finishing process, together with Brillian’s LCOS® Gen II technology, Brillian micro-displays offer extraordinary picture quality. Contrast ratios are as high as 2500:1 for very crisp images (compared with the typical 600:1 or less for other products). The Brillian micro-displays also feature high pixel fill factors (greater than 93%) for smooth, eye-catching imagery; fast response times (less than 10 milliseconds) for excellent video reproduction without motion or digital artifacts; and the ability to easily scale to higher resolutions to meet increasingly higher-definition broadcast and computing resolution standards. All of this is backed by the high reliability demanded in consumer applications. Brillian HDTV products featuring SMIC back-planes are scheduled to be available in mid-2004.


About SMIC
As one of the most advanced foundries in China, SMIC provides integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing at 0.35-micron to 0.18-micron and finer line technologies. Established in April 2000, SMIC, a Cayman Islands company, operates three 8-inch fabs engaged in volume production in Shanghai and is constructing a 12-inch facility in Beijing. It is also in the process of acquiring an 8-inch fab in Tianjin. In May 2003, SMIC's Fab1 was named one of two "Top Fabs of the Year 2003" by Semiconductor International magazine, a leading industry publication. In addition to IC manufacturing, SMIC provides customers with a full range of services, including design services, mask manufacturing and testing. All three of SMIC’s fabs in Shanghai have obtained ISO9001 and ISO14001 certifications for high service quality and environmental protection standards. The three fabs have also been certified under the OHSAS18001 standard for health and safety. For more information, please visit www.smics.com.

About Brillian Corporation
Brillian Corporation (Nasdaq: BRLC) develops and manufactures rear-projection HDTVs targeted at brand-name OEMs looking for breakthrough performance and image quality that sets a benchmark in HDTV price/performance. The company is the first and only provider of LCOS® Gen II technology used in these products. In addition to its turnkey televisions, Brillian also offers a complete line of LCOS® microdisplay products and subsystems that developers integrate into proprietary HDTV products, multimedia projectors, and near-to-eye products such as monocular and binocular headsets. Brillian’s LCOS® Gen I and LCOS® Gen II microdisplay technologies address the market demand for a high-performance display solution with high image fidelity, high-resolution scalability, and high contrast ratios. www.brilliancorp.com

LCOS® and Brillian™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Brillian Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For press enquiries or further information, please contact:

Asia Pacific for Brillian Corporation
Joann Soo, Director, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
Direct: 852-2837-4744 or jo.soo@edelman.com.

SMIC Contact:
Sarina Huang for SMIC
Direct: 86-21-5080-2000 extension 10356