OSRAM Research Team Wins German Future Prize for LED Lighting Technology

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--For outstanding research work on innovative lighting technologies,
Dr. Klaus Streubel and Dr. Stefan Illek from OSRAM Opto
Semiconductors, together with Dr. Andreas Brauer from the Fraunhofer
Institute for Optics and Precision Engineering in Jena, were awarded
this year's prize for technology and innovation from the President of
Germany. The German Future Prize for 2007 was awarded specifically for
thin-film chip technology and its application in the OSTAR(R) family
of LEDs.

Thin-film technology is the key to producing LED chips of
extremely high brightness and also enables them to be packed tightly
together to create a large illuminating surface. High-efficiency light
emitting diodes from OSRAM that are based on this innovative
technology will open up new applications ranging from mini projectors
and rear projection televisions to night vision systems in vehicles
and general room lighting. LEDs can already be used, for example, in
the headlights and taillights of automobiles, providing excellent
visibility and giving automobile manufacturers enormous freedom to
create new designs.

For the 2007 German Future Prize awarded by the German President
Horst Kohler, the judges were looking not only for exceptional
technical, engineering and scientific achievements, but also for
practical applications, marketability and job creation. "We are proud
of the fact that our creativity and determination will speed up the
triumphal march of LED lighting," said Dr. Klaus Streubel, the
spokesman for the winning team.

The German Future Prize is the most prestigious award for research
and development in Germany and was presented this year for the
eleventh time. "OSRAM has been producing pioneering innovations for
many many years. And we are intensifying our efforts every year. This
is a magnificent achievement for the team and OSRAM as a whole," said
Martin Goetzeler, CEO of OSRAM. "This year's award by the German
President confirms our position as an innovation driver and is also
wonderful recognition of all the hard work done by our employees,"
said Dr. Rudiger Muller, CEO of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.

The technical innovation of the OSTAR(R) light emitting diode is
the ideal combination of different technologies, namely a new
production process for high-power chips, a perfectly matched package
platform and special optics developed in cooperation with the
Fraunhofer Institute for Optics and Precision Engineering. "With these
technologies we have achieved a particularly high luminance for LEDs
in all colors and also for infrared light - this is a truly
groundbreaking innovation," said Dr. Klaus Streubel.

Light emitting diodes consist of semiconductor crystals that are
grown on a substrate as part of the production process. Up to now,
this substrate remained in place at the end of the production process
and absorbed a large proportion of the light generated by the chip.
Now thanks to thin-film technology developed by OSRAM Opto
Semiconductors, this is no longer the case. The top of the layer that
generates the light is first coated with metal. This metalled side is
then soldered onto a thin carrier material and functions as a
reflector. The original substrate is then removed. All that is left is
a thin light-generating layer that is so close to the surface that the
light emitting diode emits almost all its light upward. This results
in a huge boost in brightness. The OSTAR(R) packages have been
designed to take full advantage of the thin-film chips.

These development activities have been supported by the German
Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

For more information, please visit
www.osram-os.com/german-future-prize-2007.

About OSRAM Opto Semiconductors

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH of Regensburg is a wholly owned
subsidiary of OSRAM, one of the two leading lighting manufacturers in
the world. It offers its customers solutions based on semiconductor
technology for lighting, sensing and visualization applications. The
company employs more than 3,600 people worldwide and operates sites in
Regensburg (Germany), Santa Clara (USA) and Penang (Malaysia). Sales
for the fiscal year ending September 2006 totaled more than EUR 500
million. For more information, visit www.OSRAM-os.com.

OSTAR(R) is a trademark of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Inc.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors
Kate Cleveland, 248-277-8018
kate.cleveland@osram-os.com
or
Macrovision, Inc.
Charles Birkhead, 215-348-1010
charles@macrovis.com

Copyright Business Wire 2007