| 1959 |
MEMC
was the first merchant manufacturer of silicon wafers.
First silicon wafer in mass production: 19mm. |
| 1962 |
MEMC
was the first to develop chemical-mechanical polishing
for the semiconductor industry. |
| 1966 |
MEMC
discovers readily observable faceted growth lines
are real-time indicators of dislocation free crystal in
Czochralski Si growth. |
| 1975 |
First
to commercially produce 100mm wafers. |
| 1979 |
First
wafer supplier to control oxygen. |
| 1979 |
First
to commercially produce 125mm wafers. |
| 1981 |
First
to commercially produce 150mm wafers. |
| 1982 |
MEMC
pioneered epi wafers for CMOS applications. |
| 1983 |
First
ozonated DI water for wafer cleaning. |
| 1983 |
First
non-Japanese Silicon Manufacturer to build in Japan. |
| 1984 |
MEMC
was the first to commercialize 200mm wafers in partnership
with IBM. |
| 1985 |
First
to develop polysilicon gettering. |
| 1991 |
MEMC
begins commercial production of 300mm wafers. |
| 1991 |
MEMC
developed the first process using granular polysilicon. |
| 1995 |
MEMC
trades on the New York Stock Exchange as an Initial Public
Offering (IPO) under the stock symbol "WFR." |
| 1999 |
MEMC
developed MDZ®, a breakthrough thermal processing technique
in the mid 90's and was granted the first patent on this
technology in 1999. MEMC developed the first defect-free silicon wafer and was granted the first patent on this technology in 1999. This
is now marketed as the OPTIAȘ product line. |
| 1999 |
Perfect SiliconTM brand wafers are yet another breakthrough in silicon technology by eliminating crystal defects at the wafer surface and throughout the wafer bulk. |
| 2001 |
Texas
Pacific Group purchases MEMC from E.ON AG.
|
| 2005 |
TPG Wafer Holdings LLC, completes the sale(s) of 85,000,000 shares of common stock. TPG's beneficial ownership of the company's common stock is reduced from 63% to approximately 25%.
|
| 2005 |
MEMC becomes the world's first company to produce 300mm wafers in Taiwan.
|
