Foveon's technology wins prestigious "Grand Award" in the Photo Category

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2002-- Foveon, Inc., a technology leader in high quality digital photography, announces that the new Foveon® X3(TM) image sensor has been chosen by Popular Science magazine to receive the "Best of What's New" Grand Award in the Photo Category.
Popular Science editors reviewed thousands of new products and innovations for 2002 and chose just 100 winners in 10 categories for inclusion in the December "Best of What's New" issue. And out of that just one Grand Award winner is selected for each category. To win a "Best of What's New" Award, a product or technology must represent a significant step forward in its category.

"It is an honor to be selected by the editors of Popular Science magazine to receive the coveted 'Best of What's New' Grand Award," said Jim Lau, Foveon's president and CEO. "This award supports our belief that the Foveon X3 image sensor technology is a fundamental breakthrough in digital imaging that will have an impact on the future of photography."

In addition to the "Best of What's New" Award, the Foveon X3 image sensor has also received worldwide recognition this year along with numerous prestigious awards. These awards include: Europe's Technical Image Press Association's (TIPA) "Best Innovative Technology" in 2002 - 2003; the European Imaging and Sound Association's (EISA) "Best Photo Innovation" for 2002 - 2003; the 2002 Innovative Digital Products Award from The Digital Imaging Marketing Association (DIMA); and the German CHIP computer magazine's prestigious CeBIT Highlights 2002 Innovation Award. The Foveon X3 sensor was chosen by CHIP magazine because of its revolutionary technology that will have far reaching impact on the digital camera and video markets.

About Foveon X3 Technology

The new line of Foveon image sensors utilize the company's new Foveon X3 technology and are the world's first full-color image sensors that capture red, green and blue light at each and every pixel. This technology innovation results in sharper images, better color, and freedom from color artifacts common in present digital cameras. Available now in the Sigma SD9 digital camera, the Foveon X3 image sensors are the first to detect color by embedding three photodetectors in silicon at every pixel location. Within a year it is expected the Foveon X3 technology will be available for all classes of digital cameras, ranging from high-end professional systems to low-cost point-and-shoot cameras.

The name X3 comes from a unique capability that the Foveon X3 technology brings - the ability to capture three colors at each single pixel location. Foveon X3 image sensors capture the full color of an image without using a color mosaic filter and without the expense, complexity, and limitations of multi-chip systems such as a 3-CCD camera or a multi-shot system.

About Foveon

Since its founding in 1997, the company is focused on the development of image capture products for digital cameras and image capture applications that enable higher levels of image quality and new system capabilities not possible with today's CCD technology. On February 11, 2002, Foveon introduced the world's first full-color image sensor - the Foveon X3 Pro 10M designed for digital SLR applications. The company has expanded its product line to include image sensors for smaller optical formats suitable for cell phones, point and shoot cameras and other small format camera applications. Foveon is a privately held company. Investors include: National Semiconductor Inc., Synaptics Inc. and New Enterprise Associates.