TAICHUNG, Taiwan, Jan. 31, 2013 — (PRNewswire) — TSMC Solar Ltd. today announced confirmation by both TUV SUD and UL that its commercial-sized (1.09 square meters) champion CIGS module has achieved 15.1% module total area efficiency. The champion module sets a new world record for monolithic thin-film module efficiency, and was produced using the current manufacturing equipment and materials at the company's manufacturing facility in Taichung, Taiwan.

"In just one year, our process technology has made great progress. Our champion modules now have comparable module efficiency to mainstream multi-crystalline silicon modules, demonstrating TSMC Solar's ability to realize the high-efficiency potential of our CIGS technology. Our technology's superior competitiveness comes from its high efficiency, excellent high temperature performance and intrinsic cost structure advantages," said Ying-Chen Chao, President of TSMC Solar.

"Customers appreciate our ability to continuously improve module efficiency. In addition, TS CIGS Series modules deliver up to 5% additional energy yield over crystalline silicon in high temperature regions," said Stephen McKenery, TSMC Solar Worldwide Sales Head.

About TSMC Solar

TSMC Solar Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (NYSE: TSM), the acknowledged semiconductor dedicated foundry segment leader with market capitalization exceeding US$90 billion. TSMC's solar business was founded in May 2009 and is headquartered in Taichung, Taiwan, with regional sales offices in Hamburg, Germany; San Jose, California and Boston, Massachusetts.

For more information, please go to www.tsmc-solar.com.

SOURCE TSMC Solar Ltd.

Contact:

TSMC Solar Ltd. TUV SUD UL Web: http://www.tsmc-solar.com/