ADE Receives Multiple Orders From Wacker Siltronic AG.

Business/Technology Editors

WESTWOOD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2001

Repeat Orders from Leading Worldwide Supplier of Hyperpure

Silicon Wafers are for ADE's AFS 3220 and UltraGage 9900 Advanced

200mm and 300mm Products

ADE Corporation (NASDAQ, ADEX), announced today that it has received multiple orders on its 3220 Advanced Flatness System (AFS) and the UltraGage 9900 wafer geometry measurement system from Wacker Siltronic, an internationally leading supplier of hyperpure silicon wafers to the global semiconductor industry. This is a repeat order for ADE's Advanced 200mm and 300mm wafer metrology tools, continuing ADE's industry leadership in the bare wafer metrology market. ADE's 3220 AFS will be installed at Wacker's Burghausen facility, while the UltraGage 9900 system will be installed at Wacker's Portland, OR and Singapore polished wafer manufacturing facilities. Wacker is just one of many wafer makers that have chosen to standardize using ADE equipment and this agreement is further evidence of ADE's preeminent position in the market for advanced wafer metrology and inspection equipment.

The AFS 3220 is the latest in ADE's line of non-contact, capacitance-based, wafer geometry measurement systems. High throughput, non-contaminating handling and 1 mm edge exclusion capability make the AFS 3220 the ideal system for processing and sorting wafers based on SEMI standards for thickness, flatness and shape. It features full edge-grip handling for 300 mm wafers, up to four input/output cassettes and full factory automation including optional FOUP, FOSB and AGV access.

The UltraGage 9900 is the newest addition to ADE's highly successful line of automated, benchtop multi-functional metrology tools. Designed for 180 nm technology, the UltraGage 9900 utilizes ADE's patented E-Squared technology to provide repeatable, high data density measurement of 200 mm wafers at 1 mm edge exclusion. The UltraGage 9900 acquires more than 34,000 data points per wafer, and can sort to two cassettes based on SEMI standard thickness, flatness and shape. The UltraGage product line also features systems for use at out-going inspection, in-coming quality control, process monitoring, thin film deposition, backgrind and CMP process control.

ADE Corporation is a leading supplier of metrology and inspection systems for the silicon wafer and computer disk manufacturing industries. The Company's systems analyze and report product quality at critical manufacturing process steps for yield enhancement and provide quality certification data that is relied upon by semiconductor and computer disk manufacturers. The Company's systems also are used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. To learn more about ADE, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.ade.com.