ASML Introduces Its First i-line Step & Scan.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 1998--

PAS 5500/400 Provides High-Volume Production of

0.28-Micron Devices at 96 Wafers Per Hour

Newest ASML Product Works in Concert with PAS 5500/500

Deep UV Step & Scan to Provide Lowest Cost Solution

for 0.22 to 0.18-Micron Processes

ASML (ASM Lithography) today announced the introduction of the company's first i-line Step & Scan system, the PAS 5500/400, at SPIE's 23rd Annual International Symposium on Microlithography. The new system, which can process 96 200 mm wafers per hour, is designed to work in concert with ASML's PAS 5500/500 deep UV Step & Scan system, and provide a comprehensive and economic "mix-and-match" solution for 0.22 to 0.18-micron lithography processes.

Specified for device resolutions down to 0.28-micron, the PAS 5500/400 is the most cost-effective production solution for resolving less critical layers in 0.22 to 0.18-micron processes. By teaming the new i-line Step & Scan system with the company's existing deep UV Step & Scan system -- which can resolve critical device layers down to 0.18-micron -- customers can realize savings of up to 30 percent in both operating and capital costs.

"Step & Scan lithography systems will be required for imaging the next generation of semiconductor devices, with their smaller feature sizes and tighter design rules," said Evert Polak, vice president of marketing for ASML. "To achieve the lowest production costs, mix-and-match strategies will use i-line with deep UV for sub-0.25-micron mass production."

As device geometries shrink in size and increase in complexity, the Step & Scan approach to photolithography imaging offers several advantages over step-and-repeat processing. The image field size can be extended without requiring a larger diameter lens, allowing more dies to be exposed within the same exposure field and improving the productivity of the tool. Additionally, since only a small portion of the lens is used for actual image projection, inherent aberrations in the lens can be minimized, improving critical dimension (CD) control with sub-0.30-micron geometries.

The PAS 5500/400 features a STARLITH 400(TM) i-line lens with a numerical aperture of 0.65 and an AERIAL(TM) illuminator, both developed and manufactured by Carl Zeiss, and together providing a process latitude sufficient for 0.28-micron device layers. The phase grating alignment and stage systems combine to deliver a single machine overlay of 45 nm. With the Step & Scan approach, lens distortion is minimal, and matching between the PAS 5500/400 and the PAS 5500/500 systems is specified at 70 nm. The new product's 3.5 kW Hg arc lamp, together with the AERIAL illuminator, provides a production throughput of 96 200 mm wafers per hour.

ASML Lithography (Nasdaq: ASMLF, Amsterdam Stock Exchange: ASML) is a world leader in photolithography with an installed base of more than 1,000 systems at customer sites around the world. The company, recognized by Dataquest as the No. 2 supplier of steppers in the world, had 1997 revenues of $889 million. ASML is headquartered in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, with a U.S. operations center in Tempe, Ariz., and regional sales and service facilities in Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. -0-

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this news release that may be considered forward-looking statements may be subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those projected, including uncertainties in the market, pricing competition, procurement and manufacturing efficiencies, and other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.

CONTACT: ASML, Veldhoven, The Netherlands

Evert Polak, VP/Marketing (31) 40-2303-537

or

Eduard Hoeberichts, Manager, IR, (31) 40-2303-938

or

ASML, Tempe, Ariz.

Doug Marsh, VP, Worldwide Sales, 602/438-0559

or

Mark Bigelow, Manager, Marketing Communications,

602/414-2252

or

Mathews & Clark, Sunnyvale, Calif.

Bob Climo, 408/736-1120

or

Mathews & Clark, London, England

Ann Read, (44) 171-631-1606