AXTeX invests in Low Entropy Systems' monitoring technology.

WOBURN, Mass., Oct. 17, 1995--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Applied Science and Technology, Inc. ("ASTeX") (Nasdaq:ASTX) today announced it has invested $250,000 in Low Entropy Systems, Inc. (LES), Boston, MA, which has developed a new "smart sensor" monitoring system for measuring thin film etching or deposition rate and rate uniformity over an entire semiconductor wafer. SEMATECH has installed beta units for testing in production fabs at Digital Equipment Corp., IBM, Texas Instruments and Motorola. Through this investment, ASTeX has obtained preferred stock, convertible to common stock that will provide a minimum of a 15% ownership position in LES. Additionally, Dr. Richard S. Post, President and Chief Executive Officer of ASTeX, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of LES.

LES' 1000-IS Full Wafer Imaging Interferometer consists of a computer-controlled, 180,000-pixel CCD sensor, optics, and data acquisition and analysis software. Each pixel of the CCD sensor images a small region of the wafer, acting as an independent interferometer. As a result, the process engineer has control of 180,000 interferometers, which are used to determine rate, rate uniformity, selectivity, endpoint and other critical process properties. Each unit has an approximate price of $50,000.

Dr. William T. Connor, President of LES, commented, "Low Entropy Systems' new patented, sensor technology will be necessary to minimize the total cost of semiconductor fabrication. As wafers get larger and more complex, the total cost per wafer increases dramatically. The LES instrument will reduce the number of test wafers required to qualify a production tool and provide an in-situ process monitor to maximize productivity of the tool, offering the potential of significant savings."

Dr. Post stated, "At current growth rates, we estimate that the suppliers to the U.S. semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers will have a $3.5 billion market in 1996. Technologically advanced suppliers are fast becoming international players who will provide innovative products which will help shape the industry. LES is an excellent example of a quality value-added supplier of advanced components with whom ASTeX seeks to partner."

ASTeX is a leading manufacturer of systems and components for production of advanced materials such as semiconductors and CVD diamond. ASTeX markets its systems to producers of CVD diamond, while its microwave power generators, plasma sources and ozone generators and subsystems are marketed to the world's leading semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers. Typical semiconductor applications include stripping, etching, CVD and physical vapor deposition.

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Applied Science and Technology, Inc.

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Morgen-Walke Associates, Inc.

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Morgen-Walke Associates, Inc.

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