AZ Electronic Materials Purchases 300mm Coating Technology from SUSS MicroTec for Resist Qualification.

MUNICH, Germany -- SUSS MicroTec (FWB:SMH) (GER:SMH) announced today that AZ Electronic Materials USA Corp., a world leader in electronic materials for the semiconductor, flat panel display, and recording head markets has purchased an ACS300Plus coating cluster for its resist qualification. The modular cluster from SUSS MicroTec will be used to optimize the coat, bake, and develop performance of AZ's existing thin and thick resists, as well as for the evaluation of newly developed materials. The SUSS tool was chosen over alternative equipment due to its superior thick resist processing capability and its bridge tool design that permits concurrent 200 and 300mm wafer handling without mechanical changeover. Thick resist processing is an enabling technology for volume production in wafer level packaging and solder bumping, which represent the two main markets for both companies. The system is scheduled for installation in late 2006 at AZ's photoresist manufacturing site in Branchburg, New Jersey.

In recent years, the relentless pressure for faster, lighter, and smaller electronic products has focused special attention on wafer-level packaging/solder bumping, which may be defined as a technology where all packaging and interconnection processes take place in wafer format prior to dicing. According to Prismark Partners, a market research firm based in New York, the wafer-level packaging/solder bumping market is currently growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent. In order to guarantee optimal support of these applications SUSS MicroTec has designed its coating equipment to accommodate a wide range of photoresist viscosities, while a unique coat bowl design prevents the typical build-up of cast-off resist. The flexible ACS300Plus platform can be configured with multiple coat, bake, or develop modules for increased capacity or for chemistries that cannot share the same module.

"In order to meet the fast-paced industry needs, AZ Electronic Materials constantly applies its technical knowledge and expertise towards new generations of photoresists", says Dr. Ralph Dammel, Vice President, Global R&D, at AZ. "As thick resist processing requires coat geometries that can handle the high viscosities involved and yield highly uniform coats, we decided on 300mm coating technology from SUSS MicroTec, the leading supplier of production lithography equipment for solder bumping, redistribution and integrated passives."

"It is a pleasure to work with such a high growth company as AZ Electronic Materials and to qualify their innovative photo resists on our equipment." comments Rolf Wolf, managing director of SUSS MicroTec Lithography division. "This clear endorsement from AZ Electronic Materials, the established leader in thick resists, continues to demonstrate our leadership position in this market segment and represents another important milestone for our 300mm equipment."

About AZ Electronic Materials

AZ Electronic Materials makes high-purity, advanced technology products for use in integrated circuits and devices, flat panel displays and photolithographic printing. The products make possible the manufacture of flat screen digital TVs, PCs, mobile phones, navigation devices, medical imaging equipment and other "information age" products that are used around the world - over 70% of AZ's business comes from Asia. AZ Electronic Materials is the world leader in photoresists for the flat-panel display market, a major supplier of innovative products to the semiconductor industry, and a leading supplier of photolithographic printing chemicals.

For businesses developing the latest electronics technology, AZ is a proven partner every step of the way. AZ Electronic Materials is an international business headquartered in Luxembourg, owned by the global private equity firm The Carlyle Group and by the management. http://www.az-em.com

About SUSS MicroTec

SUSS MicroTec is a leading supplier of production, process and test technology for the semiconductor industry. SUSS maintains its leadership position with over 7,000 systems installed worldwide. SUSS products include coating developing systems, 1X full-field lithography (1XFFL) systems, substrate bonders, flip-chip bonders and probe systems. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, SUSS has 5 international manufacturing sites and provides support from sales and service centers in North America, Europe, Asia and Japan. For more information, please visit http://www.suss.com