Accent Optical Technologies, Inc. Adds Three Industry Veterans to Board.

Business Editors

BEND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2001

Accent Optical Technologies, Inc., a maker of process control and measurement tools for the optoelectronic, wireless, and silicon semiconductor industries, today announced the addition of three industry veterans to the board of directors: Joseph F. Dox, former President and COO of Novellus Systems; Jeffrey Rosen, Managing Partner of O'Melveny & Myers LLP's New York office and the head of its Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group; and Robert J. Therrien, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brooks Automation, Inc.

"We believe the addition of these three professionals will have a significant impact on our ability to succeed," said Bruce Rhine, President, Chairman and CEO of Accent Optical Technologies, Inc. "We are thrilled to have their counsel and strategic input as well as access to their vast network of contacts. Bob and Joe have a known track record of growing businesses and shareholders' value in the semiconductor capital equipment industry."

Dox has been in the electronics field since 1972 and in the semiconductor industry since 1977. His career includes financial management positions at Applied Materials, Seeq Technology, Exel Microelectronics and Novellus Systems. Dox served as President of Novellus Systems prior to his retirement in 1994. He has had extensive experience in working with start up companies, in mergers and acquisitions, and the globilization of the semiconductor equipment industry. He has held board positions at Novellus Systems, Mars Technology, Obsidian and Electroglas.

Rosen has extensive legal experience in tax, financial and corporate transactions. He has represented major corporations in prominent mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and regularly represents several private equity funds. Rosen's recent representations include: representation of GTE Corporation in its merger with Bell Atlantic, its restructuring of its internet backbone subsidiary and numerous major acquisitions and divestitures; representation of Marriott International in major mergers and acquisition transactions; and representation of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the Loral acquisition and the spin-off of Loral Space & Communications. Rosen has a BA and JD from Harvard University.

Therrien's career began with 14 years experience in engineering project management at North American Rockwell, General Precision Laboratories and MIT Draper Laboratory in the avionics and aerospace industries. For the past 28 years he has served as the President of a number of privately-held, high technology companies. He co-founded Ditran Corporation, a shaft angle encoder maker acquired by Litton Industries; and Accutest Corporation, a semiconductor test equipment company which was subsequently acquired by Schlumberger after 12 years under his leadership as Chairman and President. In 1989 Therrien engineered the leveraged buyout of Brooks Automation and is now positioning Brooks as a leading global supplier of factory and tool automation for the semiconductor industry. Therrien is a member of the Board of Directors of MKS Instruments, Inc., All Wet Technologies, Inc. and Advanced Thermal Sciences, Inc.

The Board of Directors also includes: Peter Joost, President of Joost Enterprises Corporation, David Schwartz, President of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc, and Bruce C. Rhine, President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Accent Optical Technologies, Inc.

Accent Optical Technologies, Inc. (www.accentopto.com) is a leading supplier of optoelectronic and silicon process control systems. The company's legacy dates backs over 300 years to its optical instrument manufacturing roots in York, England. It serves leading manufacturers of laser diodes, VCSELs, HBTs and high electron mobility transistors and supplies optical CD measurement, thin film characterization and optical lithography feedback control systems to leading silicon device manufacturers. Accent Optical Technologies, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Bend, Oregon, operates in 19 countries with more than 250 employees, including over 70 technologists.

Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this news release include forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These include statements relating to our ability to reach our expansion goals and penetrate markets. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those projected. Our business is subject to several risks, including, but not limited to, the cyclicality in the industries in which we participate, fluctuations in our operating results, rapid technological change and market acceptance of our products, as well as, general market conditions. We assume no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.