Amtech Systems Inc. Announces a Significant Order From the Solar Cell Industry.

Business Editors, Technology Writers

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2001

Amtech Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYS) has announced that it has secured orders for two diffusion furnace systems to be used for solar photovoltaic cell wafer production from one of the largest oil companies in the world.

Since fiscal 1998, this major oil company has purchased similar equipment from Amtech for some of its other global solar cell production facilities. The customer has scheduled the current order to be delivered in the second quarter of fiscal 2002. For competitive reasons the Company does not disclose customer names or the pricing of specific orders. However, depending on the system configuration, the Company's diffusion furnace systems have a selling price of $500K to $800K per system.

J.S. Whang, the Company's President and CEO, stated "Our customer for this product is one of the leading modern solar energy producers in the world, which has a firm commitment to alternative energy for the future. We believe they are aggressively implementing their ongoing plan to expand production of solar cells in order to provide an environmentally friendly alternative energy source for developed countries and to address the solar energy needs of those countries with significant rural populations, who are living in areas without utility services. According to a New York Times article, Solar Power is Reaching Where Wires Can't, which appeared in the Sunday, September 9, 2001 edition, approximately two billion people, roughly 30% of the world's population, are off the energy grid and living in areas without utility services, of which approximately one billion have the means to pay for solar power. That article also reports that the total current market size for solar energy is estimated to be $3 Billion and that the leading companies in the solar energy industry are expected to see their revenue from the remote rural market to grow about 20% per year, from roughly $1.2 billion in 2001 to $2.5 billion in 2005.

With the order announced today, Amtech became the primary supplier of diffusion furnaces to this major oil company, for whom we have already installed 5 similar systems elsewhere in their worldwide facilities. Diffusion furnaces are essential equipment for the production of high-energy yielding solar cells. Mr. Whang also stated that "Amtech is serious about this market. We are intensifying our effort to further expand the customer base within the solar energy market, by leveraging our expertise and proven performance record."

About Amtech Systems, Inc.

Amtech Systems, Inc. manufactures capital equipment, including silicon wafer handling automation, semiconductor processing equipment and related consumables used in fabricating semiconductor devices. Semiconductors, or semiconductor chips, are fabricated on silicon wafer substrates, sliced from ingots, and are part of the circuitry, or electronic components, of many products including computers, telecommunications devices, automotive products, consumer goods, industrial automation and control Systems, and solar cells. The Company's semiconductor handling and processing products currently address the polishing of newly sliced silicon wafers and reclaimed test wafers and the oxidation and deposition steps used in the fabrication of semiconductors, optical components and solar cells.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by Amtech Systems, Inc.) contains statements that are forward-looking. Such forward looking information involves a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed or anticipated by management. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among other factors, industry specific and general business conditions, competitive market conditions, success of Amtech's growth and sales strategies, the possibility of customer changes in delivery schedules, cancellation of orders, potential delays in product shipments, delays in obtaining inventory parts from suppliers, failure to satisfy customer acceptance requirements and the effects of adopting Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements," which was issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.