Asyst Technologies Introduces New Reticle Management System; Shrinking Geometries Create New Market for Reticle Manipulation and Protection Platforms.

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1999--

In an announcement here at the opening of the SEMICON Japan 99, Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq/NM:ASYT) today unveiled its new Reticle Management System (RMS) for use in semiconductor manufacturing. A platform for manipulating and protecting valuable reticles from particulate contamination and other potential sources of damage, the RMS is designed for use by semiconductor device manufacturers, photomask suppliers (mask houses) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

In semiconductor manufacturing, the RMS can be used in the photolithography area to manipulate and identify reticles during the manufacturing process. Mask houses can use the RMS to manipulate reticles at the incoming inspection stage, while OEMs are able to use the RMS as an adaptive solution for production process tools that employ reticles.

Dennis Riccio, Asyst's senior vice president of Global Customer Operations, said, "We believe high-end applications in reticle management will account for a large portion of the growing substrate management business, which we estimate may reach $40 million next year. With the introduction of the RMS, we believe Asyst is poised to penetrate the new reticle management market."

"Historically, protecting reticles or masks from particulate contamination has not been an issue since the device feature sizes on the reticles are generally four times the size of those on the wafer," Riccio added. "But the reticles used to manufacture advanced 0.18-micron geometries have much smaller feature sizes. Thus, these reticles can be damaged during manufacture or use by the introduction of a even a single particle, by operator handling or misprocessing or by random electro-static discharge (ESD) damage. We believe the RMS can control these serious problems by fully automating the manipulation and identification of reticles."

The average cost of a complex 0.18-micron reticle is approximately $15,000 and multiple reticles are normally in use in semiconductor production fabs at all times. In particular, semiconductor foundries who specialize in producing many different device designs in smaller lots may have hundreds of reticles to protect at any given time in the production process. The RMS offers a way to protect these valuable assets, resulting in improved yields and reduced manufacturing costs.

In the case of mask houses, as the features on masks become smaller, the masks themselves become more expensive to manufacture and, therefore, even more important to protect. The RMS system is offered with an option for bright-light inspection -- a feature that improves manufacturing yields and provides a rapid return on investment.

RMS components include Asyst minienvironment and isolation technology, Asyst robotics for reticle handling, the Asyst Indexer front-end and Asyst graphical user interface software. The components are all modules designed and manufactured by Asyst, enabling the company to offer a cost-effective solution that can quickly and easily be configured or customized to suit customer needs. The RMS is currently available with an in-line R-Theta-Z robot working in concert with two or three input/output ports.

To address the special needs of mask houses and semiconductor manufacturers, the RMS opens, identifies and transfers reticles from various shipper boxes. These include: Hoya multi-reticle cassettes; Toppan single reticle clam shells; ASML library/Asyst SMIF Pods; Asyst single-reticle SMIF Pods; and Nikon, SVGL and Canon boxes. A variety of options can be used due to the highly flexible design of the bulkhead-mountable in-line design.

The average selling price for a fully configured RMS system is between $250 - $300,000 depending on configuration. Multiple products have been installed at customer sites and the system is available for order from Asyst. The new RMS system will debut at the Asyst exhibit at SEMICON Japan, Dec. 1-3, 1999, at the Makuhari Convention Center, booth 6-A801.

About Asyst: Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of Standard Mechanical Interface-based minienvironment and manufacturing automation systems that enable semiconductor manufacturers to protect customers' valued assets throughout the manufacturing process while increasing manufacturing productivity. Asyst offers a broad range of 200 mm and 300 mm products that enable the Company to provide semiconductor manufacturers and Original Equipment Manufacturers automated manufacturing solutions for the transfer of wafers and information between the process equipment and the fab line. Asyst's homepage is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.asyst.com

Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, semiconductor industry cycles, risks associated with the acceptance of new products and product capabilities and other factors more fully detailed in the Company's most recent S-3 Registration Statement.