Asyst Technologies Introduces New SMS Substrate Management System.

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

In an announcement here at the opening of the SEMICON Japan 99, Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYT) today unveiled the SMS substrate management system -- the first in a new family of smaller, high productivity 200 mm wafer sorters used in semiconductor manufacturing. These management platforms are used primarily by semiconductor device manufacturers to manipulate and identify wafers during the manufacturing process.

Dennis Riccio, Asyst's senior vice president of Global Customer Operations, said, "The SMS is the first in a planned line of Asyst sorters that have been built to offer comprehensive, fully-automated manipulation capabilities with the throughput and yield improvements customers need for advanced device manufacturing lines."

The SMS has been designed for high throughput in a small footprint and is capable of handling 200 mm wafers in SMIF or open cassette environments. The system performs a range of operations including product identification, transfers, sorting, merging, orientation, verification and randomization, effectively becoming a single point of wafer manipulation and providing total manufacturing control.

Because the SMS is a fully-automated platform it ensures that wafers remain in a class 0.1 environment during all fab process steps. This "hands-off" approach helps manufacturers enhance yield by reducing handling-induced scratches and contamination. The SMS system also protects against misprocessing by performing a final verification of production lot integrity.

The SMS components include Asyst mini-environment and isolation technology, Asyst robotics for wafer handling, the Asyst VersaPort(TM) SMIF front-end and Asyst graphical user interface software. The components are all modules designed and manufactured by Asyst, providing a compatible, cost-effective solution that can quickly and easily be configured to suit customer needs. Although the SMS system will replace Asyst's WMS wafer management platforms, the company will continue to support existing customer requirements.

Asyst has received multiple orders for the SMS. First delivery is anticipated in the first quarter of 2000. The new SMS 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 the 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 technologies 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.