Axcelis Awarded Key Patent for Low Energy Ion Beam Transport Technology.

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACLS) has been awarded a key patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the cornerstone technology found in its market-winning Ultra high current, low energy ion implant system. The new patent completes Axcelis' intellectual property portfolio for the Ultra platform, further solidifying the company's leadership in the high current implant market.

The patent, number 6,759,665, covers the use of multi-cusped magnetic fields for confining electrons in the beamline, which is the technology found at the heart of the company's Ultra implanters. By enabling improved high current, low energy ion beam transport, the technology allows users to increase productivity when manufacturing ultra shallow junctions and other shallow-depth structures essential to advanced semiconductor production.

"Since Axcelis introduced the Ultra to the market in 2002, the system has quickly emerged as the preferred platform for low energy applications," said John Poate, Axcelis' chief technology officer. "This latest patent - the fourth and broadest of all Axcelis' patents directed to this electron confinement technology - is the basis for the Ultra platform. This technology, which makes up an important portion of Axcelis' intellectual property portfolio, is the reason we're able to deliver such outstanding productivity advantages to our customers, and an important factor in our high current market share growth."

The granting of the new patent, entitled Method and System for Ion Beam Containment in an Ion Beam Guide, follows the issuance of three other U.S. patents related to electron confinement technology over the past two years. Axcelis has filed corresponding patent applications covering the technology in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.

Axcelis regained the top spot in the high current ion implant market in 2003, just a year after the Ultra's introduction. According to market researcher Gartner Dataquest, Axcelis, with its joint venture Sumitomo Eaton Nova, logged 43.8% market share last year.

About Axcelis Technologies, Inc.

Axcelis Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, provides innovative, high-productivity solutions for the semiconductor industry. Axcelis is dedicated to developing enabling process applications through the design, manufacture and complete life cycle support of ion implantation, rapid thermal processing, and cleaning and curing systems. Axcelis Technologies has key technology centers in Beverly, Massachusetts, and Rockville, Maryland as well as in Toyo, Japan through its joint venture, SEN. The company's Internet address is: www.axcelis.com.