Cabot MMD Names Micron Researcher Karl Robinson to Head Epic CMP Polishing Pad R&D Program.

Business Editors

AURORA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 29, 2000

Cabot Corp.'s Microelectronics Materials Division (MMD), the leading supplier of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries, today announced it has appointed Karl Robinson, Ph.D., to the position of polishing pad program manager.

Robinson is chartered with driving Cabot MMD's pad technology roadmap and developing an extended line of high-performance pad products for multiple applications.

"Karl has demonstrated his ability to plan and execute strategic R&D programs in the CMP arena," commented Matthew Neville, Cabot MMD's vice president and general manager.

"We are fortunate to gain his expertise to help propel our Epic(TM) pad portfolio. Karl's appointment reflects Cabot MMD's commitment to the pad business and our efforts to expand our R&D infrastructure to provide next-generation CMP process solutions to customers worldwide," Neville added.

The semiconductor industry's relentless pursuit of improved device performance creates an ongoing need for chip fabrication process improvements -- especially for CMP.

As polishing pad program manager, Robinson will facilitate the link between market need and new product development -- enabling the company to deliver leading products and process integration expertise.

Robinson will also engage with Cabot MMD's established slurry technology programs to cooperatively generate customer process solutions that result in fully integrated slurry and pad consumable sets.

Prior to joining Cabot MMD, Robinson was senior engineering lead in CMP at Micron Technology, Boise, Idaho, where he directed R&D for dielectric CMP and metal deposition. During his more than four years at Micron, Robinson developed new CMP processes that improved performance and started a new fundamental research program that focused on long-term process improvements.

In addition, Robinson was instrumental in managing supplier evaluations, tool manufacturer relations, cooperative research efforts with academia and intellectual property processes.

Robinson was previously an Alexander von Humboldt research associate at the Institut fuer Energieverfahrenstechnik, Juelich, Germany, where he supervised German doctoral candidates. He also has held various scientific research positions with the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

In addition to receiving 27 patents with 60 currently pending, Robinson has been published more than 20 times in scholarly journals such as Electrochemica Acta, Thin Solid Films and the Journal of the Electrochemical Society.

Robinson earned doctoral and graduate degrees in chemical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.

Introduced last year, the first product in Cabot MMD's Epic portfolio of CMP polishing pads is the Epic-W1 pad for tungsten plug and damascene applications.

The company utilizes a new manufacturing approach that enables Epic pads to achieve improved polishing performance in terms of CMP process stability and extended pad life -- both of which result in significant cost of ownership benefits for Cabot MMD's customers.

Cabot Corp.'s Microelectronics Materials Division, Aurora, is the leading global supplier of CMP slurries for polishing oxide and various metals used in semiconductor manufacturing processes. The division recently announced its entrance into the CMP polishing pad business. Cabot MMD is a division of Cabot Corp.

Headquartered in Boston, Cabot is a global chemical manufacturing company that specializes in producing and handling of surface chemistry of fine particles for the automotive, industrial, construction, semiconductor, coatings and inkjet colorant markets. The company also operates a liquefied natural gas business. Cabot had revenues of $1.7 billion in fiscal year 1999.

Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CBT.

The statements contained in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements." Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the risk factors and other cautionary statements included in Cabot Corp.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Note to Editors: Epic is a trademark of Cabot Corp.