Corporate Profile for DuPont Photomasks Inc., dated April 6, 2001.

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Published Date:   April 6, 2001

Company Name:     DuPont Photomasks Inc.

Address:          131 Old Settlers Blvd.
                  Round Rock, Texas 78664

Main Telephone
 Number:          512/310-6500

Internet Home
 Page Address
  (URL)           www.photomask.com

Chief Executive
 Officer:         Peter Kirlin

Chief Financial
 Officer:         Gerd Stoecker

Investor Relations
 Contact:         Tom Blake
 Business number: 512/310-6562
 E-mail address:  [e-mail]

Public Relations
 Contact:         Christie Johnson
 Business number: 512/310-6029
 E-mail address:  [e-mail]

Industry:         High Tech: Semiconductor -- Photomask

Trading Symbol/
 Exchange:        Nasdaq:DPMI

Market Makers: Morgan Stanley & Co; Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.; Bank of
America Securities; Robertson Stephens Inc.; Needham & Company Inc.;
Credit Suisse First Boston Corp.

Company description: DuPont Photomasks Inc. (Nasdaq:DPMI) is one of the world's largest and most advanced manufacturers of photomasks. Narrowing linewidths and increasing device complexities have transformed the role of photomasks from being a passive process component into an enabling technology. DuPont Photomasks technology leadership has placed the company on the forefront of the semiconductor manufacturing industry's drive toward deep-submicron designs. DuPont Photomasks is playing a major role in extending the life of optical lithography with advanced photomask technologies such as:

-- Phase Shift Masks (PSM) -- Using both alternating aperture and embedded
attenuated techniques, PSMs alter the phase of light passing through the
photomask, greatly improving the depth of focus and resolution while providing
the critical dimension control necessary in deep-submicron designs.

-- Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) -- OPC masks incorporate sub-resolution
features to minimize optical distortions on the wafer during the
photolithography process.

-- Advanced Binary Masks -- Advanced chrome-on-quartz masks patterned with a
high-degree of accuracy, as well as high levels of critical dimension (CD) and
defect control.

Semiconductor manufacturers around the world are using photomasks made by DuPont Photomasks to print features on wafers that are smaller than the wavelength of the light employed by their photolithography system. DuPont Photomasks' advances in photomask technology are enabling the subwavelength era.

History

Originally a wholly owned subsidiary of E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, DuPont Photomasks ventured into the photomask industry in 1986 with the acquisition of Tau Laboratories, a merchant photomask supplier whose principal customers included Delco/General Motors and Motorola. In the decade that followed, DuPont Photomasks grew significantly, primarily through the acquisition of more than 20 captive and merchant photomask operations.

In 1996, DuPont Photomasks conducted an initial public offering of stock and became an independent company. The company's stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol DPMI. The company continues to successfully expand its operations. In 1998, DuPont Photomasks acquired the captive photomask operations of Hewlett-Packard and Hyundai Electronics Industries. In 1999, DuPont Photomasks formed a joint venture company in Taiwan with UMC Group, the world's second largest pure-play foundry. In addition, DuPont Photomasks acquired IBM's European photomask manufacturing organization located in Corbeil-Essonnes, France.

Products

A photomask is a high purity quartz substrate covered with chrome or other material on which customers' circuit patterns are etched. During semiconductor production, the circuitry pattern on a photomask is imaged onto a silicon wafer using photolithography technology. Semiconductors commonly include 15-30 layers and each layer requires its own photomask.

DuPont Photomasks manufactures a variety of photomasks, such as phase shift masks (PSM) including alternating aperture PSMs and embedded attenuated PSMs, optical proximity correction (OPC), and advanced binary masks. Currently, the majority of DuPont Photomasks' business is concentrated in the semiconductor industry; however, the company's photomasks are also being used in the production of flat panel displays, disk drive heads, multichip modules, MEMs and biochips.

DuPont Photomasks is the only fully integrated photomask manufacturer, producing the two key components used in photomask production: photoblanks and pellicles. Photoblanks are the quartz plates that are used to make photomasks. Pellicles are thin films that are mounted on frames that are placed onto photomasks, acting as protective covers to keep contaminants from the surface.

Commitment to Advancing Technology

The photomask has become critical to the extension of Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit will double in number every 18 months. To ensure the continued technological advancement of photomasks, in 1996 DuPont Photomasks formed a limited liability company with Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Motorola known as the DPI Reticle Technology Center, LLC (RTC). In a stand alone building housing some of the world's most advanced tools along with engineers from all four partner companies, the RTC is committed to developing leading edge photomask technologies for use with current and future lithography systems. The RTC joint venture was recently extended by all four partners through calendar 2002.

DuPont Photomasks also believes strongly in the development of strategic relationships with suppliers to ensure the company's ability to provide customers with early access to the most advanced photomasks. DuPont Photomasks has a strategic alliance with Hoya Corporation to develop advanced photoblanks to support the manufacture of leading-edge 0.18-micron semiconductors. In addition, DuPont Photomasks works closely with Applied Materials/Etec Systems, KLA-Tencor, Micronic Laser Systems, JEOL, Ultratech Stepper and a variety of government and university sponsored research centers, including SEMATECH and LETI (Laboratoire d'Electronique de Technologie et d'Instrumentation), a France-based research organization.

Locations

Headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, DuPont Photomasks operates strategically located photomask production facilities around the world in:

-- U.S. -- Santa Clara, California; Kokomo, Indiana; and Round

Rock, Texas

-- Europe -- Rousset and Corbeil, France; Hamburg, Germany; and

Hamilton, Scotland

-- Asia -- Shanghai, China; Ichon, Korea; Hsinchu, Taiwan; and

Singapore

In addition, the company manufactures the majority of its requirements of photoblanks and pellicles, in order to ensure the quality and availability of these two key components in the production of photomasks. Photoblanks are produced in a facility in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and pellicles are made in Danbury, Conn. DuPont Photomasks also maintains data and customer service centers worldwide.

Annual Sales:

DuPont Photomasks posted worldwide sales of approximately $328 million in fiscal 2000.