Cybeq Nano Technologies Signs OEM Agreement With LUXTRON for Optima Process Control Products.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 1998--Cybeq Nano Technologies signed an OEM agreement with LUXTRON Corporation to incorporate two LUXTRON process control products into Cybeq's CMP systems. Cybeq is the first OEM to incorporate two of LUXTRON's end point control systems into a single tool platform -- the Optima 9400, an optical end point monitor for shallow trench isolation (STI) processes, and the Optima 9300, a motor current end point product for tungsten and copper processes. The LUXTRON monitors are integrated into Cybeq's Isoplanar 8000 CMP system for 200 mm manufacturing and the Isoplanar 9000, designed for processing 300 mm wafers.

Integrating both LUXTRON end point control products provides Cybeq's customers with distinct advantages, according to Chris Brown, Cybeq Nano Technologies' director of marketing. "Using LUXTRON's outstanding optical and motor current end point detection systems extend Cybeq's competitive advantages in process control and repeatability," explained Brown.

"Our CMP systems require fewer consumable changes, have the fewest process variables to control, and have the lowest potential failure points of any CMP system available today. But to maintain these performance advantages, it was imperative that Cybeq partner with a process control manufacturer in the early stages of product design and that we integrate the in situ endpoint control detection capability into our product," said Robert Shinagawa, director of engineering for Cybeq Nano Technologies. "LUXTRON has been very supportive by optimizing their products to meet our demanding design and performance criteria."

"We are delighted to work with Cybeq," said Bob Goodman, LUXTRON CEO and president. "Both their existing Isoplanar 8000 system and the 9000 for 300mm are at the leading edge of CMP technology and we have found them to be ideal products to maximize the benefits of LUXTRON's in situ end point control solutions."

Cybeq Nano Technologies, a unit of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, is a leading provider of "production CMP" equipment to the semiconductor industry. Cybeq products are designed to provide the highest yields and the lowest CMP cost of ownership possible by utilizing a unique "one polishing-platen per process-step" design philosophy. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company has sales, service, and process support in strategic locations worldwide.

Located in Santa Clara, Calif., LUXTRON Corporation is a leading supplier of superior sensing products for industrial, semiconductor manufacturing, medical, and R&D uses. For the semiconductor industry, LUXTRON's yield-enhancing products fall into two categories: in situ (real time) end point monitors that detect process endpoints in dry (plasma) etch, wet etch, and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems; and fiber optic temperature sensors used in plasma etch, sputtering, CVD, PVD, EPI reactors, RTP, and diffusion processes. Founded in 1978, LUXTRON is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fairey Group, a United Kingdom-based conglomerate. The Fairey Group is a process technology company that provides products and services for improved productivity, quality and yield through technically advanced electronic controls, in-line process instrumentation and filtration systems in a wide range of industries.

    CONTACT:  LUXTRON Corporation
               Kimberly Firehammer, 408/727-1600
               [e-mail]
                     or
               Cybeq Nano Technologies
               Philip MacDougall, 408/571-2292
               [e-mail]
                     or
               Communication Partners, Inc.
               Lynn Neillie, 602/996-0809
               [e-mail]