Cymer Unveils Latest EUV Developments.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 1999--Cymer, Inc. (Nasdaq/NMS:CYMI), the world's leading supplier of excimer laser illumination sources essential for deep ultraviolet (DUV) photolithography, disclosed yesterday at SPIE's 24th Annual International Symposium on Microlithography details of its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light generation program.

The latest Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) roadmap indicates that next-generation light sources will be instrumental in helping chipmakers achieve linewidths of 0.07 micron and below. The development of these reliable, shorter wavelength light sources for lithography is critical for the semiconductor industry to remain on Moore's Law curve.

Sematech recently selected EUV and Scalpel as the two technologies of choice for next-generation lithography. "Our EUV results are a culmination of the continuous research Cymer is performing to develop next-generation light sources," said Dr. William Partlo, director of EUV technology for Cymer.

"Unlike other EUV approaches using complex high power laser-based technologies, our design converts electrical energy directly to EUV radiation by compressing and heating a small volume of lithium plasma, and we are very encouraged by the initial results. This dense plasma focus (DPF) device produces narrow-band radiation at 13.5 nm, has a very high source brightness, and is capable of high repetition rate operation. We believe this is the simplest and most scaleable approach to EUV generation." Cymer was granted a patent on the device last year.

The DPF prototype uses an all-solid-state-pulse power technology very similar to the power modules used in Cymer's 248 nm light sources, including the new ELS-6000(TM) KrF 248 nm 2000Hz excimer laser.

Based on years of working with this technology in reliable production environments, the prototype was developed for scalability in the multikilohertz range. Testing on the EUV prototype has been conducted at approximately 5 watts at 200Hz, and its performance is characterized by a set of metrology tools that accurately measure the wavelength and power of the tools' emission.

Commenting on this development, Dr. Rick Sandstrom, Cymer co-founder and chief technology officer, noted, "As the market leader, Cymer has a fundamental responsibility to pioneer this type of research. From leading the development of DUV excimer lasers for lithography to creating EUV light sources, Cymer will continue to help our customers with future technology solutions."

Sandstrom added, "Our global installed base of over 600 systems gives us an abundance of knowledge of light source requirements for lithography in production environments. We continue to leverage this knowledge and apply it to improve our current technologies while also exploring future lithography light source requirements like EUV."

The paper detailing Cymer's findings, titled "EUV (13.5 nm) Light Generation Using a Dense Plasma Focus Device," was co-authored by Dr. Partlo; Dr. Igor Fomenkov, Cymer senior scientist; and Dr. Daniel Birx of Applied Pulse Power Technologies, Inc.

In addition to the EUV presentation, Cymer will also present on its 157 nm F2 lasers, 193 nm ArF lasers, and 2000Hz 248 nm KrF lasers, as well as metrology for measuring spectral purity and measuring divergence of the excimer laser.

Cymer, Inc. is the world's leading supplier of excimer laser illumination sources, the essential light source for deep ultraviolet (DUV) photolithography systems. DUV lithography is a key enabling technology, which has allowed the semiconductor industry to meet the exact specifications and manufacturing requirements for volume production of today's advanced semiconductor chips.

Further information on Cymer may be obtained from the company's SEC filings, the Internet at http://www.cymer.com or by contacting the company directly.