EV Group Launches Global Consortium to Speed Commercialization of Nanoimprint Lithography.

SCHARDING, Austria -- EV Group (EVG), which has the world's largest installed base of nanoimprinting equipment, today announced the launch of a global consortium dedicated to commercializing advanced nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technologies. NIL is a next-generation lithography method that utilizes a low-cost, high-resolution and large-area patterning process.

Known as NILCom, the consortium is a technology platform supported by an established infrastructure and qualified processes, including leading technology companies and research centers. Its mission is to establish a high volume manufacturing NIL platform in nano-electronics, data storage, life sciences and opto-electronics by creating a technology interface for qualifying and standardizing the related infrastructure.

"A recent report by Lux Research projected NIL to be the long-term winner among nanolithography platforms, and noted that toolmakers need to work together for our mutual interests," said Dr. Peter Podesser, chief executive officer of EV Group. "NILCom does that and more. We have assembled critical elements of the entire supply chain. Spanning North America, Europe and Asia, we will leverage NIL synergies and support accelerated market segmentation for key applications. With our leading companies and research centers of excellence, we will focus on providing total, high-volume NIL solutions, equipment and processes for chemicals, templates and leading IC manufacturers."

NILCom will facilitate transparency and availability of NIL requirements and infrastructure, including template standardization, materials qualification and advanced metrology solutions. Devices and applications developed with NILCom technology can take full advantage of the most advanced and cost efficient pattern-replication methods, promoting an accelerated product commercialization path.

NILCom members include:

--Templates: IMS-Chips / Institut fur Mikroelektronik Stuttgart, Quantiscript Inc., Transfer Devices Inc.

--Resist: Micro Resist Technology GmbH, Toyo Gosei Co., Ltd (New Business Development, Photosensitive Materials Research Center)

--Processes: AMO GmbH, National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Materials Institute (NRC-IMI), Waseda University

--Equipment: EV Group, Applied MicroStructures Inc.

--Metrology: Leica Microsystems AG

"Our investments in imprint lithography are already proving very beneficial as the technology is becoming ever more useful for low cost, high-throughput micro- and nanopatterning using polymers. Participating in the NILCom consortium allows us to accelerate the development of solutions in fabrication technologies for Canadian industry. Further investments are being planned as NRC-IMI has chosen to expand the nanoimprint R&D facilities and build a NIL Prototyping Centre dedicated to providing services to our client base," says Michel Dumoulin, Director of Advanced Materials Design at IMI. "Hot embossing, UV-NIL and micro-contact printing capabilities will be available at the centre, slated to open in 2005, allowing our clients to use their ideas into products in areas from bio-sensing to magnetic data storage."

Olaf Fortagne, corporate manager, technology partnership at Leica Microsystems AG, said: "Leica considers NIL to be a fast-growing business in areas of semiconductor and nano technologies. As a member of NILCom, Leica sees a strong demand for tools to process adaptation and standardization based on proven tool platforms."

"We welcome the opportunity to work with our partners in the NILCom consortium to deliver comprehensive solutions for nanoimprint lithography," said Andrew G. Zanzal, Quantiscript's vice president, business development. "Since sub-50nm imprint templates are a key enabler to this technology, we see great benefit to being closely aligned with other organizations working to advance the technology in this regime."

The official launch ceremony took place at NNT '04 -- the third international conference on nanoimprint and nanoprint technology -- in Vienna, Austria, on December 2.

Visit www.NILCom.org for more information on the consortium.

About NRC-IMI

NRC-IMI is a leading institute of National Research Council of Canada and conducts multidisciplinary research on breakthrough technologies related to materials development and processing, and is considered a key player with a growing position in the Canadian nanotechnology area. It helps Canadian companies meet the risks of the new economy by providing them competitive advantages and the required leverage to grasp opportunities.

Contact:

Dr. Michel Dumoulin

Director, Advanced Materials Design

IMI/CNRC

[phone]

Fax: [phone]

[e-mail]

www.imi.cnrc-nrc.gc.ca

About Leica Microsystems AG

Leica Microsystems is a leading global innovator, manufacturer and supplier of high precision optical solutions based on microscopes and related instruments. Leica Microsystems manufactures a comprehensive portfolio of products used in a wide variety of applications in the life sciences, the material sciences, industrial inspection and the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

About Quantiscript

Quantiscript Inc. is a commercialization stage start-up company located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Quantiscript's core business is development and licensing of resists and associated processes used to enable e-beam writing of high resolution pattern transfer artifacts such as mask and nano-imprint stamps. The company's initial product, QSR-5(TM), has been proven useful in the fabrication of nano-imprint stamps in the sub-100nm regime. With QSR-5(TM) and Quantiscript's suite of fabrication tools, early adopters of NIL can take advantage of the infrastructure and processes to obtain custom made nano-imprint templates for research purposes.

About EV Group

Founded in 1980, EV Group is a global supplier of wafer bonders, aligners, photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection systems for semiconductor, MEMS and emerging nanotechnology markets. EV Group holds the dominant share of the market for wafer bonding equipment (especially SOI bonding) and is a leader in lithography for advanced packaging and nanotechnology. The company's unique Triple I approach (Invent - Innovate - Implement) is supported by a vertical infrastructure, allowing EV Group to respond quickly to new technology development, apply the technology to manufacturing challenges and expedite volume production. Headquartered in Scharding, Austria, EV Group operates via a global customer support network, with subsidiaries in Tempe, Arizona; Albany, New York; Yokohama and Fukuoka, Japan; and Chung-Li, Taiwan. For more information, visit www.EVGroup.com.