Jenoptik Infab Introduces FIXLOAD 13/25; New Unit Easily Customized to Hold Carriers for 13 or 25 Wafers.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 1997--Jenoptik Infab, a leading worldwide integrator for wafer fab automation and process control, has introduced its new Front Opening Load Port FIXLOAD(TM) 13/25.

With its standard setting 300 mm front-opening load ports, Jenoptik Infab has become the dominating player in 300 mm fab automation for the semiconductor industry.

With its new FIXLOAD 13/25 series of front-opening load ports, Jenoptik Infab provides a solution that is open to handle the 13 or 25 wafer capacity FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pods).

In the semiconductor industry, 13 versus 25 wafer capacity processing demands flexibility in 300 mm tool interfaces that allow for customization and easy adjustment to the wafer processing capacity required.

The unique FIXLOAD 13/25 design allows the IC manufacturer flexibility and expendability in wafer handling capacity, without facing the expense of front tool reinvestment. The new system can easily be converted from 13 to 25 wafer capacity FOUP and vice versa. A conversion kit allows for easy on-site adaptation in the fab.

Jenoptik Infab has shipped more than 100 FIXLOAD units to the industry. Jenoptik Infab 300 mm fab automation products are designed in accordance with the semiconductor industry's standards and guidelines. They are designed for high throughput and contamination-free manufacturing of devices with design rules of 0.25 micron and smaller. The ergonomic loading height of 900 mm is just one aspect of a design that considers all facets of operator comfort and safety in wafer handling.

Jenoptik Infab's front-opening load ports are part of a complete fab integration concept for wafer process technology of the twenty-first century.

For more information regarding the new Jenoptik Infab FIXLOAD 13/25, call or write Jenoptik Infab Inc., Barton Oaks Plaza Four, 901 MoPac Expressway, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78746-5792, 512/437-3550, fax [phone].

Jenoptik Infab is a member of the Jenoptik Group, a global organization of high-technology companies owned by Jenoptik AG, a holding company based in Jena, Germany, which last year grossed US$1 billion in sales. The Jenoptik Group provides leading-edge solutions to semiconductor fab building and automation integration, telecommunications, laser and optical systems, bioinstruments and microsystems.

Jenoptik Infab, along with Meissner + Wurst, are two Jenoptik Group companies that address the semiconductor industry. Together, Jenoptik Infab and Meissner + Wurst achieved 1996 sales in excess of US$550 million and employ more than 1,400 worldwide. Jenoptik Infab is a leading worldwide integrator for fab automation and process control, and provides a wide range of products and services, including all aspects of logistics and work flow, front tool automation (SMIF, FOUP/FIMS), contamination control and CIM software integration.

Meissner + Wurst is a world leader in facility design and construction, and is an innovator in optimizing the performance of wafer fabs. Together, Jenoptik Infab and Meissner + Wurst offer to their customers worldwide an innovative, totally integrated next-generation solution to fab design, construction and process automation that reduces non-productive cycle time and enhances profitability.

CONTACT: Jenoptik Infab

Andrea Schon, [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

or

Mathews & Clark

Tim Alban, 512-345-0600

E-mail: [e-mail]