Mobile EnChem Laboratory Developed by Microbar for Use in On-site Evaluation; Microbar To Participate in Wastewater Treatment Evaluation Program.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 12, 1999--

Microbar Inc., the leading independent supplier of chemical management systems for the global semiconductor industry, today announced it has developed its first mobile self-contained EnChem(TM) wastewater treatment and filtration laboratory. This mobile unit has been chosen to participate in a wastewater treatment evaluation program, sponsored by a leading U.S. semiconductor manufacturer. After the evaluation is over, Microbar's EnChem will continue across the United States to be demonstrated by other semiconductor manufacturers.

According to the Semiconductor Industry's Association's (SIA's) National Technology Roadmap, the 1500 gallons of ultra-pure water used to produce one 8-inch wafer must be reduced by 80 percent by 2003. Reduced water availability, the migration toward copper interconnects and the increased use of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries and other materials, which introduce additional toxic and hazardous materials to the environment, has led to an even greater need for a reliable and safe water reclamation process that can reduce water consumption to mandated levels.

"The rising cost of semiconductor manufacturing and increasing concern about its impact on the environment has made it imperative that issues such as wastewater remediation be addressed now. The industry has recognized that a small investment today in wastewater remediation provides tremendous savings in environmental cleanup in the near future. Microbar understands this, and developed the mobile EnChem laboratory to go on the road and address this critical issue," said Bruce M. Juhola, Microbar's founder and chairman.

An innovator in safe chemical management, Microbar entered the waste water remediation industry last year with the introduction of EnChem, a proprietary polymer process that enables selective low pressure filtration of both dissolved and suspended contaminants for semiconductor manufacturers using CMP, fluorinated chemistries or copper interconnects. Now, Microbar has backed up that investment with the development of a mobile, self-contained laboratory incorporating EnChem's proprietary polymer, microfiltration, reverse osmosis, organic destruct and other additional processes -- which will be used in on-site wastewater treatment evaluations around the country.

"The turnkey EnChem facility incorporates wastewater analytical control, filtration and chemical delivery in one portable apparatus. Microbar has taken wastewater remediation on the road to give the semiconductor industry the chance to experience an economical, safe and reliable water reclamation process," stated Josh Golden, Ph.D., senior scientist for Microbar's EnChem products.

EnChem is capable of reducing water usage during semiconductor manufacturing by up to 85 percent through reclaim while providing greater flow rates with a smaller overall system size. In addition, EnChem removes more than 99.7 percent of contaminating materials from treated water -- exceeding industry standards for wastewater process treatment -- at a lower cost of ownership than competing systems.

Microbar will feature EnChem along with its safe chemical management line of products and services at the Moscone Center, booth number 6657, San Francisco, during SEMICON West, to be held July 12-14.

About Microbar: Founded in 1991, Microbar designs, manufactures and markets safe, cost-effective chemical management systems for semiconductor fabrication processes. Enabling both bulk and point-of-use chemical delivery and collection, these systems address growing chemical management concerns in the fab for an ever broadening array of processes. Current and potential applications include ultrahigh purity wastewater reclamation, DUV photoresist processing, CMP, CVD and copper electroplating materials delivery and collection. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Microbar is a privately held company that is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.microbar.com

EnChem is a trademark of Microbar, Inc.