Varian Extending Leadership Position in Ion Implantation, Executive Says; Aurelio Details Five-Part Strategy at Semicon West '98.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 1998--"Despite the current slump in semiconductor equipment demand, there is no doubt that a significant rebound will occur," Richard A. Aurelio, Varian executive vice president and head of its Semiconductor Equipment business told reporters and analysts attending Semicon West here today.

"The big question, of course, is exactly when the rebound will start. We're optimistic it could come as early as the second half of fiscal year 1999," the Varian executive said.

"When it does, Varian will be strategically positioned to take full advantage of the uptick and our focused approach to the ion implantation market. According to Dataquest, worldwide demand for ion implanters alone should surge to $8 billion over a five-year period during the next up cycle," Aurelio continued.

"Implantation is a uniquely independent sector within the equipment market, which does not require close integration with related tools. We continue to invest heavily in andfocus solely on implantation, and fully expect to extend our position as the absolute best of the best."

Aurelio cited a five-part strategy Varian is undertaking for asserting its continued leadership in the implantation market.

-- Global Infrastructure. Varian has developed a fully integrated, direct sales, support, and engineering presence worldwide. Recently, this has included the formation and staffing of a new operating entity, Varian Japan, K.K., and the development of a dedicated engineering center to serve the Japanese market. The company also has a direct presence in Korea, having purchased the remaining portion of Varian Korea, Ltd., from its long-time trading partner there.

-- Complete Product Line. The company's pending acquisition of Genus, Inc.'s high energy (MeV) ion implantation product line will allow Varian to offer solutions at all energies and currents. Aurelio noted that the purchase is complementary and represents an excellent fit with Varian's existing medium- and high-current product lines. The acquisition will also offer a rapid entry to the fast growing high-energy sector of the industry, and will make Varian's award winning global support network available to former Genus customers.

-- New Technology. At Semicon West, Varian is introducing its VIISta 300mm ion implanter family, a next generation platform designed for meeting the challenges of 0.10-micron semiconductor device geometries.

This family of implanters include unique beam line designs for maximum beam current, common end stations for ease of service, and control software architecture that makes the implanters easier to run and control. The result is unprecedented machine control, fast set-up, sub-0.10 micron particulate control, essentially no energy contamination, extremely low metals contamination, and a new standard for uniformity and repeatability. Aurelio noted that the VIISta implant platform will take chip companies from 0.18 to 0.10-micron production.

-- Worldwide Support. For the second consecutive year, Varian was named the top large supplier of wafer processing equipment in VLSI Research Inc's 10 BEST customer satisfaction survey. Aurelio said that support innovations, like the company's Remote Assist capability, are becoming as important as on-going equipment and process developments. This is due to the dizzying costs associated with unscheduled equipment downtime, which can run as high as $75,000 per hour. He noted extremely high customer interest in Remote Assist, which uses advanced video conferencing capabilities to put product experts "virtually" into customer fabs.

The company continues to invest in information technology such as SAP software systems, which allow Varian to mine and interpret machine performance data that is vital to continuous process improvements. Another important aspect to Varian's support activities is a steady stream of hardware and software options and upgrades. These offerings allow Varian's installed base to run advanced processes and achieve significant productivity gains on existing equipment.

-- Partnerships. Varian will continue to partner with suppliers of the best complementary technologies. For instance, Varian and STEAG AST Electronik today announced a product and process development partnership that will allow Varian to offer an integrated combination of its ion implantation systems and STEAG AST rapid thermal processing equipment. The partnership builds on the firms' research and patents in ultra-low energy boron and BF2 implant and activation processes, which are seen as critical to the development of ultra-shallow junctions for 0.18 to 0.10-micron semiconductor devices.

Aurelio remarked that these partnerships allow the individual companies to focus on core competencies, and ensure that the customer receives the absolute best-of-class solutions.

"Varian's infrastructure, product lines and technology, worldwide support, and strategic partners will extend the company's role as the best of the best in implantation well into the next millennium," Aurelio concluded.

Varian's semiconductor fabrication equipment is used by virtually every major semiconductor manufacturer in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The company is the leading supplier of ion implantation equipment with more than 2,500 systems shipped worldwide.

Varian Associates, Inc., based in Palo Alto, Calif., is a $1.4 billion, diversified, high-technology company with core businesses in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, analytical instruments, and health care systems that provide products and services to worldwide markets. It operates manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and has sales and service offices worldwide.

Press announcements and other information about Varian are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.varian.com.

    CONTACT:  Varian Associates, Inc.
               Laurie Alire, 650/424-5781
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