Fremont, CA, July 2, 1997 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYT), the leading supplier of minienvironment and SMIF-based technology to the worldwide semiconductor industry, today announced a major milestone -- shipment of its 1,000th load port transfer system. The milestone Asyst SMIF-LPT™ will ship this week to Applied Materials, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA), and will be used on Applied Materials' Centura 5200 cluster tool.

Gerry McFaull, Asyst's vice president of manufacturing, noted that since the product's introduction in March 1996, Asyst continues to experience industry-wide demand for its SMIF-LPT. "The SMIF-LPT's rapid market acceptance has established it as a preferred SMIF solution among our customers. This rate of system acceptance positions the SMIF-LPT as an industry standard for fast, flexible, wafer loading and unloading I/Os," stated McFaull. "Accommodating the accelerated ramp up required for the SMIF-LPT for 200 mm wafers has prepared us to meet the anticipated global demands of SMIF products as the industry moves toward 300 mm processing," added McFaull.

Resolving the robotic-transfer challenges specific to vacuum loadlock processing equipment and cluster tools, the SMIF-LPT meets Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) standard E-15 requirements for ergonomic load height. In addition, the SMIF-LPT, which integrates directly with the process tool, provides an ultraclean wafer environment that exceeds the requirements of 0.25-micron processing by a factor of 10.

According to Nick Bright, managing director of the automation technology division at Applied Materials, the SMIF-LPT's proven production capabilities prompted the company's selection. "We are pleased to be part of this milestone. Asyst has a strong reputation for providing ultraclean, reliable handling systems. We look forward to incorporating this system as part of our Centura and Endura line of processing solutions," stated Bright.

The SMIF-LPT is an ergonomically designed SMIF I/O, which facilitates the loading and unloading of Asyst SMIF-Pods™ and cassettes into a wide variety of 150mm and 200mm wafer processing and metrology tools. The SMIF-LPT is designed for both adaptive and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) applications for vacuum loadlock tools that require an external lateral cassette transfer mechanism.

About Applied Materials
Applied Materials, Inc. is a Fortune 500 global growth company and the world's largest supplier of wafer fabrication systems and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol "AMAT." Applied Materials web site is http://www.AppliedMaterials.com.

About Asyst
Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of material handling systems that help semiconductor manufacturers improve their integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing productivity. The company's Asyst-SMIF™ System combines state-of-the-art minienvironments with advanced robotics to create ultraclean processing environments that are both comprehensive and flexible. The SMART-Traveler™ System (STS) works in tandem with SMIF to eliminate misprocessing. Both Asyst-SMIF and its companion STS products are integral to seamless factory automation. Asyst Software, Inc., is dedicated to the development of software products for equipment communications and automated material handling, identification and tracking.

About SMIF
SMIF stands for Standard Mechanical InterFace, the material handling approach that enables wafer transfer to and from sealed SMIF environments without exposure to cleanroom ambient conditions. SEMI standards exist for 150 and 200 mm wafer sizes and are now being defined for 300 mm.