Chaska, MN, September 22, 1998 - Fluoroware Inc., the world’s leading supplier of materials management solutions for the semiconductor and other mission-critical industries, and Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYT) (Fremont, CA), the leading supplier of manufacturing automation and Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF) isolation to the semiconductor industry, today announced they have negotiated a long-term licensing agreement. The agreement allows for integration of Asyst’s patented gas purge technology into Fluoroware’s 300 mm AutoPod front-opening unified pod (FOUP).

Commenting on the agreement’s significance, Dave Ring, vice president and general manager of Fluoroware’s Wafer Management business, noted, "Despite the delay in the 300 mm transition, we are continuing our 300 mm development efforts. Both 300 mm wafers and 0.18-micron and smaller design rules necessitate a higher degree of contamination control, making wafer isolation essential. Last year’s introduction of our 300 mm FOUP was the first step in our strategy to help chipmakers isolate their 300 mm wafer environments." Ring added, "However, a FOUP alone may not be enough to address the chemical and physical challenges posed by device manufacturing of this complexity. Gas purge capability takes contamination control a step further in anticipation of these challenges."

Gas purge further isolates the wafer environment by injecting a pod with filtered gas, which drives out humidity, controls and purifies the pod environment for better than Class 1 cleanliness and displaces particulates and airborne molecular contamination. One of the main advantages offered by gas purging is a reduction in variation of the wafer environment -a general requirement for higher yields.

Gas purge occurs when a FOUP interfaces with equipment such as a pod opener, making it critical that these two minienvironment components work together seamlessly. The licensing agreement specifies the Asyst Purge System Interface (Asyst-PSI), purge gas supply interface valves and exhaust interface valves.

Ring added, "The industry is relatively unclear on the chemical and physical manufacturing challenges that will affect contamination control at 0.18-micron and smaller linewidths. By offering our customers a FOUP with Asyst’s patented gas purge capabilities now, we ensure they have an advanced solution, if and when they need it, without changing their existing toolset."

Ray Martin, director of 300 mm products at Asyst, stated, "Asyst pioneered the use of inert environment isolation technology for semiconductor device manufacturing. We are pleased to license this purge technology to Fluoroware and to work with Fluoroware to deploy the Asyst PSI for 300 mm products. Asyst will also license this technology to other suppliers of pods, loadports and stockers to ensure an industry standard interface for gas purging of pods."

While no Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) standards currently exist for gas purge, the International 300 mm Initiative (I300I) is holding technical meetings on this topic. Fluoroware and Asyst report that they will continue to actively participate in the development of industry standards.

About Fluoroware
Headquartered in Chaska, Minn., Fluoroware Inc. is an ISO 9001 registered, worldwide leader in providing materials management products and solutions to the microelectronics, chemical processing and other mission-critical industries. Fluoroware has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Through alliances with Metron Technology and other distributors, Fluoroware has sales and customer support facilities on six continents. Additional information about the company is available on Fluoroware’s home page on the World Wide Web, located at http://www.fluoroware.com