Fremont, CA, July 10, 2000 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: ASYT) today entered the market for automated fab transport with an innovative system specifically created for the emerging 300 mm production era. Leveraging a breakthrough architecture that is faster, more flexible and less costly than traditional transport technologies, Asyst's new FasTrack™ system delivers the security, value, performance and productivity gains global chipmakers need to efficiently transport and protect their valued 300 mm wafer assets throughout the entire fab. Additionally, with unique features like the FastMove™ tool-loading module and local buffering of wafer carriers, the FasTrack system addresses important requirements for automated intrabay material handling - a critical capability for 300 mm production.

"Recognizing that the 300 mm era would mandate new performance capabilities, and that existing transport systems face productivity and capacity barriers, we set out to create a future-ready transport solution that could meet cost, productivity and safety requirements for automated interbay and intrabay material handling," explained Dr. James Mitchener, Asyst's senior vice president of global marketing operations.

The result is FasTrack-the first commercially available, high-performance transport system designed from the ground up to conform to interoperability standards set forth by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). With its user-configurable, low-cost architecture, FasTrack represents the final technology link in the Asyst-enabled "Value Assured Fab," which leverages isolation, robotics, tracking, software automation and now transport technology to protect the integrity of semiconductor wafers and reticles throughout the entire integrated circuit (IC) fabrication process. With this new tool, Asyst believes that chipmakers worldwide can reduce overall manufacturing costs, enhance productivity and optimize equipment effectiveness-crucial variables directly impacted by the effectiveness and reliability of the fab transport system.

FasTrack's unique architecture combines power and flexibility to address multiple transport challenges while seamlessly integrating interbay and intrabay transport systems. It can also decrease automated material handling system (AMHS) capital costs by approximately 25 percent and improve transport delivery times by as much as 50 percent. The resulting high capacity and short delivery times make FasTrack ideal for fabs in which automation is essential for every lot at every step of production.

Tool Loading and Buffering Ease Fab Bottlenecks

A key component of the FasTrack system is FastMove, which provides automated process tool loading and local buffering of work in process (WIP) in so-called "intrabay" transport applications, where wafer carriers are moved to or from process tools within a single production bay. Until now, implementation of intrabay transport has trailed interbay applications-in which material is moved from bay to bay within a fab-due primarily to cost efficiency and technology limitations. FastMove is an innovative intrabay solution that can be used in place of overhead hoist technology (OHT) or rail-guided vehicles (RGVs), which encounter logistical, capacity and safety limitations when applied to 300 mm wafer manufacturing.

FastMove combines virtual stocking capability with direct tool loading to provide buffer storage within the bay. This combination of storage and loading capability enables IC makers to reclaim 5 to 10 percent of fab floor space in the bay to store WIP, replacing conventional storage using large stockers at the head of each bay. With local WIP storage, there is no need to incorporate buffers into process tools such as implanters, wet benches and diffusion furnaces, where wafers are processed in large lots or batches. Additionally, WIP storage close to the tool permits rapid exchange of lots for processing, improving overall productivity.

The Innovative Technology Foundation

In a Semicon West 2000 preview, Dan Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research Inc, noted, "Asyst is the portal to the future of automation. They have pioneered a very different type of overhead transport solution that is analogous to private vs. public transport for a fab. With conventional overhead systems, carriers are placed on cars that circulate a track to carry wafers throughout the fab. Like public transport, if the car isn't there, the carrier must await the next car. With FasTrack, every carrier becomes its own private car-eliminating waiting and enabling the faster, more predictable carrier delivery needed to speed manufacturing cycle times."

At the heart of FasTrack's advantages is a collection of new technologies aimed at resolving today's most pressing transport challenges. Central to these is Asyst's proprietary Continuous Flow Transport Technology (CFT), which uses asynchronous conveyors to move wafers and reticles throughout the fab. Conveyance technology is used for automated transport in many other manufacturing industries, but it has seen limited application in the semiconductor industry due to a lack of proven products from qualified, industry-knowledgeable vendors. "Leveraging nearly two decades of automation expertise, Asyst expanded upon this core conveyer concept to create the first CFT solution for semiconductor manufacturing," said Anthony Bonora, Asyst executive vice president and chief technical officer. "CFT in this application provides multiple advantages over current car-based systems by inherently increasing capacity, improving predictability of delivery times and improving scheduling efficiency. Such benefits will increase overall tool utilization and contribute to a reduction in cost of ownership."

Meeting Today's Cost, Speed and Flexibility Requirements

Industry experts agree that the need for better material-flow management, greater contamination control and less operator interaction with wafers will drive virtually all 300 mm fabs to implement an advanced transport automation solution. According to VLSI Research Inc, this rising demand for transport technology, coupled with the rapid growth predicted for the semiconductor market, is expected to drive an 18-percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the automated material handling market-with total global investments in this technology expected to increase from $895 million in 2000 to more than $2.1 billion by 2005. FasTrack was developed to position Asyst solidly within this market.

Further, Asyst believes that the automation capabilities of the FasTrack system will become even more essential as chipmakers move from pilot 300 mm lines to volume 300 mm production, where wafer-start volumes rise and transport transactions increase exponentially. The inherent flexibility of the system will also ensure that fab capacity and configuration can evolve in sync with changing production requirements.

Finally, the open architecture will allow IC makers to customize best-of-breed solutions for each fab by mixing and matching automation solutions from multiple vendors. Designed to meet SEMI-standard compliance requirements, FastMove can be configured to work with stockers and other available transport systems. Together, FasTrack and FastMove give IC makers and foundries the most efficient and cost-effective high-capacity, high-utilization transport system available today.

Product Timing and Availability

Both integrated device manufacturers and foundries are currently evaluating Asyst's FasTrack system for installations slated for the first half of calendar year 2001. Initial shipments of the system will commence in fall 2000, with completion of the first installation in Asia expected before year-end. Asyst believes that initial adoption will be for intrabay transport-one of the most critical and unsatisfied needs in today's automated fabs. Broader adoption is expected to follow, as chipmakers begin to proliferate intrabay transport solutions throughout 300 mm fabs linked by Asyst's interbay technology.

Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, semiconductor industry cycles, risks associated with the acceptance of new products and product capabilities and other factors more fully detailed in the Company's recent S-3 Registration Statement.

About Asyst:

Asyst Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF™)-based minienvironment and manufacturing automation systems that enable semiconductor manufacturers to protect customers' valued assets throughout the manufacturing process while increasing manufacturing productivity. Asyst offers a broad range of 200 mm and 300 mm products that enable the Company to provide semiconductor manufacturers and OEMs automated manufacturing solutions for the transfer of wafers and information between the process equipment and the fab line.