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 Press Release

Asyst
Wafer Transfer Robot Selected By Canon For Advanced 200/300mm
Step-And-Scan Lithography Tools

Leading
Lithography Company's First-Ever Robotics Outsource Constitutes
Major Asyst Design Win
FREMONT,
Calif.-July 31, 2002-Asyst Technologies,
Inc. (Nasdaq: ASYT), a leading provider of integrated automation
solutions that maximize semiconductor manufacturing productivity,
today announced that Canon, Inc. has selected Asyst's Japanese-designed
and manufactured UTX-F5500C single-arm wafer-transfer robot,
with linear track, for incorporation into Canon's newest
advanced step-and-scan lithography systems for the 248-,
193-, and 157nm wavelengths.
An
Asyst customer for more than five years, Canon chose the Asyst
robots based on the products' advanced features and performance,
as well as the high level of customer support and integration
services provided by Asyst throughout the evaluation process.
"As
we work toward bringing our newest scanners to production, we
are acutely aware of our customers' performance requirements," said
Mr. Hirofumi Sato, Manager, Semiconductor Production Equipment
Business Planning Div, for Canon. "Optimizing the optical
capabilities of these systems is our highest priority, making
outsourcing the robotics to a proven domestic supplier an important
strategy to help bring these systems to market as quickly as
possible. The demonstrated throughput and productivity advantages
of Asyst's UTX-F5500C robots, and the team's willingness to collaborate,
greatly simplified our choice."
The
Asyst UTX-F5500C incorporates high-speed AC motors and harmonic
gear reduction to ensure smooth performance and high reliability
in a production setting. As an option, the robot can be mounted
on a linear track of various lengths. The robot also is available
in a dual-arm configuration.
Asyst
reports that Canon already has ordered nearly two dozen of the
robots, which have begun shipping.
About
Asyst: Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of
integrated automation solutions that enable semiconductor manufacturers
to increase manufacturing productivity and protect investments
in silicon wafers during the manufacture of integrated circuits,
or ICs. The company offers a broad range of 200mm and 300mm
solutions that enable the safe transfer of wafers and information
between process equipment and the fab line throughout the IC
fabrication process, while reducing IC damage caused by human,
environmental, mechanical and chemical factors. Encompassing
isolation systems, work-in-process materials management, substrate-handling
robotics, automated transport and loading systems, and connectivity
automation software, Asyst's modular, interoperable solutions
allow chipmakers and original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs,
to select and employ the value-assured, hands-off manufacturing
capabilities that best suit their needs. Asyst's homepage is http://www.asyst.com
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 most recent 10-K and 10-Q reports
on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT:
Media Contact
Dori Jones
MCA
(650) 968-8900
(650) 968-8990 (fax)
djones@mcapr.com
Pamela Mah
Asyst Technologies, Inc.
(510) 661-5000
pmah@asyst.com
Investor Contact
John Swenson
Asyst Technologies, Inc.
(510) 661-5000
(510) 661-5166 (fax)
jswenson@asyst.com
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