GaSonics Recieves Multi-million Dollar Asher Order from Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp

Business Wire, April 4, 1995

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 1995--GaSonics International (NASDAQ: GSNX) has won a multi-million dollar order from United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), Taiwan, for five single wafer asher systems. The order marks the company's first sale to UMC.

The GaSonics L3510 FA systems, slated for delivery in mid-May, will be used at UMC's Fab 3 facility in Taipei for logic and memory device manufacturing, according to Lou Perrone, vice president of Asian operations at GaSonics.

Ashing is a photoresist removal process that follows all lithography, etch and implant steps in semiconductor manufacturing. GaSonics holds more than 70 percent of the worldwide multi-million dollar 200mm single wafer ashing market, including more than 80 percent market share in East Asia. The company also has the largest installed base of single wafer ashers in Taiwan.

GaSonics' L3510 FA single wafer asher features a long path downstream ashing process with platen and lamp-assisted heating that provides industry-leading contamination control of less than one particle of 0.16-micron in size or greater per 100 square centimeters while maintaining very high silicon integrity. According to Perrone, "As the industry advances toward gigabit design rules, particles that are today considered tolerable in size will become tomorrow's `killer' contaminants. Wafer cleanliness and damage-free processing, therefore, will continue to emerge as increasingly critical components of the IC manufacturing process."

The L3510 FA is GaSonics International's second-generation ashing system for AGV compatibility in fully automated, computer-integrated manufacturing lines.

GaSonics International is a 24-year-old manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment. It is the leading worldwide supplier of ashers for photoresist removal and is also market leader in the production of high-pressure thermal processing systems used in the semiconductor diffusion process. The company supports its large installed base with sales and service facilities located throughout the world.

GaSonics headquarters are located at 2730 Junction Ave., San Jose, Calif., 95134-1909. The telephone number is 408/944-0212 and fax is 408/473-9509.

CONTACT: GaSonics International

Lou Perrone, 408/944-0212

or

Mathews & Clark

Ed Rebello, 408/736-1120