SAN JOSE, Calif., June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ultratech, Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK) , a leading supplier of photolithography systems used to manufacture semiconductors and nanotechnology devices, today unveiled its new family of lithography systems developed to meet the advanced packaging (AP) lithography requirements of semiconductor devices and flat panel displays.

Designed to optimize productivity for leading-edge 200mm and 300mm AP applications, the AP200 and AP300 systems integrate the processing advantages associated with Ultratech's industry-leading AP lithography equipment with the flexibility, extendibility, and 20 percent higher throughput benefits of the company's new Unity Platform(TM). As a result, the tools are designed to meet both the technical and volume-production requirements posed by gold and solder bump, and wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WLCSP) applications, as well as a number of emerging AP technologies. These include post-passivation lithography (PPL) applications -- such as stress buffer layers, I/O redistribution, on chip integrated passive components and high-density transmission lines -- that will be needed to enable tomorrow's high-performance devices.

The AP market is expected to outpace overall semiconductor industry growth for many years to come, given the growing realization that packaging performance can either limit or enhance device performance. By 2005, Ultratech believes more than 10 percent of all chips will use AP technology, and by 2015, Ultratech expects that number to reach more than 50 percent of all chips-significantly expanding the AP lithography market. As the AP market leader, Ultratech is positioned to become the primary beneficiary of this growing demand. Today, Ultratech's lithography tools are currently installed in over 53 fabs and 63 production lines of both IDMs and foundries in the United States, Asia and Japan.

"With high growth on the horizon and the advent of flip-chip and innovative new packaging technologies coming to the forefront, lithography requirements have achieved new heights in terms of both performance and production criteria," explained Arthur W. Zafiropoulo, Ultratech chairman and CEO. "Now more than ever, customers need highly productive, low-cost-of-ownership solutions capable of meeting their advanced technical requirements. Ultratech has developed the AP200 and AP300 lithography systems to enable our customers to achieve high process yields on a platform that delivers superior flexibility, extendibility and cost performance for their advanced packaging applications."

According to Ultratech's Director of Marketing for advanced packaging technology, Stephen Kay, "Yield is a primary consideration driving today's equipment selection. Defects present during the packaging process, such as those that can be introduced by contact and proximity aligners, can have a devastating impact on yields and ultimately process profitability. In contrast, Ultratech's non-contact, highly-efficient imaging technology greatly reduces the risk of lithography-related yield losses, while also providing the unique thick-film processing capabilities needed for productive processing of leading-edge AP applications."

Meeting Customers' Technical and Production Goals

The AP200 and AP300 are expected to deliver significant price/performance advantages including a 20 percent throughput gain enabled by the Unity Platform. The new systems were engineered to provide low-risk, multi-generational solutions that can be configured and extended to meet both current and future lithography needs. Leveraging Ultratech's core competencies in lens and illumination design with improvements to existing system features, both tools provide universal and warped wafer handling, edge exposure and edge exclusion, and selectable wavelengths for ghi-, gh-, or i-line exposure requirements, as well as a broadband alignment filter for opaque films. When coupled with Unity's customer-configurable platform, Ultratech believes its AP200 and AP300 are the most cost-effective lithography tools available for 200mm and 300mm AP lithography applications. Unlike other simplified cost models used for some competing systems, Ultratech includes rework and yield, as well as mask, labor, consumables and facilities costs in its cost-of-ownership (CoO) calculations.

Future-ready for Emerging AP Applications

Ultratech believes tomorrow's AP lithography requirements will be largely driven by PPL technology to enable future high-performance devices. PPL refers to a host of additional layers above the interconnect, which includes I/O redistribution, high-density transmission lines, on-chip integrated passives, thick copper for power distribution, and stress buffer layers. In addition to meeting the technical performance criteria for each of these layers, successful PPL requires the ability to expose high-aspect-ratio structures without affecting process yields. By integrating Ultratech's proven 1X stepper technology and broadband exposure system to maximize the illumination intensity at the wafer plane, the AP200 and AP300 are well qualified to meet the complex processing demands of the emerging PPL era.

Leveraging the Power of the Unity Platform

Ultratech's Unity Platform is the result of an intensive, four-year development effort focused on redefining leading-edge platform design to give global customers unprecedented technical performance, flexibility, reliability and extendibility. It features a modular architecture that can be tailored to meet each fab's particular requirements and extended to accommodate future process nodes. The Unity Platform also features the following: a sleek, highly functional design that incorporates all subassemblies and components; a number of stage-design advances meant to increase process uniformity and repeatability; aggressive particle control features to further enhance device and process yields; and, increased diagnostic capabilities that support both remote and self-diagnostics. Ultratech expects Unity's built-in extendibility to ultimately speed customers' access to future technology developments without the inherent reliability risks associated with new tool designs.

Tool Availability: Ultratech is now accepting production orders for its AP200 and AP300 advanced packaging lithography systems expected to ship beginning in Q1, 2005.

The AP300 will be shown at Ultratech's booth #1732 during SEMICON West, July 12-14, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Calif. Editors interested in meeting with Ultratech during the show may contact Angie Kellen at 650-968-8900 x120, or akellen@mcapr.com.

Certain of the statements contained herein may be considered forward-looking statements under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve risks and uncertainties, such as integration and development of the laser processing operation; high degree of industry competition; delays, deferrals and cancellations of orders by customers; pricing pressures and product discounts; changes in pricing by Ultratech, its competitors or suppliers; customer concentration; market acceptance of new products and enhanced versions of Ultratech's existing products; lengthy sales cycles, including the timing of system acceptances; timing of new product announcements and releases by Ultratech or its competitors; ability to volume produce systems and meet customer requirements; mix of products sold; expiration of licensing arrangements, and the resulting adverse impact on Ultratech's licensing revenues; cyclicality in the semiconductor and nanotechnology industries; rapid technological change and the importance of timely product introductions; dependence on new product introductions and commercial success of any new products; outcome of litigation; sole or limited sources of supply; international sales; customer concentration; manufacturing variances and production levels; timing and degree of success of technologies licensed to outside parties; product concentration and lack of product revenue diversification; lengthy and costly development cycles for advanced lithography and laser-processing technologies and applications; inventory obsolescence; asset impairment; ability and resulting costs to attract or retain sufficient personnel to achieve Ultratech's targets for a particular period; dilutive effect of employee stock option grants on net income per share, which is largely dependent upon Ultratech maintaining profitability and the market price of Ultratech's stock; future acquisitions; changes to financial accounting standards; intellectual property matters; environmental regulations; effects of certain anti-takeover provisions; volatility of stock price; business interruptions due to natural disasters or utility failures; and any adverse effects of terrorist attacks in the United States or elsewhere, or government responses thereto, or military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, on the economy, in general, or on Ultratech's business in particular. Such risks and uncertainties are described in Ultratech's SEC reports including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 2003, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed for the quarter ended April 3, 2004.

About Ultratech: Ultratech, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets photolithography equipment used worldwide in the fabrication of semiconductor and nanotechnology devices, and has pioneered laser-processing technology for IC manufacturing. Founded in 1979, Ultratech is a market leader in gold and solder bump lithography. Its products are designed to substantially reduce the cost of ownership for manufacturers in the electronics industry. The company's home page on the World Wide Web is located at www.ultratech.com.

NOTE: Unity Platform is a trademark of Ultratech, Inc.

Source: Ultratech, Inc.

CONTACT: Bruce R. Wright, Senior Vice President & CFO, or
Laura Rebouche, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate
Communications, lrebouche@ultratech.com, both of Ultratech, +1-408-321-8835,

or fax, +1-408-577-3379; or Angie Kellen, Account Manager of MCA,
+1-650-968-8900, or fax, +1-650-968-8990, or akellen@mcapr.com, for Ultratech