July 19, 2007 — SAN FRANCISCO, CA — At SEMICON West 2007, Cymer, Inc., a leading supplier of excimer laser light sources used in semiconductor manufacturing, announced the company has been selected by ASML Holding NV (ASML) as the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source supplier for its EUV scanners for high-volume manufacturing. Cymer disclosed that it has signed a multi-year, multi-unit EUV source agreement with the first shipment scheduled for late 2008.
“After nearly a decade of research and development in EUV source technologies, we are pleased to announce achievement of our 50 watt instantaneous power milestone on schedule last month and that we are on track to higher required levels of performance,” said Bob Akins, co-founder and CEO of Cymer. “Together with ASML, Cymer is committed to commercializing EUV source technology to ensure the availability of sub-32 nm exposure tools.”
“Cymer’s commitment to commercializing EUV light source technology is evidenced by its significant advancements in laser produced plasma (LPP) technology,” said Martin van den Brink, executive vice president of marketing and technology at ASML. “We are confident that Cymer will help us make production-worthy EUV lithography a reality, clearing the way for semiconductor manufacturers to image ever-smaller features on chips. The sources delivered to ASML have the potential to expose 100 wafers per hour, which is required for cost effective EUV chip manufacturing.”
Cymer has reached all of its EUV power performance milestones using an LPP system consisting of multi-staged carbon dioxide (CO(sub>2) laser and tin (Sn) droplet target which has been in operation since June 2006. In the first quarter of 2007, Cymer also disclosed a breakthrough in debris mitigation technology that will substantially extend the lifetime of the multi-layer-mirror (MLM) collector, which will enable an economically viable cost of operation, a key component of the source system. These rapid advancements in technology validate the capability for the LPP architecture to scale to HVM performance requirements.
About Cymer
Cymer, Inc. is the world’s leading supplier of deep ultraviolet (DUV) laser illumination sources, the essential light source for DUV photolithography systems. DUV lithography is a key enabling technology, which has allowed the semiconductor industry to meet the exacting specifications and manufacturing requirements for volume production of today’s advanced semiconductor chips. Further information on Cymer may be obtained from the Company’s SEC filings, the Internet at www.cymer.com or by contacting the company directly.
About ASML
ASML is the world’s leading provider of lithography systems for the semiconductor industry, manufacturing complex machines that are critical to the production of integrated circuits or chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, ASML is traded on Euronext Amsterdam and NASDAQ under the symbol ASML.