Cymer And Nikon Celebrate Shipment Of 1,000th Excimer Laser Light Source

San Diego, CA - Cymer, Inc., a supplier of excimer laser light sources used in semiconductor manufacturing, and Nikon, the global leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo technology, celebrated recently the 1,000th laser light source shipment and the companies' 20-year partnership. The milestone shipment--an XLA 300 laser light source--will be integrated on a S610C lithography scanner, which will be used, by Nikon, in immersion lithography production to image next-generation integrated circuits.

"We are grateful to Nikon for its acceptance of this 1,000th shipment, which is a testament of our successful long-term partnership," said Ed Brown, Cymer's president and chief operating officer. "As the industry continues to grow, we will continue our ongoing efforts to provide the best, leading excimer laser light sources for deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography, to support high-quality chip production."

Cymer and Nikon will host a joint celebratory event on Dec. 20, 2006 in Kumagaya, Japan to commemorate this 1,000th shipment milestone and recognize the valued longstanding relationship between the two companies.

"For many years Cymer has met and exceeded our expectations with their best-in-class, cutting-edge excimer light source technology," said Mr. Kazuo Ushida, president, Nikon Corporation. "With this 1,000th shipment, we recognize our long-standing partnership with Cymer, and look forward to continuing our collaboration to support next-generation technology integration in the years to come."

The XLA 300 is Cymer's fourth-generation light source built on the production-proven Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) platform, offering the flexibility needed for designing immersion tools and processes with confidence. Since the XL Series was introduced in early 2003, more than 360 of the XL Series light sources have been shipped by the company--a testament to Cymer's commitment to providing customers with the right light source technology, at the right time.

SOURCE: Cymer