Luxtron Acquires Intelligent Sensor Technology, Inc.

Santa Clara, CA, February 05, 2001 Luxtron Corporation, a leading manufacturer of in-situ metrology solutions for the semiconductor and flat panel industry, announced the acquisition of Intelligent Sensor Technology, Inc. (IST) the leading supplier of in-situ Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) systems to the semiconductor and flat panel manufacturing industries. Dr. Chih-shun (Larry) Lu, former founder of Inficon and a world-recognized expert on thin film process monitoring technology, founded IST in 1992. IST's instruments use atomic absorption spectroscopy for precise in-situ monitoring of PVD, CVD, MBE, and other thin film deposition processes. "The acquisition of IST will greatly extend our capabilities for in-situ process metrology," states Edwin M. Oh, Luxtron president. "We are excited to work with a man of Dr. Lu's proven talents in the development of this state-of-the-art technology."

IST recently released its ATOMICAS system for non-intrusive monitoring and control of thin film deposition processes. This powerful tool uses the highly discriminating nature of atomic absorption spectroscopy to measure deposition rate with absolute material specificity, allowing precise composition control in multi-source co-evaporation or co-sputtering processes. The unique COPACT optical design in ATOMICAS creates a robust optical sensing system that provides extremely stable measurements under changing chamber conditions such as coating of windows. The non-intrusive nature of its optical probing beam allows flexible integration of ATOMICAS into different types of process chambers including those with limited target-to-substrate space.

About LUXTRON Corporation:
LUXTRON Corporation is a leading supplier of in situ process technology for the semiconductor and flat panel display industries. Its products give users the ability to monitor processes and measure temperature in harsh environments with extraordinary accuracy. LUXTRON's yield-enhancing products fall into two categories: temperature measurement and end point process control. Fiber optic temperature sensors are used in plasma etch, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), epitaxy (EPI), rapid thermal processing (RTP) and diffusion processes. In situ endpoint monitors detect process endpoints in plasma etch, wet etch and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems. LUXTRON is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairey Group PLC. Global headquarters, featuring ISO-9001-certified manufacturing facilities, are located at 2775 Northwestern Parkway, Santa Clara, California 95051-0941; 1-800-627-1666.