05.04.2001 17:00:00 CET

ASM is Selected as a Preferred Supplier by SOITEC with its A412™ 300mm Vertical Furnace

BILTHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS, April 5, 2001 – ASM INTERNATIONAL N.V. (Nasdaq, symbol ASMI, and Euronext Stock Exchange, symbol ASM) announced today that its subsidiary, ASM Europe B.V., has been selected as a preferred supplier for its A412™ 300mm vertical furnace by SOITEC sa, FRANCE, Bernin (Euro NM code 7206).

The delivery of the first system is scheduled for the second quarter of 2001.
The A412 vertical furnaces will be installed for the mass production of 300mm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers using SOITEC’s proprietary Smart Cut process. SOITEC will be the first SOI wafer supplier to start full scale 300mm production.

“We selected ASM’s A412 because it was the best 300mm vertical furnace to meet our demands for uniformity of the thermal oxide layers with the high throughput best suited to mass production of SOI wafers,” said André Jacques AUBERTON-HERVE, President of SOITEC.

Dr. Albert Hasper, ASMI Worldwide Product Manager Vertical Furnaces, added: “ We are very pleased to be selected by SOITEC and we are particularly proud to be acknowledged as the best supplier offering the capabilities of High Temperature Oxides (HTO) suited for the SOI application that needs uniform layers. The innovative A412 is known for offering high throughput together with a small footprint and has now been selected by many device makers as the tool of choice. Presently, we are seeing a great deal of interest from the wafer makers as well. This recognition by Soitec, in their choice of ASM and the A412, is one of the examples of this.”

The A412 vertical furnace from ASM has been selected for more than half of the 300mm fabs operating today. The tool can be equipped for both 200 and 300mm wafers, and it is the first vertical furnace to have a configuration using dual reactors and dual boats. This configuration guarantees uninterrupted processing, optimum throughput, together with the economic benefits of shared resources within a minimized footprint.

Silicon-On-Insulator Technologies (SOITEC) is the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of SOI wafers. SOITEC provides a broad range of advanced thin-film substrates for IC manufacturing, including bonded SOI (UNBOND) and silicon-on-quartz/glass wafers. SOITEC is traded on the French “Nouveau Marché” at the Paris Stock Exchange. Stock index converted into dollars can be consulted on the Internet at: http://www.semindex.org Additional information is available on the Internet at: http://www.soitec.com Smart Cut and UNIBOND are registered trademarks of SOITEC.


About ASM


ASM International is headquartered in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, ASM International's subsidiaries design, develop, manufacture and market equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International and its subsidiaries provide production solutions for the wafer processing, assembly and packaging segments through their facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. ASM International's common shares trade on NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol “ASMI” and on the Euronext Stock Exchange under the symbol "ASM". More information on ASM can be found on its website at http://www.asm.com


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Safe Harbor Statement under the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements regarding orders, earnings developments and the effects of research and new products on ASM’s future, and other matters discussed in this statement, except for any historical data, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to economic conditions in the semiconductor industry, currency fluctuations, the timing of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive factors, risk factors related to litigation and other risks indicated in filings from time to time with the SEC and Stock Exchange Authorities.

Contact:
Yinka Massally
Public Relations
+1 602-470-5829
yinka.massally@asm.com

MaryJo Dieckhaus
Investor Relations
+1 212-986-2900
ddandw@compuserve.com

Annemiek van Gijn
Public Relations
+ 31-30-2298411
annemiek.van.gijn@asm.com