Press Release

Sternenfels, February 25, 2008, HamaTech APE GmbH & Co. KG, Sternenfels (HamaTech) a member of the Singulus Group and an established market leader of semiconductor equipment, today announced that its advanced modular processing platform MaskTrack® successfully achieved all critical SEMATECH roadmap milestones for cleaning of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography mask blanks.

As a part of SEMATECH’s EUV technology program at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, HamaTech was selected as the key partner for the development of cleaning technology for 30 nm soft defect removal on EUV mask blanks.  With the use of HamaTech’s MaskTrack system, scientists at SEMATECH not only demonstrated the successful removal of all particles at 30 nm and greater, but also further demonstrated a technical achievement by removing a number of 10 nm defects.  Complete removal of 10nm soft defects is considered to be imperative for the development and implementation of EUV at the 22 nm device node.

“The significant contributions made by HamaTech in this first stage of EUV technology development at SEMATECH have helped lay the groundwork for more rapid adoption,� said Ben Eynon, Associate Director of Lithography at SEMATECH. “Knowledge gained from the cleaning techniques developed for EUV mask blanks will be extremely beneficial in advancing our EUV infrastructure development for 22 nm node manufacturing.�

“We are excited to have been a part of the initial EUV technology partnership program at SEMATECH and are pleased with the outstanding results obtained using the MaskTrack system,â€? said Wilma Koolen-Hermkens, Chief Executive Officer at Hamatech Advanced Process Equipment (APE).  “We recognize the ever-present need for innovative cleaning techniques to meet requirements at smaller geometries and are committed to the development of advanced equipment to meet those needs.  We look forward to continuing our partnership with SEMATECH on the development of EUV and other critical technology areas such as 193 nm immersion and imprint lithography.â€?

About SEMATECH
For 20 years, SEMATECH (http://www.sematech.org) the global consortium of leading semiconductor manufacturers, has set global direction, enabled flexible collaboration and bridged strategic R&D to manufacturing.  Today, we continue accelerating the next technology revolution with our nanoelectronics and emerging technology partners.  

About HamaTech APE
HamaTech is an established market leader of semiconductor equipment.  At HamaTech, we combine the latest technology with extensive know-how to provide systems that are future-compliant.  HamaTech AG is a wholly owned subsidiary of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG, Kahl/Main.  

Short profile SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES
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