SAN JOSE, Calif. and BERNIN (Grenoble), France, Nov. 24, 2003--KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) and Soitec--the industry leaders in yield management and silicon-on-insulator (SOI), respectively--today announced a joint program to improve the quality, yield and cost of production of SOI wafers used in high-performance, low-power-consumption IC applications. According to company spokespeople, the joint development partnership (JDP) is expected to provide wafer and IC manufacturers with the industry's first wafer inspection system that is specifically optimized for SOI and meets the sensitivity requirements for the 90-nm and 65-nm nodes. The first of these new inspection systems--which will be based on KLA-Tencor's industry-leading Surfscan ® SP1--is expected to ship to Soitec in early 2004. In addition to SOI, the new inspection system will be compatible with advanced substrates such as strained silicon-on-insulator (sSOI) and silicon germanium-on-insulator (SGOI).

"Advanced materials, like SOI and sSOI, are drawing increasing attention and recognition in the industry as critical enablers to achieving better device performance," stated André Auberton-Hervé, president of Soitec. "As part of our strategy to usher these new materials into production, Soitec is working closely with chipmakers and equipment suppliers to make sure the infrastructure is in place for producing advanced substrate solutions optimized for our customers' specific applications. Partnering with KLA-Tencor enables us to offer our experience in SOI to help them develop the tools our mutual customers need to ensure their SOI wafers are of the highest quality with extremely low defect densities. We believe that KLA-Tencor's new defect inspection technology will be essential for successfully bringing SOI--and future advanced substrates--into cost-effective, high-volume production."

Leading IC manufacturers are implementing SOI in production today for their latest chip designs or are evaluating SOI and derivatives of SOI for their next-generation products. To speed SOI's transition into mainstream semiconductor production, wafer manufacturers need to achieve the same low levels of defectivity on SOI wafers as they currently do with epi and polished silicon wafers. Detecting critical defects is essential to reducing defect density, as well as increasing yield and wafer quality. However, unlike traditional silicon substrates, SOI and other engineered substrates are composed of multiple film layers of different thickness (depending on the target IC application), which create interference effects that cause current inspection technologies to provide false and inconsistent defect readings, as well as inadequate overall sensitivity. At the 65-nm node, where SOI adoption is expected to increase dramatically for the production of high-end microprocessors and logic ICs, even greater levels of inspection sensitivity will be needed--further driving the need for a new SOI inspection solution.

"We've enjoyed a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship with Soitec in developing leading-edge yield management solutions to address our customers' advanced material control needs," stated Michael Kirk, vice president and general manager of the Surfscan Division at KLA-Tencor. "Due to their expertise in SOI technology, Soitec was a natural choice to partner with in developing an advanced SOI inspection solution that will help enable our customers to continue to meet their future technology roadmaps. We believe that working together is the most cost-effective and timely method of bringing this solution to the marketplace."


About Soitec: Soitec is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of SOI wafers. Headquartered in Bernin, France, Soitec provides a broad range of advanced thin-film substrates for IC manufacturing, including bonded SOI (UNIBOND™) and silicon-on-quartz (SOQ) wafers--all of which are manufactured using Soitec's proprietary Smart Cut™ process. Both shares and convertible bonds are listed on the Nouveau Marché of Euronext Paris (respectively ISIN code FR0004025062 - SOI and FR0000182537). Additional information is available on the Internet at www.soitec.com

About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with operations around the world, KLA-Tencor ranked #6 on S&P's 2002 index of the top 500 companies in the U.S. KLA-Tencor is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.kla-tencor.com

Contact:
Meggan Powers
Director Corporate Communications