MKS' TOOLweb® Sensor Integration Platform Wins Editors' Choice Best Product Award


Wilmington, MA, July 5, 2006 - MKS Instruments, Inc. (Nasdaq: MKSI), a leading provider of process control technologies for improving productivity in semiconductor and other advanced manufacturing processes, is pleased to announce it has received the esteemed Editors' Choice Best Product Award, presented annually by Semiconductor International magazine, for the TOOLweb® Sensor Integration Platform (SIP). Semiconductor International has announced 20 winners whose products are making a difference in semiconductor manufacturing.

The TOOLweb SIP has been adopted by first-tier device manufacturers for the seamless integration of additional or external sensor data into existing IT infrastructures. This provides fab applications such as AEC/APC and yield management systems with access to a fully synchronized wafer, process tool and sensor data streams in real time, with no changes to the tool or to the manufacturing execution system (MES).

"The Sensor Integration Platform is part of MKS' TOOLweb product suite for data collection, sensor integration and data analysis," said Ron Hadar, Vice President and General Manager of MKS, Control & Information Technology Products. "TOOLweb is the most advanced product suite available in the market for process monitoring, fault detection and root cause analysis to improve our customers' production yield."

"Advances in semiconductor technology are only possible because of the kinds of products being honored in this year's Editors' Choice Best Product Awards program," said Pete Singer, Editor-in-Chief of Semiconductor International. "Chipmakers rely on these products to create electronics that are smarter, smaller, faster, less expensive and more reliable. We congratulate the people and the companies that have had the insight and fortitude to bring these products to the market."

The magazine will present the awards in a ceremony July 12 at SEMICON® West 2006 in San Francisco

About MKS

MKS Instruments is a leading worldwide provider of process control solutions for advanced manufacturing processes such as semiconductor device manufacturing and thin-film manufacturing for flat panel displays, optical storage media, architectural glass and electro-optical products. We also provide technology for biopharmaceutical and medical imaging equipment.

Our instruments, components and subsystems incorporate sophisticated technologies to power, measure, control and monitor increasingly complex gas-related semiconductor manufacturing processes, thereby enhancing our customers' uptime, yield and throughput, and improving their productivity and return on invested capital.

About Semiconductor International

Semiconductor International (SI), published by Reed Business Information and a part of Reed Elsevier's global array of information products, is the leading technical publication reaching and covering the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. SI boasts the industry's most experienced full-time technical editorial team, and has the largest circulation to semiconductor manufacturers of any industry publication. Additional information about SI and its many products and activities are available at www.semiconductor.net.

Corporate contact:
MaryAnn Naddy
Phone: 978-284-4250
Fax: 978-284-4999
MaryAnn_Naddy@mksinst.com

Contact:
Liz Whidden
Phone: 506-454-3335
Fax: 506-453-3591
lizwhidd@nbnet.nb.ca

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