Semitool's New Raider® Platform Used by Casio to Increase Lead-Free Capacity for 300mm Wafer-Level Packaging


Semitool Delivers Follow-on Raider for 300mm Lead-Free Electroplating

KALISPELL, Mont., Dec. 5 -- Semitool, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMTL), a leading manufacturer of advanced single-wafer deposition and surface preparation process equipment for the semiconductor and wafer-level packaging industry, today announced the delivery of a follow-on order for Semitool's electroplating Raider tool by Japan-based Casio Micronics Co., Ltd (JASDAQ: Code #6760). Casio will use the Raider for advanced lead-free electroplating applications.

"Wafer-level packaging, specifically in lead-free applications, is one of the fastest growing segments in semiconductor packaging today," said Dan Schmauch, director of advanced packaging at Semitool. "Casio, being one of the leaders in lead-free packaging, now has added advanced lead-free electroplating technology and production capacity from Semitool. Casio has always been at the forefront of cost-effective packaging solutions and we at Semitool are proud to be a supplier of equipment in their wafer-level packaging line."

Mr. Noriyuki Kakihisa, president of Casio Micronics Co., Ltd. said, "Our successful use of Semitool Raider plating tools has played an important role in our development of 300mm and lead-free wafer-level packaging."

Wafer-level packaging is a technology that builds chip interconnect bumps on the entire wafer before singulation, and is used as an alternative to wire bonding. High-volume wafer processing equipment allows for greater precision and facilitates smaller and higher density interconnects.

About Semitool, Inc.

Semitool designs, manufactures and supports highly engineered, multi-chamber, single-wafer and batch wet chemical processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor devices. The company's primary suites of equipment include electrochemical deposition systems for electroplating copper, gold, solder and other metals; surface preparation systems for cleaning, stripping and etching silicon wafers; and wafer transport container cleaning systems. The company's equipment is used in semiconductor fabrication front-end and back-end processes, including wafer-level packaging.

Headquartered in Kalispell, Montana, Semitool maintains sales and support centers in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company's stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol SMTL. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.semitool.com.

About Casio

Casio Micronics is a company that makes it possible to fit digital devices (cell phone, LCD monitors, etc.) with large-scale integrated circuits. Our business is centered on electrode processing for liquid crystal drivers (chips that send images to liquid crystal screens) and production of film substrates, in addition to the production of chip packages for power supply chips, flash memory, and other types of chips. The core technologies of Casio Micronics include sputtering, photolithography, etching, plating, and other chip production technology. These technologies are applied to produce a wide range of high-precision mounting devices such as gold bump, solder bump, wafer-level chip size packages (W-CSP), and film devices, all of which play vital roles is chip industry post-processing.

Source: Semitool, Inc.

CONTACT: Paul Siblerud, Vice President of Semitool, Inc.,
+1-406-752-2107, siblerud@semitool.com; or Geoff High of Pfeiffer High
Investor Relations, Inc., +1-303-393-7044, for Semitool, Inc.

Web site: www.semitool.com/

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