Tegal Receives Order For 901G Diode Plasma Etch System From Sumitomo Electric Industries

Source: Tegal Corporation

SEI to Utilize Tools in Advanced GaAs Applications For Communication Devices

Petaluma, CA. Tegal Corporation (NASDAQ:TGAL) today announced that Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (SEI), a leading Japanese manufacturer of a wide range of optical fiber and components, has purchased a Tegal 901G diode plasma etcher. SEI will use the system to etch SiO2, SiON and SiN films on gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafers and for photoresist descum used extensively in the fiber optic and wireless communication industries.

"As SEI continues to invest in its manufacturing facilities, Tegal s equipment has proven to be the most flexible and robust etching systems available for GaAs substrates," said Dr. Shigeru Nakajima, group leader of electron device technology for SEI. "Tegal s systems play an intrinsic role in the maturation of our technology, and we look forward to partnering with them in the future."

The order for a Tegal 901G diode plasma etcher is the third that SEI has placed with Tegal in the past year and will be used to increase capacity for GaAs IC production for communication devices manufactured at SEI s Yokohama plant.

"Tegal pulls from over 15 years of experience to produce specialized solutions -- such as the 901G -- for GaAs chip production. Tegal s 900 series etch systems enable manufacturers to achieve high throughput and low operating costs in many applications, particularly in the telecommunications industry," said Jim McKibben, vice president of worldwide marketing and sales for Tegal.

The Tegal 901G ordered by SEI is a special configuration for GaAs processing. The company chose the tool to increase capacity at its Yokohama plant for communication device production. Leveraged with two previously purchased 901G systems, the new system will enable SEI to substantially expand its production capacity with the high uptime and productivity required for these new and growing GaAs wireless applications.

Tegal s 900 series systems are widely recognized for their low cost of ownership and high-throughput. More than 1,300 of the 900 Series systems have been installed around the world and are supported by an extensive worldwide parts and service organization. Adept at handling both round and square substrates, the 900 Series systems deliver highly reliable, repeatable results in etching a variety of films used to manufacture telecommunications and optoelectronic devices, semiconductors, flat panel displays and thin film magnetic heads.

GaAs is a high performance "III-V material" used to make integrated devices for high-performance telephony, data communications, wireless telecommunication and wireline solutions for the Internet. Demand for wireless telecommunication appliances and services are expected to fuel rapid growth for high bandwidth telecommunication devices.

About Sumitomo Electric Industries, LTD.

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. headquartered in Osaka, Japan, is a leading manufacturer of a wide range of optical fiber and components. Since its establishment a century ago, the Company has engineered technological change by adopting an aggressive research and development strategy. By innovatively fostering home-grown technologies and successfully diversifying into exciting fields, SEI has positioned itself as a key player in the global information revolution taking place today. SEI has been shipping the GaAs ICs and some kinds of modules for optical communications and wireless communications through the Advanced High-speed Devices Business Department (see URL: http://www.sei.co.jp/GaAsIC/).

About Tegal Corporation

Tegal Corporation, headquartered in Petaluma, Calif., is a leading designer and manufacturer of plasma etch systems used in the production of integrated circuits (ICs), opto-telecom devices and other related microelectronics devices. Etching is a key process and must be repeated multiple times in the production of these devices. Tegal markets and services its systems in all major IC-producing regions of the world. More information is available on the Internet at www.tegal.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information, matters discussed in this news release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the company including, but not limited to, industry conditions, economic conditions, acceptance of new technologies, growth of regional markets, customers ability to realize savings and other benefits from the use of company s products and systems, and market acceptance of the company s products and services. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph. For a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact: Jim McKibben Tel: 707/763-5600 Fax: 707/765-9311 jmckibben@tegal.com or The Loomis Group Drew Diener Tel: 415/882-9494 Fax: 415/882-7209 drew@loomisgroup.com