SEMITOOL PENETRATES NEW POROUS SILICON CUSTOMER

KALISPELL, MT ? October 9, 2007 ? Semitool, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMTL), a leading manufacturer of wafer processing equipment for the semiconductor industry, today announced it has sold an advanced Raider tool for use in porous silicon formation to a customer focused on development of high-efficiency, low cost-per-watt solar devices. "Porous Silicon is utilized as an enabling material by a wide range of device makers involved with CMOS, MEMS, sensor and photovoltaic technology," said Kevin Witt, Semitool's director of disruptive technology. "After years of R&D by university research teams, Semitool has now developed and commercialized real-world applications for porous silicon. The use of this material in solar cell production can reduce substrate cost significantly without compromising efficiency or complicating the manufacturing process." Semitool's porous silicon tools are built on the successful Raider platform. Porous Silicon chambers can be placed on the Raider alone, or in combination with other chambers and processes to form flexible and productive cluster tools.