Amtech Announces Order for Multi-Phase High Efficiency N-type Expansion Project

TEMPE, Ariz., Sept. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYS), a global manufacturer and supplier of advanced thermal processing and polishing equipment and related consumables to the semiconductor / electronics, power IC businesses, solar, and advanced lighting markets, today announced its solar subsidiary, Tempress Systems (Tempress), has received an order for the first of a potentially multi-phase capacity expansion project from Trina Solar Limited (Trina Solar) for its planned production of high efficiency N-type solar cells.  Trina Solar is a leader in mass production of high-efficiency solar cells, a member of the solar industry's Silicon Module Super League (SMSL).  Trina developed its TopCon N-Type process flow under China's Top Runner Program and is ramping up mass production of solar cells using their TopCon technology.  Tempress and Trina have collaborated on the development of the technology with the common goal of quickly ramping up TopCon technology for mass production.  The combined value of this and the other recently announced N-Type order is greater than $11 million.

The order includes our latest generation of high-throughput Boron diffusion systems and Tempress' new LPCVD poly systems.  This multi-million dollar order is expected to be shipped and installed in the first half of Amtech's fiscal year 2019.  The Company also expects to receive an order for the second phase of this expansion project, upon the successful installation and testing of Phase I. 

Mr. Fokko Pentinga, Chief Executive Officer of Amtech, commented, "Success in the solar market today is driven by having the best next-gen solar technology solutions.  Over the years, we have made advances in N-type technologies in collaboration with industry-leading customers as well as with the foremost research institutes, including the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (ECN).  N-type is emerging as the future for mass production of high-efficiency solar cells and with recent declines in the cost of N-type wafers and market demand for higher efficiency and lower cost per watt, we are seeing increased adoption of N-type technologies for production of c-Si cells.  We believe that Amtech has the right mix of N-type cell technologies and the high-performance tools to capitalize on the growing market demand for these higher-efficiency cell technologies.  While this contract is strategically important to our solar business, we continue to put increased emphasis on our semiconductor business." 

Mr. Pentinga continued, "We are pleased that Trina chose our Tempress' N-type systems and to collaborate with us on the R&D for this advanced technology solution and providing us with this repeat order for next-gen equipment.  We expect this technology's cell efficiency will be in an industry-record range of 22-23 percent.  With this first order, we look forward to assisting with the integration of this new equipment into Trina's production lines, and to the Phase II order where Tempress is expected to supply the tools to upgrade Trina capacity from P-multi technologies to N-type Topcon."

Mr. Shouzhong Chen, Trina Solar's Head of Global Module Supply and Manufacturing added, "To our goal of continuous improvement of our production portfolio, the R&D team of Trina Solar has collaborated with that of Tempress' R&D team in the development of our advanced Topcon technology.  We selectively work with partners as we address capacity gaps and plan for the growing global demand for our products and we are pleased to have had a long relationship with Tempress and continue to do so over time.  Their diligent team is proven in their ability to deliver equipment meeting our very strict quality specifications as we upgrade and expand our production capacity." 

About Amtech Systems, Inc.
Amtech Systems, Inc. is a global supplier of advanced thermal processing and polishing equipment and related consumables to the semiconductor / electronics, power IC businesses, solar, and advanced lighting manufacturing markets. Amtech's equipment includes diffusion, solder reflow systems. wafer handling automation, ALD and PECVD systems and polishing equipment and related consumables for surface preparation of various materials, including silicon carbide ("SiC"), sapphire and silicon. The Company's wafer handling, thermal processing, polishing and consumable products currently address the diffusion, oxidation, and deposition steps used in the fabrication of semiconductors, printed circuit boards, semiconductor packaging, solar cells, MEMS, and advanced lighting, including the polishing of newly sliced sapphire and silicon wafers. Amtech's products are recognized under the leading brand names BTU International, Bruce Technologies^TM, PR Hoffman^TM, Tempress Systems^TM, R2D Automation^TM and SoLayTec.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this press release is forward-looking in nature. All statements in this press release, or made by management of Amtech Systems, Inc. and its subsidiaries ("Amtech"), other than statements of historical fact, are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements" (as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). The forward-looking statements in this press release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this press release.  Examples of forward-looking statements include statements regarding Amtech's expectations of future orders, financial results, operating results, business strategies, projected costs, products under development, competitive positions, and plans and objectives of Amtech and its management for future operations.  In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "would," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology used by our management are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. The Form 10-K, as amended, for the year ended September 30, 2017, and its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2018, each as Amtech filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, listed various important factors that could affect the Company's future operating results and financial condition and could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results and expectations based on forward-looking statements made in this document or elsewhere by Amtech or on its behalf.  These factors can be found under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Form 10-K and the most recently filed Form 10-Q and investors should refer to them.  Because it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, any such list cannot be considered a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.  Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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SOURCE Amtech Systems, Inc.