SAN JOSE, Calif., April 23, 2002 - KLA-Tencor Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC) today announced that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (NYSE: TSM) has chosen to implement its Klarity™ Defect automated analysis and defect data management system in TSMC's Fab 12 after an extensive evaluation of other defect management software products. TSMC's Fab 12 is a state-of-the-art 300 mm fab, used to manufacture advanced integrated circuits (ICs).

According to I-Lu Wu, defect section manager at TSMC's Fab 12, Klarity Defect was selected primarily on the product's reliability, support, extendibility and ease of integration. "We have purchased Klarity Defect and implemented it in TSMC's Fab 12 for defect analysis in the 300 mm production environment." stated Wu

Klarity Defect is designed to help fab engineers accelerate yield learning cycles by providing automated analysis of defect data generated by KLA-Tencor's wafer inspection and review systems, and defect classification tools. This enables chip manufacturers to take corrective action sooner and improve their yields more quickly. An automated in-line defect analysis and management system, Klarity Defect is the first tool to enable fabs to embed expert decision-making processes within analysis recipes that are automatically triggered when user-specified events occur. The system's user interface provides an intuitive graphical method for creating analysis recipes, further increasing its ease of use for automated reporting. Defect excursions are identified in real time and reported directly onto a user's computer screen, printer or web page. Klarity Defect is uniquely positioned to take advantage of KLA-Tencor's wafer inspection and review systems to provide functions like automatic defect source analysis to subtract previous layer defects and in-house integration testing with actual tools. This testing reduces the connectivity and integration issues during software deployment.

"Speeding the resolution of yield problems translates directly to a fab's profitability in terms of increasing productivity and reducing manufacturing costs-something not lost on our customers," said Gene Lamoreaux, general manager and vice president of KLA-Tencor's Defect and Yield Solutions Division. "Since we introduced Klarity Defect in 1999, more than 90 complete systems have been installed at major semiconductor companies around the world. This recent success with TSMC highlights the benefits that Klarity Defect offers our customers."

Klarity Defect uses decision flow analysis (DFA) to enable fab engineers to teach it to analyze and report data in the same way an engineer would, making it faster and easier for fab engineers and tool operators to take action on the analysis data provided. Complex analyses and decision flows that once required expert intervention can be performed automatically according to pre-defined routines, while customized reports can be automatically generated, either according to a pre-determined schedule or when specific events occur.

Klarity is a registered trademark of KLA-Tencor Corp.

About KLA-Tencor: KLA-Tencor is the world leader in yield management and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company has sales and service offices around the world. An S&P 500 company, KLA-Tencor is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol KLAC.

Contact:
Meggan Powers
Director Corporate Communications