AMI Semiconductor Purchases Multiple Credence SZ M3650 Systems

FREMONT, Calif., July 29 -- Credence Systems Corporation , a leading provider of solutions from design-to-production test for the worldwide semiconductor industry, today announced that AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has purchased multiple SZ M3650(TM) high-speed mixed-signal test systems. AMIS, a leader in the design and manufacture of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), will utilize the systems to test a variety of automotive, industrial and peripheral devices.

AMIS is focused on developing ASICs for the automotive, medical and industrial markets. In the automotive market, AMIS develops ASICs that control critical functions such as sensors for gas pedals and brakes as well as controllers for air bag operations. The automotive industry's stringent quality standards require manufacturers to utilize comprehensive test systems that can deliver highly accurate measurements while maintaining an optimum cost-of-test. The SZ M3650 meets these challenges by combining high-current VI sources with specialized, high-voltage digital pins in a flexible processing architecture. This architecture allows AMIS to perform parallel, multi-site and concurrent test of devices, significantly increasing throughput and shortening test times.

"The wide range of devices used for automotive, industrial and peripheral functions has created challenges for test systems incapable of delivering correspondingly larger digital voltage swings and higher instrument power," said Peter Crabbe, test engineering manager for AMI Semiconductor's mixed-signal test engineering. "With the availability of advanced solutions from Credence such as the SZ M3650, we can achieve cost-effective test while ensuring the high throughput and quality demanded by our specific applications. By offering test architectures and instrumentation designed specifically to meet automotive IC requirements, Credence has demonstrated a higher level of commitment to this market than any other ATE supplier."

"The pricing pressures facing automotive IC manufacturers make it essential that devices are quickly introduced into the marketplace at a very low cost," said Dr. Graham Siddall, Credence's chairman and chief executive officer. "Companies in the automotive segment such as AMIS have relied on SZ test equipment to support device development and manufacturing as well as speeding time-to-market. Credence's SZ test systems have been considered the industry standard in automotive test for more than a decade, and this multiple system order reflects AMI Semiconductor's confidence in our solutions moving forward."

About AMI Semiconductor

AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) is a world leader in the design and manufacture of silicon solutions for the real world. As a widely recognized innovator in state-of-the-art mixed-signal technologies and mid-range digital ASICs including ASIC conversion services, AMIS is committed to providing customers with the optimal value, quickest time-to-market ASIC solutions. Offering unparalleled manufacturing flexibility and dedication to customer service, AMI Semiconductor operates globally with headquarters in Pocatello, Idaho, European corporate offices in Oudenaarde, Belgium, and a network of sales and design centers located in the key markets of the United States, Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

About Credence

Credence Systems Corporation is changing the future of semiconductor production by integrating test solutions throughout the design, validation and production processes. A leader in the manufacture of automatic test equipment (ATE) for the global semiconductor industry, Credence offers a wide range of systems for the test of analog, digital, non-volatile memory, mixed-signal, SoC, and wireless semiconductor devices typical in today's automobile, portable computing, consumer and communications products. Credence and its subsidiaries also provide test program development and debug software, engineering validation test solutions, and advanced photon probing technology that enable faster time-to-market with lower total cost-of-test. Headquartered in Fremont, California, the Company is an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer and maintains advanced production and design facilities in Hillsboro, Oregon. More information is available at http://www.credence.com/ .

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains statements that are forward looking, including statements regarding the Company's commitment to lowering costs to match business levels, the Company being poised to address any upturn, reducing costs while continuing to deliver leading designs, expected reductions in research and development levels, revenue expectations, expectations regarding gross margins, bookings expectations and expected earnings per share. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to be materially different from the future performance suggested in this release. Such factors include, but are not limited to, cyclicality and downturns in the semiconductor industry, which the Company is experiencing, rapid technological change in the ATE market, the Company's ability to successfully integrate acquisitions, economic and political instability in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions, fluctuation in customer demand, timing and volume of orders and shipments, competition and pricing pressures, reliability and quality issues, the Company's ability to complete the development and commercialization of its new products, product mix, overhead absorption, continued dependence on "turns" orders to achieve revenue objectives, the timing of new technology, product introductions, intellectual property issues, the risk of early obsolescence, the Company's ability to control and reduce expenses (including the ability to identify and successfully institute additional cost-saving measures). Further, the Company operates in an industry sector where securities values are highly volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond the Company's control. Reference is made to the discussion of risk factors detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q. Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to the Company, which is subject to change. Although any such projections and the factors influencing them will likely change, the Company will not necessarily update the information, since the Company is only to provide guidance at certain points during the year. Actual events or results could differ materially and no reader of this release should assume later in the quarter that the information provided today is still valid. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.

NOTE: Credence is a registered trademark, and Credence Systems and SZ M3650 are trademarks, of Credence Systems Corporation. Other trademarks that may be mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.