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Nikon Announces ArF immersion Scanner for Double Patterning

Low Risk Solution for 32 nm Process Development

Belmont, California – February 20, 2008 – Nikon Corporation has announced they will provide an immersion scanner for Double Patterning, based on the successful NSR-S610C platform, to their customers in the 4th quarter of 2008.  By enhancing the performance of the mature NSR-S610C ArF immersion scanner to address the critical overlay requirements of Double Patterning, Nikon will deliver a low risk solution for Double Patterning development based on the proven Tandem Stage platform and Nikon proprietary Local Fill Technology.

To satisfy ever-shrinking device requirements, immersion lithography is now well established as the leading edge technology for 45 nm volume manufacturing.  At the 32 nm node, Double Patterning is the leading technology solution.  In Double Patterning, one of the key challenges for the exposure tool is overlay accuracy.  The final overlay accuracy is a combination of the two individual exposure overlay accuracies, dramatically reducing the overlay budget for each single exposure. The current expected budget is approximately 3 to 4 nm per exposure.

32 nm volume production is scheduled to begin between 2011 to 2013.  To meet this schedule, customers will start development of Double Patterning technology in late 2008 and early 2009.  By using the mature S610C platform as the base for this development, Nikon offers a low risk solution to allow customers to quickly begin their Double Patterning development.

About Double Patterning:
In Double Patterning, a single, dense circuit pattern is split into two coarser patterns that can be printed separately with current immersion technology.  By combining the two exposure results on the wafer, the final, dense circuit pattern is achieved.

About Nikon
Since 1980, Nikon Corporation has been revolutionizing lithography with innovative products and technologies. The company is a worldwide leader in lithography equipment for the microelectronics manufacturing industry with more than 7,800 exposure systems installed worldwide. Nikon offers the most extensive selection of production-class steppers and scanners in the industry. These products serve the semiconductor, flat panel display (LCD) and thin-film magnetic head (TFH) industries. Nikon Precision Inc. provides service, training, applications and technical support, as well as sales and marketing for Nikon lithography equipment in North America. For more information about Nikon, access our web site at www.nikonprecision.com

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in condition, particularly those related to industry requirements and other risks. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information in this press release.

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Contact:
Bernie Wood
Director of Marketing
Nikon Precision Inc.
(650) 413-8533 phone
bwood@nikon.com