EPISTAR CHOOSES TWO FURTHER AIXTRON MASS PRODUCTION REACTORS

!!! Press Release !!!

EPISTAR CHOOSES TWO FURTHER AIXTRON MASS PRODUCTION REACTORS
to continue upscaling Production Capacities for High Volume LED Production

Aachen/Hsin-Chu, 30th October, 2002 - AIXTRON is pleased to confirm another multiple order from Epistar Corporation, for two further AIX 2600G3 HT Mass Production Reactors for the production of blue and green LED wafers and chips. Epistar Corporation, located in Hsin-Chu Science Based Park, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, is a manufacturing leader in the LED industry, focusing on developing, manufacturing and commercializing Ultra-High-Brightness LED products which are used for various application markets such as cellular phones, automotive lighting, outdoor displays, traffic signals and indictors for various electronic equipment. Epistar's high speed LEDs are also used as lighting sources in the fiber-optics industry.

Dr. Ming-Jiunn Jou, Vice-President of Epistar and responsible for III-V Nitride development comments: "Our decision to add two further AIX 2600G3 HT Reactors to our Fab was based on our excellent experience with AIXTRON's products up until present day. In the light of the extremely high demands within this booming industry, it was obvious upon careful viewing of the market, that AIXTRON is a clear winner when it comes to Price-Performance Leadership. This convincing criteria encouraged our final purchase decision." Dr. Bernd Schulte, Executive Vice President and COO of AIXTRON adds: "We are glad that Epistar has placed so much confidence in our technology leadership and we look forward to a continued fruitful co-operation between AIXTRON and Epistar Corporation for enabling high volume UHB-LED Production."

The AIX 2600G3 HT reactor, with it's capacity for 24x2" wafers, represents the largest high temperature Reactor for GaN-based materials available worldwide. The two-flow horizontal Planetary Reactor is recognized as the most widely used multiwafer MOCVD Reactor for compound semiconductor applications. The unique Reactor Concept allows laminar gas flow without turbulence for precise control of the material composition and achievement of ultra-sharp interfaces. Ultra-high uniformity along with high growth efficiency on multiple 2" or 3" wafers is achieved through wafer rotation with AIXTRON's patented Gas Foil Rotation.

With an installed base of well over 650 systems world-wide, AIXTRON is, as verified by VLSI Research Inc., the world leading supplier of equipment for semiconductor epitaxy and has been rated once more amongst the 2002 10 BEST in its category in the most recent VLSI Customer Satisfaction Survey. Its equipment is used by a diverse range of customers worldwide to manufacture critical, advanced components such as HBTs, PHEMTs, MESFETs, Lasers, LEDs, Detectors and VCSELs used in fibre optic communications systems, wireless and mobile telephony applications, optical storage devices, illumination, signaling and lighting, as well as a range of other leading edge technologies. The company has an extensive service and support network in over 15 countries. AIXTRON's many customers include Agere, Alcatel, Anritsu, ATMI, Avalon, AXT, Epson, Honeywell, Infineon, IQE, IQE Silicon Compounds, ITT, JDS-Uniphase, Kopin, LumiLeds, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Nortel, Optospeed, Osram, Procomp, Samsung, Showa Denko, Siemens, ST Microelectronics, Sumitomo, Thales, UEC, VPEC as well as numerous Japanese corporations. AIXTRON systems have also been installed in the most renowned research institutes worldwide, including CNRS, Fraunhofer Institute, ITRI-OES, JPL, Meijo University, NDL Taiwan, Research Center Jülich, RIKEN, Sandia Nat Lab, Tsinghua University and the University of Tokyo. AIXTRON is very active in advancing MOCVD technology through collaborations and joint R&D projects with major partners worldwide. AIXTRON AG (FSE: AIX ISIN DE0005066203) is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World and the MSCI World Index.

For further information please contact:

Dr. Claus Ehrenbeck
Head of Investor Relations and
Corporate Communications
AIXTRON AG
Kackertstr. 15 - 17
D-52072 Aachen, Germany
Phone:+49 241 8909 444
Fax: +49 241 8909 445
E-mail: invest@aixtron.com