Genus Awarded SBIR Contract for $1.3 Million

Company to Develop Ultra-Thin Metal Barriers for Advanced Interconnects

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (May 3, 2000) – Genus, Inc. (Nasdaq: GGNS) announced today that it has received a contract for $1.3 million to develop ultra-thin metal barriers for advanced interconnects. The contract is sponsored by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and managed by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (Huntsville, AL). This is a Phase II award that supports commercial level activity, and follows the successful completion of Phase I proof-of-concept program. The ultra-thin metal barriers are being developed for advanced interconnects targeted to serve mainstream silicon semiconductor technology generations at and below 0,1-micron.

"Successful development of ultra-thin metal barriers will provide a solution to enable use of advanced interconnects at and below feature sizes of 0.1-micron," said Dr. Thomas Seidel, Genus' chief technology officer. "Today there are no known solutions for barrier films to enable performance at these dimensions. Development of ultra-thin metal barriers will keep the semiconductor progression on its historical schedule."

The specific focus of the SBIR contract is to develop advances in electronic materials including advancing the capability of integrated circuits, detectors, sensors, large scale integration, radiation hardness, and all electronic components.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains statements that may be deemed forward-looking regarding the use of ALD technology by the semiconductor industry. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including actual acceptance of ALD technology by the marketplace, potential development of competing technologies, cyclical economic conditions in the semiconductor equipment market, and global economic conditions. Additional associated risks and uncertainties are found in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations section of Genus' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 1999 and in Genus' subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Genus

Founded in 1982, Genus, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets capital equipment and deposition processes for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, as well as for other emerging non-semiconductor applications. Genus offers various thin-film deposition modules using its own production-proven equipment and processes for both chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD). The deposition processes are used to manufacture integrated circuits for the computer, communications, medical, military, transportation, and consumer electronics industries. Genus' customers include semiconductor manufacturers located throughout the United States, Europe, and the Pacific Rim, including Korea and Japan. Company headquarters are in Sunnyvale, California. For additional information, visit Genus' Web site at www.genus.com.