FREMONT, Calif.- November 7, 2002 - Mattson Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTSN), a leading supplier of advanced process equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, today is reporting financial results for the third quarter of 2002.

Net sales for the quarter were $60.8 million, an increase of $13.5 million or 29 percent from $47.3 million in the second quarter of 2002, and an increase of $24.2 million or 66 percent from the third quarter of 2001 net sales of $36.6 million. Shipments for the quarter were $57.8 million, an increase of $15.3 million or 36 percent from $42.5 million in the second quarter of 2002, and a decrease of $9.6 million or 14 percent from the third quarter of 2001 shipments of $67.3 million. Revenues included $3.0 million of royalty income related to the settlement of the patent infringement suit with Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (DNS).

Net loss for the third quarter of 2002 was $12.0 million, or $(0.27) per share, compared with a net loss of $24.5 million, or $(0.58) per share for the second quarter of 2002, and a net loss of $186.9 million, or $(5.05) per share, for the third quarter of 2001. Results for the third quarter of 2002 included a $6.2 million restructuring charge related to the shutdown of Mattson's Exton/Malvern, Pennsylvania facilities, the transfer of rapid thermal processing (RTP) development activities to Dornstadt, Germany and the reorganization of EPI operations. Results for the third quarter of 2002 also included $15 million of non-operating other income related to the settlement of the patent infringement suit with DNS. Results in the third quarter of 2001 included a non-cash charge of $127.7 million to recognize the impairment of goodwill, intangible assets and certain other long-lived assets related to the acquisition of CFM Technologies, Inc. and the semiconductor equipment division of STEAG in January 2001.

Net bookings for the third quarter of 2002 were $51.1 million, slightly down compared with net bookings in the second quarter of 2002 of $55.9 million, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 0.88 to 1.00.

Gross margin for the third quarter of 2002 was 22.2 percent, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from 20.0 percent for the second quarter of 2002, and an increase from negative 54.7 percent gross margin for the third quarter of 2001. Gross margin in the third quarter of 2001 included a non-cash charge of $21.3 million for excess inventories.

Deferred revenue at the end of the third quarter of 2002 was $114.3 million, a decrease of $3.1 million from $117.4 million at the end of the second quarter of 2002, and a decrease of $22.3 million from $136.6 million at December 31, 2001.

The company ended the third quarter of 2002 with cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments of $77.1 million, a decrease of $20.0 million from $97.1 million at December 31, 2001. The company used $37.7 million during the third quarter of 2002 to timely repay two notes that were outstanding with STEAG, and is now debt free. Working capital at the end of the third quarter of 2002 was $82.2 million, an increase of $4.9 million from $77.3 million at December 31, 2001.

David L. Dutton, president and chief executive officer said, "Over the course of 2002, we have rigorously attacked our product portfolio and cost position and have increased our focus on our core businesses. The weak macroeconomic and industry conditions continue to put pressure on our business. However, our third quarter revenue and bookings performance clearly demonstrates improvements."

Dutton continued, "To right-size the company for a protracted downturn, we started another round of cost-cutting measures in the third quarter and continue to examine our product lines and operations to bring the company to positive cash flow from operations. With our strengthened focus on core business activities and customer relations as well as our investment in innovative, competitive products, we are confident that Mattson Technology will emerge from the downturn with good traction going forward."

Attached to this news release are unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations for three and nine month periods ending September 29, 2002 and September 30, 2001 and balance sheets as of September 29, 2002 and December 31, 2001.

At 2:00 pm Pacific Time today, Thursday, November 7th, Mattson will hold a conference call to review the following topics: third quarter 2002 financial results, current business conditions, and the near-term business outlook. The conference call will be publicly available via the Internet (www.mattson.com, under "Investor Line"), beginning with a live webcast at 2:00 pm Pacific Time, November 7, 2002. In addition to the live webcast, replays will be available to the public on the Mattson website for one-week following the live broadcast. Users can access the replay one-hour after the call.

This press release contains forward looking statements regarding, among other matters, the Company's future prospects and near-term outlook and changes in customer demand and the effect of the economic downturn. Forward looking statements address matters that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially. In addition to the general risks associated with the slowdown in the semiconductor industry and development of complex technology, our future results will depend on a variety of factors, including the timing of significant orders, our ability to timely manufacture and deliver ordered products, our ability to bring new systems to market, the timing of new product releases by our competitors, our ability to reduce cost in response to market conditions, and other competitive factors. Reference is made to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further discussion of risks and uncertainties regarding the Company's business. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this press release.