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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended: September 30, 2003

OR

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission File Number: 0-11412

AMTECH SYSTEMS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 480-967-5146

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Common Stock, $.01 Par Value

(Title of Class)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. x Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12(b)(2). ¨ Yes x No

As of December 12, 2003, the aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $14,098,000, based upon the closing sales price reported by the NASDAQ National Market on that date.

As of December 12, 2003, the registrant had outstanding 2,700,671 shares of Common Stock, $.01 par value.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Definitive Proxy Statement related to the registrant’s 2004 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which Proxy Statement will be filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, within 120 days of the end of the registrant’s fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain information contained or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is forward-looking in nature. All statements included or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or made by management of Amtech Systems, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Amtech”), other than statements of historical fact, are hereby identified as “forward-looking statements” (as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). Examples of forward-looking statements include statements regarding Amtech’s future financial results, operating results, business strategies, projected costs, products under development, competitive positions and plans and objectives of the Company and its management for future operations. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Any expectations based on these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and other important factors, including those discussed in the section entitled “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Trends, Risks and Uncertainties.” These and many other factors could affect Amtech’s future operating results and financial condition, and could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations based on forward-looking statements made in this document or elsewhere by Amtech or on its behalf. Unless noted otherwise, all references to a year apply to Amtech’s fiscal year, which ends on September 30th.

All references to “we,” “our,” “us,” or “Amtech” refer to Amtech Systems, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

PART I

Amtech Systems, Inc. (“Amtech” or the “Company”) was incorporated in Arizona in October 1981, under the name Quartz Engineering & Materials, Inc., and changed to its present name in 1987. Amtech also conducts operations through two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Tempress Systems, Inc., a Texas corporation with all of its operations in the Netherlands (“Tempress Systems” or “Tempress”), and P.R. Hoffman Machine Products, Inc., an Arizona corporation based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (“P.R. Hoffman”).

We develop, manufacture, market and service wafer and semiconductor fabrication equipment and related spare parts for the worldwide semiconductor industry. Customers for our products include semiconductor wafer manufacturers and semiconductor integrated circuit (or chip) manufacturers, who either use the chips they manufacture in their own products or sell them to other companies. These chips are key components in most electronic products for telecommunications (especially wireless communications), computers and consumer electronics and are also used to add functionality to, or improve the performance of, a wide range of existing products, such as automobiles. Other customers for our products include manufacturers of optical components and solar cells and research and development facilities.

Our business is divided into two business segments, semiconductor equipment and polishing supplies. The semiconductor equipment segment manufactures and sells horizontal diffusion furnaces, processing/robotic equipment for such diffusion furnaces and related spare parts and consumables used in certain processes of fabricating integrated circuits, or chips, on silicon wafers. In addition, our semiconductor equipment segment provides manufacturing support services, including wet and dry cleaning of semiconductor machine processing parts, to one of our Texas-based customers. Our polishing supplies segment produces and sells carriers and templates that are consumed in the final steps of fabricating silicon wafers (the raw material used in the production of semiconductors), double-sided precision lapping and polishing machines and related spare parts. For information regarding revenue, operating profit or loss and identifiable assets attributable to each of these two business segments, see Note 9 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included herein and Item 7 of this annual report.

We serve a niche market in an industry that experiences rapid technological advances, and which in the past has been very cyclical. As a result, our future profitability and growth depends on our ability to develop or acquire and market profitable new products, and on our ability to adapt to cyclical trends.

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GROWTH STRATEGY

Our strategy for growing revenue and operating profit is to develop new products and services that serve our targeted markets, to further penetrate these and new markets with existing and new products and to acquire additional products through strategic acquisitions. We categorize these growth strategies as internal growth and acquisition growth.

Acquisition Growth. In 1995, we completed a secondary offering of our common stock, yielding proceeds of $3.6 million to be used to fund our acquisition strategy. That year, we acquired certain assets of the former Tempress, B.V. and hired Tempress, B.V.’s former engineers to develop our first models of the Tempress^® horizontal diffusion furnaces and production in The Netherlands. On July 1, 1997, we acquired substantially all of the assets of P.R. Hoffman Machine Products Corporation, enabling us to offer new products, including lapping and polishing carriers, polishing templates and lapping and polishing machines and related consumable and spare parts, to our existing customer base and to target new customers. In September, 2000, we raised an additional $4.6 million through a private placement of our common stock to further fund our acquisition strategy. While we have had difficulty identifying suitable acquisition candidates that are not over-valued based on our analysis, we continue to pursue acquisition candidates that will either increase our existing market share or expand the number of front-end semiconductor processes addressed by our products.

Internal Growth. Our strategy for internal growth, sometimes referred to as organic growth, includes adding new markets, new products and new services. We began providing a new service, contract semiconductor manufacturing support, in the fourth quarter of 1997. In 2000, we began obtaining orders for semiconductor production equipment from manufacturers of MEMS; and while these manufacturers are currently experiencing a downturn, this proved to be a significant new market for us in 2000 and 2001. In addition, one of the first new markets added by our semiconductor equipment segment was manufacturers of solar cells, which continues to be a source of potential growth for us.

Our new products have included the July, 2000 introduction of the S-300 and E-300 models of automation, which were a significant source of sales in 2001 and 2002. Other new products, which we began shipping in 2002, include 300mm diffusion furnaces and related automation and S-300 models with cassette-to-cassette capability, a SECS II Gem (semiconductor equipment communications standard with level II documentation and incorporating the general equipment model) interface to a customer’s factory automation and an interface to third party SMIF (standard mechanical interface) pod openers. The introduction of new products in 2002 helped our semiconductor equipment segment avoid the severe revenue decline experienced by most of our peers in 2002. We expect these new products to generate increased sales and profits during the next industry upturn.

During 2003, our polishing supplies segment received a customer order for a double-sided lapping and polishing machine with a larger capacity, compared to our previous machines, and driven by servo motors, rather than the hydraulics used in our then existing product line. P.R. Hoffman has completed the design and manufacture of this machine, which is currently undergoing testing, and is expected to be delivered to the customer in January, 2004. We have designed this machine, Model 5400, with all new specifications, which will serve as a base for a new line of lapping and polishing machines. The Model 5400 is our first lapping and polishing machine capable of processing parts up to 19.5 inches in diameter, including 300mm wafers; has higher capacities for smaller parts; and is equipped with a Windows^™ Touch-screen interface to a programmable controller for flexible multi-step control of speeds and pressure, optional thickness control, and crash protection. The 5400 model offers very high precision for a large double-sided planetary machine and is especially suited to thin and fragile substrates. This design uses servo motors to precisely control the smooth, quiet, three-way planetary motions as well as precise, completely variable control of downward force ranging from as little as 24 pounds to as much as 1-1/2 tons. This order remains subject to customer acceptance.

During 2003, after considerable consultation with a customer, our semiconductor equipment segment received an order for a new small batch vertical furnace, which is subject to customer acceptance. The specifications for this furnace include a two-tube vertical furnace for wafer sizes of up to 200mm, with each tube having a small flat zone capable of processing 25-50 wafers per run. This system is expected to have the same process capability of other vertical furnaces in the marketplace, but with less complex automation and a lower cost than that of our competitors. The market for vertical furnaces is much larger than any of the other markets we currently serve. However, we intend

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to target research and development and other niche applications, since the competition in vertical furnaces is fierce and our competitors are much larger and have substantially greater financial resources, processing knowledge and advanced technology than we do. The development of this small batch vertical furnace is presently in the engineering design and software modification phase. Delivery is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2004. There can be no assurance that when completed the customer will accept this small batch vertical furnace.

INDUSTRY

The semiconductor industry has experienced significant growth since the early 1990s. This growth is primarily attributable to increased demand for personal computers and the growth of the Internet, the expansion of the telecommunications industry (especially wireless communications) and the emergence of new applications in consumer electronics. Further fueling this growth is the rapidly expanding end-user demand for smaller, less-expensive and better-performing electronic products and traditional products with more “intelligence,” which has led to an increased number of semiconductor devices in electronic and other consumer products, such as automobiles.

Although the semiconductor market has experienced significant growth over the past decade, it remains cyclical by nature, characterized by short-term periods of either under or over supply for most semiconductors, including microprocessors, memory, power management chips, DSP (digital signal processing) chips and other logic devices. When demand decreases, semiconductor manufacturers typically slow their purchasing of capital equipment. Conversely, when demand increases, so does capital spending. Starting in the first half of 2001 and continuing through 2002, the semiconductor industry began experiencing a downturn, which resulted in a severe decline in revenue for both chip fabricators and most semiconductor equipment manufacturers. The industry began to rebound from this downturn during the later part of 2003.

Semiconductors control and amplify electrical signals and are used in a broad range of electronic products, including consumer electronic products, computers, wireless telecommunication devices, communications equipment, automotive electronic products, major home appliances, industrial automation and control systems, robotics, aircraft, space vehicles, automatic controls and high-speed switches for broadband fiber optic telecommunication networks. Semiconductors, or semiconductor “chips,” and optical components are fabricated on a silicon wafer substrate and are part of the circuitry or electronic components of many of the aforementioned products.

Most semiconductor chips are built on a base of silicon, called a wafer, and include multiple layers of wiring that connect a variety of circuit components, such as transistors and other structures. To build a chip, the transistors, capacitors and other circuit components are first created on the surface of the wafer by performing a series of processes to deposit and remove selected film layers, including insulators. Similar processes are then used to build the layers of wiring structures on the wafer. These are all referred to as “front-end” processes. A simplified sequence of front-end processes for fabricating typical chips involves: (1) pulling molten silicon to form an ingot; (2) slicing the silicon ingot into wafers of uniform thickness with a wire saw; (3) lapping and polishing the silicon wafer to a mirror-like finish; (4) cleaning the wafer; (5) forming a thin film layer of silicon dioxide on the wafer in a diffusion furnace where oxygen or water vapor is introduced to cause a chemical reaction (oxidation) with the silicon wafer’s surface; (6) insulating or conducting layers are deposited on the wafer surface, which sometimes is accomplished in a diffusion furnace via a chemical reaction called chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”); (7) a photosensitive material, called photoresist, is spread over and then baked on the wafer; (8) the wafer is then exposed to light directed through a mask with circuit patterns; (9) the wafer is then placed in a chemical solution that removes the soluble portion of the photoresist, leaving only the desired pattern; (10) reactive gases then etch away the exposed areas to create a dimensional pattern on the wafer surface; (11) ions are driven into the exposed areas of the patterned wafer to create electrically charged conductive regions; and (12) the wafer then goes through a high temperature annealing process to relieve stress and drive the implanted ions deeper into the wafer.

The silicon wafer may be cycled several times through these wafer-processing steps, starting each time at step (5) or (6) to form a number of chips on the wafer. The front-end process steps are followed by a number of back-end steps in which the wafers are sliced into individual chips that are then packaged to add connectors that are compatible with whatever end product in which the chip will be used. Depending on the device, our polishing supplies segment’s products may be used in step (3) and our semiconductor equipment segment’s products may be used in steps (5), (6) and (12).

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SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT SEGMENT PRODUCTS

The semiconductor manufacturing equipment products, used in the oxidation, CVD, POLC₃ doping and annealing steps of fabricating integrated circuits on silicon wafers, are manufactured by our Arizona and Netherlands operations. The following paragraphs describe the products that comprise our semiconductor equipment segment:

Horizontal Diffusion Furnaces

Through our Tempress Systems subsidiary, we produce and sell horizontal diffusion and conveyor furnace systems, which generally include a Tempress^® load station. Our diffusion furnaces currently address several deposition steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process, including oxidation/diffusion and low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (“LPCVD”), POLC₃ doping and annealing. The LPCVD step consists of performing CVD under high temperature, low-pressure conditions to deposit insulating or conductive layers, primarily on wafers up to 200mm in size. Diffusion furnaces also are used in certain high and ultra-high temperature processes in the manufacture of optical components of high-speed switches used in broadband fiber optic telecommunications networks.

Our diffusion furnaces generally consist of three large modules: the load station where the loading of the wafers occurs; the furnace section, which is comprised of one to four reactor chambers; and the gas distribution cabinet where the flow of gases into the reactor chambers is controlled and are often customized to meet the requirements of a customer’s particular processes. The horizontal diffusion furnaces utilize existing industry technology and are sold primarily to customers who do not require the advanced automation of, or cannot justify the significantly higher expense of, vertical diffusion furnaces for some or all of their diffusion processes. In 2002, we began shipping models of the Tempress^® diffusion furnace capable of processing 300mm wafers, with the initial customer being a semiconductor wafer manufacturer, and we now have models capable of processing all currently existing wafer sizes.

Tempress Systems also produces conveyor furnace systems used to produce thick films for the electronics industry. Conveyor furnace systems provide for precision thermal processing of electronic parts for thick film applications, annealing, sealing, soldering, silvering, curling, brazing, alloying, gloss-metal sealing and component packaging.

Proposed New Small Batch Vertical Furnace

During 2003, after considerable consultation with a customer, our semiconductor equipment segment received an order for a new small batch vertical furnace, which is subject to customer acceptance. The specifications for this furnace include a two-tube vertical furnace for wafer sizes of up to 200mm, with each tube having a small flat zone capable of processing 25-50 wafers per run. This system is expected to have the same process capability of other vertical furnaces in the marketplace, but with less complex automation and a lower cost than that of our competitors. The market for vertical furnaces is much larger than any of the other markets we currently serve. However, we intend to target research and development and other niche applications, since the competition in vertical furnaces is fierce and our competitors are much larger and have substantially greater financial resources, processing knowledge and advanced technology than we do. The development of this small batch vertical furnace is presently in the engineering design and software modification phase. Delivery is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2004. There can be no assurance that when completed the customer will accept this small batch vertical furnace.

Processing/Robotic Equipment

Our processing and robotic equipment consists of several products that either automate the loading of horizontal diffusion furnaces or improve the processing characteristics of such furnaces. Wherever possible, our processing and robotic products are sold in various combinations of our Tempress^® diffusion furnaces in order to expand the market for such furnaces. These products also are sold to customers that have chosen another brand of diffusion furnace and as retrofits to most all brands of horizontal diffusion furnaces.

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Automation Products

Use of our automation products reduces human handling and, therefore, reduces exposure of wafers to contaminants during the loading and unloading of the process tubes. Since the top reactor chamber of a horizontal furnace is as much as nine feet from the floor on which the operator stands when manually loading wafer boats, and typical boats of 200mm or 300mm wafers weigh four to six pounds, automating the wafer loading and unloading of a diffusion furnace improves employee safety and ergonomics in semiconductor and solar cell manufacturing facilities. The following paragraphs describe our automation products.

E-300. Our most cost effective robotic product is the E-300. This product is most suitable for lower cost semiconductor devices, such as diodes and power management chips. The E-300 operates like an elevator and generally is used to raise boats loaded with up to 300 wafers to one or both of the upper two reactor chambers of a diffusion furnace. There the operator uses a hand held tool to lift the wafer boat off the E-300 and to either place them directly on a cantilever paddle system, into an Amtech Atmoscan^®, or onto an IBAL Trolley, which then places the wafers on the paddle or Atmoscan^®. The E-300 can be used in conjunction with all wafer sizes, including 300mm wafers.

S-300. The S-300 model provides a very efficient method of automatically transporting a full batch of up to 300 wafers to the designated tube level and automatically placing them directly onto the cantilever loader of a diffusion furnace at one time. This product is suitable for the production of nearly all semiconductors fabricated in a horizontal furnace, but is not compatible with furnace reactor chambers where the process requires an Atmoscan^®. During 2002, we began shipping S-300 models for 300mm wafers and other models with cassette-to-cassette capability, a SECS II Gem interface to the customer’s factory automation and an interface to third party SMIF pod openers. We believe that customers will view the SECS II Gem interface to their factory automation as a means to reduce scrap that is sometimes caused by an operator loading wafers into the wrong process chamber. The S-300 can now be used in conjunction with all wafer sizes, including 300mm wafers.

IBAL. IBAL is an acronym for “Individual Boats with Automated Loading.” Our IBAL automation system is a patented integrated automation system composed of four modules comprised of hardware and software. The IBAL Shuttle transfers wafers between wafer transfer machines manufactured by third parties and the IBAL Queue, providing customers with the option of complete cassette-to-cassette wafer handling. The IBAL Queue provides a convenient staging area for the operator or the IBAL Shuttle to place boats on a load station and automates the loading of those boats onto the IBAL Butler. The IBAL Butler automatically transfers wafer carriers onto the IBAL Trolley of the appropriate furnace tube level for loading. The IBAL Trolley automatically places the quartz trays that hold silicon wafers (“boats”) on a cantilever paddle system or into an Amtech Atmoscan^® that then are inserted in the diffusion furnace. This sequence is reversed for unloading the furnace after the particular process step has been completed.

The automation products described above are sometimes sold as a complete system in conjunction with a load station module, which also includes an ultra-clean environment for wafer loading by filtering and controlling the flow of air. Selling the IBAL in conjunction with a load station makes the retrofitting of existing furnaces with such automation more efficient, since no further modifications are required at the customer’s site.

Atmoscan^® and Other Cantilevered Processing Systems

Atmoscan^® is a patented controlled environment wafer processing system that includes a cantilever tube used to load silicon wafers into a horizontal diffusion furnace and through which a purging inert gas flows during the process of loading and unloading the reactor chamber. Among the major advantages afforded by the Atmoscan^® product are increased control of the environment of the wafers during the gaseous and heating process, thereby increasing yields and decreasing manufacturing costs; a decreased need for the cleaning of diffusion furnace tubes, which ordinarily involves substantial expense and equipment down time; and significant economies in the manufacturing process.

We also have designed and sell an open cantilever paddle system, the type of loader which remains the most commonly used in the semiconductor industry for loading wafers into horizontal furnaces. Similar systems have been

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used by the industry since prior to the introduction of the Atmoscan^®, our alternative to the open cantilevered processing system.

POLISHING SUPPLIES SEGMENT PRODUCTS

The products of our polishing supplies segment are used primarily for lapping and polishing raw silicon wafers to a mirror-like finish. Depending on the cycle of the semiconductor industry, between 55% and 65% of this segment’s products are sold to either semiconductor wafer manufacturers or semiconductor fabricators. Most of the products of our polishing supplies segment are also sold to fabricators of optics, quartz, ceramics and metal parts, and to manufacturers of medical equipment components and computer disks. These products are manufactured by our P.R. Hoffman operation in Pennsylvania and are described below.

Carriers

Carriers are work holders into which silicon wafers or other materials are inserted for the purpose of holding them securely in place during lapping and polishing processes. We produce carriers for our line of lapping and polishing machines, as well as those machines sold by our competitors. Substantially all of the carriers we produce are customized for specific applications. A very significant category of our steel carriers, referred to as insert carriers, contain plastic inserts molded onto the inside edge of the work-holes of the carrier, which hold the wafers in place during processing. Although standard steel carriers are preferred in many applications because of their durability, rigidity and precise dimensions, they are typically not suited for applications involving softer materials or when metal contamination is an issue. Insert carriers, however, are well suited for such materials, because they provide the advantages of steel carriers while reducing the potential for damage to the edges of sensitive materials such as large semiconductor wafers, which are becoming more standard in the industry.

Semiconductor Polishing Templates

Our polishing templates are used to securely hold silicon wafers in place during single-sided polishing processes. Polishing templates are customized for specific applications and are manufactured to exacting tolerances. We manufacture polishing templates for all brands of tools and various processes. In addition to silicon wafers, these products are used in polishing silicon carbide wafers and sapphire crystals used in LED’s.

Double-sided Planetary Lapping and Polishing Machines

Double-sided lapping and polishing machines are designed to process thin and fragile materials, such as semiconductor silicon wafers, precision optics, computer disk media and ceramic components for wireless communication devices, to exact tolerances of thickness, flatness, parallelism and surface finish. On average, our surface processing systems are priced lower than competing systems offered by our competitors and target the semiconductor, optics, quartz, ceramics, medical, computer disk and metal working markets.

Lapping machines process parts using an abrasive slurry and cast iron plates. The material to be processed is positioned in carriers, which are then driven with a planetary motion between the top and bottom plates. The planetary action of the lapping machines simultaneously removes equal amounts of material from both sides of the material being processed. While polishing machines are similar to the lapping machines, polishing is achieved by using a finer free abrasive slurry and plates equipped with a polishing pad material. Depending on the process, the wafers are held in place in the pockets of a carrier, for double-sided processing, or templates for or a wax mounting for single-sided processing. We do not manufacture or sell single-sided polishing machines or wax mountings. The polishing process is used to improve the characteristics of the surfaces of silicon wafers and similar materials. We also manufacture and sell repair parts for our line of lapping and polishing machines.

New Large Capacity Servo Series of Lapping and Polishing Machines

During 2003, our polishing supplies segment received a customer order for a double-sided lapping and polishing machine with a larger capacity, compared to our previous machines, and driven by servo motors, rather than the hydraulics used in our then existing product line. P.R. Hoffman has completed the design and manufacture of this

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machine, which is currently undergoing testing, and is expected to be delivered to the customer in January, 2004. We have designed this machine, Model 5400, with all new specifications to address market requirements for precision parts processing of large diameter substrates. The Model 5400 is our first lapping and polishing machine capable of processing parts up to 19.5 inches in diameter, including 300mm wafers; has higher capacities for smaller parts; and is equipped with a Windows^™ Touch-screen interface to a programmable controller for flexible multi-step control of speeds and pressure, optional thickness control, and crash protection. The 5400 model offers very high precision for a large double-sided planetary machine and is especially suited to thin and fragile substrates. This design uses servo motors to precisely control the smooth, quiet, three-way planetary motions as well as precise, completely variable control of downward force ranging from as little as 24 pounds to as much as 1-1/2 tons. This order remains subject to customer acceptance.

Plates, Gears, Wear Items and Other Parts

Since lapping machinery involves abrasive slurries, the plates, gears and carriers are often exposed to a high degree of abrasion and wear. Accordingly, we produce a wide assortment of plates, gears, parts and wear items for our own machines as well as for machines manufactured by our competitors. In addition to producing standard off-the-shelf parts, we have the ability to produce highly customized parts.

MANUFACTURING, RAW MATERIALS AND SUPPLIERS

Our manufacturing activities consist primarily of assembling various commercial and proprietary components into finished systems in Heerde, The Netherlands (diffusion furnaces), Tempe, Arizona (processing and robotic systems) and Carlisle, Pennsylvania (lapping and polishing machines). Polishing consumables, including carriers, templates, gears, wear items and spare parts, are fabricated from various materials in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, from raw materials manufactured to our specifications by our suppliers. Many of the items, such as proprietary components for systems and lapping plates, are also purchased from suppliers who manufacture these items to our specifications. In addition, certain parts for our automation products are fabricated in our machine shop. All final assembly and system tests are performed within our manufacturing facilities. Quality control is maintained through inspection of incoming materials and components, in-process inspection during equipment assembly, testing of assemblies and final inspection and, when practical, operation of manufactured equipment prior to shipment. Since the majority of the products in the polishing supplies segment are designed to specific customers’ specifications, this segment’s facility is equipped to perform a significantly higher percentage of the fabrication processes required in the manufacturer of its products and certain of the manufacturing processes are subcontracted out to various third parties. In addition, this segment relies on key suppliers for certain materials, including two steel mills, an injection molder, pad supplier (sole sourced from a Japanese company) and an adhesive manufacturer. To minimize the risk of production and service interruptions and/or shortages of key parts, we maintain appropriate inventories of key raw materials and parts. If for any reason we were unable obtain a sufficient quantity of parts in a timely and cost-effective manner to meet our production requirements, our results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

BACKLOG

Our order backlog decreased to $7.6 million as of September 30, 2003, from $7.9 million at the same date of the previous year. The orders included in our backlog are generally credit approved customer purchase orders usually scheduled to ship in the next twelve months. The backlog also includes revenue deferred pursuant to our revenue recognition policy derived from orders that have already been shipped, but which have not met the criteria for recognition. We schedule production of our systems based on order backlog and customer commitments. However, customers may delay delivery of products or cancel orders suddenly and without sufficient notice, subject to possible cancellation penalties. Due to possible customer changes in delivery schedules and cancellations of orders, our backlog at any particular date is not necessarily indicative of actual sales for any succeeding period. Delays in delivery schedules and/or a reduction of backlog during any particular reporting period could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations. In addition, our backlog does not provide any assurance that we will realize a profit from those orders or indicate in which period revenue will be recognized. See the disclosure under the caption “Results of Operations – Revenues” in Item 7 of this report for a breakdown of the backlog by segment.

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RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING

The markets we serve are characterized by evolving industry standards and rapid technological change. To compete effectively in our markets, we must continually keep up with the pace of such change by improving our products and our process technologies and developing new technologies and products that compete effectively on the basis of price and performance and that adequately address current and future customer requirements. Historically, our product development efforts have been accomplished primarily through cooperative efforts with two key customers. While there can be no assurance that such relationships will continue or that others will be developed, such cooperative efforts are expected to continue to be a significant element in our future development projects. Generally, our relationships in such projects are substantially dependent on the personal relations established by our President, Mr. Jong S. Whang.

From time to time we add functionality to our products or develop new products during engineering and manufacturing to fulfill specifications in a customer’s order, in which case the cost of development, along with other costs of the order, are charged to cost of sales. We periodically receive small research grants for research and development of products in The Netherlands, which are netted against research and development costs. Our approach to such expenditures has allowed us to produce a number of new products while spending amounts that are generally modest in relation to most semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Our expenditures that have been accounted for as research and development were $0.7 million (3.4% of revenues) in 2003, $0.5 million (2.4% of revenues) in 2002 and $0.6 million (2.6% of revenues) in 2001. These amounts exclude those expenses incurred in connection with customer orders or supported by government grants. In order to more accurately reflect research and development expenditures, we have reclassified $0.2 million of expenses previously reflected as cost of sales to research and development in both 2002 and 2001. The reclassified costs primarily relate to the development engineering personnel at Tempress, which were not separately tracked until 2001.

During the past few years, the most significant project included in research and development expenses has been the development of a new technology asher pursuant to a joint product development agreement with PSK Tech. The results of the feasibility work on the new technology asher were encouraging. However, continued improvements in existing technologies have delayed our customers’ potential requirements for this product and thus further development has been delayed.

During 2003, our polishing supplies segment received a customer order for a double-sided lapping and polishing machine with a larger capacity, compared to our previous machines, and driven by servo motors, rather than the hydraulics used in our then existing product line. P.R. Hoffman has completed the design and manufacture of this machine, which is currently undergoing testing, and is expected to be delivered to the customer in January, 2004. We have designed this machine, Model 5400, with all new specifications to address market requirements for precision parts processing of large diameter substrates. The Model 5400 is our first lapping and polishing machine capable of processing parts up to 19.5 inches in diameter, including 300mm wafers; has higher capacities for smaller parts; and is equipped with a Windows^™ Touch-screen interface to a programmable controller for flexible multi-step control of speeds and pressure, optional thickness control, and crash protection. The 5400 model offers very high precision for a large double-sided planetary machine and is especially suited to thin and fragile substrates. This design uses servo motors to precisely control the smooth, quiet, three-way planetary motions as well as precise, completely variable control of downward force ranging from as little as 24 pounds to as much as 1-1/2 tons. This order remains subject to customer acceptance.

During 2003, after considerable consultation with a customer, our semiconductor equipment segment received an order for a new small batch vertical furnace, which is subject to customer acceptance. The specifications for this furnace include a two-tube vertical furnace for wafer sizes of up to 200mm, with each tube having a small flat zone capable of processing 25-50 wafers per run. This system is expected to have the same process capability of other vertical furnaces in the marketplace, but with less complex automation and a lower cost than that of our competitors. The market for vertical furnaces is much larger than any of the other markets we currently serve. However, we intend to target research and development and other niche applications, since the competition in vertical furnaces is fierce and our competitors are much larger and have substantially greater financial resources, processing knowledge and advanced technology than we do. The development of this small batch vertical furnace is presently in the engineering design and software modification phase. Delivery is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2004. There can be no assurance that when completed the customer will accept this small batch vertical furnace.

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PATENTS

The following table shows the patents granted or licensed and the expiration date thereof, and the material patents pending, for our products in each of the countries listed below:

There can be no assurance that our pending patent applications will be allowed or that the issued or pending patents will not be challenged or circumvented by competitors. There can be no assurance that any of these rights held by us will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, or that such rights will provide competitive advantages to us.

There are no pending lawsuits against us regarding infringement of any existing patents or other intellectual property rights or any unresolved claims made by third parties that we are infringing the intellectual property rights of such third parties. There can be no assurance that third parties will not assert infringement claims in the future. Our involvement in any patent dispute or other intellectual property dispute could have a material adverse effect on our business. Adverse determinations in any litigation relating to intellectual property could possibly subject us to significant liabilities to third parties, require us to seek licenses form third parties and prevent us from manufacturing and selling one or more of our products. There also can be no assurance in the event of successful claims of infringement that we will be able to obtain licenses on reasonable terms, if at all. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

SALES AND MARKETING

Because of the highly technical nature of our products, we market our products by direct customer contact through our sales personnel and through a network of domestic and international independent sales representatives and distributors that specialize in semiconductor equipment and supplies. Our promotional activities include direct sales contacts, an internet website, advertising in trade magazines and the distribution of product brochures. We also participate in trade shows, including Semicon West, Semicon Europa, Diskcon and one large optics show each year. Our sales and marketing activities in Asia are largely dependent on our President, Jong S. Whang, and our sales are enhanced by his active involvement with the accounts of certain other key customers.

In 2003, net revenues were to customers in the following geographic regions: North America 26%, Asia 44% and Europe 30%. Two customers represented 15% and 12% of net revenues, respectively, during 2003. No customer accounted for 10% or more of net revenues during 2002. One customer represented 14% of net revenues during 2001. For a more complete analysis of significant customers and sales to customers by geographic region, see Note 8 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included herein and Item 7 of this annual report. For information regarding revenue, operating profit or loss and identifiable assets attributable to each of our industry segments and

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financial information about foreign and domestic operations, see Note 9 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included herein and Item 7 of this annual report.

Our business is not seasonal in nature, but is cyclical based on the capital equipment investment patterns of semiconductor manufacturers. These expenditure patterns are based on many factors, including anticipated demand for integrated circuits, the development of new technologies and global and regional economic conditions.

COMPETITION

We compete in several distinct markets, including the semiconductor devices equipment market, the semiconductor wafer market, the solar cell and optical component equipment markets and the market for general industrial lapping and polishing machines and supplies. Each of these markets is highly competitive. Our ability to compete depends on our ability to continually improve our products, processes and services, as well as our ability to develop new products that meet constantly evolving customer requirements. Significant competitive factors for succeeding in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market include the equipment’s technical capability, productivity and cost-effectiveness, overall reliability, ease of use and maintenance, contamination and defect control and the level of technical service and support provided by the vendor. The importance of each of these factors varies depending on the specific customer’s needs and criteria, including considerations such as the customer’s process application, product requirements, timing of the purchase and particular circumstances of the purchasing decision.

Our diffusion furnaces, robotic/processing equipment and double-sided lapping and polishing machines primarily compete with those produced by other domestic and foreign original equipment manufacturers, several of which are well-established firms that are larger and have substantially greater financial resources than we do. To a much lesser extent, our diffusion furnaces compete against vertical furnaces on the high-end of the price spectrum. Such competition could intensify in the future, if the industry trend to produce smaller chips on larger wafers, or the newer technology represented by vertical furnaces, results in a material shift in the purchasing habits of our targeted customers. Our furnaces and lapping and polishing machines also face, to a limited extent, competition from used equipment on the low-end of the price spectrum. We intend to maintain or improve our competitive position for orders for our diffusion furnaces and automation products by focusing our sales and marketing efforts on the very large and growing middle market, designing products to meet the customer’s specific process requirements and providing competitive prices and product support service levels. See ‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Trends, Risks and Uncertainties” for a discussion regarding the impact on our diffusion furnace sales of the industry trend of producing smaller chips on larger wafers.

We believe our automation products are generally superior to those of our primary competitors. We believe that patents on the key features of our automation products provide a competitive advantage. We expect our automation product competitors to seek to continually improve the design and performance of their products. There can be no assurance that our automation competitors will not develop enhancements or acquire new technologies that will offer price or performance features superior to those that we offer. We believe that our S-300 and E-300 automation products require less of the expensive clean room floor space and are generally less expensive and easier to operate than those of our competitors. The target market for our automation products is customers who want to improve employee safety and reduce scrap. We are not aware of any products comparable to our IBAL automation products that are capable of loading Atmoscan^® systems, thus providing us with a competitive advantage.

We are not aware of any significant product that directly competes with the Atmoscan^®; however, there are several processing systems and various configurations of existing manufacturing products that provide advantages similar to those that we believe the Atmoscan^® provides to semiconductor manufacturers. Notwithstanding this competition, we believe that Atmoscan^® provides better results in terms of more uniform wafer temperature and dispersion of heated gases in the semiconductor manufacturing process, less exposure of semiconductor wafers to contaminants and other technical advantages that afford to its users a higher yield.

We believe that we are much larger and financially stronger than most of the other domestic manufacturers of lapping and polishing carriers, which tend to be family-owned businesses. However, we are currently also experiencing price competition from carriers produced by foreign manufacturers, for which there is very little publicly available information. As a result, we are intensifying our efforts to reduce the cost of our carriers and will continue to compete with other manufacturers of carriers by continually updating our product line to keep pace with the rapid

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changes in our customers’ requirements and by providing a higher level of customer service. We have been able to capture a small yet meaningful share of the semiconductor polishing template market, which Rodel, a division of Rohm and Haas, dominates with an estimated 90% market share. Our strategy for competing for template orders is to seek out niche markets and to provide the highest level of customer support and reduced total cost of ownership.

EMPLOYEES

At September 30, 2003, we employed 106 people. Of these employees, 17 were based at our corporate offices and manufacturing facility in Tempe, Arizona; 26 were employed at our manufacturing plant in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; 52 at our facilities in and near Heerde, The Netherlands; and 11 in our contract semiconductor manufacturing support services business located in Austin, Texas. Of the 26 people employed at our Carlisle, Pennsylvania facility, 15 were represented by the United Auto Workers Union – Local 1443. We have never experienced a work stoppage or strike. We consider our employee relations to be good.

Our semiconductor processing/robotic equipment business and corporate offices are located in 15,700 square feet of office and manufacturing space in Tempe, Arizona. These facilities are leased at a current rate of $8,096 per month, on a triple net basis, for a term to expire on February 29, 2004. Manufacturing support services are performed in customer facilities.

Our diffusion furnace business is conducted primarily in a 9,900 square foot building that we own, which is located in Heerde, The Netherlands. We also lease an additional 10,000 square feet of manufacturing space in locations near our Heerde plant. These additional facilities are leased at a current rate of $4,200 per month, for varying terms, the last of which expires on July 31, 2008.

Our polishing supplies business is located in a 21,740 square foot building located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. These facilities are leased at a current rate of $10,860 per month, on a triple net basis, for a term that expires on June 30, 2004. We have the option to renew the lease for five successive terms of one year each.

We consider the above facilities suitable and adequate to meet our current requirements.

On or about August 31, 2000, a “P.R. Hoffman Machine Products” was one of 11 companies named in a legal action being brought by North Middleton Township in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in the Court of Common Pleas, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, the owner of a landfill allegedly found to be contaminated. No detailed allegations have been filed as part of this legal action, which appears to have been filed to preserve the right to file claims for contributions to the clean up of the landfill at a later date. We acquired the assets of P.R. Hoffman Machine Products Corporation in an asset transaction consummated on July 1, 1997. The landfill was closed and has not been used by P.R. Hoffman since sometime prior to completion of our acquisition transaction. Therefore, we believe that the named company is the prior owner of the acquired assets. Under the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement governing the acquisition, the prior owner is obligated to indemnify us for any breaches of its representations and warranties in the Asset Purchase Agreement, including representations relating to environmental matters. In accordance with the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement, we have provided notice to the prior owner of P.R. Hoffman of our intent to seek indemnification from such owner for any liabilities resulting from this legal action. Based on information available to us as of the date of this report, we believe our costs, if any, to resolve this matter will not be material to our financial position or results of operations.

None.

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PART II

MARKET INFORMATION

Our common stock, par value $.01 per share (“Common Stock”), began trading on the Nasdaq National Market^®, under the symbol “ASYS,” on April 18, 2001. Prior to that time, our Common Stock was traded on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market. The following table sets forth the high and low bid price at which the shares of our Common Stock traded for each quarter of 2003 and 2002, as reported by the NASDAQ National Market.

As of December 12, 2003, there were 1,037 stockholders of record of our Common Stock. Based upon a recent survey of brokers, we estimate there were approximately an additional 2,857 beneficial stockholders who held shares in brokerage or other investment accounts as of that date.

We have never paid dividends. Our present policy is to apply cash to investment in product development, acquisition or expansion; consequently, we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.

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This selected financial data should be read in conjunction with Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and our consolidated financial statements (including the related notes thereto) contained elsewhere in this report. Effective October 1, 2000, we changed our revenue recognition policy. See Note 1 in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and the pro forma information contain herein. Since revenue is not reported on a consistent basis between years, certain data contained in this report may not be comparable between years.