FREMONT, Calif. - October 25, 2011, - Mattson Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MTSN), a leading supplier of advanced process equipment used to manufacture semiconductors, today announced results for the fiscal 2011 third quarter ended October 2, 2011.

• Third quarter 2011 net sales of $44.9 million increased 13 percent, compared with third quarter 2010, and decreased 12 percent as compared with second quarter 2011.

• The Company's balance sheet continues to be strong, with working capital of $57.6 million, cash of $38.1 million and no debt.

• Mattson Technology recently won production acceptance for the Helios® XP rapid thermal processing (RTP) system for process of record and first order from a major Asian foundry.

David L. Dutton, Mattson Technology's president and chief executive officer, commented, "The third quarter was an extremely productive quarter for the Company. We demonstrated margin growth improvement, our new strategic RTP investments continue to pay off as we recently won acceptance for the first Helios XP by a major Asian foundry. In August, we announced the previous placement of our Millios® millisecond anneal system to a major logic customer. We are excited about the rapid progress of our new etch and RTP positions, and expect to continue this momentum as we exit the year.

"As a result of our new and expanded product positions, Mattson Technology's 2011 year-to-date net sales of $143 million are 48 percent higher than the same period of 2010." Mr. Dutton concluded, "We believe that the long-term outlook for the semiconductor industry remains positive. Mattson Technology's richest opportunities are in our new positions and the investments that we have made in our growth strategies."

Third quarter net sales of $44.9 million decreased 12 percent, compared with $51.3 million in the second quarter of 2011, and increased 13 percent, compared with $39.8 million in the third quarter of 2010. Gross margin for the third quarter was 37.1 percent, a seven-point improvement over the 30.1 percent gross margin reported in the second quarter of 2011. Operating expenses for the third quarter of $19.3 million remained flat when compared with $19.4 million in the second quarter of 2011.

Third quarter interest and other income, net, was $0.6 million, which was primarily due to a foreign exchange gain pertaining to the Company's European operations as a result of the weakening of the Euro during the quarter.

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Net loss for the third quarter was $2.3 million, or $0.04 loss per share, compared with a net loss of $5.2 million, or $0.10 loss per share, for the second quarter of 2011, and a net loss of $6.4 million, or $0.13 loss per share, for the third quarter of 2010.

Working capital at the end of the third quarter was $57.6 million, compared with $58.9 million at the end of the second quarter of 2011. Cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash at the end of the third quarter were $38.1 million, compared with $42.9 million at the end of the second quarter of 2011.

Attached to this news release are unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and balance sheets.

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Mattson Technology, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets semiconductor wafer processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. We are a leading supplier of plasma and rapid thermal processing equipment to the global semiconductor industry, and operate in three primary product sectors: dry strip, rapid thermal processing and etch. Through manufacturing and design innovation, we have produced technologically advanced systems that provide productive and cost-effective solutions for customers fabricating current- and next-generation semiconductor devices. For more information, please contact Mattson Technology, Inc., 47131 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, CA, 94538. Telephone: (800) MATTSON/(510) 657-5900. Internet: www.mattson.com.

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