Cabot Microelectronics Corporation (Nasdaq:CCMP), the world’s leading supplier of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) polishing slurries and growing CMP pad supplier to the semiconductor industry, announced today that its Epic D100 CMP polishing pad has received Semiconductor International (SI) Magazine’s “Editors’ Choice Best Products” award for 2009.

“The Editors' Choice Best Products awards program by SI acknowledges products, materials and services that are proven in the manufacturing environment," said Laura Peters, Editor-in-Chief of Semiconductor International. SI's editors evaluate the products based on feedback from customers in the field and only the most highly recommended ones are honored each year.

William Noglows, Chairman and CEO of Cabot Microelectronics commented, “It is an honor to receive this prestigious award from SI, which we believe reflects our customers’ satisfaction with the high performance of our Epic D100 polishing pad across a variety of commercial applications, as well as its compelling cost of ownership. We look forward to expanding the adoption of our CMP pads in the semiconductor industry through the continued execution of our key initiatives of Technology Leadership, Operations Excellence, and Connecting with Customers.”

ABOUT THE EPIC D100 CMP POLISHING PAD

The Epic D100 pad is based on proprietary material technology and a state-of-the-art manufacturing process designed to improve pad performance, lower the cost of ownership and provide superior quality. The Epic D100 has demonstrated significantly longer pad life and lower overall defectivity than a conventional pad due to its material characteristics. The design features a single polymer material and is produced via a continuous single-sheet manufacturing process. This is designed to eliminate batch-to-batch and pad-to-pad inconsistencies found in a conventional pad. The Epic D100 can be customized to match customer grooving requirements in facilities located in the United States and Asia. The Epic D100 pad is available for 200mm and 300mm wafer polishing, with or without a window to detect the polishing end point. Cabot Microelectronics has intermediate pad manufacturing capabilities to support approximately 30 percent of worldwide customer demand for CMP pads.