EXHIBIT 99
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SPIRE CORPORATION                                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                                    NEWS RELEASE

Contact:  Spire Corporation
          Roger G. Little, President & CEO
          781-275-6000, rlittle@spirecorp.com


                   SPIRE ACQUIRES BANDWIDTH SEMICONDUCTOR, LLC

   Bandwidth to Play Key Role in Spire's Biophotonics Life Sciences Initiative

Bedford, MA -- May 27, 2003 -- Spire Corporation (NASDAQ: SPIR,) announced today
that it has acquired Bandwidth Semiconductor, LLC of Hudson, New Hampshire, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Stratos Lightwave, Inc. of Chicago, for an
undisclosed amount of cash and the assumption of certain obligations. Methode
Electronics, Inc. of Chicago formed Bandwidth Semiconductor as the entity to
conduct Spire's Optoelectronics business, which it acquired in 1999. In 2000,
Methode Electronics spun off Stratos Lightwave (NASDAQ: STLW) in an initial
public offering.

Bandwidth Semiconductor is a semiconductor foundry specializing in III-V
materials and devices for defense and telecommunications applications. It
designs, develops and manufactures optoelectronic and other compound
semiconductor devices such as lasers and radiation detectors on an OEM basis.
Since its formation, Bandwidth has expanded into its own state-of-the-art
facility and operates a complete compound semiconductor growth and device
fabrication line in class 100/1000 clean rooms. It can now make large production
volumes of wafers and devices, and can support customer research and development
programs. Bandwidth is currently a supplier to Spire Biomedical.

Roger G. Little, President and CEO of Spire Corporation, said, "With new clean
rooms and state-of-the-art equipment, Bandwidth has become a first class
compound semiconductor foundry. I believe that Bandwidth can continue to grow
its underlying defense and telecommunications business while providing key
optoelectronic device building blocks to allow Spire and other manufacturers to
take proprietary positions in the life sciences instrument market. We intend to
expand Bandwidth's biophotonics activities to support Spire's important Life
Sciences Initiative. I am pleased to welcome back to Spire the capable and
dedicated Bandwidth staff."

Spire Corporation now consists of three wholly owned companies, all based upon
common technology. Spire Biomedical, Inc. provides processing services to
improve the performance of implantable medical devices, and markets specialty
catheters. Spire Solar, Inc. is a world leader in providing solar electric
module manufacturing equipment and manufactures and sells solar energy systems
from its Spire Solar Chicago operations. Bandwidth Semiconductor, LLC is a
compound semiconductor foundry providing material and device fabrication
services to defense, telecommunications and biomedical instrument industries.
For more information, please visit www.spirecorp.com.

Certain matters described in this news release may be forward-looking statements
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of dependence on
market growth, competition and dependence on government agencies and other third
parties for funding contract research and services, as well as other factors
described in the Company's Form 10-KSB filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.