Rudolph Technologies Edges into Micro Inspection Space with High Throughput Macro Tools
Asia foundry purchases multiple AXi 935 Systems to obtain high resolution required for
OQA and etch applications
San Francisco, CA (July 11, 2006)-Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC) today announced the sale of multiple AXi(TM) 935 Macro Defect Inspection Systems to a major foundry in Asia. The systems are destined for a Singapore facility where they will initially support etch processes and outgoing quality assurance. Additionally, the same customer is evaluating AXi performance at a second fab in Taiwan.
"We are very excited to have won this major sale," said Roger Lao, Rudolph general manager, Singapore/China. "The customer required a thorough performance evaluation, and our AXi System met their combined needs for throughput, resolution and ease-of-use."
Lao adds, "It is particularly interesting that this application was previously served by a micro inspection tool. The customer was able to meet its resolution requirements with the AXi while significantly increasing the throughput in order to inspect every wafer, ultimately giving them faster awareness of process excursions. It is no longer necessary to rely on statistical inference from a sample; they have hard data on every wafer."
The AXi 935 Inspection System occupies an important niche with higher throughput than micro tools and higher resolution than other macro tools. This is important for outgoing quality assurance (OQA) and etch applications that require higher resolution than most macro tools can provide.
Rudolph Technologies was named market leader in macro defect inspection by Gartner-Dataquest in an April 2006 report. The company's AXi Macro Defect Inspection Systems have been widely accepted, and the AXi 935 is the latest-generation tool in this successful product line. Compared to its predecessor, the AXi 930, the 935 offers significantly improved throughput while maintaining the sensitivity to detect defects down to 0.5 micrometers. It provides the base (frontside) platform for Rudolph's all-surface inspection technology which, when configured with edge and backside inspection modules, can detect and correlate defects on all surfaces of the wafer.
Rudolph Technologies is a worldwide leader in the design, development, manufacture and support of high-performance process control metrology, defect inspection and data analysis systems used by semiconductor device manufacturers. Rudolph provides a full-fab solution through its families of proprietary products that provide critical yield-enhancing information, enabling microelectronic device manufacturers to drive down costs and time to market. The company has enhanced the competitiveness of its products in the marketplace by anticipating and addressing many emerging trends driving the semiconductor industry's growth. Rudolph's strategy for continued technological and market leadership includes aggressive research and development of complementary metrology and inspection solutions. Headquartered in Flanders, New Jersey, Rudolph supports its customers with a worldwide sales and service organization. Additional information can be found on the company's web site at www.rudolphtech.com.
For more information, please contact:
Investors:
Steven R. Roth
973.448.4302
steven.roth@rudolphtech.com
Trade Press:
Virginia Becker
952.259.1647
virginia.becker@rudolphtech.com
