The introduction of the WaferView® Team maximizes yield by providing cost-effective, real-time inspection at process throughputs.
Flanders, N.J., April 1, 2004 ― Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: RTEC), a leading provider of process control equipment for thin film measurement and macrodefect inspection during integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, extends its leadership in automated macrodefect inspection by introducing the new WaferView® equipment team of macrodefect inspection tools. The WaferView Team™, consisting of the i-MOD™, WaferView 320, and YieldView® products, is the first to offer 100-percent real-time inspection of every wafer at each critical lithography or CMP process step. The Team has the ability to significantly improve overall yield by capturing more yield-killing defects, and can do so with the lowest cost of ownership of any macrodefect inspection strategy.
"This innovative combination of new and existing tools clearly exemplifies Rudolph's strategy of investing in technology that solves key yield-robbing problems facing our customers," said Chris Morath, director of marketing, Rudolph Technologies. "Real-time, automated inspection can free process engineers from yield loss caused by macrodefects. The WaferView Team allows manufacturers to go beyond offline random inspection of 5- to 10-percent of processed wafers. The Team allows all good wafers to automatically move straight through to the next process step, increasing throughput, while only wafers suspected of having yield-robbing defects are held back for expedited high-magnification review and dispositioning. Yield can be maximized by this early detection which allows the defective wafers to be recovered and process problems to be rapidly corrected."
"We anticipate that this new multi-product WaferView Team will be a key differentiator for Rudolph, as we work closely with our customers to give them the flexibility of combining their inspection tool needs through our integrated macrodefect product suite," commented Paul F. McLaughlin, Chairman and CEO. "This again confirms our basic strategy of R&D investments in areas that will drive new revenue opportunities."
The WaferView Team provides virtually instantaneous notification of process problems and simplifies root-cause analysis, which can minimize the number of misprocessed wafers by substantially reducing delays between defect formation and corrective action. The Team also expedites process development by allowing 100-percent inspection during the problem-prone process ramp. The advances made possible by the three-component Team are particularly important in the 90 nm and future technology nodes, as thinner resists become increasingly prone to processing excursions, and new materials increase CMP challenges.
WaferView Revolutionizes Macrodefect Inspection
Unlike the standard inspection approaches, the WaferView Team's new i-MOD modules can inspect 100 percent of every wafer. In operation, the integrated i-MOD modules detect and classify defects on each wafer as it is processed, without impacting the throughput of the process tools. The i-MOD uses the next-generation of the WaferView color vision system, which has been fab-proven in dozens of installations worldwide, to catch critical defects missed by gray-scale systems. Robust detection and classification algorithms automatically adapt to normal wafer-to-wafer and lot-to-lot process variations.
The new WaferView 320 standalone inspection system expands the capabilities of the successful WaferView 210 and 310 products. Unlike other macrodefect inspection tools, the 320 includes an on-board high-resolution ReviewScope™ for rapid defect analysis and dispositioning of wafers by yield engineers, eliminating the need to take wafers offline to a separate review station. The 320 also allows the yield engineer to inspect 100 percent of the wafer, including the edge and backside, to improve root-cause analysis and provide early identification of destructive edge chips -- conserving resources and helping to eliminate the risk of damaging downstream process equipment.
Rudolph's YieldView server coordinates the WaferView Team. It collects critical defects in a common-knowledge base and acts as a recipe server, ensuring uniform identification and classification. Rudolph's InstaMatch™ software ensures that every i-MOD and WaferView 320 provides identical results across the fab and fab-to-fab. This allows decisions to be made consistently with high-confidence and simplifies root-cause analysis, which can thereby increase fab capacity and improve yield.
About Rudolph Technologies, Inc.
Rudolph Technologies is a worldwide leader in the design, development, manufacture and support of high-performance process control metrology and defect inspection systems used by semiconductor device manufacturers. The Company's products provide a full-fab solution through its families of proprietary systems, which are used throughout the device manufacturing process. Rudolph's product development has successfully anticipated and addressed many emerging trends that are driving the semiconductor industry's growth in order to enhance the competitiveness of its products in the marketplace. The Company's success in creating complementary metrology and inspection applications through aggressive research and development is key to Rudolph's strategy for continued technological and market leadership.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected due to a number of risks, including, but not limited to, the impact of the slowdown in the overall economy, the uncertainty of the current global political environment, the potential for terrorist attacks, the potential for business disruptions due to infectious diseases, changes in customer demands for our existing and new products, the timing, cancellation or delay of customer orders and shipments, the timing of revenue recognition of shipments, new product offerings from our competitors, changes in or an inability to execute Rudolph Technologies' business strategy, unanticipated manufacturing or supply problems and changes in tax rules. Rudolph Technologies cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. The matters discussed in this press release also involve risks and uncertainties summarized under the heading "Factors that May Affect Future Results" in Rudolph Technologies' Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 2003. These factors are updated from time to time through the filing of reports and registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rudolph Technologies does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.