Flanders, N.J., September 22, 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, announced today that it has received multiple orders from a major Taiwanese foundry for its industry-leading MetaPULSE-II™ opaque film metrology systems. The foundry has purchased more than ten systems in the last twelve months. The second-generation MetaPULSE® tools provide production monitoring for copper interconnect layers of 300 mm wafers at the 130 and 90 nm technology nodes. The tools are also being used to develop advanced 65 and 45 nm processes.
"We are pleased to announce these repeat orders for our MetaPULSE-II in Taiwan. This demonstrates the tool's acceptance as the opaque film metrology of choice to support yield enhancement during high-volume manufacturing -- especially for copper CMP process control at the 90 nm node and beyond," said Jimmy Lin, General Manager of Rudolph Technologies' Taiwan office. "Taiwan is an important region to Rudolph, and this repeat order reflects Rudolph's strong local service and support for our customer base in the area."
The MetaPULSE-II is the second-generation of PULSE Technology™ that provides a production-worthy, in-line measurement technique for opaque films. With over 185 tools providing production monitoring in fabs around the world, PULSE Technology is the clear leader for opaque film metrology.
The MetaPULSE-II has been designed to enhance yield by monitoring and detecting process excursions in copper interconnect structures incorporating low-κ and ultra-low-κ materials. Major applications include barrier/seed deposition, electroplated copper, and copper CMP. Additionally, the MetaPULSE-II provides advanced applications at the 65 and 45 nm nodes, including measurement of ultrathin and ALD barriers, elastic modulus measurements of low-κ materials, critical adhesion measurements, and metal gates.
The MetaPULSE-II also incorporates EASy™ (Expert Application System) software that automatically provides expert system capabilities based on over seven years of in-fab experience. EASy provides robust recipes that can be used by even inexperienced users and can assist in reducing measurement time and improving accuracy.
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.