Flanders, N.J., November 11, 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 South Korea-based memory chip maker for its industry leading MetaPULSE® opaque film metrology systems. The Company has been delivering tools throughout this year and is expected to complete shipments against these orders in the first quarter of 2005. The MetaPULSE systems are being used to provide high-volume production monitoring for aluminum metallization layers at the 110 and 90 nm technology nodes on 200 mm and 300 mm wafers. The tools are also being used to develop advanced 85 and 65 nm processes.
"We are pleased to announce these repeat orders for our MetaPULSE. It is noteworthy that the chip maker ordered these opaque metrology tools not only for its new 300 mm fabs, but also to increase yield in its 200 mm fabs. This demonstrates the excellent capability of the MetaPULSE to support yield enhancement during high volume manufacturing," said Ronald Koo, General Manager of Rudolph Technologies' Korea office. "We believe that our strong applications and service support made a major contribution to these repeat orders; we intend to continue this high level of customer satisfaction in our region."
The MetaPULSE is based on Rudolph's patented PULSE Technology™, a non-contact, non-destructive measurement technique for production-worthy measurements of both 200 and 300 mm wafers. The MetaPULSE offers aluminum and copper interconnect measurement capabilities; it is used by all of the top ten semiconductor manufacturers; and it has been adopted by over 35 companies worldwide for memory, ASIC, and logic manufacturing.
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.