Flanders, New Jersey, December 13, 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, announces a record year for sales in the Taiwan region.
"Our Taiwan office has posted record sales for the past three quarters of 2004. These sales have come from multiple product lines, including our advanced transparent thin film metrology tools, PULSE Technology™ tools for opaque thin films, and WaferView® tools for macrodefect inspection. Our local sales team has been very successful in developing and maintaining strong relationships with foundries and IDMs, both of which have contributed to this success," said Ajay Khanna, Vice President of International Sales, Rudolph Technologies.
"We are seeing a tremendous need for Rudolph's advanced technologies in the new 300 mm fabs due to their ability to support next-generation processes and materials," said Jimmy Lin, General Manager for Rudolph Technologies' Taiwan office. "Of particular interest are our MetaPULSE-II™ tools, which customers have cited as the only tools currently available with the ability to measure copper thickness in sub-micron line arrays with the speed and accuracy needed to actually control the CMP process," Lin adds.
While PULSE Technology is a key driving force behind Rudolph's success in the Taiwan region, the ultra-II™ system for transparent film metrology and the WaferView macrodefect inspection system, have also experienced acceptance in the region. An important factor in these successes has been Rudolph's EIR program, a customer service initiative that includes locating a high-level applications engineer on-site for integration of the new tools. The program helps enable quicker process ramps and provides ongoing consultation in areas such as custom recipe development for current and future generation processes as well as on-site personnel training. "Rudolph offers a strong local service and support program for its customers -- we are like a partner to them," says Lin.
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.