Macro inspection edges into space previously occupied by high-cost micro tools
FLANDERS, NJ (October 1, 2007) -- Rudolph Technologies, Inc.(NASDAQ: RTEC), a leading provider of process characterization solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, today announced it has sold an AXi Automated Macro Defect Inspection System to a leading Japanese company in the automotive sector for inspection of automotive devices.
"Our customer was using a micro inspection tool that was due to be replaced, and following an extensive evaluation, selected the Rudolph AXi Macro Defect Inspection System. The AXi offered the performance they needed -- throughput, sensitivity, and ease-of-use-all at a much lower cost-of-ownership than a new micro inspection tool," said Yasuomi Uchida, chairman and representative director of Rudolph Technologies KK.
"This sale is part of a growing trend in the industry today," said Scott Balak, Rudolph's AXi product manager. "For select applications, fabs have replaced their old, high-cost micro inspection tools with our advanced macro defect inspection systems. With higher throughput and lower cost-of-ownership than micro tools, and better sensitivity than many competitive macro tools, the AXi seems to be hitting the sweet spot for a growing number of applications, particularly in markets like automotive."
The AXi 935 System offers significantly improved throughput over previous models while maintaining the sensitivity to detect defects down to 0.5 microns. It is particularly useful for outgoing quality assurance (OQA) and CMP applications that require higher resolution than most macro tools can offer. The AXi is a key component of 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's automatic defect classification, defect review, and yield management software helps manufacturers use the inspection data to reduce manufacturing costs and accelerate time to market.
The AXi 935 System is scheduled to ship to the Japan fab in 4Q07.
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.
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This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). In some cases, you can identify those so-called "forward-looking statements" by words such as "may," "will," "would," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "feels," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of those words and other comparable words. Rudolph wishes to take advantage of the "safe harbor" provided for by the Act and cautions that actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of various factors, including risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Rudolph's control. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements, include, but are 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's business strategy, unanticipated manufacturing or supply problems and changes in tax rules. Rudolph cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. The matters discussed in this press release also involve risks and uncertainties as summarized in Rudolph's Form 10-K report for the year ended December 31, 2006 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which are available at http://www.sec.gov, the SEC's website, and at http://www.rudolphtech.com, the Rudolph website. While these factors may be updated from time to time through the filing of reports and registration statements with the SEC, Rudolph does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
For more information, please contact:
Rudolph Technologies:
Investors:
Steven R. Roth
973.448.4302
steven.roth@rudolphtech.com
Trade Press:
Virginia Becker
952.259.1647
virginia.becker@rudolphtech.com