June 21, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Process control and inspection tool supplier Rudolph Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:RTEC) acquired the assets of NanoPhotonics GmbH, adding inspection technology and an intellectual property (IP) portfolio to serve its advanced package inspection tool customers.
Rudolph plans to maintain and expand a technology center in Mainz, Germany, where NanoPhotonics is based, as operations are integrated into the company.
Rudolph gained all-surface inspection systems (wafer edge, backside and front side) for 200, 300, and 450mm wafers. The acquisition expands Rudolph’s offering into unpatterned wafer and mask blank inspection markets. Unpatterned wafer inspection is used for quality assurance and yield improvement at semiconductor manufacturers, silicon wafer manufacturers, and substrate suppliers for compound semiconductors. Mask blank systems are used by mask shops, manufacturers of process tool equipment, and mask blank manufacturers.
All-surface inspection will be critical in meeting the emerging requirements in advanced packaging markets, said Paul F. McLaughlin, chairman and CEO of Rudolph.
McLaughlin added, “Rudolph has extensive experience in the back-end manufacturing environment. We are taking NanoPhotonics’ sub-micron resolution capability and applying it to a market that we know very well.” In 2012, Rudolph sold its 1st back-end metrology MetaPULSE tool http://markets.financialcontent.com/pennwell.wafernews/news/read?GUID=20561207&Symbol=%24WNMEQ and in late 2011 reported a multi-system order for through-silicon via (TSV) metrology. http://www.electroiq.com/articles/ap/2011/10/rudolph-wins-tsv-inspection-systems-order.html
The acquisition is expected to be accretive within the first 12 months, adding approximately $2 million per quarter to Rudolph’s overall revenues. While terms were not disclosed, Rudolph noted that this all-cash transaction used <5% of its overall cash. McLaughlin emphasized that this is one of several planned steps Rudolph will take to expand its portfolio and drive its long-term growth strategies in both front- and back-end manufacturing environments.
Rudolph Technologies Inc. makes defect inspection, process control metrology, and data analysis systems and software used by semiconductor device manufacturers. Additional information can be found on the company’s web site at www.rudolphtech.com.