Category Archives: Metrology

KLA, ADE propose $488M tie-up


February 24, 2006

February 24, 2006 – In the latest episode of an evolving story of consolidation in the metrology sector, KLA-Tencor Corp. has agreed to acquire inspection systems provider ADE Corp. for $488 million in stock.

At the time of the offer, that was about a 7% premium over ADE’s market value. The deal, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to close in 3Q06. In its SEC filing, ADE noted that should the merger be called off, it may be required to pay KLA-Tencor a $15 million termination fee.

“This combination will allow us to use the significant industry presence of KLA-Tencor to accelerate the growth and development of new products within the semiconductor device area while also providing us with access to its world-wide semiconductor customer base,” stated Chris Koliopoulos, ADE’s president and CEO. “Our current customers in the bare silicon wafer manufacturing industry will also gain access to a broader portfolio of defect inspection and metrology solutions.”

In its most recent quarter (ended in Dec.), KLA-Tencor posted revenues of $488 million and a $76.7 million profit, both flat with the prior quarter. ADE saw revenues slide 3% sequentially in its fiscal 2Q06 (ended in Oct. 2005), with flat profits of $2.9 million. For their most recent 12-month periods, ADE reported about $107 million in revenues and a profit of about $35 million (half of that through a reversal of deferred tax asset valuation allowances). ADE’s fiscal 3Q05 results are due out in a few weeks. In its past four quarters, KLA posted revenues of about $2.0 billion and a net income of $381 million.

The proposed KLA-ADE merger represents the latest turn in an ongoing consolidation in the metrology sector. Earlier this month Nanometrics and Accent Optical Technologies announced their intent to merge in a $90 million deal. And just days ago, Rudolph Technologies and August Technology finally closed their merger, which a year ago generated a tug-of-war involving both Nanometrics and KLA-Tencor.

February 22, 2006 – KLA-Tencor has added a new feature spanning its lineup of overlay, CD SEM, and optical CD metrology tools to provide automated real-time analysis of overlay and critical dimension (CD) metrology data during 65nm and below IC manufacturing processes.

K-T Analyzer encompasses overlay and CD correctables, collecting data including CD linewidth, feature shape, and profile information directly from the company’s platforms in real time to provide a snapshot of the size and position of the process window (and even temporal variations). Data is characterized and centered across multiple pitch and CD structures, points across the reticle field, and lithography cells. The information can then be fed back into the fab’s existing process control systems to provide feed-forward and feed-back process corrections, lot or tool disposition, root cause analysis, and automated fault detection, according to the company. The data is also sent to an offline server for engineering troubleshooting analysis.

“Shrinking design rules and reduced process tolerances mandate more stringent CD and overlay control requirements, which in turn is now inundating our customers with a flood of process data,” stated Avi Cohen, EVP and group GM of the parametric solutions group at KLA-Tencor. “They need to be able to make sense of all of this data, and they can’t afford to spend countless hours doing off-line analysis when they have product wafers that need to be patterned per specifications and to be sent on for further processing. K-T Analyzer is designed to help ease this burden so our customers can make the right decisions — the very first time — in order to keep their lithography process optimized and production running smoothly.”

Analyzer versions for KLA-Tencor’s Archer overlay metrology line (previously sold as an option) and eCD line are available now as part of the K-T Analyzer platform. A version for the SpectraCD optical CD metrology platform will be available in 2Q06.

February 15, 2006 — Flanders, NJ — Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: RTEC), a leading provider of process control equipment for thin film measurement and macro defect inspection, announced today that its merger with August Technology Corporation has been completed. August Technology is a market leader in defect inspection and analysis for front-end processes and final manufacturing.

The merger was approved by August Technology’s shareholders, and the issuance of shares of Rudolph common stock was approved by Rudolph’s stockholders, at their respective special meetings held earlier today.

Paul F. McLaughlin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rudolph Technologies, commented, “we are extremely pleased to be announcing the completion of this merger. We feel confident that the new Rudolph is positioned for strong, long-term profitable growth, exceptional technological innovation and increased market penetration, providing significant and exciting opportunities for our shareholders, employees and customers.” Mr. McLaughlin further noted, “we believe that leveraging the front and back-end knowledge of Rudolph and August Technology places the combined company in a unique position as a leading provider of one of the broadest and most complete process control offerings in inspection and metrology solutions.”

“We appreciate the support of our shareholders,” said Jeff O’Dell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of August Technology Corporation. “We expect that the combination of Rudolph and August will create a leading global competitor in the semiconductor capital equipment industry. This is strategically compelling because we believe that our combined resources and expertise will allow us to continue to invest in the research and development necessary to bring the best technology to the industry and, at the same time, enhance our global service and support infrastructure.”

Mr. McLaughlin added, “August and Rudolph have gained an increased fab presence for their new products aimed at the emerging high-growth front-end macro defect inspection market. Similarly, both companies have introduced new technologies for bump inspection, automatic defect classification and yield management applications. We believe that by leveraging the front and back-end knowledge of the combined companies, the new entity will hold a unique position as a leading provider of one of the broadest and most complete process control offerings in inspection and metrology solutions.”

Rudolph Technologies, with a combined workforce of over 550 employees worldwide, will continue to be headquartered in Flanders, New Jersey and will also have operations in Minnesota, Massachusetts and Texas.

Upon completion of the merger, each share of August Technology common stock was canceled and converted into the right to receive either $10.50 in cash or 0.7625 of a share of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of Rudolph (the “Rudolph common stock”), or a combination of cash and Rudolph common stock, subject to the proration and allocation procedures set forth in the merger agreement, the results of which Rudolph will announce following completion of those computations.

In accordance with Nasdaq trading policies, shares of August Technology common stock (AUGT) will continue to trade on The Nasdaq National Market until the market closes today at 4:00 pm (EST); however, those shares will represent solely the right to receive the merger consideration.

Also at the Rudolph special meeting, Rudolph’s stockholders declined to approve Rudolph’s proposed adoption of the August Technology 1997 Stock Incentive Plan. Consequently, options under this plan may be issued to only August Technology employees and not to Rudolph employees.

About Rudolph Technologies, Inc.
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. Rudolph 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.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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 and August Technology wish to take advantage of the “safe harbor” provided for by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and you are cautioned that actual events or results may differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements 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: (1) cyclicality of the semiconductor industry; (2) customer concentration; (3) introduction of new products by Rudolph’s competitors; (4) sole or limited sources of supply; (5) the businesses of Rudolph and August Technology may not be integrated successfully, which may result in the combined company not operating as effectively and efficiently as expected or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; (6) expected combination benefits from the merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame; (7) revenues following the merger may be lower than expected; (8) costs, customer loss and business disruption, including, without limitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, customers, clients or suppliers, may be greater than expected following the consummation of the merger, or the effects of purchase accounting may be different from the companies’ expectations; (9) the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what the companies expect; (10) the businesses of the companies may suffer as a result of uncertainty surrounding the transaction; (11) the industry may be subject to future regulatory or legislative actions that could adversely affect the companies; (12) the impact of the slowdown in the overall economy; (13) uncertainty of the current global political environment; (14) the potential for terrorist attacks; (15) changes in customer demands for our existing and new products, the timing, cancellation or delay of customer orders and shipments; (16) the timing of revenue recognition of shipments; (17) changes in or an inability to execute our business strategy; (18) unanticipated manufacturing or supply problems and (19) changes in tax rules. Rudolph cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Additional factors that may affect the future results of Rudolph are set forth in its Form 10-K report for the year ended December 31, 2004 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are available at http://www.sec.gov, the SEC’s website, and at Rudolph’s website, which is http://www.rudolphtech.com. These factors are updated from time to time through the filing of reports and registration statements with the SEC.

For more information, please contact:

Investors:
Steven R. Roth
973.448.4302
[email protected]

Trade Press:
Virginia Becker
952.259.1647
[email protected]

Jan. 30, 2006 — The University at Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering will be the site of yet another research and development center for the microchip industry, it was announced Friday. The new SEMATECH Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Resist Test Center will have an operating budget of approximately $20 million through 2008 and house more than $30 million in extreme ultraviolet exposure, test, support, and metrology tools.

The new center builds on the partnership, originally announced by Gov. George E. Pataki in 2002, that SEMATECH selected New York for its International SEMATECH North operations, and will complement the programs of the recently announced University at Albany Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery and Exploration (INDEX). SEMATECH is providing funding for the center. SEMATECH’s American, European, and Pacific Rim member companies will locate researchers and engineers on site.

January 26, 2006 – Nanometrics Inc., Milpitas, CA, is acquiring Accent Optical Technologies Inc., Bend, OR, in a stock deal worth approximately $80.9 million. The deal combines Nanometrics’ and Accent’s process control and metrology technologies.

Assimilating Accent will strengthen Nanometrics’ position in standalone metrology segments, particularly overlay metrology, “a market we are just beginning to penetrate,” as well as optical CD and non-metal thin film metrology, noted Heaton.

“Accent’s overlay, FTIR and wireless/high-brightness LED products are a tremendous complement to Nanometrics’ thin film and optical CD technology,” added Rhine.

The two companies had combined revenues of roughly $110 million for the twelve months ended in October. Nanometrics president and CEO John Heaton will retain those roles in the new company, with Accent chairman and CEO Bruce Rhine becoming chief strategy officer. Completion of the deal is expected in 1H06, pending both regulatory approval and nods from both companies’ shareholders.

Jan. 26, 2006 – Nanometrics Inc. (Nasdaq: NANO), a supplier of metrology equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Accent Optical Technologies Inc.

Accent, headquartered in Bend, Ore., supplies process control and metrology systems to the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. The combination of Nanometrics and Accent would create one of the largest metrology and process control companies in the semiconductor capital equipment industry, with trailing annual revenues totaling more than $110 million for the twelve months ended October 1, 2005, according to a Nanometrics release.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Nanometrics will issue approximately 5 million shares of its common stock for all outstanding Accent capital stock and rights to acquire Accent capital stock. Nanometrics will also assume approximately $10.6 million in net debt obligations of Accent. Based on the closing price of Nanometrics common stock on January 25, 2006, the transaction values Accent at $80.9 million.

After the deal, Nanometrics stockholders will own approximately 73 percent and Accent stockholders will own approximately 27 percent of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.

John Heaton will maintain his role as president and chief executive officer of the combined company, which will continue to be known as Nanometrics. Bruce Rhine, currently chairman and chief executive officer of Accent, will become the chief strategy officer of Nanometrics. Douglas McCutcheon will continue his role as chief financial officer of the combined entity. The combined company will be headquartered at Nanometrics’ existing headquarters in Milpitas, Calif.

Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, Nanometrics shareholders’ approval of the issuance of Nanometrics shares in the transaction, Accent stockholders’ approval and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to occur in the first half of 2006.

– David Forman

By John Haystead

Since its founding in 1953, the Institute of Environmental Sciences & Technology (IEST) has played a critical role in identifying and establishing standards for effective contamination-control practices, processes and environments. Now, over fifty years later, however, the organization is undertaking perhaps its broadest, and most important, responsibility yet-helping to develop global standards for the advancement of nanotechnology-based products and technologies.


Julie Kendrick is executive director of the IEST.
Click here to enlarge image

IEST will be a voting member of the ANSI-accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the newly formed ISO Technical Committee 229 for nanotechnology disciplines. The ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies Committee will produce standards for classification, terminology and nomenclature, basic metrology, calibration and certification, and environmental issues for nanotechnology-scale (less than 100 nm) devices and materials.

As noted by IEST Executive Director Julie Kendrick, “Being selected as a founding member of the TAG to this technical committee really highlights not only the important role of the IEST, but also the importance of the overall field of contamination control.” This is a sentiment echoed by Dr. David Ensor, IEST delegate to the U.S. TAG: “As the leading organization addressing issues connected with contamination control, IEST is in a unique position to contribute its expertise in developing international standards for controlled environments to anticipate the unique needs of the emerging nanotechnology industry.”

Interestingly, however, despite its longstanding contribution and commitment to the advancement of contamination-control technology, the IEST has often remained unrecognized or unappreciated by many of the scientists, engineers and technicians who make use of its work on an almost daily basis.

Yet, the IEST’s important new role in the nanotechnologies is really only a natural progression from its ongoing responsibilities as the secretariat of ISO/TC 209, Cleanrooms and Associated Controlled Environments, and as administrator of the U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 209, which is responsible for establishing worldwide standards for cleanrooms.

In this capacity, IEST has published numerous international standards documents including ANSI/IEST/ISO 14644, Cleanrooms and Associated Controlled Environments; and has established the airborne particulate cleanliness classes for particle sizes ranging from 0.1 to 5 μm.

Click here to enlarge image

In fact, through its some forty working groups (WGs) within seven Standards and Practices Committees (SPCs) (see Table 1), the Contamination Control Division of the IEST has formulated and published a wide range of critical, internationally recognized recommended practices (RPs).


Dr. Tengfang (Tim) Xu is technical vice president of the IEST’s Contamination Control Division.
Click here to enlarge image

Dr. Tengfang (Tim) Xu, program manager for Berkeley National Laboratory’s Building Technologies Department (Berkeley, Calif.), and technical vice president of the IEST’s Contamination Control Division, says this important work will continue as the IEST moves forward. Since being elected to the IEST post in July 2004, Xu says he’s given particular attention to the need to expand and facilitate the RP development process. “Sometimes the process has tended to be slow, in some cases taking a decade or more to develop a document. The goal is to establish a routine of bringing revised RP versions forward every three years.”

To aid in this process, Xu says broader participation is needed within the WGs. “In addition to professionals from the contamination-control industry, we’re looking for people representative of the entire user industry community including pharmaceuticals, biotech, semiconductor, as well as healthcare facilities.” Xu sees healthcare facility requirements, in particular, as an area that is “underexplored.”

Xu says he encourages both existing IEST members and anyone considering joining the association to become active in the WG meetings and an active participant in helping to develop the RPs.

Click here to enlarge image

Nanotechnologies will represent the newest Standards and Practices Committee (SPC-7) of the IEST, and already five working groups have been formed within it (see Table 2). Xu says SPC-7 is already considered a “very special committee” within IEST (with ISO’s TC229 Committee on a parallel with ISO/TC209) and could perhaps ultimately reach its own divisional status within the IEST.

Beyond RPs and working groups, the IEST is also actively pursuing other initiatives and activities. As described by IEST communications vice president Chuck Berndt, of C.W. Berndt Associates, “The overall mission of the IEST is education, and we accomplish this in a number of ways-through the guidelines, standards and practices we develop, but also through our educational forums (classroom and online) as well as our annual technical meetings.” As part of its regular activities, IEST sponsors technical conferences, workshops, courses and exhibitions, including ESTECH, the IEST’s annual technical meeting. The 52nd such meeting-ESTECH 2006, “New Beginnings”-will be held May 7-10 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Another important educational vehicle is the “Online Journal of the IEST.” The Online Journal contains peer-reviewed technical papers and “TechTalk” articles related to the fields of contamination control; design, test, and evaluation; and product reliability. Says Kendrick, “Sometimes we seem to be our own best-kept secret, but we see the Online Journal as a way to use the Internet to reach out to a broader universe of people. We also recognize that many college students and other researchers now use the internet as their primary research tool, and by being online, our resources are available to them 24/7.”

In addition to new content, Kendrick says they also plan to begin posting previously published material into an Online Journal archive. The expectation is to post at least ten years of published material online per year (starting with the most recent material), ultimately representing a complete online archive dating to 1959. “As such,” says Kendrick, “it will provide a permanent record of progress in the science and technology of the environmental sciences.”

Ultimately, Kendrick says the biggest educational benefit that IEST provides is the ability to access experts in the field. “We receive dozens of questions each week via phone or e-mail from people looking for information and guidance, and we connect them to the people we know will have expertise relevant to their needs. Many of these are IEST instructors, fellows, and WG chairs and delegates.”


Chuck Berndt is the communications vice president of the IEST.
Click here to enlarge image

All indications are that 2006 will be a busy year for the IEST, and will mark a new milestone in the advancement of contamination-control technology. It would seem that now would be a good time for interested parties to become active in helping set the direction and pace of that advancement. According to Berndt, that’s fine with IEST. “Our message is come and join us. Get involved. Have your say. You’ll be helping your career, your company and your industry exponentially. When you get involved with your trade organizations and technical societies, it’s good for everyone.”

Anyone interested in joining an IEST working group or obtaining more information about the IEST can visit the organization’s Web site at www.iest.org. -JSH

Dec. 7, 2005 — Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:VECO), a Woodbury, N.Y., maker of metrology tools and process equipment, announced that it has introduced the Dimension Atomic Force Profiler (AFP).

The device is designed for a broad range of metrology applications in the semiconductor fab. Veeco says it combines the resolution of an atomic force microscope with the long-scan capability of an atomic force profiler to offer semiconductor manufacturers a high performance, fast AFM solution for in-line process control.

Specific metrology applications for which it is suitable include chemical mechanical planarization, etch depth, step heights, roughness and die maps for advanced technology nodes.

IEEE eyes nanotube standards


December 2, 2005

December 2, 2005 – The IEEE has begun work on a new standard to define methods for testing carbon nanotubes used as additives in bulk materials, and how to report data about the materials’ performance.

The standard, IEEE P1690, will recommend instruments and procedures for validating nanotube purity (e.g., the presence of noncarbon substances such as metal catalysts and carbon-like molecules), measuring proper levels of dispersion rate and agglomeration (which affect nanotube dispersion shelf life), concentration, and other properties.

For nanotube producers, the IEEE standard aims to help them “characterize purity, dispersion, and other properties,” as well as bolster confidence among end-users evaluating nanotube-based materials from multiple sources, according to Krishna Kalyanasundaram, chair of the IEEE’s Carbon Nanotube Characterization Working Group.

The IEEE working group also welcomes input into the standard development, particularly from people with expertise in carbon nanotube metrology, manufacturing, and characterization; high-volume manufacturing; and inline testing.

Nov. 4, 2004 — Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) announced that it has promoted two key executives responsible for the company’s largest revenue and margin growth this year — its metrology and ion beam operations.

Jeannine Sargent, formerly executive vice president and general manager of its research atomic force microscope/nano-bio business unit, has been named executive vice president, metrology and instrumentation. Sargent is now responsible for all Veeco atomic force microscope and optical profiler products. She will also maintain her corporate business development responsibilities.

Robert Oates, formerly senior vice president of Veeco’s ion beam operations, has been named senior vice president of data storage. He is now in charge of all of Veeco’s data storage process equipment products, including its ion beam etch and deposition, physical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, precision lapping, dicing and slicing product lines.