Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Nanometrics Announces Multiple Purchase Orders for Caliper Mosaic™ Overlay and Atlas® OCD Metrology Systems from Leading Memory Customer

Home > Press > Nanometrics Announces Multiple Purchase Orders for Caliper Mosaic™ Overlay and Atlas® OCD Metrology Systems from Leading Memory Customer

Abstract:
Largest Single Customer Quarterly Booking Since 2006; Includes Multiple Systems and NanoCD™ Suites

Nanometrics Announces Multiple Purchase Orders for Caliper Mosaic™ Overlay and Atlas® OCD Metrology Systems from Leading Memory Customer

Milpitas, CA | Posted on August 25th, 2009

Nanometrics Incorporated (Nasdaq: NANO), a leading supplier of advanced process control metrology systems used primarily in the manufacturing and packaging of semiconductors, solar photovoltaics and high-brightness LEDs, today announced multiple system orders for its Caliper Mosaic overlay metrology systems and its complete NanoCD suite including Atlas OCD systems, NanoDiffract™ software, and NanoGen™ cluster computing solutions. The Caliper Mosaic system purchase orders were incremental to orders previously announced on August 3, 2009. This single customer booking in the current quarter represents more business than Nanometrics' worldwide product and upgrade revenues recorded in the second quarter of this year.

The Caliper Mosaic and Atlas OCD systems are expected to be installed and qualified in the third and fourth quarter of this year at multiple fab sites of a leading memory customer, supporting lithography cell control and optical critical dimension (OCD) metrology. In addition, this customer is upgrading its substantial installed base of Nanometrics metrology systems with the industry-leading NanoDiffract OCD software to further leverage the advanced process control capabilities of Nanometrics' solutions. The NanoDiffract software upgrades and NanoGen are expected to be deployed and qualified in the third quarter of this year and will support additional OCD monitoring across multiple factories including critical process control applications for advanced Flash memory and DRAM.

"Nanometrics is pleased to announce the increased acceptance of our technology by a key customer for their most advanced high-volume DRAM and Flash production sites," commented Michael Fischer, Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Nanometrics. "Our customer is expanding their use of the Caliper Mosaic for critical lithography cell control due to the superior performance and low cost of ownership of the systems. We have also been working jointly with our customers to develop and implement advanced key process control capabilities with our NanoCD suite. We have pushed the performance of our OCD solutions into process control regimes not attainable by CD-SEM or other methods. The result is adoption of our OCD technology in advanced nodes, as well as proliferation across last-generation production lines, where tracking of key process control parameters can prevent costly yield excursions. This deployment is expected to result in higher baseline yields, faster return on investment and lower manufacturing costs for our customer."

Nanometrics' NanoCD suite of technologies, which includes the Atlas OCD system, NanoGen scalable cluster computing and NanoDiffract software, has become an industry-leading solution for advanced in-device metrology and process control on complex structures. Nanometrics' Atlas OCD systems enable complex structure and process control non-destructively and can be deployed at all key process steps in line for film thickness, profile and critical dimension control.

The Caliper Mosaic is the latest generation of Nanometrics' overlay metrology system for lithography process control. In addition to customer target designs, the Caliper Mosaic can support Blossom technology enabling simultaneous multi-layer measurements that are especially beneficial in double patterning processes, offering superior precision for advanced lithography process control of critical layers and substantially reducing total target real-estate requirements.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements regarding the capabilities of its metrology systems and software, and the expected shipment and qualification of the orders announced in this release. Although Nanometrics believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from the expectations due to a variety of factors. For additional information and considerations regarding the risks faced by Nanometrics, see its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2008 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other periodic reports filed with the SEC from time to time. Nanometrics disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement.

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About Nanometrics
Nanometrics is a leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of high-performance process control metrology systems used primarily in the manufacturing of semiconductors, advanced wafer-scale packaging, solar photovoltaics and high-brightness LEDs, as well as by customers in the silicon wafer and data storage industries. Nanometrics standalone and integrated metrology systems measure various thin film properties, critical dimensions, overlay control, topography, and optical, electrical and material properties, including the structural composition of silicon, compound semiconductor and photovoltaic devices, during various steps of the manufacturing process, from front end of line substrate manufacturing through die preparation for advanced packaging. These systems enable device manufacturers to improve yields, increase productivity and lower their manufacturing costs. The company maintains its headquarters in Milpitas, California, with sales and service offices worldwide. Nanometrics is traded on NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol NANO.

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Contacts:
Nanometrics Contact:
Kevin Heidrich
408-545-6000 tel; 408-317-1346 fax

Investor Relations:
Claire McAdams
Headgate Partners LLC
530-265-9899 tel; 530-265-9699 fax

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