A Tier 1 memory manufacturer has placed a US$5 million order with Rudolph Technologies for its ‘S3000A’ and ‘MetaPULSE’ III thin film metrology systems. The systems purchase order represents a capacity buy and the tools are expected to be shipped to multiple fabs in 1Q and 2Q 2010.
“Memory customers are beginning to increase wafer production capacity as NAND and DRAM business improves. Consequently, we are starting to see the result of our development investments in leading-edge thin-film applications,” noted Mayson Brooks, vice president of sales at Rudolph. “The S3000A systems, featuring our latest laser-based focused beam ellipsometry and MAControl (molecular airborne contamination) removal capabilities, meet the customer’s repeatability, stability and tool-to-tool matching requirements for the evolving needs of gate oxide applications. Gate oxide has become thinner with advanced technology nodes, and for the 4X node, our customer concluded that Rudolph’s laser ellipsometry technology offers the preferred solution.”
Rudolph’s PULSE Technology offers the capability for all copper processes. The DRAM industry is currently transitioning to copper.