Rudolph receives multiple back-end orders from major European semicon manufacturer

FLANDERS, USA: Rudolph Technologies Inc., a leading provider of process characterization equipment and software for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, has received multiple orders for its NSX Inspection System from a major European semiconductor manufacturer.

The equipment will be used in back-end manufacturing for high-throughput inspection of automotive semiconductor devices at key points in the process. Shipments will commence in 1Q11 and continue through 2Q11.

“Rudolph inspection systems are used to inspect devices deployed by most of the European automakers,” said Rajiv Roy, Rudolph’s vice president of business development and director of back-end marketing.

“Semiconductors used in automobiles are subjected to large variations in temperature, humidity and mechanical stress, making inspection for defects particularly important. Since the automotive semiconductor market is focused on providing its products with zero defects, we have seen an increasing use of our tools for these types of applications.”

The semiconductor content in automobiles is growing rapidly and is now found in nearly every major subsystem including control, comfort, safety, emissions, audio and navigation.

“Automotive semiconductor makers have discovered that the earlier a defect is detected in the wafer manufacturing process, the cheaper it is to resolve yield-killing fabrication problems,” Roy continued. “This results in a higher quality product for their customers.”

Rudolph offers a complete line of inspection and metrology systems for semiconductor manufacturing applications. The NSX115 Automated Inspection System is optimized specifically for the back-end manufacturing environment, and offers high throughput and extensive flexibility in the detection and analysis of macro defects created during wafer manufacturing, probing, bumping, dicing or in general handling.

The open architecture and scalable system provided by Rudolph’s Discover yield management software on the NSX System can encompass all inspection tools on the fab floor. It is designed to efficiently analyze the tremendous volume of data generated by high-speed inspection tools, and identify significant events, such as process excursions, and provide process engineers with the information required to optimize the manufacturing process.