Nova Revolutionizes Materials Characterization for Optical CD
June 30 2009 - 9:50AM
PR Newswire (US)
New Package Significantly Reduces Time to Solution From Days to
Several Hours and Improves Optical CD Measurement Quality REHOVOT,
Israel, June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nova Measuring
Instruments Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) provider of leading edge stand-alone
metrology and the market leader of integrated metrology solutions
to the semiconductor process control market, today announced the
launching of MatMaker(TM), a Product-Driven Materials
Characterization package which revolutionizes one of the most
critical elements of Optical CD measurement. Last week the Company
announced all time record orders for its stand-alone Optical CD
product and the addition of the MatMaker(TM) Package is intended to
further solidify the Company's position in the market. Spectral
Optical CD technologies need material optical properties (spectral
n&k) to interpret the optical spectrum into a profile
measurement. Until today the industry standard was to measure
material properties on blanket wafers, layer by layer, a process
that takes from days to more than a month, well in advance of
actual Scatterometry application development. In addition to the
obvious drawbacks of significant plan-ahead and time investment,
this method could not account for material changes that occur
during wafer processing, changes that affect material properties
and the accuracy of the final measurement. Nova's novel technology
eliminates this step-by-step method. It capitalizes on proprietary
breakthrough algorithms for enhancing the sensitivity of
Scatterometry measurements, directly utilizing Scatterometry
targets on the product wafer to determine the optical properties of
the various constituent materials together with the geometrical
profile parameters. Multiple film depositions on blanket wafers are
no longer needed as a prerequisite for Scatterometry applications
development, and any and all process-induced changes to materials
optical properties can now be uniquely and accurately captured
inside the Scatterometry model. "At advanced technology nodes we
see a rapid increase in Optical CD deployment and CD-SEM
replacement" said Gabi Seligsohn, President and CEO of Nova. "This
new technology, based on software algorithms and tools refined by
our applications developers for the past 10 years, changes the way
spectral Optical CD is deployed in fabs, significantly reducing
application development time and cost while at the same time
increasing the measurement accuracy. I see our new technology as a
driver to further proliferation of Nova's Optical CD solutions not
only to existing users of Optical CD but also to areas deploying
other types of metrology". The MatMaker(TM) Package is available as
an option to the latest version of NovaMARS Applications
Development Software. About Nova: Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd.
develops, produces and markets advanced integrated and stand alone
metrology solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry.
Nova is traded on the NASDAQ & TASE under the symbol NVMI. The
Company's website is http://www.nova.co.il/. This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 relating to future events or our future performance, such
as statements regarding trends, demand for our products, expected
deliveries, transaction, expected revenues, operating results,
earnings and profitability. Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or
implied in those forward looking statements. These risks and other
factors include but are not limited to: unanticipated consequences
of the global economic crisis, our dependency on a single
integrated process control product line; the highly cyclical nature
of the markets we target; our inability to reduce spending during a
slowdown in the semiconductor industry; our ability to respond
effectively on a timely basis to rapid technological changes; risks
associated with our dependence on a single manufacturing facility;
our ability to expand our manufacturing capacity or marketing
efforts to support our future growth; our dependency on a small
number of large customers and small number of suppliers; risks
related to our intellectual property; changes in customer demands
for our products; new product offerings from our competitors;
changes in or an inability to execute our business strategy;
unanticipated manufacturing or supply problems; changes in tax
requirements; changes in customer demand for our products; risks
related to currency fluctuations; and risks related to our
operations in Israel. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements. The matters discussed in
this press release also involve risks and uncertainties summarized
under the heading "Risk Factors" in Nova's Annual Report on Form
20-F for the year ended December 31,2008 filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2009. These factors are
updated from time to time through the filing of reports and
registration statements with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. does not assume any
obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in
this press release. Company Contact: Dror David, Chief Financial
Officer Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. Tel: +972-8-938-7505
E-mail: http://www.nova.co.il/ Investor Relations Contacts: Ehud
Helft / Kenny Green GK Investor Relations Tel: +1-646-201-9246
DATASOURCE: Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd CONTACT: Company
Contact: Dror David, Chief Financial Officer, Nova Measuring
Instruments Ltd., Tel: +972-8-938-7505, E-mail: ; Investor
Relations Contacts: Ehud Helft / Kenny Green, GK Investor
Relations, Tel: +1-646-201-9246,
Copyright