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Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC) is a provider of process characterization equipment and software for semiconductor, light emitting diode (LED), data storage and photovoltaic manufacturing industries. The company’s product offering includes automated macro defect inspection systems, probe card test and analysis systems and thin film metrology systems. In addition, Rudolph provides a broad range of software products designed to improve yield, control processes and reduce manufacturing costs.

Rudolph Research: 1940-1995
Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (RTI) traces its origins back to 1940, when Otto Curt Rudolph initially formed the company and called it O.C. Rudolph & Sons, Inc. Originally an importer of microscopes and scientific instruments, this RTI predecessor was renamed in October of 1970 to Rudolph Research Corporation. The company designed optical equipment for laboratories and universities.

The company Otto Rudolph established continued to evolve, making breakthroughs in elipsometry including the first production-oriented ellipsometer for thin, transparent film measurements. The company continued development of its metrology products, securing new patents along the way.

Formation of Rudolph Technologies: 1996-2001
In June of 1996, Richard Spanier, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Rudolph Research, forged a partnership agreement with Boston-based Riverside Partners and New York-based Liberty Partners  who, along with others, invested in the company. At that time, Dr. Spanier retired his active role in the company and semiconductor industry veteran Paul F. McLaughlin was named as CEO. In August of 1999, the name of the company was changed to Rudolph Technologies, Inc.

In November 1999, RTI made its initial public offering of common stock. Revenues grew dramatically, reaching a record $38.1 million. A new facility opened early in the year, and the company launched a new product, the MetaPULSE® line of copper film measurement tools.

In July 2002, RTI agreed to acquire the Richardson, Texas-based defect control company ISOA, Inc. A spin-off from Texas Tech University’s International Center for Informatics Research, ISOA had been licensing technology to the semiconductor industry for about 16 years, offering defect detection software. The deal was completed in September, with ISOA becoming RTI’s Yield Metrology Group.

Several months later, RTI expanded into China by establishing an office in Shanghai’s Pudong industrial area. In subsequent years, the company established additional offices in all semiconductor manufacturing regions of the world including Japan, Europe, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.

In 2006, a merger was completed with Minnesota-based August Technology Corporation, growing Rudolph’s workforce to 550 employees. This acquisition brought Rudolph into the ‘back-end’ of the manufacturing process.

In 2007, the company acquired the semiconductor business of Washington-based Applied Precision LLC, adding probe card test and analysis to the company’s portfolio. The acquisition of RVSI Inspection LLC and its Wafer Scanner inspection system was announced in 2008. Adventa Control Technologies, Inc., a provider of process control software, was acquired in 2009, and an acquisition of MKS Instruments, Inc.’s Yield Dynamics business was completed in 2010.

The company remains based in Flanders, New Jersey, with additional U.S. operations in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas, New York and Washington. All manufacturing operations for RTI are consolidated in Minnesota.

Semiconductor Fabrication, Packaging and Test
Semiconductor device fabrication is the process used to create the integrated circuits that are found in commonly-used electronic devices and electrical equipment. It is a multiple-step process during which electronic circuits are gradually built by adding elements and layers of material on a substrate made of pure silicon, or various compounds in the case of specialized applications, hundreds of steps performed by specialized process tools are required before the wafer moves to a final packaging facility.

The focus of packaging and assembly is to ensure an electrical connection from the die to the circuit board, to encapsulate the package for mechanical integrity and to withstand thermal variations. The era of slim form-factor devices, such as smart phones, implies high level of functionality in very dense footprint. Due to these requirements, the challenges in packaging, assembly and test have significantly increased and advanced packaging techniques such as bumping or through-silicon via are necessary.

Inspection Systems
Chip manufacturers deploy advanced macro-defect inspection throughout the fab to monitor key process steps, gather process-enhancing information and ultimately, lower manufacturing costs. Rudolph tools such as the AXi™, NSX® and the F30™ inspection systems, are found in wafer processing (front-end) and final manufacturing (back-end) facilities around the world. These high-speed tools incorporate features such as waferless recipe creation, tool-to-tool correlation and multiple inspection resolutions. In addition to wafer frontside inspection, Rudolph's Explorer® Inspection Cluster incorporates wafer edge and backside inspection in one integrated platform to enhance productivity and continuously improve fab yield. Using products such as Discover® and Genesis® yield management software, the data gathered through automated inspection can be analyzed and classified to determine trends that ultimately affect yield.

Metrology System
Rudolph's patented transparent film technology uses up to four lasers operating simultaneously at multiple angles and multiple wavelengths, providing powerful analysis and measurement capabilities. Laser light sources make metrology tools inherently stable, increase measurement speed and accuracy, and reduce maintenance costs by minimizing the time required to re-qualify a light source when it is replaced. Rudolph's S3000S™ System employs a proprietary reflectometer technology that allows the characterization of films and film stacks that cannot be performed using conventional reflectometry or ellipsometry alone.

For opaque film characterization, the MetaPULSE® System can simultaneously measure the thickness and other properties of up to six metal or other opaque film layers in a non-contact manner on product wafers. PULSE Technology™ uses an ultra-fast laser to generate sound waves that pass down through a stack of opaque films such as those used in copper or aluminum interconnect processes, sending back to the surface an echo that indicates film thickness, density, and other process critical parameters. This technology is ideal for characterizing copper interconnect structures.

Process Control Software
Rudolph offers a portfolio of process control software solutions for semiconductor, LED and photovoltaic manufacturing. The products are designed to integrate into existing factory systems to improve profitability and optimize manufacturing processes. Rudolph’s software products include yield analysis, data mining, processing modeling, fault detection and classification, run-to-run control, automated defect classification and factory automation.