Rudolph Technologies acquires IP and assets of RVSI Inspection
JANUARY 23, 2008--Rudolph Technologies (Flanders, NJ, USA;www.rudolphtech.com), a provider of process characterization equipment and software used in wafer processing and semiconductor final manufacturing (back-end) facilities, has acquired all intellectual property and selected assets from privately held RVSI Inspection (Hauppauge, NY, USA; www.rvsi.com). The addition of RVSI's WS-3800 3-D bumped wafer inspection system to its product portfolio is expected to strengthen Rudolph's presence in the high-growth, advanced packaging market.
"The RVSI WS-3800 tool is the perfect complement to the Rudolph NSX 2D macro defect inspection system," said Paul F. McLaughlin, chairman and chief executive officer of Rudolph. "We believe these high-performance systems will give our customers a comprehensive solution for both 2-D and 3-D inspection."
"We're excited about joining the Rudolph team," said Reza Asgari, vice president of sales at RVSI, who will be joining Rudolph following the acquisition. "The WS-3800 is a great complement to the Rudolph inspection product line, and we're looking forward to leveraging the know-how of our engineering teams to continue delivering advanced 2D/3D bumped wafer inspection capability that our customers demand."
The WS-Series Wafer Inspection System is used by many back-end manufacturers. It performs 3-D bump height and coplanarity measurements at high throughputs while maintaining high accuracy--the "key formula" in meeting customer expectations in today's high-volume final manufacturing arena. Using proprietary MicroMap 3-D Laser-based Triangulation, the system is designed to achieve required inspection speeds without compromising defect detection.
Consumer demand for thinner and multifunction devices is driving the market for advanced packaging. As scaling by device shrink becomes more difficult and expensive, advanced packaging enables increased package density. According to TechSearch International, demand for solder bumped wafers, as measured by 200-mm wafer equivalents, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 27% from 2007 to 2010.
Rudolph will maintain a technology center for the wafer scanner products in Hauppauge, NY, but will relocate the associated manufacturing activities to its Inspection Business Unit in Bloomington, MN.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Rudolph will provide more information on this acquisition in its next earnings call scheduled for Thursday, February 7, 2008.