Rudolph Technologies Indicates Recovery Taking Hold, Back-end Semiconductor Manufacturing Heating Up

Strong orders coming from industry’s largest four OSATs and major foundries; sets the stage for upbeat SEMICON Taiwan in late September

• Press Release
• Source: Rudolph Technologies, Inc.
• On 7:00 am EDT, Wednesday September 16, 2009

FLANDERS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC - News), a leading provider of process characterization equipment and software for wafer fabrication and advanced packaging facilities, today announced that it has received orders for 20 tools from the world’s four largest outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) companies and major foundry companies. The orders are for Rudolph’s automated macro defect inspection equipment, which typically sell within a range of $600k to $1.2m.

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“These orders represent a level of activity not seen since Q3 of 2008,” stated Ardy Johnson, vice president of marketing at Rudolph. “With the majority of this tool demand coming out of Taiwan, we are anticipating an upbeat SEMICON^® Taiwan exhibition this month.”

“Rudolph leads the market in back-end macro defect inspection. Therefore, this long-anticipated upswing in assembly and test purchasing will prove quite beneficial for our overall business,” Johnson continued. “These recent orders have likewise confirmed the achieved customer-value resulting from Rudolph’s on-going development of new 2D and 3D inspection tools during the past industry down-turn, incorporating unique data analysis software packages that can classify defects and determine defect trends−all part of our complete solution in final test,” added Johnson.

“In past industry cycle up-turns, the back-end market segment has typically been a leading indicator of future purchasing activity in the front-end wafer fabs,” Johnson concluded. “Recognizing Rudolph’s leading position in the front-end market for our inspection and metrology solutions, we are anxiously preparing for the next significant industry-wide ramp. We have continued our 2009 product development investment, which, for example, has enabled us to add enhanced resolution of measurements and defect detectability, while further increasing tool productivity. Product improvements such as this can be expected to result in ever stronger competitive positioning in meeting customers’ needs and expectations, and in what we believe will be a measurable market share gain for Rudolph.”

Rudolph Technologies is a worldwide leader in the design, development, manufacture and support of high-performance process control metrology, defect inspection and data analysis systems used by semiconductor device manufacturers. Rudolph provides a full-fab solution through its families of proprietary products that provide critical yield-enhancing information, enabling microelectronic device manufacturers to drive down costs and time to market. The company has enhanced the competitiveness of its products in the marketplace by anticipating and addressing many emerging trends driving the semiconductor industry's growth. Rudolph’s strategy for continued technological and market leadership includes aggressive research and development of complementary metrology and inspection solutions. Headquartered in Flanders, New Jersey, Rudolph supports its customers with a worldwide sales and service organization. Additional information can be found on the company’s web site at www.rudolphtech.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) which include demand for Rudolph’s products, Rudolph’s existing market position and its ability to maintain and advance such position relative to its competitors and Rudolph’s expectations about our future bookings and backlog as well as other matters that are not purely historical data. Rudolph wishes to take advantage of the “safe harbor” provided for by the Act and cautions that actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of various factors, including risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Rudolph’s control. Such factors include, but are not limited to, delays in shipping products for technical performance, component supply or other reasons, the company’s ability to leverage its resources to improve its positions in its core markets and fluctuations in customer capital spending. Additional information and considerations regarding the risks faced by Rudolph are available in Rudolph’s Form 10-K report for the year ended December 31, 2008 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As the forward-looking statements are based on Rudolph’s current expectations, the company cannot guarantee any related future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Rudolph does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Rudolph Technologies, Inc.
Investors:
Steven R. Roth, 973-448-4302
steven.roth@rudolphtech.com
or
Trade Press:
Virginia Becker, 952-259-1647
virginia.becker@rudolphtech.com