Ultratech And Qoniac Jointly Develop 3D Lithography APC Solution

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultratech, Inc. UTEK, a leading supplier of lithography, laser processing and inspection systems used to manufacture semiconductor devices and high-brightness LEDs (HB­-LEDs), as well as atomic layer deposition (ALD) systems, and Qoniac GmbH of Dresden, Germany, a specialist in process optimization and overlay control solutions for leading-edge semiconductor lithography, announced that the companies are jointly developing a 3D lithography advanced process control (APC) solution for advanced 3D CMOS manufacturing. Building on the companies' respective leadership in 3D inspection and lithography APC, the solution will allow Ultratech's Superfast to interface with Qoniac's OVALiS, the leading lithography process optimization solution. As a result, the goal of this interface is to enable a new level of lithography 3D correctable performance that leverages Superfast's high-density distortion sampling and OVALiS' dynamic field-by-field feedback and feed-forward control.

Arthur W. Zafiropoulo, Ultratech's CEO, said, "I am delighted to partner with Qoniac to provide our mutual customers a new level of 3D correctable performance. Today's leading-edge fabs require better overlay control as one of the critical parameters affecting good process yields. Superfast has now been adopted for high-volume, 3D distortion control and lithography feed-forward applications. Qoniac's expertise and leadership in lithography APC will help drive innovation so that we can provide our customers with new capabilities they need as they move to the next generation of Vertical NAND, DRAM and FinFET processes."

Adwin Timmer, CEO at Qoniac, said, "Our current joint development with Ultratech for 3D lithography APC will enhance our lithography APC capabilities with distortion correction. As the industry increases the use of 3D manufacturing to lower cost, structural distortion has become a major component of the overlay budget. Ultratech's Superfast CGS technology has given the 3D manufacturing leaders control over these distortions. Qoniac's OVALiS aims to insure that this control is smart, dynamic and with the highest yields."

Ultratech's Superfast 4G+ Inspection System

Based on patented coherent gradient sensing (CGS) technology, Ultratech's Superfast 4G+ inspection system for patterned wafers provides the industry's highest throughput, with a low cost-of-­ownership compared to competing systems. Building on the field­-proven Superfast platform, Ultratech's 4G+ Inspection System provides the industry with a 3D topography inspection solution for advanced lithography applications with the flexibility to measure front-­side of patterned wafers anywhere in the production line. Its direct, front­-side 3D topography measurement capability is well suited for patterned wafer applications such as displacement feed­-forward to the scanner, 3D topography measurement for focus control, and high-­stress process control.

Qoniac's OVALiS Litho Process Optimization and Control Solution

Based on patent-pending algorithms, Qoniac's OVALiS software suite provides the industry's most advanced solutions for process optimization, diagnostics, monitoring and control, resulting in the best possible on-product litho performance and corresponding yields. Its diagnostic and simulation capabilities ensure shortest time-to-market and unrivalled optimization of the litho manufacturing process. Its monitoring and dynamic litho APC capabilities enable advanced excursion detection, reliable overlay dispositioning and optimal field-by-field APC corrections with the tightest possible specs.

Safe Harbor
This release includes forward-­looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-­looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "remains," "thinks," "intends," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions and include management's current expectation of its longer term prospects for success. These forward-­looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections about our business and industry, and the markets and customers we serve, and they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Such risks and uncertainties include the timing and possible delays, deferrals and cancellations of orders by customers; quarterly revenue fluctuations; industry and sector cyclicality, instability and unpredictability; market demand for consumer devices utilizing semiconductors produced by our clients; our ability to manage costs; new product introductions, market acceptance of new products and enhanced versions of our existing products; reliability and technical acceptance of our products; our lengthy sales cycles, and the timing of system installations and acceptances; lengthy and costly development cycles for laser­-processing and lithography technologies and applications; competition and consolidation in the markets we serve; improvements, including in cost and technical features, of competitors' products; rapid technological change; pricing pressures and product discounts; our ability to collect receivables; customer and product concentration and lack of product revenue diversification; inventory obsolescence; general economic, financial market and political conditions and other factors outside of our control; domestic and international tax policies; cybersecurity threats in the United States and globally that could impact our industry, customers, and technologies; and other factors described in our SEC reports including our Annual Report on Form 10-­K filed for the year ended December 31, 2014 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed for the quarterly period ended July 4, 2015. Due to these and other factors, the statements, historical results and percentage relationships set forth herein are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for any future period. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-­looking statements to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this release.

About Ultratech: Ultratech, Inc. UTEK designs, builds and markets manufacturing systems for the global technology industry. Founded in 1979, Ultratech serves three core markets: front-­end semiconductor, back-­end semiconductor, and nanotechnology. The company is the leading supplier of lithography products for bump packaging of integrated circuits and high-brightness LEDs. Ultratech is also the market leader and pioneer of laser spike anneal technology for the production of advanced semiconductor devices. In addition, the company offers solutions leveraging its proprietary coherent gradient sensing (CGS) technology to the semiconductor wafer inspection market and provides atomic layer deposition (ALD) tools to leading research organizations, including academic and industrial institutions. Visit Ultratech online at: www.ultratech.com.

About Qoniac: Qoniac GmbH (a privately held German company) develops and markets software solutions for the global semiconductor industry. Founded in 2009, Qoniac is a fast growing company that specializes in process optimization and overlay control solutions for leading-edge lithography and patterning. The company is the sole vendor worldwide of a comprehensive litho simulation solution, which replaces time-consuming and costly experiments needed for process optimization. Qoniac also introduced to the market a litho APC solution in which field-by-field corrections for each exposure field separately are updated dynamically. In addition, the company offers advanced diagnostics and inline-monitoring capabilities to detect overlay, CD and focus related excursions as early as possible. Visit Qoniac online at: www.qoniac.com.

(UTEK-­G)

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SOURCE Ultratech, Inc.