MANSFIELD, MA and FLANDERS, NJ -- July 22, 2002 - Axeda Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: XEDA), the pioneer of the growing market for device relationship management (DRM) enterprise software and services and Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC), a leading worldwide provider of process control metrology equipment designed to measure the transparent and opaque metal films deposited on silicon wafers during IC manufacturing, announced today that they are collaborating to enable e-Diagnostics capabilities across Rudolph's line of precision film metrology tools.
The Axeda DRM™ system enables Rudolph to provide its customers with secure, real-time, Internet-based remote diagnostic support for Rudolph equipment in fabs around the world. Benefits include increased uptime, higher productivity and better, faster service. The Rudolph e-Diagnostics initiative builds on the company's widely accepted solutions that already address the metrology needs of the world's top 10 semiconductor IC manufacturers. The company's newest copper process solutions enable measurements of ultra-thin barrier films, barrier sidewall coverage, and post-CMP copper and ILD thickness of high-aspect ratio sub-micron lines.
"Rudolph is committed to delivering e-Diagnostics capabilities to our customers," said Paul F. McLaughlin, Chairman and CEO of Rudolph Technologies. "e-Diagnostics technology can help to ensure that our tools run at maximum availability while allowing potential problems to be discovered and addressed before they affect fab productivity. Rudolph has a long and successful track record in providing film metrology solutions to IC makers. Axeda has a successful track record in e-Diagnostics solutions including their very successful International SEMATECH (ISMT) prototype this year."
"According to ISMT, the cost of equipment downtime to a chip manufacturer can exceed $100,000 an hour. As a result, equipment manufacturers must assure their service organization can respond quickly and efficiently to address problems 24 hours a day anywhere in the world. DRM is emerging as the most practical and cost-effective way for equipment manufacturers to continuously monitor and remotely diagnose and service mission critical equipment," said Robert M. Russell Jr., Axeda chairman and CEO. "Through our collaboration with Rudolph, we continue to demonstrate how Axeda DRM's e-Diagnostics capability allows equipment OEMs to deliver better customer service at lower costs while simultaneously meeting the stringent requirements of fab operators."
The Axeda DRM System is an enterprise software solution that bridges the gap between intelligent equipment and the enterprise. It is composed of distributed software products that work together to leverage the global reach of the Internet and provide the real-time, continuous exchange of information between equipment and the people and systems required to support it. Axeda DRM enables companies to proactively monitor and service equipment remotely. Users and service personnel inside and outside the fab can be notified of potential problems by e-mail and pager. In addition, Axeda Applications provide Web-based information access for users from anywhere in the world for remote device administration, desktop sharing, file transfer and data visualization.
"Our e-Diagnostics enhanced metrology-solutions will help our customers lead the way in IC manufacturing, using technologies now available in our MetaPULSE-II™ and S-ultra™ transparent and opaque film measurement systems," said Mr. McLaughlin of Rudolph. "The combination of our proprietary metrology techniques, production experience, and the e-Diagnostics capability from Axeda enables us to provide advanced solutions that meet all the needs of IC manufacturers from now through at least 2007. In fact, we are the only company that can provide a complete gate metrology solution to semiconductor manufacturers through the 65 nm node and below."
More information about the e-Diagnostics capabilities of Axeda Systems and Rudolph Technologies will be available at the Axeda Systems Booth # 3409 and the Rudolph Technologies Booth #1915 at the Moscone Center, San Francisco during SEMICON West from July 22-24, 2002.
Axeda Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: XEDA) is the pioneer in the growing market for Device Relationship Management (DRM) enterprise software and services. Axeda helps businesses become more competitive by using the Internet to extract real time information hidden in their intelligent devices. The company's flagship product, the Axeda Device Relationship Management System is a distributed software solution that lets businesses remotely monitor, manage and service intelligent devices, deployed around the world, allowing them to optimize their service, development, sales and manufacturing operations. Axeda customers are Global 2000 companies in many markets including Industrial and Building Automation, High-technology, Medical Instrumentation, Office Automation and Semiconductor Equipment industries. Axeda has sales and service offices in the US, Europe, Israel and Japan, and distribution partners worldwide. More information about Axeda is available at www.axeda.com.
Rudolph Technologies, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of precision film metrology instruments for semiconductor markets. Founded in 1940, Rudolph has consistently proven its commitment to customers and new product innovation. In 1976, Rudolph introduced the semiconductor industry's first production-oriented, microprocessor-controlled automatic ellipsometer. In 1997, RTEC introduced its complete family of film metrology systems, including SpectraLASER™ and S200™ for meeting the transparent- film half and MetaPULSE® for meeting the opaque-film half of production film metrology requirements. Together they provide the industry's first true full-fab solution. Today, Rudolph's proprietary Laser Spectroscopic Ellipsometry™ and PULSE™ technologies and award-winning customer satisfaction ratings have made the company the acknowledged leader of high accuracy thin film metrology instruments supporting a wide variety of applications in the areas of diffusion, etch, CVD, and CMP.
Everyday intelligent devices such as copiers, elevators, vending machines, building control units, medical devices, and even automobiles are an important new source of business information. Device Relationship Management is a growing new market that allows companies to tap into this valuable information anytime anywhere. Pioneered by Axeda, Device Relationship Management provides a distributed information management system that leverages the Internet to allow timely, accurate, and unbiased information to be communicated automatically between intelligent devices, wherever they are deployed around the world, and service personnel or enterprise business systems. Device Relationship Management helps turn reactive businesses into proactive businesses providing new sources of revenue, increased operational efficiency and lower costs with an ROI that is often measured in months.
Press Contact:
Erin Nolan Smith
Corporate
+1 508-718-6351
enolan@axeda.com
