ADE Corporation Receives Largest Single Order in Company's History; Multi-Million-Dollar Order for Leading-Edge Wafer Geometry Systems Will Support New Wafer Production.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers WESTWOOD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 2003 ADE Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : ADEX ADEX Athens Derivatives Exchange (Athens, Greece) ADEX Air Defense Exercise ADEX Advertisement Expenditure ADEX Asociaciã³n de Exportadores (Peru) ), the leading supplier of production metrology and inspection systems for the silicon wafer industry, announced today that a leading silicon wafer supplier has placed a sizable multi-million dollar order with the Company, a record-to-date for ADE. The order included multiple WaferSight(TM) optical flatness systems and NanoMapper(R) nanotopography systems to be installed in a new wafer production facility. "This is the fourth major silicon wafer manufacturer to choose ADE WaferSight and NanoMapper systems for advanced 300mm production," stated Dr. Chris L. Koliopoulos, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of ADE Corporation. "This endorsement of our latest generation optical technologies is very important to ADE, as is our ongoing partnership with the silicon manufacturers, to produce the highest quality silicon wafers on a cost-effective basis. These new orders are further validation of ADE's transition to optical based metrology tools, with the result that our WaferSight and NanoMapper systems are becoming the new standard for advanced 300mm production, realizing improvements in sensitivity, precision and spatial resolution (Data West Research Agency definition: see GIS glossary.) A measure of the accuracy or detail of a graphic display, expressed as dots per inch, pixels per line, lines per millimeter, etc. It is a measure of how fine an image is, usually expressed in dots per inch (dpi). ." Dr Koliopoulos added, "ADE's continued commitment to production-worthy wafer geometry and surface topographical systems, combined with long term support of the customer's automated production strategies, will enable a rapid ramp-up of the new facility to production levels. Together, WaferSight and NanoMapper provide the highest production throughputs with excellent precision to support our customers' wafer metrology needs for the next several technology nodes." The WaferSight optical flatness system, introduced at Semicon West 2002, enables next-generation wafer production and supports the semiconductor ITRS ITRS International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors ITRS International Terrestrial Reference System ITRS International Transaction Reporting System (EU) ITRS International Technical Rescue Symposium roadmap to the 45nm technology node. The high precision measurement (better than one nanometer for site flatness) provides wafer manufacturers with better control of the polishing process, which, in turn, supports improved yields for fine-line geometry devices at advanced integrated circuit integrated circuit (IC), electronic circuit built on a semiconductor substrate, usually one of single-crystal silicon. The circuit, often called a chip, is packaged in a hermetically sealed case or a nonhermetic plastic capsule, with leads extending from it for fabs. NanoMapper, winner of the 2000 R&D Top 100 Award, uses phase-shift optical interferometry Optical interferometry is a technique of interferometry combining light from multiple sources in an optical instrument in order to make various precise measurements. The technique of optical interferometry can make use of white light, of monochromatic light (e.g. to measure nano-scale surface topography defects which are a fingerprint of the wafer manufacturing process. Improvement of the nanotopography of the wafer surface increases critical dimension control of fine line-widths and pattern overlay, preventing yield and performance losses on advanced, high-speed CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. chips. NanoMapper systems are being used globally to assure incoming material quality for microprocessors, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. , and DRAM chip production. About ADE Corporation ADE Corporation is a leading supplier of metrology and inspection systems required for production in the silicon wafer, semiconductor device, magnetic data storage and optics manufacturing industries. The Company's systems analyze and report product quality at critical manufacturing process steps for yield enhancement, providing quality certification data that is relied upon by semiconductor wafer, device and computer disk manufacturers. The Company's systems also are used for production measurements in the semiconductor chip fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. process. To learn more about ADE, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.ade.com. Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Those statements that make reference to the Company's expectations, predictions, beliefs, assumptions and anticipations should be considered forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, those associated with the shipment of product to customers or the effect of ADE products on customer product quality and production rates. These statements involve risks and uncertainties including those associated with wafer pricing and wafer demand; the results of its product development efforts; and the success of ADE's product offerings to meet customer needs within the timeframes required by customers in these markets. Further information on potential factors that could affect ADE Corporation's business is described in the Company's reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2002. |
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