Brooks Automation Introduces ReticleTrax - Reticle Management and Tracking System.Business/Technology Editors CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2000 Brooks Automation, Inc. (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 : BRKS BRKS Brooks (street suffix) ), a leader in semiconductor tool and factory automation solutions for the global semiconductor industry, today announced that its Auto-Soft Division has released the ReticleTrax(TM) software solution. ReticleTrax is a comprehensive reticle ret·i·cle n. A grid or pattern placed in the eyepiece of an optical instrument, used to establish scale or position. [Latin r management and tracking system that manages reticles and reticle families and tracks the location and usage for each reticle in the fab. ReticleTrax improves fab efficiency and productivity through the elimination of misplaced mis·place tr.v. mis·placed, mis·plac·ing, mis·plac·es 1. a. To put into a wrong place: misplace punctuation in a sentence. b. reticles, shorter reticle search times, and automated reticle inspection/clean cycles. ReticleTrax's Automated Tracking Controls Reticle Costs As semiconductor technology advances, the average life of a reticle becomes shorter which increases the reticle cost per wafer. Adding to the increase in reticle cost is the trend toward more wafer layers and therefore more reticles per wafer. Moreover, as critical dimensions continue to decrease, the cost of reticles is expected to dramatically increase by as much as 10 times. The result is a rising reticle cost per wafer as well as an increasing number of reticles to manage. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Van Norman, Vice President of Brooks Automation's Auto-Soft Division, "The net effect of these higher reticle costs is forcing fabs to manage their reticles more effectively through automation, and that's why we've seen so much interest in ReticleTrax, our comprehensive Reticle Management and Tracking System." "ReticleTrax is helping our customers reduce reticle search times to seconds as well as reducing the rework caused by using damaged or dirty reticles that haven't been regularly inspected based on actual usage," added Norman. ReticleTrax Finds Reticles within Seconds Since fabs typically have hundreds, and even thousands of reticles to manage, relying on operators to manually locate and load reticles into steppers ahead of time can inherently result in misplaced reticles and stepper step·per n. 1. One that steps, especially in a fast or spirited manner. 2. Informal A dancer. Noun 1. delay times. Manually tracking the actual usage of individual reticles for inspection or re-qualification cycles also becomes an impossible task. One customer, describing their own difficulty in managing a fab with thousands of reticles, said, "It could take us from 15 minutes to 4 hours to locate a reticle while the stepper sat idle. ReticleTrax solves this problem by allowing operators to locate reticles in seconds and by ensuring that reticles are loaded into steppers ahead of time." Integrated with Other Fab Automation Systems - MES (Manufacturing Execution Software) Software that provides real time access to plant activities that include equipment, labor, orders and inventory. An MES integrates the data with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems so that management has complete control of , AMHS AMHS ATS Message Handling System (air traffic control) AMHS Alaska Marine Highway System AMHS Automated Message Handling System AMHS Aeronautical Message Handling System AMHS Academic Magnet High School , ID, Cell Control ReticleTrax is integrated with the fab's MES, Material Control System (MCS), ID system, and Cell Controller in order to track the status and fab location of individual reticles, reticle families, and empty pods. Tracking each individual reticle allows for a reticle to be located on the fab floor or in storage in seconds, which translates directly to reduced idle time The duration of time a device is in an idle state, which means that it is operational, but not being used. at the lithography station. Complete Reticle Management via ReticleTrax's Web-based User Interface ReticleTrax's web-based user interface allows the user to perform reticle management and tracking easily from inside and outside of the fab using a web browser The program that serves as your front end to the Web on the Internet. In order to view a site, you type its address (URL) into the browser's Location field; for example, www.computerlanguage.com, and the home page of that site is downloaded to you. . A history is kept for each reticle by recording all reticle events for the entire life of a reticle from introduction to the fab until it is scrapped. The reticle usage history enables automated triggers to be set according to the customer's specific business rules. Such triggers might initiate particle checks, or clean cycles, which ensure proper reticle maintenance and result in reduced rework. Tracking reticle usage with ReticleTrax also enables automated archiving for both short-term in-fab storage as well as long-term out-of-fab storage for reticle families. For more information about ReticleTrax, please contact Tim Bailey at (801) 736-3316 or email: tim_bailey@auto-soft.com. Brooks Automation, Inc. Brooks Automation, Inc. is a leading supplier of integrated automation solutions for the global semiconductor, data storage and flat panel display A thin display screen for computer and TV usage. The first flat panels appeared on laptop computers in the mid-1980s, and the LCD technology became the standard. Stand-alone LCD screens became available for desktop computers in the mid-1990s and exceeded sales of CRTs for the first time manufacturing industries manufacturing industries npl → industrias fpl manufactureras manufacturing industries npl → industries fpl de transformation . As an established market leader in hardware and software automation, Brooks continues to pioneer best-in-class technologies that outperform their competitors--from vacuum and atmospheric robots, cluster tool platforms and modules, ultra clean mini-environments for isolating processing equipment and wafers--to factory and tool automation software and integration services. Both OEMs and fabs leverage Brooks Automation's products and services to optimize total fab performance in dynamic manufacturing environments. The Company has ISO (1) See ISO speed. (2) (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.ch) An organization that sets international standards, founded in 1946. The U.S. member body is ANSI. 9001 certification, is headquartered in Chelmsford, Mass., and has direct operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. The Brooks web site is www.brooks.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. " Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995: The foregoing discussion contains forward-looking statements relating to the expected benefits of Brooks Automation products. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks relating to the Company's dependence on the cyclical semiconductor industry, the ability of the Company to continue to successfully develop and market new products and product enhancements on a timely basis, the Company's dependence on relatively few customers for a significant portion of its revenues, the Company's reliance on sales to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and customers and the lengthy sales cycles of those customers, the highly competitive nature and rapid technological change that characterize the industries in which the Company competes, and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Company's future results will not be materially different from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only of the Company's expectations as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. |
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