Robotic Vision Systems' WS-3500 Wafer Inspection System Wins Advanced Packaging Magazine Award at Semicon West

HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK AND SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA -- Robotic Vision Systems, Inc. (RVSI) (RVSI.OB) today said its new WS-3500 Wafer Inspection System received Advanced Packaging magazine's Product of the Year Award for Innovation in Inspection/Imaging Equipment. The award was received Wednesday evening at Semicon West, the semiconductor capital equipment industry's premier trade show.

‘‘This is independent validation of what we at RVSI have believed and said since the product family's introduction; that RVSI's WS-series stands alone in delivering combined 2-D and 3-D inspection for a broad range of surface defect and metrology applications,’‘ said Michael Gray, Vice President - Business Development for RVSI's Semiconductor Equipment Group in Hauppauge, NY.

‘‘Until now, post-fab inspection has had to employ multiple tools for defect detection, probe mark inspection, bump defect detection, and bump metrology,’‘ Mr. Gray said.  ‘‘Each system ran with different throughputs; some tools were specific to wafer size and handling media.  The WS-3500 wafer inspection system is one tool that performs all tasks, on a modular basis, and does so at production speed.’‘

Three proprietary technologies
At the heart of RVSI's WS-3500 system are three unmatched, proprietary technologies: SharpScan 2-D vision for defect review, MicroMap 3-D technology for metrology, and AutoTeach software for developing recipes for inspection of each new wafer type.

SharpScan vision technology incorporates TDI line-scan cameras, proprietary optics, lighting, and vision algorithms.  ‘‘Customers demand real-time yield management without overkill,’‘ Mr. Gray said.  ‘‘Unnecessary defect review pulls down margins and creates a production bottleneck.  When we designed the WS-3500, our principal goal was to provide the industry's best cost of ownership by minimizing overkill.  We want to catch the defect and, at the same time, provide the system with sufficient intelligence to prevent needless review of 'defects' that turn out to be software aberrations.’‘

RVSI's 3-D vision technology, MicroMap, has achieved the status of industry standard.  In the WS-3500, RVSI has delivered on the 'wish list' of customers to achieve bump height metrology at production speed while inspecting every bump on every wafer.

‘‘Precision bump-height metrology is what got us into wafer inspection,’‘ Mr. Gray said.  ‘‘There was a time when fab operators believed that a wafer-level process would result in uniform bumps, hence a requirement only for sampling.  Today, everyone has come to recognize that process variation is an intrinsic part of wafer production and that 100% inspection is mandatory.’‘ 

‘‘What we've achieved through successive generations of the WS-series is an increase in speed of the 3-D inspection process to the point that, with the WS-3500, we can finally say 'production speed'; and know that we and the customer agree on what that means, and deliver what the customer wants,’‘ Mr. Gray said. Recognizing that only certain classes of wafers require metrology measurement, RVSI has elected to offer 3-D as a separate module on the WS-3500.

The constant introduction of new wafer types is the catalyst for the introduction of RVSI's AutoTeach software.  ‘‘Each new wafer type requires that a new recipe be generated,’‘ Mr. Gray said.  ‘‘The QC operators may want full wafer inspection or sampling; random sampling or 100% inspection of specific dies; and combinations of surface defect inspection and 3-D metrology.  There is a direct relationship between cost of ownership and the time required to set up and populate that recipe.  The AutoTeach module is the most intuitive, user-friendly software package ever developed for this purpose.  It is one of our truly unique competitive advantages.’‘

System capabilities
The WS-3500 has been optimized for identification of surface defects, including contamination, etch residue, foreign material, scratches, passivation holes, discoloration, and pattern defects.  The systems bump defect detection capabilities include missing, bridged, misplaced, or extra bumps; nodules or craters on bumps, bump diameter; and bump deformities.

3-D/2-D metrology capabilities of the system include bump height, coplanarity, diameter, length, and width; bump true position; and bump volume.  A probe-mark inspection module measures probe area, probe-mark distance to edge, probe-mark measurement as a percentage of pad area; and identifies the number of probe marks on a pad.

System options include a 3-D laser sensor for electronics and bumped wafers, an enhanced sensor for gold bump inspection, optical character recognition, an off-line defect review station, color defect review, a film-frame handling module, and probe-mark-inspection software.

About the WS-series
Rather than traditional wire bonds, the newest generation of integrated circuits utilizes microscopic-sized solder or gold bumps that are directly deposited on the wafer for electrical connections. RVSI's WS-series improves yield management of bumped wafers and flip chip die, providing a method to maximize yields and profitability by inspecting bump parameters at high production rates. The system's capabilities include inspection of pre-reflow and post-reflow solder bumps and multi-process gold bumps.

About RVSI
Robotic Vision Systems, Inc. has the most comprehensive line of machine vision systems available today. Headquartered in Nashua, New Hampshire, with offices worldwide, RVSI is the world leader in vision-based semiconductor inspection and Data Matrix-based unit-level traceability. Using leading-edge technology, RVSI joins vision-enabled process equipment, high-performance optics, lighting, and advanced hardware and software to assure product quality, identify and track parts, control manufacturing processes, and ultimately enhance profits for companies worldwide. Serving the semiconductor, electronics, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical and packaging industries, RVSI holds more than 100 patents in a broad range of technologies.

Forward Looking Statement
Except for the historical information herein, certain matters discussed in this release include forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary significantly based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: the historical cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, risks in products and technology development, market acceptance of new products and continuing product demand, the impact of competitive products and pricing, changing economic conditions, both here and abroad, timely development and release of new products, strategic suppliers and customers, the effect of the company's accounting policies and other risk factors detailed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:
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Canton, MA  02021
Tel: 781-302-2401 
Fax:781-302-2440