| SAN
JOSE, Calif., June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ultratech,
Inc. ( NASDAQ:UTEK )
, a leading supplier of lithography and laser-processing
systems used to manufacture semiconductors and nanotechnology
devices, today announced that it has received multiple-system
orders from several southeast Asian customers for
its NanoTech 190 lithography systems. The NanoTech
190 tools, specifically designed for thin-film head
(TFH) applications, will be utilized for back-end
rowbar processing -- the processing step required
to add the aerodynamic surface to rows of TFH devices
before wafer singulation. The lithography systems
will be delivered to the customers' facilities located
in Malaysia, Thailand and China. These multiple orders
demonstrate Ultratech's ability to provide leading
application-specific products with low cost-of- ownership
advantages, and reinforce its technology leadership
position at the forefront of the thin-film head market.
The
increasing number of consumer electronics products
requiring small drives, such as portable digital
music players, has contributed to a resurgence
in the TFH market. According to Dennis Waid,
president of Peripheral Research Corporation and member
of Ultratech's technical advisory board, "Storage memory
capacity for handheld devices can be increased significantly
with a small-format hard drive, which has the same
form factor as flash-random-access memory (RAM).
Today, most cell phones, PDAs, and digital cameras
use flash-RAM for memory rather than hard drives.
To address this transition and growing demand, disk-drive
manufacturers are making thin- film heads for the
digital consumer market, as well as for high-end
enterprise storage -- increasing the need for application-specific
lithography equipment." Waid added that Peripheral
Research Corp., which specializes in market research,
client studies, consulting, and conferences for
the data storage industry, anticipates the disk-drive
market will grow at a 14-percent compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) through 2008.
Doug
Anberg, Ultratech's vice president of advanced
stepper technology, noted, "The increase in our
customers' order activity is driven by the volume
increase in mini-drives. The high consumer demand
for digital music players and other small devices
with hard drives is escalating the need for steppers
that can process the thin-film heads that read
and write on small-format hard drives. The NanoTech
190 lithography system was specifically developed
for the thin-film head industry and is essential
to the development of our customers' smaller-dimension,
thin-film head devices. Ultratech's advanced technology
provides specialized handling capabilities that
are critical for back-end rowbar processing. As
the market continues to grow, we look forward to
providing our global customers with leading technology
specifically designed to address the requirements
for thin-film head applications-now, and in the
future."
About
Ultratech: Ultratech, Inc. designs, manufactures
and markets photolithography equipment used worldwide
in the fabrication of semiconductor and nanotechnology
devices, and has expanded its technology scope in
pioneering laser processing technology for IC manufacturing.
Founded in 1979, Ultratech is a market leader in
gold and solder bump lithography. Its products are
designed to substantially reduce the cost of ownership
for manufacturers in the electronics industry. The
company's home page on the World Wide Web is located
at www.ultratech.com.
Source: Ultratech, Inc.
CONTACT:
Bruce R. Wright, Senior Vice President & CFO,
or Laura
Rebouche, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications,
lrebouche@ultratech.com , both
of Ultratech, Inc., +1-408-321-8835, or fax,
+1-408-577-3379; or Angie Kellen, Senior Account Manager of MCA,
+1-650-968-8900, or akellen@mcapr.com ,
for Ultratech, Inc.
Web site: http://www.ultratech.com/
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