Nanometrics Files New Complaint Against Nova Measuring Instruments

Nanometrics Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., a supplier of metrology equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced yesterday it has filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against Israel-based Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. for infringing its patents relating to optical critical dimension technology, or scatterometry. “When we merged with Accent Optical, we acquired a number of patents and other fundamental intellectual property in the field of scatterometry, including the patents that are the subject of this new complaint. As a result, we are now in a stronger position to protect our proprietary technology from infringement,” said John Heaton, president and CEO of Nanometrics. The complaint relates to US Patent numbers 5,867,276, entitled “Method for Broad Wavelength Scatterometry,” and 7,115,858 B1, entitled “Apparatus and Method for the Measurement of Diffracting Structures.” Nanometrics filed a complaint against Nova Measuring Instruments on March 30, 2006, in the same district court regarding infringement of a patent relating to Nanometrics’ ultraviolet reflectometry and scatterometry tools.