Nanometrics Receives Stay in Patent Litigation with KLA-Tencor

Business Wire, March 20, 2006

MILPITAS, Calif. -- Nanometrics Incorporated (Nasdaq:NANO), a leading supplier of advanced integrated and standalone metrology equipment to the semiconductor industry, today announced its motion for stay in the patent litigation case brought by KLA-Tencor Corporation had been granted by Judge Jeffrey White in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

In August 2005, Nanometrics was served with a complaint alleging certain of its products infringed the intellectual property of KLA-Tencor. Nanometrics has consistently asserted that it believes that none of its products infringe any intellectual property of KLA-Tencor and has maintained that it intends to vigorously and aggressively defend itself in the litigation. As part of such defense, Nanometrics had filed a request for re-examination of the two allegedly infringed KLA-Tencor patents with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO). These requests for re-examination were recently accepted for review by the PTO. Subsequent to the original claim, KLA-Tencor added a third patent to their complaint. The stay issued by the court covers all three of the patents in the suit.

About Nanometrics

Nanometrics is a leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of high-performance process control metrology systems used in semiconductor manufacturing. Nanometrics metrology systems measure various thin film properties, critical circuit dimensions and layer-to-layer circuit alignment (overlay) during various steps of the manufacturing process, enabling semiconductor and integrated circuit manufacturers to improve yields, increase productivity and lower their manufacturing costs. Nanometrics maintains its headquarters in Milpitas, California, and sales and service offices worldwide. Nanometrics is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol NANO. Nanometrics' website is: http://www.nanometrics.com.