Jim Barnhart Joins Nanometrics as Senior Vice President of Operations

Nanometrics Incorporated (Nasdaq:NANO), a leading provider of advanced process control solutions, today announced that industry veteran James L. Barnhart has joined Nanometrics as senior vice president of operations.  In this role, his leadership responsibilities will span the manufacturing, supply chain, service and facilities organizations.

Mr. Barnhart joins Nanometrics from Cymer LLC, an ASML company, where he has served as senior vice president, global operations since 2010. His substantial operations experience in the semiconductor manufacturing industry began nearly 30 years ago, when he joined Applied Materials as a manufacturing manager in etch tool production. During his 17 years at Applied Materials, Mr. Barnhart served in various operational leadership roles throughout the company, including as chief operating officer of the etch products business group, managing director of corporate asset services, and strategic worldwide account operations general manager. Mr. Barnhart left Applied Materials in 2006 to serve in senior operational roles at Johnson & Johnson and AREVA Solar before returning to the semiconductor industry at Cymer in 2010. While at Cymer, Mr. Barnhart envisioned and built $1B-capable infrastructure and achieved a near-doubling in revenues.

Prior to Applied Materials, Mr. Barnhart was an engineering division officer in the U.S. Navy, where he ensured operational reactor regulatory compliance as a chemistry and radiological controls officer. He completed the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power postgraduate school with honors, earned accelerated promotion, and was evaluated in the top 1% of all Navy peers. Mr. Barnhart holds an MBA from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Washington State University’s College of Engineering in Pullman.

Commenting on Mr. Barnhart’s appointment, Dr. Pierre-Yves Lesaicherre, president and chief executive officer of Nanometrics said, “With a wealth of operational leadership experience, Jim is a tremendously strong addition to the Nanometrics management team. We are very pleased to welcome a senior operations executive of his caliber, as we improve our focus and execution driving operational excellence throughout the company during this important revenue growth period for Nanometrics.”

About Nanometrics

Nanometrics is a leading provider of advanced, high-performance process control metrology and inspection systems used primarily in the fabrication of semiconductors and other solid-state devices, including sensors, optoelectronic devices, high-brightness LEDs, discretes and data storage components. Nanometrics' automated and integrated metrology systems measure critical dimensions, device structures, topography and various thin film properties, including three-dimensional features and film thickness, as well as optical, electrical and material properties. The company's process control solutions are deployed throughout the fabrication process, from front-end-of-line substrate manufacturing, to high-volume production of semiconductors and other devices, to advanced three-dimensional wafer-level packaging applications. Nanometrics' systems enable advanced process control for device manufacturers, providing improved device yield at reduced manufacturing cycle time, supporting the accelerated product life cycles in the semiconductor and other advanced device markets. The company maintains its headquarters in Milpitas, California, with sales and service offices worldwide. Nanometrics is traded on Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol NANO. Nanometrics' website is http://www.nanometrics.com.

Investor Relations Contact:
Claire McAdams
Headgate Partners LLC
530.265.9899
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Company Contact:
Jonathan Chou
Chief Financial Officer
408.545.6143
[e-mail]