Wednesday November 27 4:15 AM EDT
Credence to Unveil New Fully Integrated Prober at
SEMICON Japan 96
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 27, 1996-- Credence Systems Corp , a leading
manufacturer of automatic test equipment (ATE) for the semiconductor industry, today announced
they joined forces with TSK (Tokyo Seimitsu Co. LTD) to create a fully integrated, state of the
art, comprehensive turnkey test solution for the Microcomponent production environment.
Credence will unveil this test system with extended functionality during SEMICON Japan, Booth
No. 6-124, Dec. 4-6.
Credence specifically designed the newly integrated test head into a high-performance prober for
IC manufacturers to realize increased yields in a high volume production environment.
Developed in response to aggressive manufacturing plans requiring a production-proven integrated
test system which can be installed quickly and operated ergonomically, Credence's Super
Compact (SC) test head is submerged in the APM-90A prober. The test head's weight rests
completely on the three adjustable support points directly within the prober's structure.
Redefining the probe test market, Credence's strategy of embedding the SC test head within the
prober is the next step beyond performance test at probe (PTAP). As PTAP brought the
measuring and detecting circuits into close proximity to the device under test (DUT), removing the
manipulator and locking down the test head further reduces any chance of misalignment for greater
throughput and reliability.
The new design provides the ability to fully characterize devices at the earliest point in the
manufacturing process, giving manufacturers a fundamental economic advantage to increase
profitability through achieving higher yields.
"With escalating IC packaging costs, Credence enables manufacturers to virtually eliminate
assembling defective devices," said David Ranhoff, Credence's senior vice president, Sales and
Marketing. "Once again, Credence engineers a robust system that delivers the ultimate high volume
production test solution."
A key benefit in the new design is the total lack of any stand alone or dedicated manipulator.
Credence's integrated test prober solution decreases the floor space as well as the cost of the
system and enables continuous, repeatable docking.
This unique compact arrangement is extremely robust and extends the test systems' functionality.
After planarization the test head is locked to the prober module for a complete, rigidly integrated
unit, eliminating any independent vibrations of the two systems. In the past, these vibrations have
challenged test measurement accuracy and robbed fabs of higher yields.
Without a manipulator, the new integrated test prober requires minimum interface as only the
Probe Card comes between the tester pins and the DUT. A front loading semi-automatic Probe
Card Changer eliminates any operator subjectivity, by replacing the cards without undocking the
test head.
This high-speed transfer is completed safely and accurately in less than 1.5 minutes. The operator
functions are also improved by the ability to run the integrated system from one point of entry only.
This optimized solution provides manufacturers with a significant tool that will reduce their time to
market, which is critical in today's demanding device market. The integrated prober is designed to
maximize the system uptime, test floor resources and overall efficiency. Accurate sorting of data
before the traditional back end process flow begins enables IC manufacturers to achieve higher
yields and uncompromised performance.
Credence Systems Corp. is a leading manufacturer of automatic test equipment (ATE) that serves
a broad spectrum of the worldwide semiconductor industry's testing needs. Credence offers a
wide range of products with test capabilities for digital, mixed-signal, and memory semiconductors.
The company utilizes its proprietary CMOS technologies to redefine test with products that are
designed to solve its customers' business problems through technology while meeting the
increasingly demanding performance requirements of today's ATE market.
The Company is headquartered in Fremont, Calif., with manufacturing in Beaverton, Ore.
Credence is listed on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CMOS and can be found on
the World Wide Web at www.credence.com
Note to Editors: Credence, Credence Systems and SC Series are trademarks of Credence
Systems Corp. Other trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their
respective owners.
CONTACT: Credence Systems Corp.
Connie Graybeal or Bill Bottoms, 510/657-7400
or
The Loomis Group Inc.
Bruce Bedortha, 415/882-9494 |
