Advantest's Impressive Display of Testing at Semicon West Sets New ATE Standard: 'Advantesting'
Friday July 14, 2:21 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Advantest Corporation
... ATE Leader Demonstrates SOC, and ALPHA and Rambus Capabilities; Shows New Memory System for First Time in U.S.
SAN JOSE, Calif., July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Booth No.10442 -- Advantest, the global leader in ATE performance, is showing an impressive range of test capabilities for state-of-the-art logic and memory devices at Semicon West San Jose this year.
Focusing on its reputation for standard-setting accuracy, reliability and throughput, Advantest is highlighting the strength of its ATE solutions by introducing a new term into the ATE lexicon: ``Advantesting.''
To drive home the point, Advantest is demonstrating its memory test solution for RDRAM devices running at over 1 GHz, its logic production solutions for SOC devices, and its high-end logic solution for high-speed, high-performance devices.
For its memory demonstration, Advantest is showing its new T5592 1 GHz Memory Test System for the first time in the U.S. since the system's December introduction at Semicon Japan. The T5592 is the industry's only turnkey 1.066 GHz production test solution.
The ATE leader is also showcasing its Custom Design Engineering Group, which provides the critical, high-integrity interfaces that keep tester-handler solutions running at peak reliability and performance.
``Advantest has an unbeatable line-up of innovative test solutions at Semicon West,'' says Nick Konidaris, president and CEO of Advantest America.
``No matter how you evaluate Advantest systems -- cost effectiveness, productivity, Mean Time Between Failures, accuracy, reliability, speed, functionality -- you'll find they set the standard in the industry,'' he attests.
The T5592 Memory Test System -- Advantest's newest memory test system for mass production of Direct Rambus DRAMs and other high-speed, complex devices including RIMM module devices, SSRAM, cache and networking RAMs -- will be featured along with Advantest's new handler, the M7321A, to demonstrate the industry's most powerful, full-featured high-speed memory test solution. The T5592 simultaneously tests 64 devices at 1.066 GHz, doubling the current number of devices that can be tested in parallel and offering the highest performance available in the industry. At Semicon West, the T5592's capability for 32-site fixturing will be demonstrated with a Rambus 1066 MHz DRDRAM.
The companion M7321 Dynamic Test Handler is aimed at high throughput testing of DIMM and RIMM modules and can handle up to 1,700 modules per hour. A turn-key solution for module testing, it does not require change kits for various module types. For added convenience and ease of use, the M7321 also has a touch-screen display with Windows-based software.
Among its formidable strengths, the T5592 attains high accuracy through stable heat efficiency and precise calibration thanks to Advantest's proprietary cooling system, which is based on immersion cooling and forced circulation of air.
``The very good test results we had with the T5592 -- especially its accuracy and throughput -- will help chip manufacturers ramp up production quickly, while helping to reduce the cost of RDRAM testing,'' says Avo Kanadjian, vice president worldwide marketing, at Rambus, Inc.
For the logic market, Advantest is demonstrating its scalable SOC test solutions, highlighting its logic characterization capabilities by demonstrating a Compaq Alpha microprocessor running at 1 GHz on the T6682 VLSI logic test system, and its cost efficient production test capabilities with a quad-site demonstration of a Fairchild device on the T6672.
The T6682 offers Advantest's proprietary architecture and the latest in VLSI test system technology to provide the lowest cost of test for full-featured SOCs. Capable of testing system-level ASIC and other advanced high-speed microprocessors at rated speeds, the T6682 features 500 MHz to 1 GHz data rates with 1024 MULTIi-pins and up to 4-site parallel test. Advantest's unique multi-pin architecture supports single wire I/O, split I and O, and Fly-by per pin. It also features the industry's smallest 1024-pin, immersion-cooled test head, the benefits of which are short-signal lengths, easy maneuverability, and a small footprint.
Advantest's high-speed, high-performance tester is well suited to Compaq's Alpha device, the world's most powerful microprocessor.
``Alpha has unrivaled performance,'' says Dan Casaletto, vice president of Compaq's Alpha Developmental Group. ``Alpha is everywhere, from mapping the human genome to stock exchanges and the Internet. Alpha technology is unmatched in providing the computing power required in today's competitive environment.''
Casaletto notes, ``Advantest's tester matches Alpha's stellar performance, which we require to maintain our leadership.''
Advantest's production-oriented T6672 125/250/500 MHz test system is the cost-efficient production tester in Advantest's T6600 family and perfectly complements the high-speed characterization capabilities of the T6682. The systems have true, complete intra-family compatibility.
Able to accommodate one or two test stations, the T6672's ultimate test efficiency is being showcased at Semicon West with the quad-site demonstration of a Fairchild commodity device, which demands high-volume, low-cost production. The T6672 can accommodate 1024 pins on one test station or 512 pins each on two test stations.
Both the T6672 and the T6682 sport a full set of features for future SOC devices. Full analog capability is available with no loss of digital pins, and multiple copies of analog instruments enable true multi-site mixed-signal test. Additionally, a sophisticated hardware algorithmic pattern generator and a scan pattern generator exercise embedded memories and scan chains, respectively.
``Along with the T6682, the T6672 offers the industry a scalable SOC test solution,'' says Don Sireci, logic products manager. ``The T6672 is ideal for low-cost, high-volume production of ASIC and SOC devices,'' he notes.
As part of its test solutions and ``Advantesting'' standard, Advantest is showing its Custom Design Engineering capabilities.
Advantest was the first ATE company to create a Custom Design Engineering group, and believes it is part of offering customers the most reliable, well-functioning test solutions. Advantest's CDE group will show representative, state-of-the art interfaces, including its outstanding HiFix interface.
About Advantest
Advantest Corporation is the world's leading automatic test equipment supplier to the semiconductor industry, and is also one of the world's leading producers of electronic and optoelectronic instruments and systems.
A global company, Advantest has long offered total ATE solutions, and leads the industry in every component of semiconductor test: tester, handler, mechanical and electrical interfaces, and software. Its logic, memory, mixed- signal and RF testers, and device handlers, are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor fabrication lines in the world.
Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its North American subsidiary in 1982. Advantest America, Inc.; Advantest America R&D Center, Inc.; and the newly established Advantest Test Engineering Corporation are based in Santa Clara, California.
SOURCE: Advantest Corporation |
