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Technology Stocks : Cohu, Inc. (COHU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Christopher Brainard who wrote (2763)	3/31/2002 10:18:03 AM
From: robert b furman	Respond to of 7832

HI Chris, Not sure on Temptronics. I do know that originally testhandlers were made to heat chips in an effort to duplicate the working environment. The concept of cooling is a recent development.It was the main driver of the "Summit" machine being derived from the Castle".The frequencies that these chip operate on is 2.4 Mghz whereas 5 years ago state of the art was 333 Mghz.Add .13 micron lines vs .50 and these chips are very delicate(and they build much more heat during test cycles). As I read the announcement about Cohu's new capabilities:http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020329/290071_1.html It seems to be very strategic. 1) announcements made on Friday (a holiday), are viewed by all the vultures as trying to hide bad news.This timing at least got read by all the vultures rather than being caught up in the clutter. Pretty smart I think 2)To the degree that this generates business up front( even before the frontend making of the chip),it balances out the back end revenue that they have a niche in. Think about it - this division (when owned by Schlumberger) created cooling techniques for Intel's future generations of chips.As all high end chip manufacturers hurry to catch up with Intel's capabilities,they can now get proprietary advice on how to build the chip so it can cool sink itself during the test procedure. Doing this properly can result in "pouring the coals on" during the test.The faster the test the less the cost.The cooler the chip the better the yield of high performance chips.Many don't know this but a failed 64 megabit dram chip could well be sold as a 32 megabit chip.So yield is a function of performance of the test. This could well be the perfect counter balance to being a manufacturer of almost the last piece of equip purchased on a new line. To the degree that this new capability attracts consultant business - it will expedite the return to profitability and faster sequential growth.We are probably seeing it right now. I think it is brilliant. The future of chips require greater cooling capabilities of their testhandlers. If chip designers listen to their knowledge - they can "design in" enhanced cooling capabilities of the chip. These capabilities will provide shorter test cycles and better yields. It's a no brainer - chipmakers have to do it and it locks in Cohu's testhandlers into the manufacturing process. This may well be Cohu's best acquisition ever. I think it is just being fully undersatood how brilliant it was. Way to go Cohu !!! TO DA MOON !!!! Bob