Teradyne's New Handlers Make European Debut

BEDFORD, N.H. (PROTEXT) - Teradyne's Semicon Europa exhibit (Munich, April 13-15) will showcase the Company's new Galileo In- Tray-Test(TM) Handler, coupled with Teradyne's revolutionary new INTEGRA J750 VLSI Test System in a compact test cell boasting a throughput of more than 7000 devices per hour, based on a 1- second test time. The Galileo, which will be shown along with the companion Apollo Sorter, will be operating in an 8-site configuration, handling TSOP and QFP packages. The test cell, featuring the INTEGRA J750 tester docked atop Galileo, is said to be the most productive device test/handling unit available, as well as the most space-efficient, with a footprint approximately one-quarter that of conventional systems. One of the keys to the test cell's high throughput is its 8- site and higher configuration, according to Steve Devino, Product Manager of Teradyne's Kinetrix Division, which produces the new handlers. "The vast majority of devices have fewer than 64 pins," he says, "and for these, 8-site or greater testing offers a throughput advantage no test manager can ignore. The alternative is to design your test cell to accommodate the 5 or 10 percent of your parts that have high pin counts, and sacrifice throughput for your high- volume parts. We think that most people will agree that's too high a price to pay." Devino also points to the throughput and reliability advantages of in-tray handling, with sorting off-loaded to a separate unit. "With separate handlers and sorters you can buy the right mix of each to minimize capital cost and maximize throughput," he noted. "And, of course, tray handling avoids most of the jams and other mechanical problems that arise when you handle parts individually." At Teradyne's Semicon Europa exhibit, parts will be cycled in trays through the Galileo Handler. The Apollo Sorter will demonstrate sorting of parts in both backfill and media transfer modes. The new handler and sorter are the first products to be announced by Kinetrix, a division of Teradyne based in Bedford, New Hampshire. Initial shipments of the Apollo Sorter were made in 1998, and the Galileo is now being evaluated by several major semiconductor manufacturers. The INTEGRA J750 VLSI Test System, introduced by Teradyne's Integra Test Division in 1998, is now being shipped in volume to semiconductor makers throughout the world. Its small footprint and high parallel test throughput provides the most economical approach to testing complex VLSI devices with embedded memory and analog cells. Teradyne (NYSE: TER) is the world's largest manufacturer of automatic test equipment (ATE) for the electronics industry. Products include systems to test semiconductors, circuit boards and modules, telephone lines, computerized telephone systems, and software. Teradyne supports these products through an extensive service and application engineering network, with technical centers located throughout the United States, Europe, and Pacific Rim. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Teradyne reported sales of approximately $1.5 billion in 1998 and has about 6,800 employees worldwide. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol TER. The company's Web address is http://www.teradyne.com. Kinetrix, formed by Teradyne in 1996, is located in Bedford, NH and employs a staff of 85 in a 50,000-square-foot plant. Kinetrix is integrated with the vast engineering resources of Teradyne's semiconductor test groups in Boston and California, as well as the Connection Systems Division in nearby Nashua. Kinetrix Web address is http://www.kinetrix.com. ots Original Text Service: Kinetrix Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Diane Paige, Public Relations, Teradyne, 603-471-1352, or fax, 603-471-7024, diane.paige@teradyne.com Company News On- Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/847750.html or fax, 800-758- 5804, ext. 847750 Web site: http://www.teradyne.com Web site: http://www.kinetrix.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT