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 newINTEGRA J750 VLSI Test System in a compact test cell boasting athroughput of more than 7000 devices per hour, based on a 1-second test time. The Galileo, which will be shown along with thecompanion Apollo Sorter, will be operating in an 8-siteconfiguration, handling TSOP and QFP packages. The test cell,featuring the INTEGRA J750 tester docked atop Galileo, is said tobe the most productive device test/handling unit available, aswell as the most space-efficient, with a footprint approximatelyone-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, ProductManager of Teradyne's Kinetrix Division, which produces the newhandlers. "The vast majority of devices have fewer than 64 pins,"he says, "and for these, 8-site or greater testing offers athroughput advantage no test manager can ignore. The alternativeis to design your test cell to accommodate the 5 or 10 percent ofyour parts that have high pin counts, and sacrifice throughputfor your high- volume parts. We think that most people will agreethat's too high a price to pay." Devino also points to the throughput and reliabilityadvantages of in-tray handling, with sorting off-loaded to aseparate unit. "With separate handlers and sorters you can buythe right mix of each to minimize capital cost and maximizethroughput," he noted. "And, of course, tray handling avoids mostof the jams and other mechanical problems that arise when youhandle parts individually." At Teradyne's Semicon Europaexhibit, parts will be cycled in trays through the GalileoHandler. The Apollo Sorter will demonstrate sorting of parts inboth backfill and media transfer modes. The new handler and sorter are the first products to beannounced by Kinetrix, a division of Teradyne based in Bedford,New Hampshire. Initial shipments of the Apollo Sorter were madein 1998, and the Galileo is now being evaluated by several majorsemiconductor manufacturers. The INTEGRA J750 VLSI Test System,introduced by Teradyne's Integra Test Division in 1998, is nowbeing shipped in volume to semiconductor makers throughout theworld. Its small footprint and high parallel test throughputprovides the most economical approach to testing complex VLSIdevices with embedded memory and analog cells. Teradyne (NYSE: TER) is the world's largest manufacturer ofautomatic test equipment (ATE) for the electronics industry.Products include systems to test semiconductors, circuit boardsand modules, telephone lines, computerized telephone systems, andsoftware. Teradyne supports these products through an extensiveservice and application engineering network, with technicalcenters located throughout the United States, Europe, and PacificRim. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Teradyne reportedsales of approximately $1.5 billion in 1998 and has about 6,800employees worldwide. Its stock is listed on the New York StockExchange, under the symbol TER. The company's Web address ishttp://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 ofTeradyne's semiconductor test groups in Boston and California, aswell as the Connection Systems Division in nearby Nashua.Kinetrix Web address is http://www.kinetrix.com. ots OriginalText Service: Kinetrix Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.deContact: 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

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