Verigy Introduces Port Scale RF Test Solution for V93000

  
    
  
  
    
      Verigy (NASDAQ:VRGY), a premier semiconductor test company, today 
      introduced the Port Scale RF solution for the V93000 SoC Test Platform. 
      This new solution provides the cost-effective, reliable RF measurement 
      capability required to test emerging high-integration devices containing 
      integrated RF, mixed signal, digital, power management and embedded or 
      stacked memory, as well as low-integration RF transceivers. Verigy 
      developed the Port Scale RF solution for the V93000 SoC test system to 
      meet the current and future requirements of semiconductor fabless design 
      companies, integrated device manufacturers, and outsourced semiconductor 
      assembly and test companies.
    
    
      “The emerging high-integration devices being 
      manufactured today to power the next generation of mobile consumer 
      electronics devices are posing significant challenges to our customers,” 
      said Pascal Ronde, vice president of sales, service and support, Verigy. “The 
      architecture of the V93000 platform allows us to add this RF capability 
      while achieving remarkable throughput, and still maintaining the lowest 
      cost-of-test.”
    
    
      Today RF is pervasive, a required element in a variety of 
      wireless-enabled devices and communications applications from cell 
      phones, to satellite-based navigation equipment, tuners and set-top 
      boxes. RF is also required in PCs and laptops supporting standards such 
      as WiMAX, WLAN, Bluetooth and UWB. Previously, RF components were 
      separate parts, “jelly beans;” 
      now, increasingly, multiple RF radios are integrated into a single IC. 
      Similarly, devices such as mobile phones are designed to meet the 
      standards of multiple geographies, such as GSM/CDMA, CDMA2000, EDGE and 
      EV-DO. As a result, designs that previously would have included a single 
      receiver now often include as many as four or more RF transceivers. As 
      these different RF communication standards are integrated into one RF 
      circuit, the challenges for test increase dramatically. Verigy developed 
      the Port Scale RF in anticipation of its customers’ 
      emerging requirements for maintaining lowest possible cost-of-test 
      (COT), for both high-integration and low-integration RF devices.
    
    
      Architecture for Optimized Throughput
    
    
      The Port Scale RF solution is a solid state design with all of the RF 
      resources located in the V93000 test head. Unlike other solutions which 
      use slow external equipment, the Port Scale RF solution is based on fast 
      solid state components that do not compromise throughput, performance or 
      measurement accuracy.
    
    
      The solution can be configured with 12, 24 or 48 RF ports. True 
      quad-site is achieved with 24 RF ports and, with its high multi-site 
      parallel efficiency, the solution addresses the port counts required by 
      high-integration devices and provides the highest test efficiency to 
      achieve the lowest COT. Port Scale RF meets increasing performance, 
      yield and economic demands, offering high performance, with highly 
      accurate, stable measurements and the industry’s 
      lowest noise floor (down to -161 dBm/Hz).
    
    
      Faster Time-to-Market
    
    
      Port Scale RF features integrated analog and RF test setup, integrated 
      test flow and step-by-step debug tools to reduce test development time. 
      Verigy has added fast and accurate “one-click” 
      intelligent calibration, and now uses a powerful Eclipse™ 
      software environment with an active hardware view, which provides the 
      user with an intuitive, graphical view of the RF measurement block 
      diagram, and the ability to export RF setups to test method templates. 
      The solid state RF design and the unique, water-cooled architecture of 
      the V93000 mean that no test plan calibration is required during most of 
      the development phase.
    
    
      Advanced Hardware for Breakthrough 
      Performance
    
    
      Verigy incorporates the industry’s highest 
      functionality per square centimeter onto single slot cards inserted into 
      the V93000 test head, for smaller tester footprint and lower cost. The 
      Port Scale RF solution is comprised of the following modular cards and 
      kit:
    
    
      
        RF Source card (instrument-quality signal generator 10 MHz-6 GHz);
      
      
        RF Front End card (each provides 12 RF ports);
      
      
        RF Interface (provides, high-density, robust RF interface to customers’ 
        load board and probe cards);
      
      
        MB AV8 card (provides 4 arbitrary wave generator (AWG) cores and 4 
        digitizer cores);
      
      
        48 port RF calibration kit (support up to 10 RF systems with 1 kit).
      
    
    
      More information can be found at www.verigy.com/go/PortScaleRF.
    
    
      Pricing and Availability
    
    
      The Port Scale RF solution starts at USD $320,000. Verigy is accepting 
      customer orders now, and first shipments begin in July 2007.
    
    
      About the Verigy V93000
    
    
      The Verigy V93000 provides a scalable platform architecture for testing 
      SoCs, system-in-packages (SIPs) and high-speed memory devices. The 
      V93000, now with more than 1,500 systems installed worldwide, meets the 
      industry’s demanding performance and cost 
      challenges, whether for at-speed engineering characterization or 
      high-volume production. The test system provides massive multi-site 
      capabilities, with data rates up to 12.8 Gbps and supports a full range 
      of digital, mixed-signal and RF applications. It provides low 
      cost-of-test for wireless applications such as cellular, WLAN, WiMax, 
      and UWB.
    
    
      About Verigy
    
    
      Verigy designs, develops, manufactures, sells and services advanced test 
      systems and solutions for the memory and system-on-chip segments of the 
      semiconductor industry. Verigy’s scalable 
      platform systems are used by leading semiconductor companies worldwide 
      in design validation, characterization, and high volume manufacturing 
      test. Formerly part of Agilent Technologies, the company began doing 
      business as Verigy on June 1, 2006, and completed its initial public 
      offering on June 13, 2006. Information about Verigy can be found at www.verigy.com.
    
    
      Eclipse is a trademark of Eclipse Foundation, Inc.