VLSI Microprocessor HALT System
AUSTIN - Teradyne last week reported a big win for its J971 VLSI test system-advanced Micro Devices has placed "multiple orders" for the IC tester and plans to use them in testing microprocessors at its new Fab 25 in Austin, Tex.
Teradyne didn't reveal the number of units involved, but industry sources estimated the business takes in between 10 and 20 testers. With the list price of the J971 ranging between $600,000 and $2.6 million, the order may be worth between $10 million and $20 million.
Months ago, Teradyne was reportedly the favorite to win the engineering characterization test equipment business at Fab 25 (EN, Antenna, Oct. 10, 1994). It wasn't clear last week whether the order will cover AMD's engineering characterization or volume manufacturing test requirements, but the reported size of the order indicates it may address both needs.
Teradyne was said to be AMD's choice all along for Fab 25, and reportedly didn't face any serious competition for the VLSI test business at the Austin fab. The AMD orders give a psychological boost to Teradyne's Semiconductor Test division, which is enjoying outstanding business in general but suffered two major losses to Hewlett-Packard at Motorola in the past year. Most recently, Motorola's Microcontroller Technologies group decided to order more than 100 testers from HP (EN, July 17), despite having given Teradyne a two-year equipment purchased agreement last year for MCU testing equipment.
AMD's personal Computer division selected the J971 to test the Am486 MPU, which Fab 25 expects to begin producing in volume in 3Q, and the K86 line of processors, including the forthcoming Pentium-class K5. AMD selected Teradyne over other test system suppliers "on the basis of price, performance and compatibility," said Jack Saltich, director of Fab 25.
Earlier this year, AMD selected HP to provide parametric IC testers for Fab 25, a $1 million order (EN, The Test Floor, March 13), and picked Electroglas to provide an unspecified number of water probers for the Austin facility (EN, The Nov. 5, 1990). In 1991, Motorola placed a $100 million order for the test system, using it to test micro-processor and microcontrollers.
COPYRIGHT 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US)
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
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Teradyne Named to VLSI Research "10 BEST" List for 20th Straight Year
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Semiconductor equipment users from around the world recognized Teradyne and Nextest as top ten Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) companies in the 10 BEST ‘Test Equipment’ category and in the overall 10 BEST ‘Large Suppliers of Chip Making Equipment’ category. Customers rated Teradyne first in the product performance category of the survey. Teradyne has been on the ‘10 BEST’ list every year since the supplier awards were first introduced.
The VLSI Research ‘10 BEST’ rankings are a unique opportunity for chip manufacturers to provide feedback on their suppliers. Special award recognition is given to the suppliers who are rated highest by the end-users of their products.
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