Many of the Key Test Issues Will Intensify in Importance As both a test system company and a handler company, we understand the demands on the entire test cell all too well. Many of the key test issues of today will intensify in importance in the new century, as the bar continues to be raised, especially in the areas of IC speed, industry competition, and cost.
The trend in memory devices-high speed complex devices, such as SDRAM and DDR-is that most of these devices will become part of memory modules. Older, slower, lower-capacity modules were tested only in sample batches. But newer, high-speed modules require more testing, so the trend is toward more handlers that can accommodate memory modules. Time-to-market cycles continue to shrink, with pressure coming from consolidation of semiconductor manufacturing, and with regional suppliers giving way to global suppliers that want integrated solutions to shorten time to market. Integrated test cell solutions-particularly ones in which each component is designed to function optimally with the other components-contributes to high-volume production. And high-volume production is not reliant solely on integration. Other factors affecting production are uptime and simple, everyday concerns, such as changeovers. Handler companies that can deliver changeovers measured in seconds rather than minutes, and superior Mean Time Between Failure specifications, will become vendors of choice in the consolidated global market. Cost pressures are also ever-present and escalating. With high-end handlers today costing well over a million dollars, manufacturers and test houses are choosing their vendors with great care. The most versatile, productive and reliable handlers will be the handlers of choice, provided they can also deliver cost and production efficiencies. -Nicholas Konidaris, President and CEO, Advantest
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