News - Component Test

LTX-Credence announces new Product for Connectivity Device Testing

19 December 2012 - LTX-Credence Corporation announced the first product under the Nighthawk brand, NighthawkCT for testing connectivity devices. The NighthawkCT instrument is capable of full quad-site parallel test and up to two NighthawkCT instruments can be configured in a test system allowing for full functional testing of up to eight devices simultaneously.

Connectivity devices, including Zigbee, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and DVB integrated circuits, are high-volume, price sensitive devices used in a diverse and growing portfolio of consumer products. Prior to the introduction of NighthawkCT, the only option for semiconductor companies designing connectivity devices to reduce test costs was to implement massive multi-site solutions on large, expensive RF testers. These solutions lead to higher capital cost, lower capital utilization and longer time to market. NighthawkCT represents a major shift in testing strategy for these types of devices and significantly improves on every aspect of RF connectivity test.

With the adoption of NighthawkCT, customers can take advantage of the following benefits:

•A lower cost of test by over 50% compared to traditional competitive solutions.

 •The widest IF bandwidth in the industry, allowing for fast and accurate testing of all existing standards and the newly emerging 802.11ac devices.

 •Powerful embedded DSP processing to enhance dynamic range and produce the fastest throughput.

 •An ultra compact RF system (the size of a laptop), which can easily upgrade any Diamond Series or X-Series tester in the field in typically 30 minutes.

 •The lowest annual operating cost due to a calibration strategy which eliminates costly hardware and improves test cell operational efficiency.

Each NighthawkCT instrument is capable of full quad-site parallel test and up to two NighthawkCT instruments can be configured in a test system allowing for full functional testing of up to eight devices simultaneously. NighthawkCT will be released to manufacturing in the first calendar quarter of 2013.

"In our view NighthawkCT represents revolutionary technology. This new product, two years in the making, represents innovation at the highest level by leveraging 30 years of experience developing RF test solutions," said David Tacelli, LTX-Credence president and chief executive officer. "Our beta customers are extremely impressed with the performance, speed, size and reliability of the product. We anticipate NighthawkCT will be a significant advantage for the Company when competing for business in the connectivity space."

www.ltxc.com/