Test System for advanced 28nm Devices and 3D Architectures

26 July 2011 – Verigy has announced the new V93000 Smart Scale Generation of test systems and pin cards. These are scalable, highly cost-efficient tester classes for advanced semiconductor designs, including 3D device architectures and IC designs for the 28nm technology node and beyond.

Fully compatible with Verigy’s production-proven V93000 platform, the Smart Scale series is an innovative “smart” generation of testers with advanced per-pin capabilities. Smart testing means that each pin can run with its own clock domain, providing full test coverage by matching the exact data rate requirements of the device under test. Coupled with other key features such as power supply modulation, jitter injection and protocol communication, system-like-stress test now can be performed at the ATE level, improving fault-model coverage.

“With our innovative V93000 Smart Scale Generation of test systems and pin cards, Verigy is pioneering smarter test methodologies that provide custom-fit solutions to reduce our customers’ cost of test,” said Hans-Juergen Wagner, executive vice president of SOC test at Verigy, an Advantest Group company.

Each of the four Smart Scale tester classes – designated A, C, S and L – has a different test head size, enabling Verigy to provide the most efficient solution for each user’s specific applications.

Wagner added, “Because the tester classes are seamlessly compatible with each other, users can quickly and easily move their semiconductor devices from one Smart Scale class to another when the production volume of ICs changes over the lifetime of a device. No other supplier of automated test equipment offers this capability."

Verigy’s unique approach delivers greater capabilities in parallel testing and the industry’s first full-performance test solution at wafer sort – critical performance requirements for testing advanced system-on-chip (SOC) devices, system-in-package (SiP) devices and wafer-level chip-scale packages (WLCSPs). Along with its V93000 Smart Scale testers, Verigy also is launching three new digital channel cards. The new Pin Scale 1600 digital card and Pin Scale 1600-ME (memory emulation) card offer the industry’s widest scale of capabilities on each digital channel. In addition to offering data rates ranging from DC to 1.6 gigabits per second (Gbps) – twice as fast as earlier generations – these cards also double or quadruple the densities of previous pin cards. The new highly integrated, small-form-factor cards incorporate Verigy’s clock-domain-per-pin™, protocol-engine-per-pin™, PRBS per pin and SmartLoop™ testing capabilities for symmetrical high-speed interfaces. In addition, they provide precision DC capabilities and can perform asynchronous testing for high multi-site efficiency and concurrent testing.

Verigy’s new Pin Scale 9G card makes at-speed test affordable. Combining data rates of up to 8 Gbps with the same per-pin versatility as the Pin Scale 1600, this card maximizes pin usage while minimizing idle resources. The Pin Scale 9G card supports bi-directional capabilities on all pins and single-ended and differential modes of operation. It also can perform both pattern- and pattern-less test to address the vast majority of testing needs, from parallel I/O testing for design verification to serial physical layer (PHY) testing in high-volume manufacturing.