Advantest Introduces Industry’s First Flexible DUT Interface Enabling Increased Parallelism on V93000 EXA Scale Test Systems

In today’s testing environments, the number of devices that can be tested in parallel is most often limited by the component space on the probe card or DUT board, not by available tester resources. With fast-growing market segments including automotive, mobile and RF devices trending toward higher site counts, the need for more space on DUT boards for IC testing is becoming critical. In addition, leading-edge wafer probers and final-test handlers require more area on printed circuit boards to provide the most cost-efficient solutions, from single wafer touch-down capabilities in wafer probing to massively parallel final testing across 32 sites or more.

Advantest offers the industry’s first DUT interface with the capability to adapt either to the existing standard DUT board or probe card size or to switch to the new, significantly larger size. Using a unique sliding mechanism, users can effortlessly switch back and forth between both formats to adapt to specific application requirements.

Along with the new interface, a new super-stiff extended bridge achieves superior deflection performance in direct-probing set ups. The unit’s universal design gives it the versatility to support a wide range of applications including digital and RF device testing.

With its sophisticated sensing capabilities, the extended bridge delivers the industry’s best planarity and high manufacturing yield, ensuring highly accurate positioning and verification of probe card clamping.

“Our new DUT Scale Duo enables the next stepping in parallelism while embodying Advantest’s continuing emphasis on system compatibility by allowing users to utilize their existing DUT boards and probe cards with a new interface,” said Advantest’s General Manager and EVP, Jürgen Serrer. “In addition to protecting customers’ investments, our approach to delivering the most efficient test solutions also offers flexibility and simplifies fleet management on the test floor.”

The new interface’s performance has been verified by pilot customers before device ramp up for high-volume manufacturing.

“The DUT Scale Duo interface supports us to unleash the next step in test cell efficiency, enabling more productive use of test assets,” stated Renie de Kok, test technology manager for docking and interfacing at NXP^® Semiconductors.

“The co-development of DUT Scale Duo exemplifies the strategic collaboration between Advantest and NXP, paving the path for a future proof EXA Scale platform,” added Marty Kampes, test technology manager for ATE at NXP^® Semiconductors.

DUT Scale Duo is expected to be broadly available by the middle of this year.