How ATE keeps pace with customers (continued)

A continuation of our interview with Keith Barnes, Chairman of Verigy, which appeared in the Dec. 2010/Jan. 2011 Viewpoint column.

Larry Maloney, Contributing Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 12/22/2010 12:00:00 AM

Keith Barnes Chairman and CEO Verigy Cupertino, CA Keith Barnes became president and CEO of Verigy in May 2006 when the firm began as a spin-off from Agilent Technologies, and he currently serves as chairman and CEO. Previously, Barnes was chairman and CEO of Electroglas, a manufacturer of IC probes, and prior to that, he was chairman and CEO of Integrated Measurement Systems, an Oregon-based company specializing in mixed-signal and memory-IC verification (the firm was acquired by Credence Systems in 2001). Barnes is active in numerous industry associations and serves on the board of Cascade Microtech. He has served on five public company boards and was a three-term regent at the University of Portland. Contributing editor Larry Maloney interviewed Keith Barnes by phone about new automated test equipment technology for semiconductor test. Read the first part of this interview To read past Viewpoint columns, go to www.tmworld.com/viewpoint

Q: In addition to 4G, what are some other key features that customers want to see most in semiconductor ATE (automated test equipment)?
A: It all boils down to how useful the system is in helping customers get their job done right. If devices don't work, if customers can't test the products properly, then factors like trying to lower the cost of test are pointless. That's why the top priority for us is staying abreast of customer innovation.

Once you have a test system that properly works for a customer's application, then such factors as scalability come into play. Customers want to be able to add new capabilities without having to replace an entire system. And, of course, customers are interested in what ATE vendors can do to increase throughput and parallelism to lower the cost of test.

Q: How important are new ATE software tools to customers?
A: Software continues to be a very important part of ATE systems. Verigy employs many more software engineers than we do hardware engineers. First, there's a significant layer of embedded software that resides on the platform itself. And then, depending on the user's responsibilities, there are additional software packages to help get the job done.

For design and characterization engineers, for example, we offer software that helps them visualize a part, analyze how well it's working, and debug a part or a test flow. In addition, we offer other types of software to devise test programs, as well as perform yield analysis. We received a Hot 100 Product Award from EDN magazine last year for our Yield Learning software toolset, which consists of our Triage Fault Locator and YieldVision Analysis and Visualization tools. These tools are designed to help customers achieve their design-for-manufacturability goals.

Q: How does the new V101 tester fit into Verigy's growth strategy, versus your existing testers for SOC (system on a chip) and memory devices?
A: The V93000 has traditionally focused on final or package test of high-end, high-speed SOC devices. As demand for lower-speed, less-complex devices continued to grow, particularly in the microcontroller and mixed-signal areas, we felt that it was important for us to develop a platform geared to the cost and technical capabilities of those applications. It didn't make sense to reposition the V93000 for that test market. So, we took the technology that already resided within Verigy, as well as expertise we obtained with the 2007 acquisition of Inovys, and designed an entirely new platform, the V101. And we expect this new tester to become a growing part of our business, and a very significant addition to the V93000 for high-end applications and to our V6000 memory tester.

Q: What are some of the new capabilities that Verigy has added to the V93000 tester?
A: With the emergence of 4G wireless, we have added a new plug-in Port Scale RF option for the V93000. You can use this new capability to test these new LTE broadband data and telephony chips, or you can use the Port Scale RF in tandem with the overall V93000 platform to test other chips that go into a 4G product.

In July, we introduced the HSM3G high-speed memory test solution, which is designed for such applications as the high-speed memories that go into video-game products or high-speed computers. Both the HSM3G and the HSM6800, also introduced in July, are targeted at the very high end of the memory market. The HSM3G achieves a native 2.9-Gbps data rate and is targeted for DDR3, DDR4, and beyond. The HSM6800 high-performance tester is targeted on GDDR5 (graphics DDR5) and XDR (external data representation) devices.

Finally, we have introduced a new direct-probe solution for RF. Our direct-probe solution has already been installed in more than 100 volume-production sites. This new solution reduces the cost of test for high-pin-count digital and complex mixed-signal devices, and it addresses the semiconductor market's shift to performance probe test and wafer-level, chip-scale packages. The V93000 with this direct-probe RF capability can be designed to use a single-load board for both wafer probe and final test, which reduces the time between IC development and production.

Q: Looking ahead, what emerging application areas provide good targets for Verigy's ATE platforms?
A: Every year, the RF marketplace gets more and more complex. For example, a major trend is the need for customers to simultaneously test multiple antennas. Companies need the ability to test 3G, 4G, WiFi, WiMAX, and Bluetooth-all in the same device. Another continuing opportunity open to semiconductor ATE companies is the need to test more devices at the same time-the element of parallelism. Still another dimension, in terms of future opportunities, is the ability to test complex devices, using protocols that are more native to the devices and the products they go into, rather than just test vectors.

In the high-speed memory area, users will continue to press for more speed because of the performance requirements of the system, such as gaming or high-speed computing. You also will see more test opportunities for stacked devices, such as 3-D TSVs (3-D chipstacks using through-silicon vias).

Q: How has the acquisition of Touchdown Technologies expanded Verigy's capabilities?
A: In June 2009, Verigy acquired Touchdown Technologies, which develops and manufactures advanced MEMS-based probe cards used in wafer-sort testing of memory devices. The memory market can be quite volatile, but there's a continuing need for such probe cards for memory testers, even though test methodologies change over time. So, advanced probe cards represent another very good opportunity for us, representing about a $400 million to $600 million annual market industry-wide. We have developed, for example, a probe card solution for testing 300-mm DRAM wafers, and will be working hard to develop that segment of the market over the next two years.

Q: How well is Verigy positioned to serve the fast expanding Asian markets?
A: More than 80% of our business is in Asia. One of the good things that we inherited from our Hewlett-Packard-Agilent gene pool was a cadre of very good people at all levels of the business throughout Asia, as well as facilities and customer relationships that have been grown for over 30 years. Some of our people were among the first HP managers in China and other Asian countries. So, our ability to increase our business throughout Asia continues to be world-class.

Q: You have headed Verigy since the spin-off from Agilent in 2006. How has the company's business philosophy evolved since its inception?
A: Some things have stayed very constant, such as the strong commitment to innovation, customer service, and new product development. Operationally, we have gone through different phases since 2006. In the first year after the spinoff, we wanted to go through a stabilization period, as we adjusted to a new manufacturing site, a new ERP [enterprise resource planning] system, and new payroll and compensation plans.

It was fortunate that we had this stable period and were generating cash, because then came the downturn. We were able to continue making investments in new products and customer service, even while cutting costs during the recession. And that commitment put us in a position to grow our business in fiscal 2010. And, as noted earlier, we have broadened our product line, with the new focus on the V101 tester and advanced probe cards for memory test.

Q: Having survived the latest deep semiconductor slump, what can ATE vendors do to mitigate the impact of future booms and busts in the industry? 
A: We, along with the chip companies, all work in a cyclical industry, but the ATE companies are at the end of the bull whip. So, even though chip companies fluctuate substantially, semiconductor test companies fluctuate even more.

The important thing that ATE companies must do is to make sure that they have the ability to flex their business operations. That is, you must be able to grow the business rapidly when the economy is strong, and then shrink variable costs when business is poor. And we as a company have had to do that during the downturns and upturns of recent years.

Second, it is very important that chip companies and ATE companies work very closely together on forecasting. We can all do a better job communicating about what is coming down the road, whether it be good news or bad news. This helps us respond better as partners. Also, we must continue to invest in new products and technologies during the downturns, because often no one knows for sure which products will really lift the market as the economy improves.

Q: And are you keeping up with the current spike in demand?
A: I think we are doing pretty well, considering that we have doubled our output in recent quarters in certain product areas. Our ability to do that is based both on our understanding of customer requirements and our good relationships with our supplier base. Some companies have been nearly hysterical in their effort to get parts, but we have not encountered that problem. We've gone through the worst downturn that most of us have ever seen. I am optimistic that going forward, even though the growth in the gross domestic product is expected to be slower than in past upturns, the direction of the business is still quite positive.