News Briefs

Teradyne has announced the sales of semiconductor test systems to three companies operating in China. First, Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) has selected UltraFLEX test systems for high-volume wafer testing. Teradyne reports that SMIC will use the UltraFLEX (pictured) to test audio, baseband, HDTV, high-speed-communications, and embedded-memory products.

Teradyne also announced that Actions Semiconductor, a fabless company in China, has purchased J750 test systems for MP3 and codec device test. Actions Semiconductor will employ the J750 as a dedicated engineering and production test system. Finally, Teradyne reported that ASAT, a provider of semiconductor package design, assembly, and test services, has purchased Teradyne FLEX and J750 systems for high-volume consumer-device test applications. The systems will be used in ASAT's new China facility located in Dong Guan. www.teradyne.com.

Because existing standards governing electromagnetic interference (EMI) in electronic systems do not address systems that use replaceable electronic modules (REMs), the IEEE-SA Standards Board recently approved Project 1688, Standard for Module Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Testing. The group will work to define susceptibility and emissions tests for radiated and conducted EMI on REMs.

Part of the IEEE EMC Society, the P-1688 group hopes to develop a draft standard in time for the 2006 IEEE EMC Symposium (August 14–18, Portland, OR). The project team is headed by Fred Heather, Joint Strike Fighter Electromagnetics Effects Lead. mailto:heatherf@ieee.org.

Agilent Technologies reports that ASAT, a subcontract manufacturer in China, and Hong Kong Science Technology Park (HKSTP), Hong Kong's IC development support center, have each selected an Agilent 93000 Pin Scale system with Audio/Video 8 functionality.

ASAT will use the system for testing high-volume mixed-signal and digital devices at its new production facility in Dong Guan, China. "Many of our customers have requested that we adopt the 93000 Pin Scale system to support their device testing requirements," said John Ritchie, senior director of testing operations and engineering at ASAT. "The 93000 Pin Scale tester allows ASAT to flexibly support the varied test demands we receive from different mixed-signal device applications, using one test platform. This will help us to meet our production test goals in our new China facility."

Agilent says that HKSTP will use the Agilent 93000 Pin Scale system for testing high-speed and mixed-signal devices used in mobile consumer electronics and personal computers. "We selected the 93000 Pin Scale system and the A/V8 because of the system's cost-effective per-pin upgrade capability and high performance in high-speed, mixed-signal multisite test," said Ir. S.W. Cheung, VP of business development and technology support at HKSTP. "In addition, Agilent's knowledgeable application engineers are able to complement the skills of our internal resources by providing advanced support for our tenants and customers." www.agilent.com.

Trendsmedia and CWLab are joining forces at the WiMAX World Europe Conference and Expo, slated for May 22–24, 2006, in Vienna, Austria, to produce a special preconference WiMAX performance plugfest. The program is geared to network operator attendees who are currently evaluating the best WiMAX and pre-WiMAX equipment. Vendors sponsoring the plugfest will have their equipment or services tested and results featured at the WiMAX event. Plugfest results will be presented in a half-day program at the conference. www.wimaxworldeurope.com.

The Siloti family of software tools addresses the problem of decreasing visibility into the functional operation of complex ICs during late-stage verification and system validation. They aim to overcome the problems of limited signal observability in near- and post-silicon applications with patent-pending visibility-enhancement technology. Siloti can serve in simulation, emulation, first-silicon prototyping, and silicon debug. The Siloti tools are tightly integrated with their vendor's Verdi automated debug system to bring RTL debug to visibility-challenged environments.

The underlying Siloti visibility-enhancement technology analyzes limited signal data, automatically derives missing information, and correlates complex low-level representations with RTL descriptions. Initial products in the family include the Siloti SilVE and SimVE offerings, which work with third-party simulation, emulation and FPGA-based prototyping tools, as well as with emerging DFD tools and test environments. The Siloti SilVE product works with emulators, prototypes, and DFD-enabled chips to optimize observability of signals. The Siloti SimVE product works with standard HDL simulators to make regression simulation more efficient.

Base price: $65,000 for an annual license. Novas Software, www.novas.com.

Agilent Technologies' DSO80000B series of four-channel, 2-GHz to 13-GHz oscilloscopes, which includes eight models, improves on the noise floor of the DSO80000A series. The lower noise floor lets you use a higher-bandwidth scope than you could with previous models. By moving to a higher bandwidth, you can capture high-frequency harmonics and produce a more accurate picture of a waveform. The DSO80000B series also let you upgrade a unit's bandwidth without returning it to the factory. Thus, you can buy just enough bandwidth for your current applications and upgrade as your signals gain speed.

The DSO80000B adds the Infiniiscan option, which lets you post-process signals and sets triggers based on waveform characteristics. With this $4995 option, you get a menu that lets you select from several categories of triggers. The measurement category, for example, lets you trigger the scope based on parameters such as rise time or pulse width. It also lets you trigger on frequency, jitter, and a combination of voltage and time characteristics.

Prices: $30,000 to $115,000. Bandwidth upgrades—$9000 to $19,500. Agilent Technologies, www.agilent.com/find/dso80000b.

Vision Show East, May 9–11, Boston, MA. Sponsored by Automated Imaging Association. www.machinevisiononline.org.

Sensors Expo & Conference, June 5–7, Rosemont, IL. Sponsored by Questex Media Group. www.sensorsexpo.com.

MTT-S/International Microwave Symposium, June 11–16, San Francisco, CA. Sponsored by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S). www.ims2006.org.

To learn about other conferences, courses, and calls for papers, visit www.tmworld.com/events.