News Briefs

Credence Systems has reported that it achieved profitability for its fourth quarter and for its fiscal year that ended November 3, 2007. That marks a milestone the company hadn’t expected to reach until the end of 2008, according to Lavi Lev, Credence’s president and CEO. In an effort to maintain profitability, the company announced a retrenchment that will cause it to shrink by about 30%. The move will result in about 500 job cuts in Europe and North America; about 100 jobs will be added in Armenia and East Asia as Credence augments R&D efforts and regroups to better serve its Asian customers.

In a phone interview, Lev said that the retrenchment will focus the company on the consumer semiconductor test market. “We have a pretty strict filter” that defines the consumer space, Lev said. “We want to go after markets that are constantly growing, and we want to make sure there are multiple customers for our products. Dependency on a single customer is not healthy for a company of our size.”

The company will target consumer applications with its ASL, Diamond, and Sapphire (except for the Sapphire DPI) platforms, which represented 53% of Credence’s business in 2007, Lev said. He cited the ASL platform (pictured) as a particularly successful one, with more than 3000 systems deployed worldwide and with an estimated 6000 engineers worldwide trained on it. www.credence.com.

JDSU recently acquired the fiber-optic division of Westover Scientific, which manufactures specialized fiber-inspection microscopes that are used to detect dirt and other contaminants in fiber-optic networks. Westover Scientific’s fiber test business includes approximately 80 employees and had calendar 2007 revenues of more than $15 million. Its products will be integrated with JDSU’s Communications Test & Measurement business. www.jdsu.com.

EADS North America Test & Services has been awarded a multiyear performance-based logistics (PBL) contract for the support of US Navy aircraft engine test systems. The contract is for material support, global repair services, and obsolescence management of the test systems, which are used to test jet and turboshaft engines on Navy fighter aircraft and helicopters.

Awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Lakehurst, NJ, the contract covers the US Navy’s Jet Engine Test Instrumentation (JETI) and Shaft Engine Test Instrumentation (SETI) systems. To date, 32 JETI and four SETI systems have been acquired by the Navy for deployment aboard aircraft carriers and in land-based installations.

EADS North America Test & Services’ support initially will be provided in a three-year ramp-up phase, which is to be followed by a 10-year, full-scale PBL program. The total value of the contract is $4.1 million. www.eads-nadefense.com.

PCB Piezotronics has formed a PCB Aerospace & Defense Division group at the company’s headquarters in Depew, NY. The group will specialize in products and programs for the aerospace, civil and military aviation, defense, homeland security, nuclear, and test and measurement markets.

Products include space-rated accelerometers; sensors and instrumentation for unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and ground vehicles; high-temperature engine vibration-monitoring sensors; and launch and separation shock sensors. The group will also provide targeted applications engineering. Overseeing the new division as senior director will be Ronald J. Livecchi, a 30-year aerospace industry veteran. www.pcb.com.

The Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA)—a test and certification institution for Asia—has awarded Agilent Technologies a contract for Mobile WiMAX Protocol Conformance Test (PCT). Headquartered in Korea, TTA provides Mobile WiMAX testing and certification services and will employ Agilent’s N6430A Mobile WiMAX PCT and development system in its base and mobile station test platform.

The N6430A provides tools for 802.16-2004/Cor2 D3 Mobile WiMAX PCT and development testing, with a scripting interface to a fully functional radio bearer. The TTA develops standards and provides testing and certification for IT products. It is also a WiMAX Forum Designated Certification Lab. www.agilent.com.

Tektronix has added its DPX waveform image processor to the midrange line of RSA3000B real-time spectrum analyzers, making it possible for you to view the time-varying characteristics of RF signals. The RSA3000B series now lets you use the same color-graded persistence available on the company’s high-end spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes.

With color-graded persistence, the RSA3000B can capture frequency-hopping signals such as Bluetooth and wireless LAN that can interfere with fixed-frequency signals. Other applications include detecting of illegal signals in a frequency band. The analyzer can process 48,000 waveforms/s. You can use the persistence mode to find interfering signals, then switch to frequency-domain triggering to capture, store, and analyze those signals.

The RSA3000B spectrum analyzers include compliance test support for ISO 18000-7, the standard that defines the air interface for RFID products. They also support compliance tests for ISO 15693-3, the standard for vicinity cards.

Base prices: $34,000–$53,000, depending on bandwidth. Tektronix, www.tektronix.com.

The ISN T8 impedance-stabilization network from Teseq lets you measure conducted common-mode electromagnetic interference (EMI) on up to four unshielded single-balanced pairs of cables. The ISN T8 can couple or decouple equipment under test (EUT) from other equipment necessary to operate the EUT. Thus, you can measure common-mode signals while running your EUT with actual loads. You can use the network to decouple equipment with Ethernet ports up to 1000Base-T from other equipment.

The ISN T8 consists of one basic network (ISN T800) with D-sub-25 connectors and longitudinal conversion loss (LCL) adapter sets for Cat-3 and Cat-5 cables. It has a frequency range of 150 kHz to 30 MHz; maximum line-to-ground voltage is 63 VAC and 100 VDC. Maximum current ratings are 400 mA per line and 800 mA per pair.

Optional connectors include prewired RJ11 and RJ45 adapters (the ADS T800 and the ADS T8x0) for common pin configurations. The ADS T800 adapter set lets you connect RJ45 sockets, and the ADS T8x0 offers changeable pin arrangements with 1-mm banana connectors for all pin combinations of RJ11 and RJ45 connectors.

Base price: $3,890. Teseq, www.teseq.com.

Measurement Science Conference, March 10–14, Anaheim, CA. Sponsored by the Measurement Science Conference, www.msc-conf.com.

APEX and IPC Printed Circuits Expo, March 29–April 3, Las Vegas, NV. Sponsored by IPC, www.goipcshows.org.

SAE World Congress, April 14–17, Detroit, MI. Sponsored by the SAE, www.sae.org.

See our complete calendar at www.tmworld.com/events.