Technologies that press the limits of test (continued)

Q: How big a plus are the relationships you have with research organizations?

A: There’s a natural flow from research to commercial applications. The knowledge we get from working with research institutions definitely gives us a head start on the kinds of capabilities that will be needed in new instruments targeted for commercial use. Compared to research, production solutions tend to be scaled down when it comes to extreme capabilities. However, the demands for throughput, scalability, and flexibility are much higher in commercial applications.

Q: What role will acquisitions play as Keithley looks to expand its technology offerings?

A: Acquisitions are certainly one way that we can accelerate our product roadmap, but there is no acquisition quota that we are trying to meet. We intend to be opportunistic both with acquisitions and joint development or partnerships. If such relationships can help us meet customer needs faster, we will certainly consider them. A good example of this was the 2007 acquisition of Lyocom, which gave us the software we needed for our WiMAX, WLAN, and MIMO test instruments. We could have developed such software ourselves, but we may well have missed our market window.

Q: What are your most effective tools for educating engineers on your technology?

A: We do a lot of seminars, both live and on the Web, in which we discuss measurement science and application solutions, rather than just promoting new products. For example, last year we did an online Nano Days event to bring engineers and scientists up to date on the test challenges in nanotech and Keithley’s expertise in that area. Our presence in the universities also exposes a lot of students to Keithley equipment and applications. We are constantly publishing white papers and application notes, and we offer a whole series of handbooks on such topics as nanotech, low-level measurements, and semiconductor test.

Q: You mentioned your recent trip to Asia. What kind of growth is Keithley experiencing in international markets?

A: In fiscal 2007, about 40% of Keithley's sales came from Asia and about one third came from Europe. In Asia, most definitely our fastest-growing region is China, where we are providing a lot of equipment for electronics production. But we also see good growth in pretty much all of the Asian countries we serve, including India and Southeast Asia. The semiconductor industry remains very strong in many of these countries, and in Japan we have healthy business from that country’s research efforts. In terms of applications, we are seeing a lot of growth in wireless devices, such as cellphones, and the research community continues to buy a wide range of equipment from us, not just sensitive test-and-measurement instruments.

Q: Addressing that wireless market, what’s the significance of your new 4x4 MIMO RF tester?

A: We’ve introduced what we believe is the most advanced MIMO system on the market. It consists of Keithley’s new Model 2920 vector signal generator, Model 2820 vector signal analyzer, Model 2895 MIMO synchronization unit, plus powerful MIMO signal-analysis software. These instruments can be used either in MIMO test applications or in stand-alone fashion, so it is a very flexible platform. With this system, users can test a wide array of commercial communications signals, including the industry’s most demanding and complex signals.

Q: What other products has Keithley introduced in the past year that reflect the changing needs of test engineers?

A: The C-V measurement module that we’ve introduced for our Model 4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization System is very important. It plugs into any available instrument slot on the Model 4200, giving users fast and easy capacitance measurements from picofarads to nanofarads at frequencies from 10 kHz to 10 MHz. It’s a good example of Keithley’s desire to make our equipment as easy to get up and running as possible, so customers can get the data they want faster. The Model 4200-SCS now offers semiconductor manufacturers one integrated modular system, with DC, pulse, and C-V capability.

Another significant introduction that we’re excited about is our new switch system and multimeter, the Series 3700. It is the second instrument family to include Keithley’s Test Script Processor communication and control capability and is designed to interface very easily at high speeds with our new SourceMeter instrument line. The Series 3700 also is a very flexible system. You can get it with a built-in DMM, as well as a whole family of cards. It also includes LXI, which is important for Ethernet connection of instruments, as well as USB.

Q: What role do software advances play in the solutions that you provide?

A: They are very important. Our new RF products, both VSA and VSG, are architected as software-defined radios, which means that software plays a key role in defining the personality and capability of those instruments. Another good example is our ACS (Automated Characterization Suite) software for instrument control and data analysis in semiconductor test. The ACS is used with our Model 4200-SCS system and our SourceMeter instruments to develop customized wafer- and package-level reliability tests. With the new version 3.2 of this software, customers get more powerful multisite parallel test capabilities, which address the demand for higher throughput.

Read the first part of this interview.