TOKYO (Map) - TOKYO, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857, NYSE: ATE), the world's leading supplier of semiconductor test equipment, today announced availability of its new T7723 mixed-signal test system. Ideally suited for the growing high-density automotive device market, the system's high-throughput and highly-parallel test capabilities afford customers significant reductions in test times. The T7723 mixed-signal test system will be available from June 2008 and will also be on display at the "Advantest Tour de Force 2008" exhibition to be held at the Tokyo International Forum, June 3-5.

Increasing Demand for High-Density Automotive Devices

The proliferation of battery powered systems, along with the increasing role of electronics in automobiles, are driving the growth of more complex, next-generation analog devices that offer more advanced functions, greater accuracy, and higher power. With an emphasis on vehicles built for safety, comfort and reduced impact on the environment, today's automobile manufacturers are relying heavily on the use of computerized control systems, and increasing numbers of electronic control units (ECUs) are being installed on board. ECUs incorporate a variety of semiconductors, including controller chips and power devices, and are requiring the number of chips in each vehicle to rise sharply. The market for these devices is predicted to reach 21 billion dollars by the year 2010, as demand for increasingly sophisticated automotive semiconductors escalates.

Yet despite the increased functionality and capabilities of these new devices, the market remains competitive and manufacturers are under continual pressure to reduce costs, particularly, the cost of test. Advantest's T7723, answers this call by offering a cost-effective production test solution for these new, high-power, high-density, mixed-signal devices, The T7723's scalable architecture and an all-in-one test head capable of high-speed, high-accuracy and parallel testing of up to 32 devices, contribute to an improvement in throughput for mass production.

Supports full parallel test of multi-pin devices and reduces test time by 30%

The T7723 has double the test resources of its predecessor, owing to the incorporation of Advantest's newly-developed floating high-power DC in the system's DC test unit*(1). It also boasts a 30A high-voltage test capability -- 1.5 times greater than that of the company's earlier model. In addition, up to 64 relay circuits can be integrated within the test unit, enabling the system to direct and measure electrical current more efficiently, further enhancing its capabilities for multi-pin device test. With these new mechanisms, the T7723 can perform simultaneous test of high-density, high-voltage devices that incorporate BCD process technology*(2) used in power management in vehicles, resulting in a reduction in test time of up to 30%.

Expanded Performance Board Mount Space Facilitates Parallelism

As semiconductor reliability in automotive applications is critical, it is essential that testing be carried out in real life environments. As such, customers load the performance board of the test head with peripheral circuitry as well as the devices under test. In comparison with the previous model, the T7723 offers 1.8 times more space for loading these peripheral circuits. In addition, the relays that were formerly attached to the performance board are now housed within the tester itself, in the floating high-power DC unit. Such features ensure that the area of the test head devoted to device test is maximized, enabling enhanced levels of parallelism and thus a significant reduction in the cost of test.

Key Specifications: Target Packages: Mixed-signal devices for automotive and consumer applications Parallel Test Capacity: Up to 32 devices Digital Test Fixture: No. of Channels: Up to 256ch Test Speed: 20/62.5/125MHz Analog Test Fixture: PHDC: Up to 256ch, +/-64V/+/-24mA, +/-24V/+/-64mA HDC: Up to 8ch, +/-150V/+/-80mA, +/-32V/+/-2A FHPDC: Up to 8ch, +/-60V/+/-10A, +/-30V/+/-30A (pulse), up to 64 ports Digitizer/Optional Signal Generator: No. of Channels: 4ch differential Sampling Rate: 51.2Msps

About Advantest

Advantest Corporation is the world's leading automatic test equipment supplier to the semiconductor industry, and also produces electronic and optoelectronic instruments and systems. A global company, Advantest has long offered total ATE solutions, and serves the industry in every component of semiconductor test: tester, handler, mechanical and electrical interfaces, and software. Its logic, memory, mixed-signal and RF testers and device handlers are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its first subsidiary in 1982, in the USA, and now has subsidiaries worldwide. Among them, Advantest America, Inc. is based in Santa Clara, CA, and Advantest (Europe) GmbH is based in Munich, Germany. More information is available at www.advantest.com

*(1) The DC test unit measures the properties of direct currents from devices, including input/output currents, input/output voltages and power supply. *(2) BCD process technology incorporates into a single process bipolar process for high-precision analog circuits, CMOS for high-density circuits, and DMOS for high-voltage circuits.