Credence's New Kalos XW Doubles Test Capacity for the Flash Memory Market.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2000

by Testing Up to 32 Independent Test Sites in Parallel, This New

System Significantly Improves Production Economics

Credence Systems Corporation (Nasdaq:CMOS), a leading manufacturer of automatic test equipment (ATE) for the worldwide semiconductor industry, today introduced Kalos XW(TM) for volume testing of non-volatile memory (NVM) components used extensively in wireless telephone handsets. The new system doubles the test capacity of Kalos(TM), allowing independent testing of up to 32 sites with 48 pins per site or 16 sites with 96 pins per site in parallel. This translates into the ability to test up to 32 NOR Flash, 64 NAND Flash, or 128 serial NVM components in parallel. Key features of Kalos XW combine to significantly reduce cost of ownership and time to market.

The Kalos XW test head allows a zero-footprint interface to probers and handlers with overhead docking capability. This provides the greatest amount of test capacity per unit of floor space in both wafer sort clean room and in final package test areas. In addition, the Kalos XW is capable of mass parallel testing of flash devices while they are mechanically attached to a lead frame in an electrically isolated configuration. This "strip" or "panel" testing process has already been production-proven on the original Kalos tester. The Kalos XW extends this capacity to test as many as 128 devices in parallel.

Kalos is the only Flash memory test platform flexible enough for both wafer probe and final test without compromising cost or performance. This capability eliminates the need to develop separate test program libraries and support infrastructure for wafer probe and final test. This is a key time-to-market advantage for short-life-cycle consumer products. In addition, the Personal Kalos(TM), a benchtop engineering version, is available for engineers to develop and revise test programs, diagnose yield issues, and carry out design validation studies at their desks--without consuming valuable production system time.

A production facility can quickly ramp to volume by replacing current production testers with Kalos XW and interfacing to an existing installed base of handlers and probers. The Kalos proprietary Tester-On-A-Card(TM) architecture enables true independent parallel testing for high throughput since there are no wait times in the test flow.

Dr. Graham Siddall, president and CEO of Credence, stated, "We are extremely pleased to offer our Flash Memory customers a new production test solution that can really help them ramp up their Flash capacity to meet the tremendous market demand. The timely introduction of Kalos XW is in response to significant customer demand for a fast, high-volume tester--and we have met these requirements without compromising our value position to provide leading technology at the industry's lowest cost of test."

The flash component market has experienced explosive growth, driven primarily by cellular phone requirements for non-volatile memory storage. Flash-based MP3 players and digital photography media storage are also significant growth drivers for Flash. It is estimated that cellular phone manufacturers could sell an additional 100 million units, and MP3 manufacturers could sell upwards of 40% more units, if the additional fabrication and test capacity were available. The high-volume testing of Kalos XW will help to address the need for additional Flash capacity.

Kalos XW can interface with any handler capable of 32 or more sites, including gravity feed, strip, and pick-and-place units. It will initially be shown at Semicon West 2000 integrated with a strip handler, enabling lower-cost integrated parallel assembly and testing.

About Credence

Credence Systems Corporation is a leader in the manufacture of automatic test equipment (ATE) for the global semiconductor industry. Credence offers a wide range of products with test capabilities for digital, mixed-signal, and non-volatile memory semiconductors.

Utilizing its patented CMOS technologies, Credence products are designed to meet the strict time-to-market and cost-of-ownership requirements of its customers. Headquartered in Fremont, California, the company maintains advanced production and design facilities in Hillsboro, Oregon. Credence, an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer, is listed on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CMOS. More information is available at www.credence.com.

Note to Editors: Credence, Credence Systems, Kalos, Kalos XW, Personal Kalos, and Tester-On-A-Card are trademarks of Credence Systems Corporation. Other trademarks that may be mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.