New Wafer-Sort Test System for Flash Memory Doubles Throughput At Lower Cost; Versatest V1300 Raises the Bar in Efficient Testing of FLASH Memory Devices.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 15, 1998--Hewlett-Packard Company today announces that semiconductor manufacturers now can order a FLASH-memory test system that will independently test up to 16 high-density, NVM (non-volatile memory) FLASH devices with as many as 64 signal pins, or 32 lower-density NOR and NAND FLASH devices. The new HP V1300 system asynchronously checks twice as many devices under test (DUT), in parallel, than any other test system for wafer-sort applications.

The HP V1300, the latest in the HP Veratest series of NVM/FLASH test systems, will be demonstrated at HP's booth, No. 10516, at SEMICON - West 98, being held here through July 17.

"HP understands that to remain competitive in today's market, FLASH/NVM manufacturers need production-test systems that offer high throughput and high reliability combined with low initial cost and low maintenance," said John Scruggs, HP vice president and general manager of the Automated Test Group.

HP PERFORMANCE ROADMAP

"The HP V1300 follows an ambitious performance roadmap to simultaneously double the throughput with each new NVM product test cycle (18 to 24 months) since 1991, and reduce the cost of test per DUT by 20 percent to 30 percent," said Gayn Erickson, product marketing manager at HP's California Semiconductor Test Division. "We will continue to invest significantly in improving product performance while fully leveraging HP's technology and manufacturing strengths. Just as important, we have not sacrificed any test capabilities for cost savings on the HP V1300 and other new products on our memory-test roadmap."

The HP V1300 is a full-feature, memory-test system, with per-pin timing resources for 16 (or 32) DUTs, APG (algorithmic pattern generator)-controlled parametric testing, redundancy analysis and bit-mapping capabilities. It features twice the throughput of HP's current Versatest system, but it does not require any additional floor space.

INVESTMENT VALUE

The HP V1300 is the fifth-generation HP system to use Tester-Per-Site architecture, which has been featured in 10 new HP products since 1989. The compatibility of architecture and software enables users of nearly 1,000 Versatest systems worldwide to better leverage their investments in training and test programs.

Several HP V1300 systems already are being used for high-volume production sorting of NVM/FLASH memory devices. List price for a 16x high-density (or 32x low-density) system is $840,000, although pricing may vary based upon customer-specified configurations and purchasing volume. Delivery is estimated at about eight weeks after receipt of order.

ABOUT HP

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 125,300 employees and had revenue of $42.9 billion in its 1997 fiscal year.

Information about HP's semiconductor test solutions can be found at http://www.hp.com/go/semiconductor.

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