Schlumberger to Leverage IBM Technology in Next Generation Flip Chip Probe Systems.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 16, 1999--

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to license core technology from IBM to provide advanced probing solutions for integrated circuits (ICs) in flip chip packaging. The Picosecond Imaging Circuit Analyzer (PICA) technology licensed from IBM is an advanced light emission technique that enables timing measurement and failure analysis through optical imaging from the back side of a device.

Schlumberger is licensing IBM's PICA technology, a unique and innovative technique developed and implemented by IBM's Microelectronics and Research divisions, that takes advantage of light emission from the active transistors of advanced CMOS ICs. This light emission accurately matches with transistor switching cycles, making PICA an extremely precise timing measurement tool. In a process that is non-invasive, light emission data is collected from the back side of the device through as much as 100 to 200 microns of silicon, and mapped as a function of x, y and time, enabling unmatched fault localization and accelerated analysis.

"Schlumberger has already taken the leadership position in flip chip probe technology with last year's introduction of the IDS 2000 system for first silicon analysis," stated Jackie Tubis, president, Schlumberger Automated Test Equipment. "Drawing on technology from an industry leader like IBM allows us to leverage our expertise and resources to further our commitment to help our customers, enabling them to decrease time-to-volume for their flip-chip packages."

"We are focused on supporting our high-volume flip chip business by helping to provide tools and services that can enable customers to deliver their products to market faster," said Joseph Nemeth, vice president of worldwide semiconductor manufacturing at IBM. "Rapid qualification and debug of new designs, and early quality and reliability learning are critical factors in speeding the IC development process. We're working with Schlumberger to leverage IBM technology in advanced analytical systems that can help designers optimize performance and minimize their time to market."

Driven by increases in pin count, speed, power consumption, form-factor and cost, flip chip packaged ICs are a growing trend in high-end logic VLSI and ULSI.

Industry Expertise Benefits Growing Trend to Flip Chip Packages

For over 12 years, the Probe Systems group within Schlumberger ATE Diagnostic Systems has been providing advanced probing solutions at the silicon level to help designers introduce products faster and to assist failure analysis engineers in diagnosing faults more effectively. The Schlumberger IDS 10000 and IDS P3X series, recently introduced, are consistently providing high return on investment for their users.

With the recent move to flip chip packages, Schlumberger continues to develop innovative solutions to meet the full range of customer's flip chip probing needs. Using state-of-the-art infrared laser-beam technology, the IDS 2000 broke new ground in design debug when it was introduced in late 1998 as the first and only product to non-destructively acquire accurate electrical measurements inside flip chip devices.

About Schlumberger

Schlumberger provides the world's most comprehensive systems and services for testing semiconductor devices. It also offers measurement systems for front-end applications, as well as equipment to test complete electronic assemblies and systems for the telecommunications industry. Additional information is available at http://www.slb.com/ate.

Schlumberger Test & Transactions provides smart card-based solutions; semiconductor test, metrology and handling systems and services; and corporate IP and network solutions to customers throughout the world. It is a business unit of Schlumberger Limited, an $11.8 billion global technology services company.