FormFactor Doubles the DRAM Test Capacity of Test Equipment With New Wafer Probe Card Capability
DC-Boost(TM) Test Technology Brings DRAM Industry Closer to One-Touchdown Wafer Testing and Enables Significant Reductions in Total Test Time and Cost of Test
LIVERMORE, CA--(Marketwire - November 11, 2008) - FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM) today
introduced DC-Boost, an advanced TRE™ test technology to increase probe
test capacity. The new wafer probe card capability enables more efficient
use of tester channels on test equipment to double the number of devices
that can be tested simultaneously. By using probe cards equipped with
FormFactor's DC-Boost technology, IC manufacturers and test service
providers can significantly increase test cell throughput on new test
equipment, extend the life of their existing test equipment, and reduce
their overall cost of test. Tera Probe, Inc., one of the world's largest
wafer test services providers, is one of several customers adopting the new
technology.
"At Tera Probe, our mission is to provide total testing solutions for our
customers that boast greater efficiency, lower costs and ensure higher
levels of reliability in order to help them meet their production goals,"
stated Masahide Ozawa, chief technology officer at Tera Probe, Inc.
"FormFactor's DC-Boost capability supports that mission by allowing us to
utilize the latest in advanced wafer test technology to enable more
efficient, reliable testing of our customers' product wafers."
As DRAM manufacturers move to tighter design configurations, the number of
die per wafer continues to rise, in some cases approaching 1500 die or
more. At the same time, test managers are driving to maximize the
productivity of their test cells. "Reducing the number of touchdowns in
wafer testing is the primary driver for reducing test costs," stated Stefan
Zschiegner, senior vice president of the DRAM product business unit at
FormFactor. "Our DC-Boost test technology brings a new degree of
intelligence to our wafer probe cards through the integration of
application specific ICs -- enabling FormFactor to take wafer test
parallelism to the next level. With this technology we can help our
customers optimize their existing equipment investment today and provide a
clear roadmap for further parallelism improvements on new device designs
and tester platforms."
In addition to increasing the device under test, or DUT, capacity of test
equipment, DC-Boost minimizes drops in voltage that could lead to
over-testing or under-testing of devices. The new technology also provides
the ability to test devices in isolation to obtain precise voltage
measurements. As a result, customers can achieve a more reliable test
result, thereby improving yields.
FormFactor's DC-Boost solution is now being offered on the company's
PH150XP and Harmony XP™ probe cards for DRAM wafer testing.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature
are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities
laws, including results the company's customers' might realize when using
the company's products, demand for the company's products and future
growth. These forward-looking statements are based on current information
and expectations that are inherently subject to change and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results might differ
materially from those in any forward-looking statement due to various
factors, including, but not limited to: the company's ability to enable
more efficient use of tester channels on automated test equipment to double
the number of devices that can be tested simultaneously, to enable IC
manufacturers and test service providers to significantly increase test
cell throughput, increase probe test capacity, extend the life of existing
test equipment and reduce their overall cost of test, to optimize existing
equipment and provide for future roadmaps, to minimize over-testing or
under-testing of devices; and the ability of the company's customers to
achieve more reliable test results and improve yields. Additional
information concerning factors that could cause actual events or results to
differ materially from those in any forward-looking statement is contained
in the company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2007 and
the company's Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 28, 2008, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and subsequent SEC
filings. Copies of the company's SEC filings are available at
http://investors.formfactor.com/edgar.cfm. The company assumes no
obligation to update the information in this press release, to revise any
forward-looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could
differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements.
About FormFactor
Founded in 1993, FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM) is the leader in advanced
wafer probe cards, which are used by semiconductor manufacturers to
electrically test ICs. The company's wafer sort, burn-in and device
performance testing products move IC testing upstream from post-packaging
to the wafer level, enabling semiconductor manufacturers to lower their
overall production costs, improve yields, and bring next-generation devices
to market. FormFactor is headquartered in Livermore, California with
operations in Europe, Asia and North America. For more information, visit
the company's web site at www.formfactor.com.
FormFactor, TRE, DC-Boost, Harmony and Harmony XP are trademarks or
registered trademarks of FormFactor, Inc.
Contact Information: Investor Contact:
Michael Magaro
Investor Relations
(925) 290-4949
Trade Press Contact:
David Viera
Director of Corporate Communications
(925) 290-4681