Duo ally on semiconductor test software initiative

Advantest CTS has changed the concept of ownership from physical possession of an asset to a licensing agreement, with the asset itself residing in the cloud.

This concept works well for low-cost entries such as startup design houses, university labs and research institutes, but also is scalable to enterprise-strength semiconductor testing methodologies.

Advantest CTS selected TSSI, the longest operating design-to-test tool vendor in the semiconductor industry, to provide the robust pattern translation tools to convert large volumes of design data into the format used by the CX1000 system.

The new TSSI CX1000 TesterBridge software is modular, runs on either the Linux or Windows operation system and has the same licensing model as the Advantest CTS tester.

“TSSI has been at the forefront of vector translation methodology, focused on thoroughly understanding device behaviour for accurate representation in the tester format,” said Hau Lam, chief executive officer of TSSI. “TSSI’s own low-cost monthly licensing model aligns well with Advantest CTS’ leasing concept, eliminating the need for expensive capital equipment in bringing up a new device.”

“Advantest and TSSI are natural partners because of the synergy between the two companies’ business models,” said Koichi Tsukui (pictured), managing executive officer of CTS at Advantest. “Each of our products offers ease of use, modular design and low cost. In addition, the deployment process is the best fit for our Advantest CTS semiconductor test environment, which is tightly linked with our T2000 and V93000 mass-production test platforms.”

TSSI is demonstrating the TSSI CX1000 TesterBridge this week at the International Test Conference in Phoenix (October 30-November 1).