2007 Press Releases-21

Tokyo, Japan - September 10, 2007


Yokogawa Releases MT6111 Memory Test System for Mass-Production of DRAMs

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the sales release of the MT6111 Memory Test System for the mass-production of DRAMs [*1].

The newly released MT6111, a replacement model for Yokogawa's MT6060 Memory Test System, improves test efficiency by achieving a 20% reduction in mass-production test time. The MT6111 is a highly cost effective memory tester targeted at the mass production of DRAMs, which account for a large share of the semiconductor market. In addition to DRAMs, the MT6111 can also be applied to NAND and NOR flash memory [*2] production, which is rapidly growing.

Background of Development
The semiconductor market has grown continuously for the past 30 years and is expected to continue growing. DRAM semiconductor devices have driven the growth of this huge market. While large numbers of DRAMs are used in personal computers, they are being used more and more in digital home appliances. It is expected that DRAMs will continue to account for a large share of the semiconductor market.

Concurrent with these trends, semiconductor manufacturers have been making efforts to radically reduce costs in order to stay globally competitive. One such initiative has involved the development of microfabrication technology to increase the number of chips that can be obtained from a single silicon wafer. The reduction of testing costs is another key way in which semiconductor manufacturers are strengthening their competitiveness. In response to these needs, Yokogawa has developed a system that performs DRAM testing effectively and at low cost.

Product Features

1. Parallel measurement
With its two independently operating stations, the new MT6111 can simultaneously test a maximum of 1,024 chips (double the throughput of the MT6060), thereby improving system utilization and enhancing the productivity of the testing process.

2. Low cost and efficient measurement for mass production
To improve DRAM testing cost performance and efficiency in mass production, the MT6111's maximum operating speed has been decreased to 140 MHz.

3. Small footprint
The system uses just 60% the floor space of previous Yokogawa models, freeing considerable space  for the testing process and contributing to a reduction in the total operating cost.

Main Specifications
Maximum operating frequency: 140 MHz
Data transfer rate: 280 Mbits per second
Number of chips that can be measured simultaneously: up to 1,024 (by using 2 stations)
Number of test stations: 2 (1 station also possible)

Main Markets
Semiconductor manufacturers and testing houses

Applications
Wafer testing in front-end processing for production of semiconductor devices such as DRAMs, NANDs, and NOR flash memory

[*1] DRAM
Stands for Dynamic Random Access Memory, a type of random access memory that must be refreshed periodically. It is used mainly in personal computers.
[*2] Flash memory
A type of read/write non-volatile storage.NAND flash memory allows greater storage densities and is used in memory cards for digital cameras and the like. NOR flash memory offers superior random access performance and is commonly used as storage memory in mobile phones.

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