2008 Press Releases-03

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that it will release the LT9900 Gravity-feed* IC Handler on March 31. The LT9900 can simultaneously perform measurements at eight sites, giving it the industry's highest throughput. It succeeds our LT9730 Gravity-feed IC Handler, and provides a 25 percent improvement in throughput over this earlier model.

Development Background
An IC handler automatically transfers packaged ICs to a tester where the devices are tested under controlled temperature conditions to test and sort defective and non-defective devices. IC handlers are used in the assembly and testing processes.

Semiconductor manufacturers are in a fiercely competitive market characterized by sharp demand fluctuations and price cuts in end products including information appliances, PCs, and mobile devices. They are carrying out drastic cost-cutting measures.

Moreover, the need to cut test costs, which account for a major percentage of the production costs, is ever present. For this reason, the IC handlers used together with IC testers are expected to offer both cost reductions and productivity improvements.

With the steadily increasing diversity of applications for ICs, IC handlers also must meet new requirements. They now need to be able to operate under a wider range of temperatures for the testing of ICs used to perform electronic control in automotive and other applications under extreme high and low temperatures.

LT9900 Features

1. The highest throughput in the industry
   The LT9900 can simultaneously handle up to 30,000 devices per hour at eight sites, and has a 1/10,000 jamming rate, contributing to increased productivity, reduced costs, and high reliability.
   
   
2. Wide test temperature range
   The LT9900 can be used at test temperatures as low as 50C and as high as +125C. It is therefore suitable for the testing of ICs used in automotive applications. This testing application is in particularly high demand.
   
   
3. Handles a wider range of IC packages
   In addition to Small Outline Packages (SOP) and Thin Shrink SOPs (TSSOP), the LT9900 can handle the Quad Flat Non-leaded Packages (QFN) that are in increasing demand.

Major Target Users
Semiconductor manufacturers and test houses (companies that only handle IC tests)

Application
The automatic transfer of packaged ICs to a tester for the testing and sorting of devices into defective and non-defective categories

* Gravity-feed method
The method by which the handler drops ICs onto the IC tester one at a time. This employs a simple mechanism and is efficient. It is thus suitable for the handling of ICs that have relatively few leads.