History

XPEQT originated in 2000 as a spin-off from Sigma Delta Holding NV, where it has existed for about a decade as its Engineering arm, providing solutions to the needs of its associated companies, as well as those of its sister holding ELEX NV, for testers, handlers and related equipment, all dedicated to the testing of semiconductor electronic devices. As the needs and the specialties to design, produce and market so called handlers and testers are different although related, Xpeqt started off with two business units: “Testers” and “Handlers”.

The “Handler” BU is specializing in handling equipment that needs special environments. This is non standard handling equipment, for testing mainly sensors as there are Hall sensors, Pressure sensors, IR sensors, Imaging sensors, RFID’s acceleration sensors and so on.

The “Tester” BU is specializing in so called low-cost mixed-signal ASIC testers focusing mainly on the sensor industry and more and more on the SoC market.

In the beginning of 2001 XPEQT has acquired the assets of DESTIN NV, a company which for about seven years has been a supplier of equipment for accelerated lifetime testing. We have thus added to our portfolio reliability testing systems, most notably Electromigration and Hot Carrier Degradation based ones. This technology is backed up by a package of six patents covering the methods, apparatuses, and software for reliability measurements through accelerated lifetime. These activities are managed by our so called “Reliability” business unit.

Mid 2001 jet another new BU was added to the activities of Xpeqt to address the need of equipment and methodology for characterizing the new generation of low k dielectrics. XPEQT is the exclusive licensee of the newly patented method named "Ellipsometric Porosimetry" which covers the device and technique for diagnostics of porous low k dielectrics. This BU was baptized “Front End”.

End 2002 the “Handler” BU changed its strategy in that they would no longer build complete handler systems as such, but focus (when possible) on adapting industry standard handlers to provide the desired environmental conditions.

Begin 2003 it became clear that the equipment designed by the “Front End” BU where too cutting edge, and that the industry is not yet ready to demand sufficient machines to be build to sustain this activity. At that time only companies like “Applied Materials” where interested in these machines to develop their low K dielectric materials and this was simply not enough to justify the continuation of the “Front End” BU to our shareholders. As a consequence Xpeqt had to stop this activity.

Because of the prolonged down turn in the electronic industry, foundaries have smaller budgets, and so the purchasing of reliability equipment is postponed until better times. Because of this a consolidation wave in the reliability equipment did already start mid 2002. It did make sense for Xpeqt to sell here reliability department to Chiron (which already purchased another competitor –Micro Instruments- Mid 2002) to embed our strong knowledge in a bigger unity.