Company Profile

It may seem unusual that any “new” ATE provider could enter the commercial marketplace with a proven track record of over eight years industry-leading experience plus an installed base of more than 500 testers already in the field. But XPEQT is certainly not a typical new ATE provider.

XPEQT AG, headquartered at Bevaix, Switzerland, originated in 2000 as a spin-off from Sigma Delta Holding NV, where it had functioned as the engineering arm providing a variety of advanced solutions for the associated companies, which develop and manufacture a wide range of electronics products. Prior to spinning out as an independent commercial company, XPEQT engineers had already amassed extensive experience in developing and integrating leading edge testers, handlers and related equipment, all dedicated to the efficient production of semiconductor devices. This strong history, along with relative newness as an independent company, enables XPEQT to bring the best of both worlds to customer relationships by combining the in-depth technical expertise that can only come from experience with the flexibility and responsiveness that is best achieved within a young dynamic organization.

Originally born with a focus on serving the automotive sector, XPEQT has an exceptional technology track record in sensor testing. XPEQT engineers have developed unparalleled hardware and software solutions for efficient, high-volume testing of a wide range of sensor types, including, Hall effect, Infra-red, pressure, optical, acceleration, and position sensors. In addition, XPEQT has amassed broad experience in optimizing test solutions for devices such as microcontrollers, bus peripheral ICs, AC timer/regulator ICs, RFIDs, TFT LCD displays, and driver/power ICs. This solid base of capabilities has provided the springboard to rapidly make XPEQT a leading ATE provider, with advanced testing solutions that cover the entire range of sensor technologies as well as a large and growing portion of other analog and digital devices.

This broad set of complementary ATE testing solutions, along with the deep consulting expertise to tailor them for specific customer requirements, makes XPEQT the ideal one-stop-shop to meet an entire spectrum of testing requirements for semiconductor designers and manufacturers. XPEQT’s customers include OEM IC vendors, contract fabricators and packaging houses as well as fabless design houses.

Integrated Hardware and Software ATE Solutions

Advanced third generation ATE systems from XPEQT, such as the XTA test platform, use a modular architecture and “tester in the test head” approach that maximizes both throughput and flexibility. The XTA provides 128 channels at a price point that is just slightly higher than other ATE systems that offer only 16 channels, resulting in more than a seven times price/performance advantage.

The 128 channels can be flexibly configured into groups of 16 channels each, with either digital or analog characteristics. All channels are individually connectable to the system’s four central PMUs via four high-speed busses. This highly-configurable architecture allows any of the 128 tester channels to interconnect with a variety of system resources, such as two timing measurement units with 500ps accuracy, up to eight programmable power supplies and power rails, integrated arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) and DMM functionality.

Integrated software provides flexible control over all system functions while facilitating the rapid creation of tailored test programs for virtually any devices. The easy-to-use software guides programmers through the entire process, from entry of test specifications through source file editing, compiling, debugging and installation. The run-time software is then readily deployable to the production floor, using an open-source Linux environment on the PC controller, which communicates to the tester CPU via a standard USB interface. The run-time environment is designed for optimal ease-of-use and requires no special computer skills on the part of production floor operators who are running the test programs.

Spanning Both High-mix and High-volume Production

XPEQT’s entire family of ATE solutions is designed to accommodate the diverse requirements of OEMs and contract manufacturers, spanning a wide range of high-mix and high-volume production environments. By providing industry-leading cost-per-channel, XPEQT delivers unmatched ATE price performance and throughput for even the most demanding high-volume production requirements. For high-mix situations, such as those faced by many contract manufacturers, XPEQT test solutions offer the advantages of flexible programmability and seamless compatibility between the ATE and handler probe platforms. Designed as a robust production machine, the XTA’s compact size and configurability also enable it to be effectively used for bench experiments and in support of product design activities.

Flexibility for Supporting Fabless Design Houses of Any Size

All too frequently, fabless design houses are forced to live within the constraints of the test equipment that has already been selected by their semiconductor fabrication contractors. These externally imposed test technologies may not always be the best choices for specific devices but the relatively high cost and inflexibility of traditional ATE systems has often made it impractical for fabless designers to have their own test facilities. XPEQT has overcome these limitations by enabling even small fabless designers to deploy flexible low-cost test capabilities as a fundamental integrated element within their acceptance testing process flow.

Future-proofing Test Equipment Investments

In addition to focusing on low-cost and high flexibility, XPEQT’s comprehensive testing technologies are designed to provide a solid extensible base for enabling customers to get the most out of their equipment investments – both for today and in the future. Tight integration between the ATE and wafer probe, combined with real time wafer mapper (RTWM) capabilities, allow manufacturers to prolong the life cycle and maximize utilization of existing wafer probers. Total control of handler and probe hardware from within the tester can provide optimal efficiency and throughput, as well as faster programming and smoother production floor break-in of new device designs. XPEQT’s modular approach and comprehensive inventory of testing technologies allows for optimal tailoring of the test environment to meet specific requirements even for difficult-to-test devices. At the same time, the configurable and extensible architecture assures a continuous flow of new leading-edge testing functionality that can be cost-effectively integrated within previously deployed XPEQT systems.