Jun 26 2014
Leading semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Corporation has introduced the first member of its NEO-SSD family of products for testing advanced solid-state drives (SSDs) by launching its flexible MPT3000 system, which enables accelerated SSD product development and faster time-to-manufacturing ramp.
The system improves users' engineering efficiency through powerful, easy to use software tools and a revolutionary multi-protocol hardware architecture.
In the high-growth and highly competitive SSD market, a test system that supports multiple protocols can more quickly transition from one product version -- or one product generation -- to the next, by eliminating retooling efforts. The MPT3000's advanced technology and performance allow manufacturers to rapidly grow their product portfolios while remaining adaptable to the many changing needs of the evolving SSD market.
The adoption of PCIe 3.0 and NVM Express, the next wave of mass market, high-performance protocols, is expected to lead to continued growth in SSDs. SSD manufacturers have reported that more flexibility to develop new products increases gross margins, and that earlier product introduction increases market share. Advantest designed its flexible MPT3000 system to meet customers' testing needs for both enterprise and client SSDs.
"The key advantages of our newest test solution are supporting high-mix flexibility and true multi-protocol capability, enabling customers to efficiently move through product qualification into volume production and to help speed their time to market," said Colin Ritchie, vice president of Global Technology, Research and Innovation (GTRI) at Advantest America. "Following the introduction of our NEO-SSD platform last July, we have now established our position as a leading player in SSD testing just as market analysts are projecting that SSD volumes will grow to more than 200 million units per year by 2017."
To provide an efficient test solution for the SSD market, the MPT3000 combines Advantest's expertise in high-speed system-on-chip (SoC) testing with a state-of-the-art electronics architecture, including proprietary hardware acceleration and performance up to 12G. In addition to incorporating a chamber capable of maintaining precise device thermal consistency, the MPT3000 provides independent device power control for testing new high-power enterprise SSDs. The system's multi-protocol capability and high parallelism enable full performance testing of a variety of SSD form factors including 2.5-inch drives, half- and full-height PC cards, M.2, and devices with customized form factors. This versatility enables SSD manufacturers to pursue multiple business opportunities simultaneously and adapt to the sudden changes characteristic of high-growth markets.
About Advantest Corporation
A world-class technology company, Advantest is the leading producer of automatic test equipment (ATE) for the semiconductor industry and a premier manufacturer of measuring instruments used in the design and production of electronic instruments and systems. Its leading-edge systems and products are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world. The company also focuses on R&D for emerging markets that benefit from advancements in nanotech and terahertz technologies, and has introduced multi-vision metrology scanning electron microscopes essential to photomask manufacturing, as well as a groundbreaking 3D imaging and analysis tool. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its first subsidiary in 1982, in the USA, and now has subsidiaries worldwide. More information is available at www.advantest.com.