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Cascade Microtech: Cascade Microtech Announces New Device-Footprint G80 Grypper(TM) Socket to Lower Test Costs for BGA Devices

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  Published in House and Home on Wednesday, August 12th 2009 at 5:13 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-08-12 05:13:40 by Market Wire
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BEAVERTON, OR--(Marketwire - August 12, 2009) - Cascade Microtech, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ CSCD ]) today announced its G80 Grypper BGA test socket to deliver substantial time and cost savings for the testing of 0.8mm+ pitch, higher-ball-count BGA packaged devices. The G80 Grypper employs a unique contact design that significantly lowers the forces required to insert higher-ball-count BGA devices into the device-footprint G80 socket. The G80 Grypper solders directly to the device footprint and requires no socket lid, allowing increased utilization of development and FA boards that traditionally have limited life due to the soldering and de-soldering of devices. Eliminating special test boards and decreasing the amount of boards used through development typically increases utilization by a factor of five, reducing overall test cost to IC developers and manufacturers.

More transistors per chip with increased functionality require complex test hardware to validate and debug silicon at the device and system levels. Test hardware solutions are required that lower the cost of test, from generation to generation of IC development. In a business environment where speeding time to market and minimizing costs have become the mantras for survival, the G80 Grypper introduces immediate and tangible benefits for the testing of higher-ball-count BGA devices in the FPGA, ASIC and embedded markets. Engineering development and characterization can rapidly proceed on packaged devices without added expense or delays. Device failure analysis capability can lead to speedy problem resolution with improved time-to-market turnaround. The device-footprint G80 Grypper eliminates the added time and expense of designing and producing separate test boards for in-package test.

The use of the G80 Grypper allows customers to evaluate, debug and characterize chipsets in the actual system environment without the cost of soldering and de-soldering new devices. Grypper technology can be leveraged across multiple platforms to maximize time-to-market improvements and cost savings.

"Helping semiconductor companies cost-effectively solve their toughest test and measurement challenges is a hallmark of Cascade Microtech," said Geoff Wild, CEO, Cascade Microtech, Inc. "The G80 Grypper exemplifies this through its innovative socket technology that delivers accurate and reliable test data while providing customers the time and cost savings that are so essential to staying competitive in today's market."

About Cascade Microtech, Inc.

Cascade Microtech, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ CSCD ]) is a worldwide leader in the precise electrical measurement and test of integrated circuits (ICs) and other small structures. For technology businesses and scientific institutions that need to evaluate small structures, Cascade Microtech delivers access to electrical data from wafers, integrated circuits (ICs), IC packages, circuit boards and modules, MEMS, biological structures, electro-optic devices and more. Cascade Microtech's leading-edge semiconductor production test consumables include unique probe cards and test sockets that reduce manufacturing costs of high-speed and high-density semiconductor chips. Information about Cascade Microtech can be found on the Web at [ www.cascademicrotech.com ].

Cascade Microtech is a registered trademark, and Grypper is a trademark of Cascade Microtech, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.