ADVANTEST SP.ADR (ATE)

TOKYO, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857,
NYSE: ATE), the world's leading supplier of semiconductor test equipment,
today announced availability of its new T7723 mixed-signal test system.
Ideally suited for the growing high-density automotive device market, the
system's high-throughput and highly-parallel test capabilities afford
customers significant reductions in test times. The T7723 mixed-signal test
system will be available from June 2008 and will also be on display at the
"Advantest Tour de Force 2008" exhibition to be held at the Tokyo
International Forum, June 3-5.

Increasing Demand for High-Density Automotive Devices

The proliferation of battery powered systems, along with the increasing
role of electronics in automobiles, are driving the growth of more complex,
next-generation analog devices that offer more advanced functions, greater
accuracy, and higher power. With an emphasis on vehicles built for safety,
comfort and reduced impact on the environment, today's automobile
manufacturers are relying heavily on the use of computerized control systems,
and increasing numbers of electronic control units (ECUs) are being installed
on board. ECUs incorporate a variety of semiconductors, including controller
chips and power devices, and are requiring the number of chips in each vehicle
to rise sharply. The market for these devices is predicted to reach 21
billion dollars by the year 2010, as demand for increasingly sophisticated
automotive semiconductors escalates.

Yet despite the increased functionality and capabilities of these new
devices, the market remains competitive and manufacturers are under continual
pressure to reduce costs, particularly, the cost of test. Advantest's T7723,
answers this call by offering a cost-effective production test solution for
these new, high-power, high-density, mixed-signal devices, The T7723's
scalable architecture and an all-in-one test head capable of high-speed,
high-accuracy and parallel testing of up to 32 devices, contribute to an
improvement in throughput for mass production.

Supports full parallel test of multi-pin devices and reduces test time by
30%

The T7723 has double the test resources of its predecessor, owing to the
incorporation of Advantest's newly-developed floating high-power DC in the
system's DC test unit*(1). It also boasts a 30A high-voltage test capability
-- 1.5 times greater than that of the company's earlier model. In addition, up
to 64 relay circuits can be integrated within the test unit, enabling the
system to direct and measure electrical current more efficiently, further
enhancing its capabilities for multi-pin device test. With these new
mechanisms, the T7723 can perform simultaneous test of high-density,
high-voltage devices that incorporate BCD process technology*(2) used in power
management in vehicles, resulting in a reduction in test time of up to 30%.

Expanded Performance Board Mount Space Facilitates Parallelism

As semiconductor reliability in automotive applications is critical, it is
essential that testing be carried out in real life environments. As such,
customers load the performance board of the test head with peripheral
circuitry as well as the devices under test. In comparison with the previous
model, the T7723 offers 1.8 times more space for loading these peripheral
circuits. In addition, the relays that were formerly attached to the
performance board are now housed within the tester itself, in the floating
high-power DC unit. Such features ensure that the area of the test head
devoted to device test is maximized, enabling enhanced levels of parallelism
and thus a significant reduction in the cost of test.

Key Specifications:
Target Packages: Mixed-signal devices for automotive and consumer
applications
Parallel Test Capacity: Up to 32 devices
Digital Test Fixture: No. of Channels: Up to 256ch
Test Speed: 20/62.5/125MHz
Analog Test Fixture:
PHDC: Up to 256ch, +/-64V/+/-24mA, +/-24V/+/-64mA
HDC: Up to 8ch, +/-150V/+/-80mA, +/-32V/+/-2A
FHPDC: Up to 8ch, +/-60V/+/-10A, +/-30V/+/-30A (pulse), up to
64 ports
Digitizer/Optional Signal Generator:
No. of Channels: 4ch differential
Sampling Rate: 51.2Msps

About Advantest

Advantest Corporation is the world's leading automatic test equipment
supplier to the semiconductor industry, and also produces electronic and
optoelectronic instruments and systems. A global company, Advantest has long
offered total ATE solutions, and serves the industry in every component of
semiconductor test: tester, handler, mechanical and electrical interfaces, and
software. Its logic, memory, mixed-signal and RF testers and device handlers
are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the
world. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its first subsidiary in
1982, in the USA, and now has subsidiaries worldwide. Among them, Advantest
America, Inc. is based in Santa Clara, CA, and Advantest (Europe) GmbH is
based in Munich, Germany. More information is available at www.advantest.com

*(1) The DC test unit measures the properties of direct currents from
devices, including input/output currents, input/output voltages and
power supply.

*(2) BCD process technology incorporates into a single process bipolar
process for high-precision analog circuits, CMOS for high-density
circuits, and DMOS for high-voltage circuits.

SOURCE Advantest Corporation