Panel: business constraints drive test decisions

Semiconductor designers, manufacturers, and the subcontractors who serve these markets make many decisions about test and the infrastructure put in place to support test. These decisions have an impact on their business when translated into costs, capabilities, and responsiveness to customer requirements. The landscape has been changing as some of the key decisions in test shift to an economic focus rather than a purely technical requirement focus. The challenge is to achieve the lowest cost of test while meeting or exceeding the most stringent technical requirements. To achieve the best cost of test across a broad range of semiconductor products requires highly efficient test solutions, with short test times and efficient multi-site or parallel testing. Test, and the semiconductor industry itself, will continue to evolve. New technology will continue to be developed in many areas. However, profitability concerns will be an overriding factor in the direction for the future. The focus is to help customers reduce their cost of test, and maximize their profitability