ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA -- February 23, 1999 -- Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE:TER) has announced the introduction of the Spectrum™ 9100-Series Manufacturing Functional Test Platform for performance verification and test of electronic assemblies. The standards-based design includes VXI plug&play and Windows™ NT for easy expansion as test requirements change. Spectrum 9100 test systems may be configured with Teradyne's M9-Series instrumentation, Teradyne's TestStudio software as well as industry-standard hardware, instrumentation, and software to minimize operating and upgrade costs. Announcement of the Spectrum 9100-Series Manufacturing Functional Test Platform was made at the electronics manufacturing trade show NEPCON West held here February 23-25, 1999.

While optimized for high-performance functional test, the 9100-Series shares manufacturing test capabilities with the Spectrum 8800-Series Manufacturing Test Platform which has been marketed by Teradyne since 1997. Common test capabilities for both platforms include: ILDP (In-Line Device Programming) for Flash and in-system programming, memory programming, basic functional tests using analog instruments (industry standard and Teradyne's PRISM), boundary-scan testing, and static digital testing. Unified cross-platform test hardware and software within the factory environment provides customers with the ability to balance the loading of the production line by moving common tests to the appropriate point in production.

According to Chuck Pothier, Spectrum 9100 product manager, "The Spectrum 9100 is a unified test environment that adds versatility to an electronic manufacturer's test strategy. The Spectrum 9100 enables the migration of various test elements like flash programming and boundary scan between the in-circuit and functional board testers in order to balance the manufacturing line and prevent costly production line bottlenecks. Modular standards-based test systems obsolete the expensive monolithic testers of the past that were based on non-standard, proprietary hardware and software. A common hardware and software infrastructure allows our customers to focus on the test application and not the tester design. The benefits to suppliers who need to reduce manufacturing and functional test costs and cycle times are enormous."

The Spectrum 9100-Series is a modular, scaleable VXI test platform that allows manufacturers to buy test capacity for current product requirements, and extend or reconfigure capacity as test strategy requirements change. The base Spectrum 9100 configuration is a fully-integrated functional test system, ready to support high-performance digital and mixed-signal test requirements. For those test applications that require custom integration, the base configuration provides a fully developed, fully documented set of VXI building blocks--ready for integration with application-specific instruments and software tools.

Web-based ATE Operating Environment Integrates Development, Documentation, Debug, and Execution

The Spectrum 9100 features Teradyne's TestStudio™ Web-based ATE operating environment. TestStudio offers a versatile, open-architecture environment for test development, documentation, debug, and execution that can be easily configured to support multiple software and TPS development processes. Using Microsoft Windows™ NT and COM interface standards, TestStudio can encapsulate a wide selection of programming languages and Application Development Environments (ADEs), including HP VEE, LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Visual Basic and Visual C++, as well as specialized in-house programming tools. TestStudio uses familiar Web-based browser and hyperlink technologies to provide a common, intuitive user interface for all programming tools--reducing the costs of training, documentation, and ongoing maintenance.

Teradyne Crosspoint Matrix

The crosspoint matrix is available as a standard option on the Spectrum 9100-Series Manufacturing Functional Test Platform. A single VXI card slot provides power and control to the cross-point matrix. The high-bandwidth, 50MHz matrix allows input cards with up to 12 coaxial instrument connections per card, while output cards have up to 48 UUT I/O connections per card. The crosspoint matrix may be configured with up to 11 cards combining as many input or output cards as required. The output cards may be directly connected to Teradyne's M920-Series of digital test instruments for hybrid pin capability (analog and digital resources) at the UUT interface. The test system will begin shipping the summer of 1999. Prices will vary outside North America.

Spectrum 8950-Series Availability

The Spectrum 8950-Series ADSL Manufacturing Test Platform will ship early spring 1999.

About Teradyne

Teradyne is the world's largest manufacturer of automatic test equipment (ATE) for the electronics industry. Products include systems to test semiconductor devices, printed circuit assemblies, telephone lines, computerized telephone systems, internet and intranet networks, and software. The company is also a leading supplier of high-performance connection systems used in the manufacture of electronics. Teradyne's extensive service network supports customers through a worldwide service and application engineering network, with technical centers located throughout Asia, Europe and North America.

The Assembly Test Division, located in Boston and Walnut Creek, California, serves circuit-board test customers with comprehensive capabilities in test and inspection. These test instruments and systems are used in commercial environments and in military/aerospace applications where reliability, time-to-market, and in-line process test are key to success. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Teradyne reported sales of approximately $1.5 billion in 1998 and had 6,800 employees worldwide.