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FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR DEPLOYS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR ACHIEVING NEXT GENERATION DEVICE QUALITY AND RELIABILITY WITH KINESYS TEST ADVANTAGE’S STREEWISE™ SOFTWARE

TEMPE, AZ. — December 2, 2009 – Freescale and Kinesys Test Advantage announced today that they have implemented breakthrough technology that removes the historical “wall” between in process wafer manufacturing data and die electrical test data in order to target hybrid automotive quality requirements.

Automotive device supplier Freescale Semiconductor located in Toulouse, France is driving quality and reliability levels to ever higher standards in its manufacturing operations by employing Streetwise™, an innovative software technology from Arizona-based Kinesys Test Advantage. Streetwise is a unique

software platform that provides advanced multi process flow data analysis capabilities for exposing semiconductor device performance marginalities, thereby dramatically improving overall device quality and reliability.

Zero defect programs have become a norm in the automotive industry where quality is critical to the safety and reliability of a company’s products. 

Freescale and Kinesys Test Advantage have combined their respective expertise and technology to extend statistical post processing analysis to include wafer sort electrical test screenings, final outgoing inspection and in-process wafer fab parameters. Automatic multi-flow and across flow analysis of these new data sources generated from as many as ten (10) wafer manufacturing process flows will allow achievement of unprecedented quality levels for next generation automotive applications.

Historically, there have been incredible amounts of wafer fab parametric data (average ratio 1/10; one electrical test for ten in process wafer fab measurements) that have been used solely to monitor the wafer manufacturing processes. This same wafer fab data is a rich source of information that has not been leveraged to its full potential. Typically, in-process wafer fab measurements are stored into a database for lot processing traceability and process control. Freescale and Kinesys Test Advantage have implemented unique smoothing algorithms in order to translate sampled data from in-process wafer fab
measurements into in-process die measurements without adding extra controls in the wafer fab. This development allows die level screening and detection of potential marginal device performance through multi-flow analysis classification rules based on statistical post processing.

“Freescale is now post processing twenty-four (24) wafer lots in a matter of minutes with up to ten (10) flows of in-process and electrical test die data per wafer in a single pass using Streetwise™, whereas historically if this same comprehensive analysis were performed, it could take up to two (2) weeks,” stated Frederic Tilhac, Kinesys Test Advantage Technical Program Manager.

“By incorporating wafer fab data using Streetwise advanced multi-flow analysis and device classification strategies, we are confident in our ability to meet our customers’ demands for the next generation automotive quality standards demanded by our hybrid application markets and improve our manufacturing processes,” said Alain Deram, Technical Director of Power Technology at Freescale Semiconductor”.

“Freescale’s deployment of Streetwise for their leading edge product applications is a tribute to our advanced technology that enables our customers to achieve next generation quality levels demanded by future automotive applications.” commented Fabrice Dechoux, CEO of Test Advantage. “Streetwise is a unique, production-proven platform that enhances any device manufacturer’s competitive advantage.”

About Freescale Toulouse: The Freescale Toulouse facility was built in 1967 and is not only a semiconductor manufacturing site but also includes R&D, Sales and Marketing targeting Analog / Mixed-mode Power ICs and RF chips for automotive and networking infrastructure.

About Kinesys Test Advantage: In 2008, Test Advantage Software joined forces with Kinesys and formed Kinesys Test Advantage (KTA). Kinesys Test Advantage is a leading supplier of software based quality improvement and single device tracking (SDT) tools. KTA software incorporates a complete, fully automated production solution when combined with direct equipment connection to both test and assembly process elements. KTA technology empowers users in all areas of single device tracking and integrated statistical post-test processing analysis of manufacturing data. The Tempe, Arizona based company maintains offices throughout the world.

More information about Kinesys Test Advantage is available at www.kinesystestadvantage.com.

Test Advantage ®, Kinesys Test Advantage™, Streetwise™, Streetwise™ Production,Streetwise™ Engineering are trademarks or registered trademarks of Test Advantage, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. Other product and or service names mentioned herein may be trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.

Media Contact:
Greg LaBonte
Phone: 480-337-3363
greg.labonte@testadvantage.com

2009

December 2, 2009
KINESYS SOFTWARE AND TEST ADVANTAGE JOIN FORCES TO FORM KINESYS TEST ADVANTAGE

TEMPE, AZ. — December 2, 2009 - Test Advantage Software and Kinesys Software have combined their respective technology development roadmaps into a new entity, to be known as Kinesys Test Advantage. The joining of the two companies leverages the synergies of Kinesys’ Single Device Traceability and Test Advantage’s Advanced Semiconductor Device Variability detection technologies into a fully integrated production solution, enabling existing joint customers and the broader marketplace to take advantage of this fully integrated solution for employing advanced feed forward Adaptive Test Strategies.

The two parties have committed to the semiconductor device manufacturing marketplace to provide fully integrated ‘end to end’ product solutions that are deployed throughout the backend semiconductor manufacturing operations, and targeted to improve production efficiencies, reduce DPPM levels, and enable single device traceability while facilitating open data standards.

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2008

August 20, 2008
Tempe-Based Test Advantage Named to the Inc. 5000 for Second Year in a Row

NEW YORK, NY./ TEMPE, AZ. - August 20, 2008 – For the second successive year, Inc. has named Test Advantage, Inc. in its Inc. 5,000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the United States.

Test Advantage, a leading supplier of both custom-configured Automated Test Equipment (ATE) and innovative software technology tools for semiconductor testing, was founded in 1997 and has enjoyed significant and sustained growth. The company was ranked number 3,110 in the Inc. 5,000 in 2007. The Inc. 5,000 award is focused on revenue growth over the last few years, which for Test Advantage has continued to be strong, driven by the company’s established and growing market share of its hardware and software activities. Since its inception, Test Advantage has shipped several hundred quality ATE systems and ATE upgrades and licensed thousands of software nodes to its customers worldwide.

“To be ranked once again amongst the fastest growing private companies is a considerable achievement for our company,” commented Fabrice Dechoux, CEO of Test Advantage. “That we have been able to maintain a growth rate worthy of the Inc. 5,000, even though we are now in our 12th business year, is testament to the dedication of our team in maintaining our position as the premier resource for semiconductor test capacity and technology.”

“Our second annual Inc. 5000 continues the most ambitious project in business journalism,” said Inc. 5000 Project Manager Jim Melloan. “The Inc. 5000 gives an unrivalled portrait of young, underreported companies across all industries doing fascinating things with cutting-edge business models, as well as older companies that are still showing impressive growth.”

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April 2008
Teradyne Partners with Test Advantage for Refurbished Test Equipment Certification Program

TEMPE, AZ – April 3, 2008 – Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER), a world leader in high efficiency, low-cost test, has launched a new certification program for Teradyne refurbished test equipment and chose Test Advantage of Tempe, Arizona as a partner for the endeavor. Test Advantage brings an unparalleled palette of resources, including a large and continuously refreshed inventory of Teradyne equipment, and an in-house team with 100+ years of Teradyne ATE experience.

“Test Advantage has been the premier source of refurbished, Configured-to-Match™, Teradyne test equipment for over 11 years, and has enhanced its customers’ competitive advantage with reliable, quick-turn, capacity solutions,” commented Test Advantage CEO Fabrice Dechoux. “Test Advantage has received a number of awards for its innovation, execution and growth in this market space, and strives to bring even more value to Teradyne users through this partnership with Teradyne.”

The new equipment certification process applies to Teradyne test systems no longer in production, which includes the J900 and A500 families, Catalyst and Tiger test systems. The refurbishment program enables customers to add capacity with equipment that is consistent with Teradyne quality standards. Teradyne will certify that the test equipment meets a rigorous reconfiguration, test and ship process. Teradyne-Certified refurbished test systems will be installed and warranted by Teradyne.

“Customers use Teradyne’s legacy test equipment long after the initial purchase, and this program provides a reliable source to meet their capacity demands with a solution that Teradyne can confidently stand behind,” said Jim Mahon, general manager, Teradyne Global Customer Services. “The tester certification program creates another way for us to support the needs of our customers while ensuring the quality that customers count on from Teradyne.”

About Test Advantage, Inc.

Founded in 1997, Test Advantage’s mission is to provide innovative, comprehensive, reliable and timely capacity solutions and services to the semiconductor test industry worldwide. The company has established itself as the leading source of refurbished Configured-To-Match™ Teradyne ATE systems and has delivered more then 250 Teradyne testers and system upgrades for the leading semiconductor manufacturers and sub cons. Coupled with its leading refurbishment business is an extensive inventory of systems, parts and options fully supported by its worldwide infrastructure and service personnel. The Tempe, Arizona-based company operates with offices worldwide to support the leading global ATE users. Test Advantage has received numerous business and supplier awards over the past several years, including recent recognition as one of the fastest growing privately held companies by the 2007 Inc. magazine “Inc. 5000.” More information on these awards and other key aspects of the Test Advantage business model can be found at www.testadvantage.com.

About Teradyne
Teradyne (NYSE:TER) is a leading supplier of Automatic Test Equipment used to test complex electronics for the consumer electronics, automotive, computing, telecommunications, and aerospace and defense industries. In 2007, Teradyne had sales of $1.1 billion, and currently employs about 3800 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.teradyne.com . Teradyne (R) is a registered trademark of Teradyne, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All product names are trademarks of Teradyne, Inc. (including its subsidiaries) or their respective owners.

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February 2008
Test Advantage is recognized as a key provider in enabling Adaptive Test Strategies within the semiconductor test environmen

TEMPE, AZ-FEBRUARY 18, 2008: The 2007 International Test Conference brought significant emphasis to the growing demand for employing “Adaptive Test” strategies to optimize semiconductor test, both in terms of cost and quality. A common thread exposed during multiple sessions at the ITC conference, and among key members attending a Die Products Consortium session held during that same week, was the compelling benefits for leveraging Advanced Variance Detection data for improving the semiconductor test processes. Historically, outlier detection methods may have only been considered economically viable in operations that demanded extreme quality standards dictated by “Zero Defect” initiatives associated with specific markets such as Automotive and Medical. These conference sessions rationalized broad market appeal for employing Adaptive Test strategies leveraging Advanced Variance Detection classification methods for both commercial and high reliability markets.

Test Advantage was honored to participate as an invitee to the DPC session and was pleased to witness continued significant reinforcement from the DPC organization for Advanced Variance Detection techniques which could be leveraged in feed forward test strategies. Test Advantage is a world proven leader in providing a user definable Advanced Variance Detection platform that integrates easily within existing semiconductor manufacturing operations. .

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2007

November 2007
TEST ADVANTAGE APPOINTS TERADYNE VETERAN
DOUG ELDER AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

TEMPE, AZ— NOVEMBER 26, 2007: Test Advantage Inc. announced today that Teradyne veteran Doug Elder has joined the company as Senior Vice President of its Hardware Division, responsible for the Teradyne value-added reselling activity.

Mr. Elder comes to Test Advantage from Teradyne, where he spent 22 year in various roles at the company. Starting in 1985 as a Sales Engineer, Mr. Elder worked upwards within the organization, serving most recently as Vice President and General Manager of the Semiconductor Test Business from 2003 to 2007.

Commenting on the appointment, Fabrice Dechoux said: “Doug Elder brings many years of senior executive level experience with Teradyne to Test Advantage in the form of market knowledge, customer relationships and platform expertise. His addition to our senior management team is of significant value to Test Advantage, as the largest Teradyne value-added equipment re-seller, and positions us perfectly to grow our Teradyne business still further.”

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November 2007
TEST ADVANTAGE AND COMPREHENSIVE
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (CDS) JOIN FORCES

New Entity Consolidates Position As Market-Leading Teradyne
Value-Added Equipment Reseller

Test Advantage Inc., the most recognized and leading Teradyne value-added equipment reseller, today announced that it has reached an agreement with Comprehensive Development Services (CDS) under which the two companies will join forces. The new entity, which will operate under the Test Advantage name, is firmly positioned as the largest Teradyne value-added equipment re-seller, with well over 150 years of combined Teradyne expertise across all current and legacy platforms and historic Teradyne equipment sales of over $140 million.

No details of the terms of the agreement between Test Advantage and CDS are being made available at this time. Test Advantage CEO, Fabrice Dechoux, will be the CEO of the combined entity. All employees and officers of the two companies in North America, Europe and Asia will remain in place.

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September 2007
Tempe-Based Test Advantage Ranks Number 3110 on the 2007 Inc. 5,000
With Three-Year Sales Growth of 103 Percent.

NEW YORK, NY/ TEMPE, AZ. - September 21, 2007 – Inc. ranked Test Advantage number 3,110 on its first-ever Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. The Inc. 5,000, an extension of Inc. magazine’s annual Inc. 500 list, catches many businesses that are too big to grow at the pace required to make the Inc. 500, as well as a host of smaller firms.

Test Advantage Inc. is a leading supplier of both custom-configured Automated Test Equipment (ATE) and innovative software technology tools for semiconductor test. Since it was founded in 1997, Test Advantage has experienced pronounced periods of growth, winning the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in part for rapid growth during the period 1997 - 2000. The Inc. 5000 award is focused on revenue growth over the last few years, which continues to be strong, driven by Test Advantage's established and growing market share in its hardware and software activities.

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April 2007
Automotive Semiconductor Device Suppliers Demonstrate Maturity in Driving Zero Defect Initiatives at Wafer Sort.
TEMPE, ARIZONA: Greg LaBonte, Software Product Manager, Test Advantage. Today, electronic systems account for more than 20 percent of the value of a new automobile, and that figure is expected to increase to more than 40 percent by 2010 . The desire to increase reliability in this competitive marketplace, along with ensuring that safety liabilities are under control, have acted as significant catalysts for automotive device manufacturers to aggressively pursue “Zero Defect” semiconductor device manufacturing strategies.
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March 2007
TEST ADVANTAGE’S STREETWISE™ TECHNOLOGY SELECTED BY TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION TO SUPPORT ZERO DEFECTS PROGRAM.

Manufacturing Excellence, Device Reliability and Customer Satisfaction Drive Decision

TEMPE, AZ—Test Advantage Inc. announced today that Toyota Motor Corporation has purchased Streetwise™, a unique software platform that provides a suite of tools for decreasing semiconductor manufacturers’ Defective Parts Per Million (DPPM) rates, thereby enhancing overall device quality and reliability.

Zero defect programs have become a norm in the auto industry where quality and yield are critical to the safety and reliability of a company’s products, and its bottom line. Test Advantage has been at the forefront of software solutions to reduce DPPM in semiconductor manufacturing. The Test Advantage Software Division is driven by the desire to help its customers attain ZERO defects in production.

“Toyota’s selection of Streetwise is a testament to the continued success of the technology and its ability to help achieve DPPM improvement and overall device reliability without compromising manufacturing cost effectiveness,” commented Fabrice Dechoux, CEO of Test Advantage. “Streetwise is a unique, production-proven platform that enhances any device manufacturer’s competitive advantage.”

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2006

May 2006
Test Advantage presents with ST Microelectronics at the 2006 Automotive Electronics Conference
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: May 9-11 Test Advantage and ST Microelectronics jointly present “An Industrialization Program for DPPM Improvement,” a compelling paper outlining the benefits of global deployment of Test Advantage’s Streetwise™ technology.
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May 2006
Test Advantage participates in the 2006 Teradyne User Group Vendor Forum
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA: May 1-3 The Teradyne Users Group (TUG) Conference is run by an annually elected steering committee of Teradyne customers, with Teradyne appointed delegates. This Conference consists of technical papers, panel and poster sessions, as well as tutorials that present the latest in Test Technology.


June 2006
Test Advantage presents “Highly efficient DPPM improvement programs depend on pre-production and post-probe data analysis” at the 2006 Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: June 11-14 The Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop is the only IEEE/CS sponsored event that focuses on all the aspects associated with microelectronic wafer and die level testing. The conference has a mixture of manufacturer and vendor presentations. It is not a sales show, nor an academic or theoretical conference.   It is a probe technology forum where attendees come to learn about recent developments in the industry and exchange ideas.
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2005

April 2005
Test Advantage presents at the 2005 Automotive Electronics Council Reliability Workshop
DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Test Advantage presents “Beyond PAT: Automatic Identification and Removal of Parametric Outliers in Semiconductor Test Data” at the 2005 Automotive Electronics Council Reliability Workshop in Detroit, Michigan, April 25th to 28th. Automotive device manufacturers are particularly interested in the quality enhancing benefits of Test Advantage’s Streetwise™ and Express™ tools.
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May 2005
Test Advantage Earns Texas Instruments 2004 Supplier Excellence Award
TEMPE, ARIZONA: Test Advantage Incorporated announced that it has been awarded the prestigious Texas Instruments (TI) 2004 Supplier Excellence Award. This award recognizes Test Advantage’s ability to repeatedly deliver superior rebuilt and custom-configured semiconductor testers to Texas Instruments sites globally.
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May 2005
Test Advantage presents at the 2005 Teradyne User Group Conference
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA: Test Advantage presents “An Automated Engineering Approach to Finding the Hidden Treasures Within Test Data” at the 2005 Teradyne User Group Conference, Vendor Forum in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 1st-4th.
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Nov 2005
Test Advantage’s Next Generation Streetwise™ Technology Maximizes DPPM Reductions: Adds Multi-flow to Comprehensive Outlier Detection
TEMPE, ARIZONA: November 17, 2005 — Test Advantage Inc., a technology leader providing automated, comprehensive, in-line data analysis technology for the semiconductor industry, unveiled today its next generation Streetwise™ Production and Streetwise™ Engineering software solutions at the opening of the annual International Test Conference (ITC) here in Austin, Texas. This latest generation of the Streetwise Production and Streetwise Engineering tools complements previously released product functions for detecting parametric and geographical outliers, with additional support for multi-process flow analysis and multi-process flow bin map merge capabilities. Streetwise has maintained its unique, leading-edge outlier device identification methodologies, which provide the user with unprecedented confidence in outlier device detection and validation so that users do not scrap good devices or unnecessarily sacrifice production yield.
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June 2005
Test Advantage presents at the 2005 Southwest Test Workshop
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: Test Advantage presents “Analysis of EWS Test Data for Reliability Improvement through Outlier Detection and Automated Ink Map Generation” at the 2005 Southwest Test Workshop, June 5th-8th.
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2004

June 2004
Test Advantage Presents at the Southwest Test Workshop
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: Test Advantage presents “Dynamic Outlier Algorithm Selection for Quality Improvement and Test Program Optimization” at the 2004 Southwest Test Workshop, an annual industry forum focused on the particular challenges of wafer test.
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2003

May 2003
Test Advantage Presents at the Teradyne User Group
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Test Advantage presents "Testing Field Programmable Analog Array on a Digital Platform" at the 2003 Teradyne User Group meeting. This paper will detail the challenges presented in testing a Field Programmable Analog Array on a low-cost digital platform, and some innovative methods for success.


2001

June 2001
Test Advantage Founders Receive “Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.”
Test Advantage Founders Receive “Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of theYear Award.”
TEMPE, ARIZONA: Ernst and Young announced that Test Advantage founders Fabrice Dechoux and Capri DeModica received the Arizona Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Technology category. The award was presented at a ceremony on June 26, 2001.

This award was created by Ernst and Young to recognize outstanding entrepreneurs whose achievements place them among the leaders in business. Entrepreneur of the Year award recipients were selected by a panel of independent judges based on factors that included risk, management quality, innovation, pace of growth, personal commitment and future potential.


2000