Teradyne Wins Best-in-Test Award

The prestigious award, which annually honors test industry products that offer a significant technological advancement to the market, will be presented at a ceremony held during the APEX Conference and Exposition in Anaheim, California on February 9, 2006. Teradyne announced ClearVue last March and has since sold several XStation MX inspection stations containing the technology to major PCB manufacturers in Asia, Europe and North America. ClearVue uses a patented off-center tomosynthesis imaging technique that more accurately exposes lead-free solder problems and better inspects densely packed single- or double-sided boards containing BGA-style components. Unlike conventional X-Ray inspection systems, ClearVue functions using a stationary X-Ray source and detector and does not require rotating mechanical parts or complex algorithms. More importantly, ClearVue enables up to 40 times fewer false failures, much improved reliability, higher repeatability and faster cycle times (i.e., throughputs that allow the XStation MX to be used and integrated with other in-line production test systems). Paul Groome, manager of Teradyne's AXI products group, said, "The beauty of our ClearVue lies in the increased quality, efficiency and simplicity it brings to automated X-Ray inspection. Quality managers and production line controllers will both benefit from its unique ability to identify material defects more quickly and with absolute certainty."