UltraTest International Information

UltraTest International, Inc. (UTI), founded in 1982, is a privately held business which provides test and analysis instrumentation for the semiconductor industry. Located in San Jose, California, UTI has two divisions, the MultiTrace Division and the ProTech Division. Both of these divisions have in common the development and marketing of tools used in testing and analysis of integrated circuit devices, whether in wafer or die form, as packaged components, or mounted on printed circuit boards. UTI began business in Silicon Valley in 1982 as MicroLabs, a semiconductor Failure Analysis Laboratory, providing sophisticated device analysis services to U.S. and foreign semiconductor manufacturers. In providing IC analytical services to the world's largest companies, it immediately became apparent that currently available tools did not adequately meet the needs of the rapidly progressing electronics industry. The growing pin count, with some devices now approaching 1000 pins, and the increasing complexity of IC's made it impractical to test these parts manually. Requirements for advanced device analytical techniques led to the creation of the MultiTrace Division in 1987. Since then, UTI has developed the MultiTrace line of computer-based automated instrumentation used for electrically characterizing, analyzing, and testing integrated circuit devices. MultiTrace Systems are recognized by the semiconductor industry as key tools for analyzing devices ranging from simple low pin-count analog devices, to complex high pin-count mixed signal integrated circuits. Many customers have multiple MultiTrace Systems in use around the world. UTI committed early to the MS Windows operating system and MultiTrace was developed from the outset in conjunction with the development of Windows itself. Evolution of MultiTrace Systems has continued in step with semiconductor industry needs, aided by the insight into future industry trends gained from the advanced technologies worked with on a daily basis in applying MultiTrace systems to customers' requirements in our own Electrical Lab. To complement MultiTrace Systems in the device analysis process, UTI created Precision IC Cross-Section and Parallel Lapping Instruments which are used to physically access particular points of interest within a silicon wafer or die. Frequently, the device being examined will first be electrically analyzed on a MultiTrace system. Then layers or sections of the device will be removed by use of UTI's Cross-Section or Parallel Lapping Instruments. These areas will then be examined in a Scanning Electron Microscope, images made, and then a written analytical report prepared. Building on its expertise in failure analysis, electronic components and electrical testing, UTI expanded into the diagnosis of integrated circuits mounted on printed circuit boards. In 1993, UTI acquired PROTECH and created the ProTech Division. ProTech board diagnostic systems are computer-based, in-circuit component diagnostic systems used to identify failed devices on boards in order to repair the boards and return them to service. Features include functional testing of digital devices, analog device testing, board schematic generation, and identification of unknown devices. Protech is one of the oldest names in bench-top board diagnostic systems, and holds basic patents on the technology. UTI further expanded this business in 1995 by acquiring the B+K Pro-Line product line, and now has one of the largest installed customer bases of this type of equipment in the world. Users include many readily recognized domestic and international companies, repair depots, the air force, army, and navy of the U.S. and other countries, and U.S. and foreign governmental agencies.