Credence Systems Corporation (NASDAQ: CMOS), is a manufacturer of test equipment for the global semiconductor industry, with a major focus on solving specific challenges facing the fast growing consumer-driven semiconductor markets. Founded in 1978, it is publicly traded on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol CMOS. It is headquartered in Milpitas, California, and is established in twenty countries.
Customers include integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), wafer foundries, outsource assembly and test (OSAT) suppliers and fabless chip companies.
Credence has three main product lines:
- Sapphire, an IC test system intended primarily for production testing with multisite capabilities, i.e., the option to test multiple chips in one go. It can be scaled to varying requirements, with a top clock rate of more than 6.4 GHz. In January 2008, Credence decided to stop developing the Sapphire platform, reduce its workforce by 35%, and close the main development site for the platform in Saint-Étienne, France (previously part of Schlumberger, then Nptest).
- Diamond, comprising two system targeted at both chip development testing and production testing, primarily for applications that are cost-sensitive.
- ASL, a product series of three distinct models. The entry model has very low environment requirements; it is unusual among ATEs in that is needs neither water nor specialized power supply. The ASL models are targeted at RF applications such as video, or wireless telecommunication chips.
Competition
On June 22, 2008 competitor LTX signed a merger agreement with Credence Systems Corporation: LTX CEO and President David Tacelli will become CEO of the merged company. [1]
Credence System’s remaining principal competitors in the ATE business are:
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