OCT. 8–CHERRY HILL, NJ–inTEST Corp., a developer semiconductor test, equipment, has acquired Intelogic Technologies GmbH, a Rosenheim, Germany-based maker of productivity-monitoring equipment for the chip industry.

“This acquisition is very complementary to inTEST’s core business,” says Robert E. Matthiessen, inTEST’s president and chief executive. “It immediately adds important new technology while saving us expensive development costs. Intelogic will also expand our presence in Germany, provide access to key new customers, and add to our staff of experienced technical personnel.”

Intelogic designs and manufactures products used to improve the productivity and cost-effectiveness of semiconductor testing. The company’s line includes docking systems, test head manipulators, or “positioners,” and other mechanical and automated test equipment (ATE) products.

Matthiessen says Christian Mueller, who was instrumental in building the present Intelogic line, will maintain responsibility for Intelogic’s ongoing engineering and product development efforts.

Intelogic’s designs have captured considerable attention since the company’s founding in 1998. Among the many highlights are features such as pneumatically powered movements for test head manipulators, engineered to reduce overall system weight. The company has also introduced advanced control features into its product line to simplify test set-ups easier, increase accuracy, and boost the throughput of the semiconductor testing process.

An example of Intelogic’s technology is the “Grizzly 2000” manipulator. The Grizzly 2000 is an automatic test head positioning system used to dock semiconductor test heads to handling systems. The system combines linear, electrically driven up-and-down movement with an air-pressure-based, floating-state technology in the z-axis, to produce greater flexibility and smoothness. According to Intelogic, the result is faster, more accurate docking.