December 4, 2007 — Agilent Technologies Inc. and Multiprobe Inc. have announced a planned partnership in Asia.
The companies said they will get together to sell Multiprobe’s Multiscan Atomic Force Prober (AFP) in Japan and the rest of Asia.
They said the arrangement strengthens an already existing one between the two companies. Multiprobe uses the Agilent B1500A semiconductor device analyzer in its current products.
The Multiscan AFP allows users to quickly and repeatedly probe and characterize the electrical parameters of transistors and other structures at 65nm and below. The Multiscan AFP uses multiple, specialized atomic force microscope heads to locate a failing transistor and contact extremely close-spaced terminals. Its software allows the user to place probes easily, making previously expensive, time-consuming measurements routine, the company said in a news release.
“At 65nm and below, semiconductor manufacturers face tremendous challenges in failure analysis, including the probing of extremely small line widths and the measurement of very small voltages and currents,” Minoru Ebihara, vice president and general manager of Agilent Hachioji Semiconductor Test Division, said in the release. “By expanding our relationship with Multiprobe, we are now planning to offer our customers in Asia access to a comprehensive solution available for nanoscale probing for failure analysis.”