Xcerra Corporation today announced that Nordic Semiconductor, a company that specializes in ultra-low power (ULP) 2.4GHz transceivers, notably for the Bluetooth Smart and wearables segments, has selected the Diamond_x from Xcerra’s semiconductor tester group, LTX-Credence, for high volume production test of their Internet of Things (IoT) products. Nordic will use the Diamond_x in combination with Nighthawk^CT, an industry leading instrument for low cost RF test of connectivity devices.

“We are delighted to once again see LTX-Credence come out of this type of benchmarking exercise with the best overall fit for our testing needs,” notes Ole-Fredrik Morken, Supply Chain Director at Nordic Semiconductor, and adds, “While our strategy in this arena is mainly driven by a requirement for highest possible throughput per test cell, we also value a long-term relationship with LTX-Credence and their consistent focus on providing best-in-class test solutions for our product segment. We are currently running high volume production on Diamond_x systems at multiple OSATs in Asia.”

Frank Berntsen, Chief Scientist at Nordic, commented, “After analyzing the data we determined that the Diamond_x and Nighthawk^CT configuration features a superior combination of instrument performance, infrastructure speed and allows for a significant increase in parallel test. This is critically important for us as the application of Bluetooth Smart and emerging technologies for all types of IoT and wearables will further fuel Nordic’s growth, driving the need for high volume, low cost test solutions.”

Steve Wigley, vice president of the semiconductor tester group at Xcerra Corporation commented, “The growth in IoT applications is expected to be a major contributor to semiconductor unit volumes over the next several years. The combination of Diamond_x and Nighthawk^CT was specifically designed to offer a new level of test capability for these types of applications. This new level of capability provides RF connectivity performance testing, as well as, a significantly reduced cost of testing RF enabled devices used in IoT applications. This is one of the drivers of the large installed base of Diamond_x systems at the major OSATs. The selection of Diamond_x and Nighthawk^CT for high volume production test by a key IoT player such as Nordic validates that our test solutions are well aligned to the needs of these fast growing applications.”