SCIENCE

SAN JOSE, CA -- Schlumberger Semiconductor Solutions, a unit of Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), introduced today the first Integrated Circuit Analysis Farm (ICAF), an innovative facility which leverages the revolutionary Schlumberger IDS PICA probe system to collect electrical timing data from devices on advanced process technologies. Opening this month in San Jose, California, the ICAF provides fabless companies and semiconductor manufacturers access to a diagnostic probe technology that does not require the onsite presence of a design engineer. Semiconductor companies taking advantage of the diagnostic service send devices to the ICAF, use time on the IDS PICA tool, and receive all the performance data design engineers need to analyze circuit designs and prepare for production. The ICAF affords chip designers unparalleled flexibility, providing them access to the industry's most advanced diagnostic technology, while paying only for the data they actually need. "ICAF represents a new model in innovative outsourcing for designers developing devices for advanced process technologies," stated Michel Villemain, vice president Probe Systems, Schlumberger Semiconductor Solutions. "As fabless companies prepare for manufacturing on a foundry's 0.13-micron process, their designers need access to state-of-the-art probe tools to debug and validate designs. However, they may not use the instruments enough to justify the capital expense. Since the advent of the IDS PICA tool fundamentally separates the design engineer from the data acquisition task, we can now provide this service to all companies at low cost so that they can use the best tools available for the job." The ICAF provides full service data acquisition services for diagnostic probe. As a result of the Schlumberger Probe System alliance with Integrated Measurement Systems (Nasdaq:IMSC) announced in June, the ICAF features the IDS PICA tool coupled with the IMS Vanguard 500IC Validation System. This combination is popular because it provides the users with state-of-the-art probing technology in a flexible, high performance solution to get critical answers quickly. ICAF services include device preparation, customer support and software for off-line analysis. Device fixturing, pattern translation and test optimization services are also available. The IDS PICA probe system is the first and only commercially available tool to use IBM's advanced PICA technology, harnessing light emissions from active CMOS transistors to track electrical signals as they travel through semiconductor devices. The IDS PICA system gathers data non-invasively and is particularly valuable for accurately probing advanced technologies, including 0.13-micron and SOI. Schlumberger Probe Systems is the long time leader in providing diagnostic tools for the frontier of semiconductor manufacturing processes, enabling designers to push technology's edge. The Probe Systems IDS family includes the IDS 10000 series electron beam tools, the IDS P3X and IDS P3Xa focused ion beam instruments, and the IDS 2500 and the IDS PICA optical probe systems. For additional information visit www.slb.com/semiconductors