NI Announces Real-time Analytics Enablement by Collaborating with Leading ATE Vendor

NI has recently introduced an innovative initiative focused on delivering real-time semiconductor analytics solutions at the edge through their NI Global Operations (GO, formerly known as Optimal+) platform. This new infrastructure and control level unlocks opportunities for advanced, customized applications developed by platform users, NI itself, and even third-party collaborators. Notably, this announcement features a new enablement layer within the NI GO ecosystem, along with initial integration with Teradyne, a prominent ATE vendor.

The semiconductor industry's growing demands for enhanced quality, yield, throughput, and functionality in test operations have fueled the quest for more responsive test controls. To meet this need, the new NI Global Operations Real-time Application Enablement Layer extends the existing GO platform's capabilities to enable secure, low-latency tester servers for running analytics models in tandem with test execution. Rudy Sengupta, NI's VP & GM of Test and Analytics Software, emphasizes, "The semiconductor industry's prevailing trends highlight the increasing importance of test speed. To keep up, our customers must make test decisions more swiftly, often in sync with the ongoing test process. To make this a reality, we recognize the value of collaborative ecosystems and view our Real-time Enablement Layer and ATE partnerships as a pivotal turning point in the value we can extract from test analytics."

This enablement layer enhances NI Global Operations' open architecture and robust analytics capabilities by providing integrated support for ATE test floor platforms. It ensures a complete and trusted solution for real-time control in semiconductor testing by combining local data, security, and communication protocols with NI GO's backend analytics. Commencing with Teradyne implies that their tester systems will gain access to these cutting-edge capabilities, with the open architecture paving the way for future support of various ATE vendors and platforms.

Collaborating directly with ATE vendors enables NI to guarantee ongoing support, collaboration, and innovation in these joint solutions. These partnerships are intended to create an integrated architecture that optimizes semiconductor testing using ATE servers, made possible by increased investments by ATE vendors in supporting their test platforms with secure, integrated edge solutions.

Teradyne's Archimedes analytics solution seamlessly incorporates data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning into test solutions. Its open architecture accommodates leading analytics solution models and ensures a secure flow of real-time data with minimal impact on test time, resulting in improved quality, enhanced yield, and reduced tester downtime. Regan Mills, Vice President of Marketing for Semiconductor Test at Teradyne, states, "Teradyne is enthusiastic about collaborating with NI to support advanced analytics on their Global Operations Platform. Advanced learning models, combined with secure, authentic data, are critical for delivering high-quality end products and supporting emerging technologies. NI's GO Platform and Teradyne's Archimedes provide an end-to-end solution offering real-time data lifecycle management in a secure and protected environment."

As part of the Teradyne Archimedes ecosystem, NI GO's analytics models and applications benefit from the available computing resources, allowing them to operate closer to test activities than ever before. This facilitates data-driven actions and controls during test execution. Moreover, these models enjoy the inherent security protocols of ATE servers, ensuring the protection of all data and intellectual property. Consequently, existing solutions like Re-binning or DPAT can have a more immediate impact, while also creating opportunities for next-generation and do-it-yourself solutions that were previously considered unattainable, such as drift detection.

NI's latest development transcends its contribution to the recent transformations in the semiconductor test and analytics ecosystem. It completes the entire analytics pipeline, connecting testers and test floors, both internal and external, to a unified, extensive data instance. This enables deeper learning for continuously evolving, more impactful insights. Additionally, the GO Edge Servers serve as the hub for managing models and applications to ensure effective deployment, updates, tracking, and end-of-life (EOL) processes for real-time models.

The combination of real-time control with a versatile analytics backend makes the NI GO + ATE solutions a powerful force in the realm of test control capabilities.

Source:businesswire.com