Press Releases

June 16, 2008
Presto Engineering and iRoC Technologies Announce Sales Agreement
Presto authorized as the exclusive sales distributor in North America for iRoC soft error rate testing of semiconductor devices

SAN JOSE, CALIF and GRENOBLE, FRANCE (June 16, 2008)―Presto Engineering, Inc., a provider of product engineering services to the semiconductor industry, and iRoC Technologies Corporation, a provider of soft error solutions for semiconductors, today announced that Presto will serve as the exclusive North American sales distributor for iRoC SERTEST service. Soft error rate testing (SERTEST) enables integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and fabless vendors to determine the impact of cosmic rays and alpha particles on the reliability of their next-generation memory and system-on-chip (SoC) semiconductor devices. As part of the agreement, Presto Engineering will augment its existing in-house semiconductor testing, reliability and analysis offering with SERTEST, while the infrastructure for SERTEST will remain with iRoC in Grenoble, France.

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Presto Engineering CEO, Michel Villemain, stated, “We are seeing a lot of new devices coming to Presto for Design Success Analysis services, which helps IDMs and fabless vendors improve the speed and predictability of their new product releases. We constantly scout for new and unique services to add to our portfolio that will help to make our customers successful. SERTEST is moving into the critical path for new product qualification, and we are pleased to be able to offer it to our customers.”

“The majority of our business is in North America, and more specifically in the Silicon Valley area,” said Eric Dupont, president and CEO of iRoC. “This partnership enables IDMs and fabless vendors to leverage our SERTEST technical expertise with Presto’s failure analysis and test offerings, providing an even stronger ‘one-stop shop’ for our mutual customers. With this agreement, we look forward to leveraging Presto’s relationships to educate the market and bring SERTEST to new customers.”

According to Peter Liaw, Ph.D., director of quality assurance, NetLogic Microsystems, “Soft error testing has been driven by networking infrastructure applications where long-term reliability, measured in failure in time, is mission-critical. We have found iRoC SERTEST to be an accurate and reliable test methodology, and a standard for our products. We have enjoyed an excellent experience working with both Presto Engineering and iRoC, and we are excited that Presto will now be distributing the SERTEST capability.”

SERTEST is a turn-key solution for radiation testing (accelerated and real-time) and alpha particle counting, covering both complete electronic systems and individual packaged memory and logic devices. A pioneer of the labless model, Presto Engineering provides tape-out to yield Design Success Analysis™ services, encapsulating the most critical capabilities necessary to quickly bring new designs to volume production.

August 27, 2007
Presto Engineering Partners With Nanolab Technologies
Presto Engineering's test and design success analysis services, combined with NanoLab's analytical capabilities, provide a turn-key solution to customers

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SAN JOSE, CALIF (August 27, 2007)―Presto Engineering, Inc., a provider of product engineering services to the semiconductor industry, today announced a partnership with NanoLab Technologies, Inc., located in Sunnyvale, Calif. The mutual contracting agreement enables the companies to offer turn-key engineering, test and analytical services to customers, helping them to improve the speed and efficiency and minimize the cost of bringing new products to market.

"Success in today's competitive environment requires that chip makers have a network of suppliers with each providing superior capabilities in their respective areas of expertise," said Michel Villemain, Presto Engineering CEO. "This partnership with NanoLab enables us to focus on our core competence--integrating and analyzing electrical test and physical analysis data to accelerate the product release process--while giving our customers ready access to the specialized skill set offered by NanoLab."

"The expertise and capital expenditures required to maintain state-of-the-art capability in all of the specialized scientific and engineering disciplines needed to support advanced semiconductor manufacturing have grown beyond the means of all but the largest manufacturers," said John Traub, President, NanoLab Technologies. "Outsourcing these services to suppliers like NanoLab and Presto allows manufacturers to convert the fixed cost of internal capabilities to a variable cost that is readily scalable in response to varying demands. Because we can focus our efforts and investments more narrowly and operate more efficiently, we can provide superior capability, often at a lower cost."

Presto Engineering's unique Design Success Analysis service focuses on the complex discipline of product engineering--shepherding new products from first silicon to final release by refining the initial design and tuning the manufacturing processes to achieve profitable yields in high-volume production. Success requires detailed understanding and sophisticated capability in three essential areas: the manufacturing processes used for advanced semiconductor devices, the electrical testing techniques used to evaluate performance and localize deficiencies or failures, and the imaging and physical analysis used to reveal the structural root causes.

Presto's partnership with NanoLab ensures fast, reliable access to their advanced imaging and physical analysis capabilities, complementing Presto's existing electrical test facilities and completing the infrastructure needed to offer seamless, turn-key services. Design Success Analysis supplements manufacturers' internal engineering resources to ensure a faster, more predictable product release process, getting new products to market sooner without costly surprises.

July 23, 2007
Presto Engineering Acquires Test Facility from Cypress Semiconductor
Facility provides state-of-the-art capability to support Presto Engineering's design success analysis services

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SAN JOSE, CALIF (July 23, 2007)―Presto Engineering, Inc., a provider of design success analysis services to the semiconductor industry, announced today that it has acquired a test facility in San Jose, California from Cypress Semiconductor Corp. The acquisition will enable Presto Engineering to provide product engineering services to Cypress and other semiconductor manufacturers, with a focus on improving the speed and predictability of new products as they ramp up from design to manufacturing.

"As semiconductor design and manufacturing have become more complex, product engineering―the process of refining the initial design to achieve profitability in high-volume production―has become exponentially more difficult," said Michel Villemain, Presto Engineering CEO. "It requires deep technical expertise in the disparate disciplines of electrical test, physical analysis, process technology and design. Presto Engineering's 'design success analysis' is a comprehensive product engineering service that complements manufacturers' internal engineering resources and improves the speed and predictability of new product introductions."

The first and most critical step in the product engineering process is electrical testing to evaluate device performance and localize areas of concern for subsequent physical analysis. This acquisition of the 9,800-square foot operation provides Presto Engineering with in-house test capabilities and capacity to offer these services to other semiconductor manufacturers and design houses.

"The facility enhances our ability to support customers quickly and comprehensively," added Villemain. "We expect the industry to move toward 'labless' product engineering in the same way it has moved to 'fabless' manufacturing."

"The time it takes to go from first silicon to high-volume production can be the single most important determinant in the success of a new product,"" said Mike LaBouff, vice president of engineering for Cypress. "Anything that enhances the speed and predictability of that process is extremely valuable. Presto's acquisition of our test floor gives us ready access to their extensive expertise and new advanced analysis capabilities."

As semiconductor designs and manufacturing processes have become more complex, shrinking process windows and increasing interaction between design parameters and process performance have made the product release process more difficult and less predictable. Product engineering has developed into a complex discipline requiring specialized expertise in electrical test, physical analysis, manufacturing processes and design. Presto Engineering provides a comprehensive solution designed to complement its clients' internal product engineering resources with the expertise and advanced test and analysis capabilities that have historically been available only in the central labs of the largest manufacturers.

With the PrestoPETM services package, customers are charged a fixed project fee and pay only for success, allowing simple up-front budgeting and guaranteed results. Registering a design early (at tape out) can save significant additional time by allowing advance preparation of test fixtures and procedures.