Cascade Microtech Announces Partnership With Philips and Agilent Technologies to Establish New Research Facility for Development
September 11 2006 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
World-Class Measurement Laboratory Will Be Located at Philips
Research's Microsystems Plaza in Eindhoven - One of the Largest
Shared Research Service Centers in the World BEAVERTON, Ore., Sept.
11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cascade Microtech, (NASDAQ:CSCD), a
worldwide leader in precise electrical measurements on small
structures, today announced a partnership agreement with Philips'
MiPlaza research center and Agilent Technologies to create a new
world class Electronic Measurement Laboratory on the High Tech
Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The laboratory will enable
development of complex nanoscale high-speed integrated circuits
(ICs) at the heart of next generation wireless systems. "This is a
major step forward for MiPlaza," said Gerjan van de Walle, business
development director, MiPlaza. "Not only does it further strengthen
the infrastructure and expertise we can offer in the area of
semiconductor R&D, but it's also a significant expansion in the
MiPlaza value network of strategic partnerships." "By creating the
center and providing a state of the art set of tools, we hope to
drive innovation in the development of advanced semiconductors,"
said Thaine Allison, director of advanced development, Cascade
Microtech. "We are very pleased with the collaborative work being
done with MiPlaza," said Benoit Neel, vice president and general
manager, Agilent Technologies. "It is Agilent's strategic intent to
work with the leading research entities and industry champions in
order to facilitate innovation. Agilent believes that initiatives
such as MiPlaza create tremendous opportunities for technical
advancement." The Electronic Measurement Laboratory will be
equipped with high-performance, high-frequency measurement
instrumentation, including Cascade Microtech's state of the art RF
probes, wafer probe station and Agilent Technology's network
analyzer capable of handling 300mm wafers with frequencies up to 67
GHz. The lab will enable research groups to perform precise
electrical measurements on ICs directly on-wafer and will be fully
supported by applications personnel and measurement specialists.
About MiPlaza MiPlaza (Microsystems Plaza) is part of Philips
Research. It is one of the largest shared research service centers
in the world. It offers world-class infrastructure and expertise
enabling customers and partners to carry out high-tech research and
development projects in the most cost-effective way. The laboratory
will be available for research partnership programs, where
corporate innovation leaders, start-up companies, academic and
research institutes can utilize this advanced measurement facility
in an "Open Innovation" environment. As well as establishing the
new laboratory, MiPlaza, Cascade Microtech and Agilent Technologies
will also pursue an applications development program, maintain the
measurement platform with world-class standards, and increase the
shared expertise on wafer-level characterization applications. The
Next Generation of Wireless Systems Philips MiPlaza, Cascade
Microtech and Agilent Technologies came together to enable
semiconductor research to be driven to the next level. Advanced
research tools have always led the way to increased semiconductor
performance. The creation of the Electronic Measurement Laboratory
seeks to advance the innovation of the next generation of wireless
devices and systems. Such innovations include wireless
communication in the home providing the infrastructure for ambient
intelligence, high frequency RF imaging systems in hospitals, and
ultra low power wireless sensors for use in and around the human
body. These wireless innovations will demand massively increased
data transfer rates, 100 to 1,000 times higher than currently
available. This means increased bandwidth and consequently higher
frequencies. The new laboratory supports these requirements,
enabling measurements to be performed at very high frequency in the
RF range. The new partnership and establishment of this major new
laboratory is another excellent example of Open Innovation in
practice -- the principle that fundamental technological
breakthroughs and generic innovations can best be achieved through
close cooperation between companies, research centers and
universities. The agreement gives further economic impetus to the
region, already one of the most technologically innovative in
Europe. About Cascade Microtech Cascade Microtech, Inc. is a
worldwide leader in the precise electrical measurement and test of
integrated circuits (ICs) and other small structures. For
technology businesses and scientific institutions who need to
evaluate small structures, Cascade Microtech delivers access to,
and extraction of, electrical data from wafers, integrated circuits
(ICs), IC packages, circuit boards and modules, MEMs, biological
structures, electro-optic devices and more. Cascade Microtech's
highly reliable production wafer test solutions provide the
semiconductor industry with leading-edge probe cards that reduce
manufacturing costs of complex semiconductors. Information about
Cascade Microtech can be found on the Web at
http://www.cascademicrotech.com/. About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands
(NYSE:PHGNYSE:AEX:NYSE:PHI) is one of the world's biggest
electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 30.4
billion in 2005. With activities in the three interlocking domains
of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 158,000 employees in
more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in
medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television
sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions. News
from Philips is located at http://www.philips.com/newscenter .
About Agilent Technologies Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is
the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in
communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis.
The company's 20,000 employees serve customers in more than 110
countries. Agilent had net revenue of $5.1 billion in fiscal 2005.
Information about Agilent is available on the Web at
http://www.agilent.com/ . DATASOURCE: Cascade Microtech, Inc.
CONTACT: Debra Seifert of McClenahan Bruer Communications,
+1-503-546-1000, or , for Cascade Microtech, Inc.; or Junko Nakaya
of Cascade Microtech, Inc., +1-503-601-1180, or Web site:
http://www.agilent.com/ http://www.cascademicrotech.com/
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