At a glance
| Booth | Q5930 |
| Country | JP |
| Website | www.ns-technologies.co.jp |
Company profile
NS Technologies, Inc. develops IC test handlers and is the original manufacturer of North Star platform handlers. As low-temperature IC testing becomes more important with growing automotive IC demand, the company has developed a new tri-temperature IC test handler. The company also addresses the growing need for dynamic temperature control during IC testing as AI-oriented ICs increase in size and power consumption. A detachable ATC unit can be mounted on an IC test handler as one approach to dynamic temperature control. The North Star platform is described as an industry standard in IC test handlers because of its stability and UPH, and the company positions the platform around customer productivity. The newly developed tri-temperature handler is intended to become part of the NST product lineup, extending the company’s handler range into low-temperature IC test requirements. As the original manufacturer of North Star platform handlers, NS Technologies, Inc. states that it provides products at the top level of the industry and uses the platform to contribute to customer productivity. The combination of a new tri-temperature handler and a detachable ATC unit gives the company two temperature-management approaches described for changing IC test needs: low-temperature operation and dynamic temperature control during testing.
Exhibits
The North Star platform handler lineup includes the flagship NX-1032XS, high-end NS-8160MS and NS-8080MS, middle-range NS-8080SH and NS-8040SH, and tri-temperature NS-8080MT, NS-8160GT, and NS-8320XT models. The flagship NX-1032XS uses an input/output X-Y pitch open-close hand and reaches a maximum throughput of 20,000 units/hour. NX-1032XS supports a maximum parallelism of 32 sites. The NS-8160MS and NS-8080MS high-end models are designed to combine flexibility with high-speed throughput. A Socket Layout Kit allows the socket pitch and number of test sites to be changed quickly on the high-end platform. The high-end models provide throughput of 14,500 units/hour and maximum parallelism of 16 sites. The NS-8080SH and NS-8040SH are middle-range models designed to combine performance with economic efficiency. These middle-range models provide throughput of 14,500 units/hour and support a maximum of 8 parallel test sites. The tri-temperature NS-8080MT, NS-8160GT, and NS-8320XT use a design concept that inherits the proven stability and user-friendly operability of the company’s conventional high-temperature models. Maximum parallelism is 8 sites for NS-8080MT, 16 sites for NS-8160GT, and 32 sites for NS-8320XT. The tri-temperature models cover a temperature range from -55°C to 130°C, with an option up to 175°C. Together, the lineup spans flagship, high-end, middle-range, and low-temperature or tri-temperature IC test handling configurations with different throughput and parallel-test capacities. The platform-manufacturing approach combines handler stability, selectable site counts, socket-layout flexibility, and temperature-control options for IC testing workflows. The model hierarchy separates a 20,000 units/hour, 32-site flagship from 14,500 units/hour high-end models with up to 16 sites and 14,500 units/hour middle-range models with up to 8 sites, while the tri-temperature family provides 8-, 16-, and 32-site variants. Within that hierarchy, the high-end models emphasize flexibility and high-speed UPH through Socket Layout Kit reconfiguration, the middle-range models emphasize performance with economic efficiency, and the tri-temperature models retain the stability and operability concepts of the conventional high-temperature machines. This creates a North Star platform range in which customers can select among flagship throughput, flexible high-end configurations, economical middle-range handling, and low-temperature tri-temperature capability while remaining within the company’s IC test-handler product family.
Capabilities and products
- tri-temperature IC test handler
- ATC unit for dynamic IC test temperature control
- North Star IC test handler manufacturing
- parallel IC testing up to 32 sites
- tri-temperature testing from -55°C to 130°C (optional up to 175°C)