Teradyne Announces Volume Purchase Agreement with Microchip Technology

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 12, 2000--

Microchip Technology Selects the INTEGRA J750 VLSI Test System

as Their Standard Platform for PICmicro(R) Microcontroller Testing

Teradyne's Integra Test Division (NYSE: TER) announced today that they have signed a three-year volume purchase agreement with Microchip Technology Inc., one of the world's leading microcontroller device manufacturers based in Chandler, AZ. Microchip was the first customer to receive a J750 in April 1998. To date, Microchip has purchased over 100 J750s for testing its PICmicro microcontrollers. Systems are in production at Microchip's facilities in Chandler, AZ and Bangkok, Thailand.

Since its introduction in 1998, the market has rapidly accepted the INTEGRA J750 as the most economical solution for testing microcontroller devices. The INTEGRA J750 is a highly-integrated series of test systems designed for high parallel testing of devices in the low-end and mid-range semiconductor markets. ITD celebrated its 300th system shipment in April 2000. No other semiconductor test product in Teradyne's history has achieved 300th shipment status so quickly.

Doug Elder, ITD Marketing Manager, said, "We are pleased to contribute to Microchip's growth and appreciate the confidence they have shown in the J750 by standardizing their test operations on this platform. By working closely with Microchip as a development partner for the J750, we were able to design a revolutionary new product able to test all of Microchip's microcontroller devices efficiently and at a lower cost. We value their important contributions to the product's development. It's truly helped us deliver the high quality, economical test platform that's required by this market segment."

Doug Chaffee, product manager at Microchip, said, "This long term investment of the J750 platform reinforces our commitment to delivering the best economics to our customers, in a very competitive marketplace. The J750 continues to demonstrate high parallel test and production efficiency to significantly improve throughput for our devices. I am confident that Teradyne will continue to provide a cost-effective and robust microcontroller test solution for our products."

The INTEGRA J750 delivers up to 1,024 digital channels in a zero footprint system entirely contained within a test head. Its high-throughput parallel testing capabilities help deliver 95% parallel test efficiency for up to 32 devices. The system offers a suite of options to address the variation of testing needs in the low-end and mid-range semiconductor markets, including the Converter Test Option, Memory Test Option, Redundancy Analysis, and Mixed Signal Option.

The system also features IG-XL test software, the semiconductor ATE industry's first test development suite combining the power and performance of the latest PC technology and Windows NT operating system with the familiarity of standard Windows productivity tools, like Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic. Its small footprint and high parallel test throughput provide the most economical approach to testing complex VLSI devices with embedded memory and analog cells.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. manufactures the widely popular PICmicro(R) RISC microcontrollers which serve 8- and 16-bit embedded control applications. Specializing in field-programmable and mixed-signal solutions, the Company also offers complementary microperipheral products including stand-alone analog, interface and microID(TM) RFID devices; serial EEPROMs; and the patented KEELOQ(R) security devices. This synergistic product portfolio targets thousands of applications and a growing demand for high-performance designs in the automotive, communications, computing, consumer and industrial control markets. The Company's quality systems are ISO 9001 (1994 version) and QS9000 (1998 version) certified. Microchip is headquartered near Phoenix in Chandler, Arizona, with semiconductor fabrication facilities in both Chandler and Tempe, Arizona, and assembly and test operations near Bangkok, Thailand. Microchip employs approximately 2,600 people worldwide and has sales offices throughout Asia, Europe, Japan and the Americas.

About Teradyne

Teradyne is the world's leading automated testing company for the electronics, communications, and software industries. Its products and services address the test requirements of a broad range of semiconductors, electronic assemblies, telephone access networks and software applications. Teradyne is also a leading supplier of backplane and interconnect systems for the electronics and communications industries. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Teradyne had 1999 sales of $1.8 billion and currently employs about 8000 people worldwide. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TER. Teradyne's World Wide Web address is http://www.teradyne.com.

Note: The Microchip name and logo, PIC, PICmicro, and KEELOQ are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. microID is a trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.