Saifun Selects Verigy V5000e for Debug and Design Characterization of Next-Generation 45nm Non-Volatile Memory Devices

Verigy (NASDAQ: VRGY), a premier semiconductor test company, today announced that Saifun Semiconductors Ltd. (NASDAQ: SFUN), a provider of intellectual property solutions for the non-volatile memory (NVM) market, has agreed to buy seven V5000e systems for design characterization and debug of its next-generation non-volatile memory (NVM) devices, including its first 45nm design. Saifun selected the V5000e following a benchmark the company performed comparing it to key competitors. Saifun found Verigy’s solution offers the greatest ease of use and the most advanced debug tools. The V5000’s large installed base will also provide Saifun greater compatibility with its new parent company, Spansion Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSN), as well as its customers and partners. Saifun offers NVM technology for retaining information without a power source. The technology is used in a variety of electronic products including phones, still and video digital cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, portable digital music players, digital video recorders, set-top boxes and digital televisions. Saifun’s unique NROM technology is considered to be the most dense in the market today thanks to a breakthrough architecture, which allows for the doubling or quadrupling of storage capacity of a basic semiconductor memory cell while also allowing semiconductor manufacturers to reduce manufacturing steps and therefore, manufacturing costs. "We chose Verigy for a number of reasons. The V5000e’s easy-to-use debug capabilities are especially important to us. We will be using the Verigy test equipment to characterize our leading-edge 45nm designs, and efficient debug can represent significant cost savings,” said Shay Galanti, Test Group Manager, Saifun. "For companies in the highly competitive, fast-growing NVM market like Saifun, every productivity advantage can be critical to their success,” said Pascal Ronde, Vice President of Sales, Service and Support, Verigy. "It is very rewarding to have such an innovative company select our solution after a thorough evaluation like this.” About the Verigy V5000 The V5000 Series of memory test systems offers a complete solution for all memory test needs – from engineering development to high-volume production. With a scalable platform architecture and optimized tester resources to efficiently test all memory types, the V5000 Series solves the widest variety of memory test issues. The Programmable Interface Matrix technology enables significantly lower cost of final test through extremely high pin count (16,384 pins), the highest available parallelism (x320 NAND, x256 NOR and MCPs) and greatest tester utilization. With a consistent platform architecture providing complete test transportability and stability, you gain new levels of efficiency in migrating tests from design to sort to final test. About Saifun Semiconductors Ltd. Saifun is a provider of intellectual property (IP) solutions for the non-volatile memory (NVM) market. The company’s innovative Saifun NROM® technology allows semiconductor manufacturers to deliver high performance, reliable products at a lower cost per megabit, with greater storage capacity, using a single process for all NVM applications. Saifun licenses its IP to semiconductor manufacturers who use this technology to develop and manufacture a variety of stand-alone and embedded NVM products. These include Flash memory for the telecommunications, consumer electronic, networking and automotive markets. Among the companies currently licensing Saifun NROM technology are Macronix International, NEC Electronics, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Sony Corporation, Spansion, and Tower Semiconductor. About Verigy Verigy designs, develops, manufactures, sells and services advanced test systems and solutions for the memory and system-on-chip segments of the semiconductor industry. Verigy’s scalable platform systems are used by leading semiconductor companies worldwide in design validation, characterization, and high volume manufacturing test. Formerly part of Agilent Technologies, the company began doing business as Verigy on June 1, 2006, and completed its initial public offering on June 13, 2006. Information about Verigy can be found at www.verigy.com.