TOKYO, Japan, March 27th , 2006 – Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857, NYSE: ATE), the world’s largest provider of test equipment to the global semiconductor industry, today announced its entry into the optical fiber sensing market. With a rich store of core optical technologies, the company is well placed to leverage its track record for optical communications measurement instruments into a strong position in the environmental application sector, which is slated to grow rapidly in the near future.
Optical fiber sensing technology is widely believed to hold great promise for the maintenance of structures such as levees and crib walls. Strain measurement systems employing optical fiber sensors can be built into structures, where they continuously monitor stresses and detect advance signs of landslides and other catastrophic collapses. On registering stresses equivalent to preset values for danger levels, the systems automatically deliver warnings.
Although several companies have developed optical strain measurement systems in the past, their widespread adoption has been hampered by pricing, accuracy, and durability issues. A system that is to be incorporated into the fabric of a structure must have a reliably long lifespan.
With this background, Advantest teamed up with NTT InfraNet, a provider of telecommunications network services with a strong reputation in fiber-optics, to develop new technologies for optical strain measurement systems that meet the needs of real-world users. The result of this collaboration – the N8510 optical fiber strain sensing system – will make its debut in April 2006. In the medium term, Advantest plans to roll out a full line of products and services targeted at the optical fiber sensing market. The company predicts that sales for this new venture will reach 2 billion yen in 2010.
Organized as the Optical Sensing Product Group, the venture will come under the direct supervision of Advantest’s board of management from April. The company has expressed confidence that its aggressive plans for product development will ensure steadily rising sales in this market.
About Advantest
Advantest Corporation is the world’s leading automatic test equipment supplier to the semiconductor industry, and also produces electronic and optoelectronic instruments and systems. A global company, Advantest has long offered total ATE solutions, and serves the industry in every component of semiconductor test: tester, handler, mechanical and electrical interfaces, and software. Its logic, memory, mixed-signal and RF testers and device handlers are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its first subsidiary in 1982, in the USA, and now has 43 subsidiaries worldwide. Among them, Advantest America, Inc. is based in Santa Clara, CA., and Advantest (Europe) GmbH is based in Munich, Germany. More information is available at www.advantest.co.jp |
