Summary
ISE Labs is owned by the large outsourced test and assembly company ASE Group, who have not previously been extensively involved in DRAM test. The purchase of a DRAM tester by one of their feeder labs indicates a change in direction.
Analysis
Most of the outsourced testing market is focused on SOC (or at least non-memory) devices, where the diversification of device types and high tester utilization provides them a business model to offer low-cost services to their clients. Since DRAMs are a single device type whose testing is well understood, the lowest cost approach has been for the DRAM producers to own their own test facilities. Only the smaller players UTAC and ChipMOS have previously provided outsourced DRAM test, mostly as an artifact of the way they got into the business.
This move by ASE to purchase a DDR3 tester could indicate a shift by one of the giants in the business towards outsourced DRAM test.
Neil Kelly consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
