Resonext Communications Selects Teradyne's Catalyst with MicroWAVE6000; RF SOC Test Suite Speeds the Innovative 5GHz WLAN Devices to Market

Business Wire, Nov 26, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 26, 2001

Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER) announced today that Resonext(TM) Communications, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., has selected Teradyne's Catalyst test system with the MicroWAVE6000(TM) instrumentation suite to test its upcoming 5GHz WLAN chipsets.

The building blocks of Resonext's chipsets include design advances such as the world's first True Zero-IF 5GHz CMOS radio, AccuChannel(TM) equalization for extended range, flexible MAC and Access Point on a Chip (ApoC) architecture. These features will be introduced in the Resonext's RN5200 chipset family for Wi-Fi5 (802.11a) platforms, scheduled to debut in mid-2002. Teradyne's Catalyst system will be used to enhance device characterization and provide high volume production.

"Resonext's breakthrough in 5GHz RF design and signal processing needs a true RF SOC tester to ensure that our products meet our high quality standards as well as aggressive time to market requirements ", said Morteza Saidi, Chief Technical Officer at Resonext Communications. "Teradyne's Catalyst system with MicroWAVE6000 has the integrated functionality and high throughput needed to achieve the lowest cost of test. Teradyne has a track record of success in this high frequency range, and we have found they are the standard for wireless and RF testing at all the leading test subcontractors that we surveyed," added Mr. Saidi.

David Derian, Wireless/RF Marketing Manager at Teradyne, said, "Resonext offers breakthrough technologies that give them an edge to design-ins, and this requires the ability to quickly ramp production. Teradyne will ensure that Resonext is prepared for this activity by providing seamless support from their design center all the way to production integration and volume production at their vendors."

About MicroWAVE6000

The MicroWAVE6000 instrumentation suite provides a complete range of RF/microwave test capabilities required for current and future wireless devices and communications standards. MicroWAVE6000 includes full 6 GHz source, measure and vector network analysis (VNA) capability, complete 12-term error correction, and graphical-user interface (GUI) based test templates for programming ease-of-use plus options, including: modulation to 2.7 GHz, up to 16 RF pins, as well as options for noise figure, phase noise measurements and frequency hopping. Fully integrated within Catalyst and A5 test systems, MicroWAVE6000 is the only RF/microwave instrumentation available that also allows for complete system configuration flexibility for today's high-volume production environment. Catalyst and A5 systems can either be configured as focused RF test solutions, with ample room for further instrument expansion, or as complete wireless SOC test solutions by augmenting MicroWAVE6000 with the full complement of Teradyne's mixed-signal AC, DC, and digital instrumentation. In addition, MicroWAVE6000 instrumentation can be added easily to Catalyst and A5 installed systems.

About Catalyst

Catalyst dominates the SOC market with test capabilities for DSL, wireless, microwave and power management applications. With more than 4,000 individual users worldwide, Catalyst's IMAGE(TM) programming system is the most widely used ATE software environment. Catalyst offers multisite testing, providing the best test economics, and the most complete array of analog instrumentation for test coverage and production flexibility. When a mobile phone call is placed, or a PC, printer, scanner, pager, or DVD is utilized, Catalyst tested ICs make it happen.

About RN5200 5GHz WLAN Chipset Family

The Resonext(TM) RN5200 family of 802.11a wireless LAN chipsets enables cost effective, high performance and feature-rich clients and access points. The RN5200 family is fully 802.11a compliant and supports the 5.15-5.35GHz UNII bands up to 54Mbps. The chipset family consists of a separate client and Access Point (AP) chipsets, and each chipset consists of a RF and a baseband/MAC IC both implemented in 0.18u, 1.8V CMOS technology. The chipsets' innovative technologies include: flexible MAC, True Zero-IF CMOS transceiver, AP on a Chip architecture and AccuChannel(TM) Equalization. The chipsets also include the complete HW and SW support for IEEE 802.11i security schemes as well as provisions to support the emerging Quality of Service (QoS), Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) and Transmit Power Control (TPC) specifications.

About Resonext Communications, Inc.

Resonext Communications, Inc. is a fab-less semiconductor company that develops complete chipsets and software for the emerging 5GHz Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) market. Resonext's innovative technologies enable high performance, cost effective, scalable and power efficient WLAN systems for the enterprise, small business and home markets. The company's products include Radio Frequency (RF) on CMOS, digital baseband and Media Access Controller (MAC) as well as protocol stack software. Resonext has experienced management and engineering teams with extensive wireless communications experience and a rich IP portfolio. Resonext is privately held and is based in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit the Resonext website at www.resonext.com.