Saifun Semiconductors (SFUN)

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Nextest Provides Saifun Semiconductors a Competitive Test Advantage With Magnum for Their Flash Engineering Development

Monday May 15, 9:00 am ET

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nextest Systems Corporation (Nasdaq: NEXT - News), a leading manufacturer of automatic test equipment (ATE) for cost-sensitive semiconductors, announced today the system sale of a Magnum EV to Saifun Semiconductors Ltd. (Nasdaq: SFUN - News). Saifun, a provider of intellectual property (IP) solutions for the non-volatile memory market, purchased the Magnum to provide an even greater level of engineering evaluation and analysis for their SD (Secure Digital) Data flash memory modules. The Magnum EV was recently shipped to Saifun's facility in Netanya, Israel.

The engineering and pre-production analysis is a fundamental process in the development of any semiconductor. Given the recent added complexities and functionalities of Flash devices, the engineering process and software evaluation has gained even greater importance as Flash manufacturers race to market to meet the demands of a price-sensitive, high-volume consumer market.

Saifun chose the Magnum EV because of its extensive engineering package, the Flash Module Applications Package. This combination hardware and software package gives Saifun a competitive advantage by providing an extensive set of analysis and fixturing tools for the engineering development of their SD Data flash modules. Additionally, the devices can be seamlessly integrated into Saifun's subcontract test house where Nextest's Magnums are being utilized for production test. This eliminates the need and costs associated with software re-write and system downtime.

"We selected Nextest because they have a proven record among the fabless and subcontract test houses for providing a highly-parallel and cost-effective test solution. Their focus and commitment to their customers' success has really set them apart in this highly competitive flash market," said Eduardo Maayan, Vice President of Research & Development at Saifun Semiconductors Ltd.

Nextest's Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Tim Moriarty commented, "Nextest is extremely pleased with the success of the Magnum. Flash manufacturers have embraced the entire product line due to its high reliability, production capacity, and the fact that it protects their profits by controlling spiraling test costs. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Saifun in providing compelling test solutions from engineering throughout the critical high-volume production process."

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 licensing Saifun NROM are Infineon Technologies, Macronix International, MEI (Panasonic), Sony Corporation, SMIC, Spansion, and Tower Semiconductors. For more information please check out our website: www.saifun.com

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