Microtest presents at APEC 2025 (USA) the Made in Italy proposal for high-power devices testing for automotive and energy storage sectors, for 5G and data centres
The new test platform is the only one on the market capable of performing DC and energy stress tests up to 4KV with amazing parallelism
Altopascio (LU), 17 March 2025 – The Microtest Group, Europe’s leading manufacturer of test systems and testing of chips on packages and silicon wafers, launches the new VIP ULTRA tester at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) 2025, the established premier power electronics conference taking place from 16 to 20 March 2025 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
VIP ULTRA, the new generation of Microtest’s long-standing VIP Extended product, is the ATE (Automatic Test Equipment) designed for testing Wide Band Gap (WBG) devices made using compound semiconductors such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), which have proven to perform much better in power electronics requiring effective handling of high currents and voltages.
The devices made from WGB materials are gaining popularity, thanks to their greater energy efficiency, in the automotive and industrial sectors, especially in the development of technology for electric and hybrid vehicles, solar inverters, 5G infrastructures and data centres, which are increasingly required to support the computing demands of emerging AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) applications.
Microtest has designed and developed the VIP ULTRA, a tester with enhanced operational flexibility, in response to the ever-increasing use of power electronics in the industrial sector. The VIP ULTRA offers various configurations, with resources capable of reaching voltages of 1.7KV (VIP ULTRA HV 1.7KV) or 4KV (VIP ULTRA HV 4KV) and currents up to 250A.
The VIP ULTRA stands as the only test platform on the market that can guarantee a complete set of tools for performing DC (Direct Current) and energy stress tests with extremely high parallelism (32 in the 1.7KV configuration and 16 with the 4KV).
These innovative features make it particularly suitable for testing smart and high-power chips carried out at the silicon wafer level to ensure proper functionality of integrated devices before the cutting operation (chip dicing) required to isolate and subsequently assemble the integrated component itself.
“With VIP ULTRA, we are driving innovation in high-power device testing with a more efficient and market-advantageous test platform. An increasing number of applications, from the automotive sector to data centers, require electronic devices capable of efficiently handling high power levels. This demand also drives test platforms to evolve, supporting higher voltages while maximizing production capacity. Numerous private and governmental entities are investing in new factories, facilities, and research centers to develop new materials and technologies that address emerging industrial applications. While silicon was the dominant semiconductor a decade ago, it is now widely recognized that its combination with carbon enhances its suitability for modern market demands. With its extensive and solid expertise in the field, Microtest aims to meet the evolving market needs with its new VIP ULTRA tester. Microtest, with its long-standing expertise in the industry, is committed to addressing the challenges of a rapidly evolving market with the new VIP ULTRA tester,” said Emiliano Consani, Head of the ATE Business Unit at Microtest Group.
At APEC 2025, in addition to showcasing VIP ULTRA, Microtest will present other power electronics testing solutions developed by its two subsidiaries: the MOSTRAK 2 from the UK-based ipTEST and the FTI-1000 from the US-based Focused Test, at Booth 1142.