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Basic stance

Contributing to the sustainable development of society and conducting environmentally-friendly business operations are essential issues that need to be addressed in modern business management. The Advantest Group works to develop products from the perspective of environmental conservation while prioritizing high precision and high quality, and certifies products that are environmentally-friendly in terms of the three key aspects of energy saving and resource conservation, improving recyclability, and elimination of hazardous substances as green products.
There is demand in society for the supply of green products because they provide both a reduction in the environmental footprint as well as an improvement in economic value. The Group is developing green products in response to these demands and based on the belief that these products will be beneficial for its customers.

Development flow of green products

At the Advantest Group, all new products undergo a product environmental assessment.

During the environmental assessment, products are assessed from various aspects, including energy savings, the number of parts used, product size, recyclable design, and elimination of hazardous substances. Products that meet the Voluntary Standards for Green Products are certified as green products and are awarded with an Eco Label (type II).

Advantest Group Eco Label

The Advantest Group Eco Label features an original three-color design representing energy and resource conservation, recyclable design, and elimination of hazardous substances through green procurement.

 

Energy and resource conservation

We aim to reduce the environmental footprint of our products through system designs that offer energy efficiency, feature ecologically-sound components and materials, and result in units that are smaller in size.

Recyclable desig

Our recyclable design initiatives involve releasing of information on parts that require care during disposal, while also seeking to use recyclable materials for resin parts designed in-house. Moreover, we make sure that products are easy to disassemble with standard tools in preparation for recycling, and we use batteries displaying a recycling symbol.

Elimination of hazardous substances (green procurement

To avoid using hazardous substances in products, we have established Group standards on banned substances based on the IEC 62474 standard, and conduct studies on the hazardous substances contained in the parts and materials used in our products.

Green products certified during fiscal 2012

The following products are among those certified as green products that we supplied to customers during fiscal 2012.

• T5511
• T5811
• TAS7500
• CX1000D/P
• Five types of T2000 module products

Introducing our Green Products

T5811 Memory Test System

Focus on Memory Core Test Dramatically Reduces COT

Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) represents the predominant type of commodity memory device found in client-servers and mobile devices, and is also used extensively in many electronics device fields. We envisage ongoing market expansion for DRAM modules, given solid bit growth in DDR3-SDRAM and DDR4-SDRAM, main memory of PC. Meanwhile, we also anticipate increasing demand for LPDDR2-SDRAM and LPDDR3-SDRAM modules amid growing low-power requirements for smartphones and tablet devices. Yet ongoing commoditization of DRAM modules has been driving down prices and forcing DRAM-manufacturers to seek greater COT (cost of test) savings on their volume production lines. Accordingly, in regard to what is now the primary means of backend DRAM testing involving a 2-pass test, divided into at-speed testing and memory core testing, the market is calling for solutions that enable lower COT in the memory core testing phase where testing speeds need not be particularly high.
Designed with a focus on memory core testing, our T5811 memory test system greatly reduces COT*1.

(*1) COT = Cost of Test

Lighter, smaller and more energy-efficient than earlier models

In comparison to previous models, our T5811 memory test system contains 82% less component volume than earlier models, while also featuring a 92% smaller footprint and consuming 88% less power. To achieve this, we engaged in development efforts focused on delivering optimal features and performance in the area of memory core testing, and have also equipped the system with recently-developed Enhanced Test Module (ETM)*2 technology.

(*2) ETM = Enhanced Test Module

ETM Technology Significantly Reduces COT

The T5811 is equipped with ETM technology, a proprietary BOST*3 configuration, and is designed so that most test functions of the system are mounted into the motherboard at high density in close proximity to the DUTs*4 with the aim of keeping down the costs of the whole systems, and thereby resulting in lighter, smaller and more energy-efficient systems.
Moreover, through a simple switch-out of the ETM, users are able to easily upgrade the tester unit as necessary to achieve added functionality and improved test speed, thereby enabling them to keep equipment investment costs in check through prolonged tester unit operability.

(*3) BOST = Built-Out Self Test

(*4) DUT = Device under Test

In this manner, the Advantest Group will continue to advance with manufacturing from the customers’ perspective.

Promoting Sales of Green Products

Many companies in recent years have been increasingly engaging in environmentally-responsible management practices. Likewise, the Advantest Group has adopted an environmental policy that inspires us to deliver green products while helping customers reduce their environmental footprints. Based on these aims, the Group is pursuing product development in accordance with Green Design Standards formed on the basis of product environmental assessments, while also providing products that have been certified in accordance with our proprietary green product standards.

Fiscal 2012 results

In fiscal 2010, the Group set annual targets for its green product unit sales ratio. As of fiscal 2012, the final year of that initiative, we have fully achieved our target of 100% green product sales, meaning that we have successfully reached our goal of having sold no non-green certified items during that year.

In addition, product photographs posted on our website now feature Eco Labels to indicate that the respective products are green certified. This helps enhance our corporate image while enabling customers to more readily opt for green products. We have also begun to clearly showcase environmental footprint reduction data on product presentation materials.

Moreover, we continued to pursue initiatives centered on the theme of enabling our customers to reduce environmental loads. In that regard, we have been working to stimulate sales of our T2000 EPP (Enhanced Performance Package) testing system which offers significantly better performance in terms of power consumption for lower CO2 emissions, and have also been seeking to encourage reuse of High Fidelity Tester Access Fixtures (HIFIX) and use of returnable packaging materials.

In fiscal 2013, we are embarking on a new two-year plan, thereby setting fresh objectives aiming to help our customers further reduce environmental loads while working to execute the plan.

Compliance with EU-RoHS Directive

Advantest's Statement on the EU-RoHS Directive

In complying with environmental laws and regulations, the Advantest Group is working toward eliminating use of hazardous materials while also pursuing environmental conservation efforts that entail reducing consumption of energy and resources. More specifically, we have been working with our suppliers since September 2003 on initiatives to investigate and eliminate use of restricted hazardous materials.

We are in compliance with the European RoHS Directive*.
Advantest's semiconductor testers and handlers are classified as Large-Scale Stationary Industrial Tools (LSSIT) and as such are exempt from the EU-RoHS directive. Nevertheless, on the basis of our commitment to environmental conservation we continue working toward further elimination of hazardous substances from these product lines.