Memory automated test equipment (ATE) is critical at the quality control stage of chip manufacturing and packaging & testing: it determines the factory yield and how low memory manufacturers can drive the cost of test per chip. The explosion of AI large model training and inference is pushing memory chips from standalone DRAM and NAND Flash toward HBM, DDR5/LPDDR6, and ultra-high-layer 3D NAND. With each architectural leap, the unit price of dies and market scale are elevated, and the engineering performance, test methodology, and supply chain security of test equipment are redefined.
This track has long been dominated by Japan's Advantest and the US's Teradyne. While domestic breakthroughs have been made in cleaning, etching, and some logic testing, memory testers—especially high-speed DRAM and HBM machines—remain one of the hardware shortcomings with the lowest localization rate. This article reviews the technological evolution of test equipment, supply chain bottlenecks, differentiated paths for domestic manufacturers, and future market space.
Competitive Landscape and Localization Process: Offensive and Defensive Games under Oligopoly
The global ATE market continues to grow. Industry data indicates the 2025 scale is in the range of USD 5.41 billion to USD 9.0 billion, expected to increase to USD 5.63 billion in 2026 and reach USD 9.72 billion in 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.10% during the forecast period. Driven by AI computing chips and memory demand, the combined market space for global memory and SoC (System on Chip) testers is expected to exceed USD 12.0 billion in 2026.
The memory tester sub-sector is highly concentrated. Data shows that in 2025, Advantest's share in the global memory chip tester market reached 61% (with its share in the overall global ATE market rising to 65%), while Teradyne accounted for 24%. The two companies collectively monopolize over 85% of the global memory tester market. Unlike analog testers and some mid-to-low-end logic testers, which are gradually undergoing domestic substitution, the localization rate of domestic memory testers is only 8%–10%, significantly lower than other semiconductor equipment sub-sectors, making it the most obvious shortcoming in the independent and controllable chain.
The driving force for localization comes from the resonance of multiple industrial forces. Since the end of 2024, AI computing demand has pushed memory chip prices into a rapid upward channel. The price of DDR4 (8Gb) has seen a significant increase, and DDR5 (16Gb) is also expected to continue rising from late 2025 to mid-2026.
Domestic memory giant Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) achieved a revenue of CNY 61.8 billion in 2025, and CNY 50.81 billion in the first quarter of 2026 (a year-on-year growth of 719%), with its capacity utilization rate consistently maintained above 90%. Although the global market shares of NAND and DRAM for Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) and CXMT in the first quarter of 2026 have increased to 13% and 8% respectively, the capacity gap compared to international giants remains large, leaving broad room for subsequent capacity expansion.
The international trade environment is also forcing change. Events such as the US International Trade Commission launching a Section 337 investigation into relevant DRAM equipment and its downstream products have prompted domestic wafer fabs and packaging & testing houses to intensify the verification and procurement of domestic test equipment. Meanwhile, advanced packaging leader SJ Semiconductor has initiated massive capital expenditures, with testers accounting for as much as 53% of its equipment procurement budget, directly opening a window for domestic test equipment manufacturers to enter high-end packaging and testing production lines.
Core Technical Bottlenecks and Engineering Evolution: Leaping from High-Frequency Ultra-Speed to Physical Limits
Memory test equipment has high technical barriers, rooted in the physical characteristics of memory chips (especially high-speed DRAM and HBM). Unlike SoC chips, which focus on complex logic function verification, memory chip testing requires high-parallel, millisecond-level defect localization and real-time analysis of tens of millions to tens of billions of memory cells at extremely high signal rates.
High-speed signal integrity and picosecond-level timing accuracy. As DRAM interface protocols evolve from DDR4 to DDR5, LPDDR5X, and LPDDR6, transmission rates have been pushed from 3.2 Gbps to the LPDDR6 design specification of 12800 Mbps (with a base operating rate of 10667 Mbps). At frequencies of tens of GHz and rates of over 10,000 Mbps, signal attenuation, parasitic capacitance, crosstalk, and jitter between the test machine and the device under test (DUT) are multiplied. Flagship machines such as Advantest's T5835 can already adapt to rates above 5.4 Gbps and feature real-time DQS vs DQ calibration to accurately align data signals during high-speed transmission. Test equipment must possess picosecond-level edge placement accuracy to precisely capture the extremely compressed timing window (eye diagram).
Ultra-high parallel testing capability and dynamic power supply response. The economics of memory chip testing highly depend on parallelism. Mainstream machines (such as Advantest T5835) have achieved final test (FT) processing of 768 DUTs simultaneously on a single machine. When hundreds of chips undergo high-speed read/write toggling simultaneously, the instantaneous current (Di/Dt) climbs sharply. The tester must integrate a high-performance programmable power supply (PPS) system to control voltage fluctuations to the microvolt level under millisecond-level dynamic load surges, preventing power supply ripple from causing test misjudgments or electrical breakdown damage to the chips.
Tri-temperature control and thermal management. In the extreme tri-temperature environment of -40°C to 125°C, memory chips, especially high-frequency HBM and high-end DRAM, generate massive local power consumption. Test equipment not only needs to coordinate with high-precision automated handlers or probers but also must possess dynamic thermal feedback control capabilities to prevent chip degradation or damage due to local thermal overload during testing.
3D NAND and algorithmic pattern generation. As 3D NAND layers break through 200, charge leakage, adjacent crosstalk, and soft error rates in memory cells significantly increase. Testers must integrate highly flexible and high-speed algorithmic pattern generators (APG) to generate complex operation vectors in real time (such as the March algorithm and its variants), combined with hardware-level defect capture and real-time repair analysis (RRA) capabilities, to precisely guide laser repair at the wafer stage to improve yield.
Evolution Roadmap and Technical Decisive Factors in Sub-Sectors: Reconstructing Test Nodes and Economics
The full lifecycle testing of memory chips covers key nodes such as wafer probing (CP), known good die/stacked die (KGD/KGSD) screening, final test (FT), burn-in, and system-level test (SLT). When the memory architecture changes, the engineering focus and competitive decisive factors in each sub-sector also change accordingly.
In the CP test track, MEMS probe cards have become the absolute mainstream, accounting for nearly 70%. The key lies in ultra-high-density probing and high-frequency signal integrity. With a significant increase in the number of pins, the loss of probe cards under high-temperature and high-frequency conditions intensifies. They have transitioned from traditional durable equipment to high-frequency consumables, increasing the value per card and accelerating replacement turnover.
The explosion of HBM has completely rewritten the economics and intensity of test nodes. HBM adopts a 3D stacking architecture, connecting multiple layers of DRAM via through-silicon vias (TSV) and silicon interposers. After stacking, the value of a single chip is extremely high; if any layer of die has a defect, the entire chip is scrapped. Therefore, the focus of testing has significantly "shifted left" to the KGD (Known Good Die) and KGSD (Known Good Stacked Die) stages.
The HBM architecture pushes the 3–4 test channels required for traditional DRAM to over 15, increasing tester usage to 5–6 times that of traditional DRAM. An 8-layer stack requires testing 8 wafers, and a 12-layer stack corresponds to 12 wafers, driving up both the demand and price of probe cards and testers.
In the SLT and burn-in test track, the testing model is shifting from pure hardware measurement to ecosystem collaboration. The collaborative logic between high-speed memory chips and computing platforms is becoming increasingly complex, making SLT testing more reliant on deep integration with the mainstream computing chip ecosystem. Domestic SLT manufacturer Oukangnuo, in collaboration with Haiguang Information, has built a localized memory and storage chip testing platform centered around Haiguang CPUs. Combined with the underlying testing technologies of manufacturers like CXMT, it forms a software-hardware integrated ecosystem of "CPU + tester + underlying memory technology".
Competitive Landscape and Differentiated Paths of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers: Camp Collaboration and Breakthrough
Facing the high monopoly of Advantest and Teradyne, domestic manufacturers have not engaged in head-on collisions. Instead, based on their respective advantages in technical foundation, position in the supply chain, and capital scale, they have divided labor along three paths: platform-based full-stack expansion, point breakthroughs in core technologies, and sub-sector and ecosystem collaboration.
Platform-based full-stack expansion. Leading companies represented by Changchuan Technology have achieved product synergy and economies of scale through full supply chain coverage of "ATE testers + handlers + probers". In the first half of 2026, Changchuan Technology is expected to achieve a net profit attributable to shareholders of CNY 900 million to CNY 1.0 billion (a year-on-year growth of 110.76%–134.18%), with the net profit attributable to shareholders in the second quarter alone increasing by 55.0%–83.3% quarter-on-quarter. Its capacity utilization rate increased from 71.33% in the same period last year to 87.30%, and the book value of inventory rose to CNY 4.785 billion, reflecting the strong demand for equipment stocking and delivery under high downstream prosperity.
Point breakthroughs in high-end core technologies. SEICHI Technologies, Semight Instruments, and TBSTest Technology focus on high-frequency and high-speed DRAM/NAND and HBM testers. SEICHI Technologies is deeply involved in the verification of high-speed product lines for wafer giants like CXMT; Semight Instruments has increased its fundraising efforts, planning an annual production of 75 high-speed memory test systems and 50 HBM KGD sorting test systems, aiming to seize the high ground in KGD sorting during the HBM explosion; TBSTest Technology's self-developed TM8000 high-end memory test equipment has achieved a cumulative installed base of over 600 units among more than 200 customers and is currently advancing its IPO.
Specific nodes and ecosystem collaboration. Relying on the ultra-large parallel testing capability of 512 DUTs on its K8000 machine, NCATEST Semiconductor has achieved stable mass production and shipment of hundreds of units/millions of pieces on the high-end NAND/NOR packaging and testing production lines of top memory manufacturers. Wuhan Jinghong (a subsidiary of Precision Measurement Semiconductor) has deeply cultivated the burn-in test track, with its JH5400 system continuously receiving repeated batch orders from mainstream memory manufacturers. Through ecological cooperation with Haiguang Information, Oukangnuo combines the domestic chip computing power base with its self-developed testers, opening up the localization closed-loop of system-level testing (SLT).
Future Market Development Trends and Multi-Stage Effect Evolution
In the next three to five years, the memory test equipment industry will be driven by the cyclical recovery and capacity expansion of the memory industry, as well as profoundly reshaped by the leap in underlying chip architecture driven by AI computing power, presenting evolution in three dimensions.
Market space sees "simultaneous increase in volume and price". Global AI server shipments are growing rapidly (expected to reach 2.75 million units in 2026), and HBM has become the standard for AI computing chips. Domestic manufacturers such as CXMT plan to mass-produce the first 12800 Mbps LPDDR6 products in the second half of 2026 and plan to achieve HBM3e mass production in 2027. The clock rate and physical structure complexity of high-end memory dies have been significantly improved. This upgrade requires test equipment to have higher signal bandwidth and more complex algorithm modules, pushing up the value of a single device. Meanwhile, the multi-stage testing demand brought by HBM 3D stacking has increased tester usage to more than 5 times that of traditional DRAM, driving the global memory and SoC tester market space toward over USD 12.0 billion.
Business models extend toward "high-frequency consumables and high value-added services". In the past, test equipment belonged to the capital expenditures (CapEx) of wafer fabs and packaging & testing houses. In HBM and high-frequency memory testing scenarios, testers need to be paired with high-density MEMS probe cards and complex test interface boards (Loadboard/Socket). Due to the extremely high probing frequency and harsh tri-temperature environment, the consumable attributes of MEMS probe cards are significantly enhanced, and the probing lifespan and contact stability directly determine the production line yield. The revenue structure of equipment manufacturers will shift from pure "machine sales" to "machines + high-frequency consumables + long-term dynamic calibration services".
The technical boundary between logic testing and memory testing is becoming increasingly blurred. In the HBM4 era, the industry will fully introduce logic base dies based on advanced processes (such as 2nm/3nm). The base die integrates complex logic control circuits and BIST (Built-In Self-Test) modules, making memory chip testing require not only traditional array test algorithms (APG) but also high-speed test vector processing capabilities for logic circuits. This requires future high-end tester architectures to possess flexibility and scalability, promoting the deep integration of SoC testing and memory testing architectures. Platform-based manufacturers with dual accumulation in "SoC + memory" will hold a significant advantage.
Conclusion
Memory test equipment is one of the most difficult tracks to tackle and the most tightly internationally duopolized in the semiconductor independent and controllable chain, and is currently at the critical point of a historic breakthrough. The technical barriers of Advantest and Teradyne remain solid, but the "shift-left" in testing caused by HBM rewriting test economics, the leap in LPDDR6 interface rates, and the demand brought by the capacity expansion of domestic memory wafer giants are tearing open the monopoly net of international giants.
The breakthrough path for domestic manufacturers is already clear: platform-based leaders like Changchuan Technology are expanding economies of scale with a full-stack layout of "testers + handlers/probers"; technology-specialized enterprises such as SEICHI Technologies, Semight Instruments, and TBSTest Technology are closely aligned with the production lines of wafer leaders like CXMT, seeking to overtake on the curve in the sub-sectors of high-speed DRAM and HBM KGD; NCATEST Semiconductor, Wuhan Jinghong, and Oukangnuo are solidifying their foundation in large-parallel FT, burn-in testing, and SLT ecosystem collaboration. With the comprehensive implementation of picosecond-level timing control, high-dynamic PPS power management, high-density MEMS probe technology, and software-hardware collaborative ecosystems, the localization rate of memory test equipment will usher in a step-by-step increase.