Cascade Microtech, (Nasdaq: CSCD), a worldwide leader in precise electrical measurements on small structures, today announced an agreement with Agilent Technologies Inc. to provide WinCal™ 2006 high frequency measurement calibration software to support to Agilent''s ENA Series Network Analyzers.

Next generation wireless and mobile communication products require increasingly complex, higher speed semiconductors. With this increased speed and complexity, a multi-port vector network analyzer (VNA) is needed, along with a wafer probing station, to make accurate and repeatable, multi-port RF measurements on-wafer, both for design validation and to ensure they do not fail in production. WinCal 2006 is an easy to use, multi-port VNA calibration tool that provides the critical accuracy enhancement and advanced calibration needed for measurements on wafer and other substrates.

"Our customers expect excellence in their measurement results," said Katsumi Hanada, sales development manager, Agilent Technologies. "WinCal''s advanced calibration toolset enables our network analyzers to consistently deliver the highest quality measurements in even the most challenging single- and multi-port scenarios."

Agilent''s ENA Series Network Analyzers offer a wide range of RF measurements, from basic S-parameter measurements to advanced multi-port and balanced measurements. Cascade Microtech''s probe stations and RF probes allow the ENA Series to perform measurements on-wafer. For accurate on-wafer measurements, calibration should be performed at the wafer probe tip. WinCal 2006 ensures that the equipment can easily perform accurate and repeatable calibrations and monitor them over time for consistency.

"The WinCal software enables Agilent''s network analyzers to provide advanced calibration methods and make the most accurate measurements possible," said Larry Dangremond, product marketing manager, Cascade Microtech. "Improved calibration allows users to have complete confidence in their RF measurements and they can be more productive, because WinCal reduces the time needed for setup and calibration of the on-wafer RF network analyzer solution."

Cascade Microtech has updated WinCal 2006 with new ease-of-use features. These features include guidance systems such as wizards and video tutorials for training and easing the learning curve, an event window for easier troubleshooting, a user option to set global preferences, monitoring tools to identify possible errors as they occur, automatic tracking of the physical elements of the system, and the ability to qualify your system before, during and after the measurement to ensure that the calibration process has not experienced drift or other errors.

WinCal 2006 also provides users with industry standard calibration methods such as SOLT, LRM or advanced algorithms such as SOLR or LRRM. The advanced validation and monitoring allows users to save, view and manipulate calibration error terms, facilitating advanced wafer calibrations unlike any other product.