Milestones

What is a semiconductor ?

Semiconductors are materials with conductivity between conductors (usually metals) and non-conductors or insulators such as ceramics. Semiconductors may be pure elements, such as silicon or germanium, or compounds such as gallium arsenide or cadmium selenide. In a process called doping, small amounts of impurities are added to pure semiconductors, which cause major changes in the conductivity of the material.

 

Due to their role in the manufacture of electronic devices, semiconductors are an important part of our lives. Imagine life with no electronic devices. There will be no radios, no TVs, no laptops, no video games and no medical testing equipment. Although many electronic devices could be manufactured using vacuum tube technology, developments in semiconductor technology have made electronic devices smaller, faster and more reliable over the last few years. Think about all the encounters you have with electronic devices for a minute. Each of them has important components that have been manufactured with electronic materials.

 

Why do we need semiconductors?

It is the foundation of any electronic system that we take for granted. It is a big industry and many departments of electrical engineering in universities around the world are interested in research aimed at developing new technologies and responsible for events in history. Semiconductors are also so fragile that a single error in the manufacturing process might have ruined all the chips.

 

Companies like Intel also spend billions of dollars on R&D in semiconductor production and design. It's amusing to know how we're taking bits of sand, turning it into silicone, and doping those elements of the periodic table to produce transistors that, in turn, drive the digital era. Also, its amazing that semiconductors are one of the only fields where quantum mechanics can be seen at work.


Why are semiconductors used in electronics? 

The semiconductor block in itself is not very often used in electronics. It becomes useful when doped and used to build a P-N junction. Doping changes the conductivity of the semiconductors in a regulated manner and the junctions make it possible to use them for various purposes, such as rectification and amplification. Before the advent of semiconductor vacuum tubes, which were heavy, expensive and heat dissipated, were used for this purpose.

 

As suitable doped with P and N type impurities, two semiconductor blocks are joined end to end, forming a rectification junction. Present will now flow in one direction and be blocked in the other. This property is used to transform AC signals to DC signals. This can also be done by vacuum diodes with demerits. If the PN and the NP junction are formed inside a semiconductor with an acceptable doping profile, the bipolar junction transistor may act as an amplifier.

 

One of the most important advantages of semiconductors is that they can be oxidized to form a high dielectric layer over a semiconductor which can act as a protective layer, mask and gate oxide in MOS transistors. MOS are the basic building blocks of today's digital electronics.

A lovely face of TTS employee

Starting her career with TTS Group 15 years ago has impacted her life positively, and she had never looked back. Tan Swat Leng (SL Tan) currently holds the position of Senior Sales Engineer in TTS Group Headquarters, Singapore and was recently awarded the Long Service Award in recognition of her years of service, commitment and contribution to the TTS Group.

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2021

2021 Highlights

  • Phase 2 of Operation Headquarter completed
2020

2020 Highlights

  • Phase 1 of Operation Headquarter completed
2019

2019 Highlights

  • Commencement of 150,000 sqft. of Green Facilities
  • 100+ new machines ordered in the pipeline
2018

2018 Highlights

  • TTS Group has started to step foot into Mainland China, new office in Shanghai was introduced
2017

2017 Highlights

  • New multi-million Operation Headquarter in planning
2016

2016 Highlights

  • Consolidation of CNC production to one site for better production efficiency and cost effectiveness
  • Span off the PCB division to align with our mid to long term objective of focusing on probe pins and test socket business
2015

2015 Highlights

  • TTSG celebrates its 35 years of engineering success in the semiconductor test tooling industry. Our growth and progression have been made possible with the help and support of our stakeholders including our customers, employees, shareholders, community, and others. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to these individuals and institutions that have collaborated with us over the last 35 years.

    To mark this significant milestone, TTSG has launched a “Celebrating 35 Years” logo, which will appear on all TTSG’s marketing collateral.
2014

2014 Highlights

  • Test Tooling Solutions Group announced the merger and integration of Kenshi Singapore and rebrand the new entity under the Test Tooling Solutions Group, effective 1st Sept 2014.
    The merger is expected to further strengthen the core competency and technical capability of the combined unit in the provision of test and tooling solutions and to better position the Group to capture any new business opportunity, in a fast changing landscape.
    The integration exercise is expected to be completed before end of the year.
  • In line with its expansion plan, TTS Taiwan has moved to a bigger facility in Hsinchu. The new office, housing the sales, application and design centre, is within a 5 mins walking distance from the Hsinchu HSR Station. In conjunction with the Semicon Show Taiwan, the new office was officially declared open by the Group CEO and we are glad to receive our first visitor from Toshiba Japan. Our office is located at 8F-3, No.229, Fuxing 2nd Rd., Zhubei City, Hsinchu (新竹縣竹北市復興二路229號8樓之3)
  • TTSG today announces the successful registration of the company logo and tagline. The trade mark is granted under the registration number 2012018638 for a period of 10 years.
2013

2013 Highlights

  • TTSG has been granted the patent for its new probe pin design in Japan. This new probe pin design has a longer spring coil that tapered gradually to reduce stress and improve the electrical performance as well as life span of the pin.
2012

2012 Highlights

  • TTSG is pleased to introduce the new green logo and tagline- feel green, live green and be green ©
  • Received an award from Broadcom Inc in recognition of our outstanding service and support
  • TTSG has acquired another 10 units of brand new CNC machines from Citizen and Fanuc with a list price of more than USD1 million as part of the expansion plan
  • TTSG has been granted the patent for Offset Taper Spring (OTS) by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filed on Dec 27, 2011
2011

2011 Highlights

  • Setup secondary processing plant in JB
  • Expansion of TTS Thailand to double the capacity
  • Launch of New Corporate Branding
  • Arrival of 10 more new Citizen machines, latest model auto lathe machines from Japan as part of the overall expansion plan for 2011
  • Integration of Kenstronics Malaysia with Test Tooling Solutions Group
2010

2010 Highlights

  • Expansion of TTS Japan to a new office at Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
2009

2009 Highlights

  • Launched first Intranet to enable employees to share, view and locate company/department's information
  • 5S implementation to approach for productivity, quality and safety improvement into the production floor
  • Test Tooling Solutions (TTSM) and Test Tooling Designs (TTDM) have achieved the certification of ISO 9001:2008 for Quality Systems
2008

2008 Highlights

  • Obtained the certification for RoHS (Directive 2002/95/EC on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment) for its Test Probe
  • Acquired 100% of the R-Squared Circuits Inc, a Printed Circuit Board Manufacturer for ATE testers located in Folsom California
2007

2007 Highlights

  • Setup Auto Lathe factory in JB
  • TTSM officially took possession of Plant A in Penang
2006

2006 Highlights

  • Purchased 50,000 sq. ft of a new production facility in Johor, Malaysia
  • Completed the expansion and renovation of Plant B in Penang
  • Acquired BigHub Technology Sdn Bhd and change its name to Test Tooling Designs (M) Sdn Bhd (TTDM)
  • Established its wholly owned subsidiary in Malaysia, Test Tooling Solutions (M) Sdn. Bhd. (TTSM)
  • Incorporated Test Tooling Solutions Group Pte Ltd in Singapore (TTS Group)
  • Relocation of Corporate HQ from USA to Singapore