YieldWerx and WATS Partner to Bridge PCB Test Data with Semiconductor Manufacturing Analytics

WATS and yieldWerx Connect Board-Level and Chip-Level Test Data

May 8, 2026 — In a move that addresses one of electronics manufacturing’s persistent data silos, WATS (Drammen, Norway) and yieldWerx have announced a partnership to bridge the gap between PCB assembly test data and semiconductor-level manufacturing analytics.

The partnership targets a long-standing industry problem: board-level test results (in-circuit test, functional test, boundary scan) and semiconductor manufacturing data (wafer sort, die test, packaged device test) are typically analyzed in completely separate systems. Engineers investigating field failures or yield excursions must manually correlate data across disconnected platforms—a time-consuming process that often misses cross-stage patterns.

What Each Platform Brings

WATS is a test data management platform built specifically for electronics manufacturers. It captures, standardizes, and analyzes high-volume test data from PCBA production lines, providing real-time visibility into board-level yield, anomalies, and quality metrics. The platform handles data from ICT (in-circuit test), functional test, and final test stages.

yieldWerx operates at the semiconductor level, connecting data across wafer fabrication, wafer sort, die-level test, and final packaged device testing. Its enterprise analytics platform enables advanced yield analysis, traceability, and root cause investigation from chip design through silicon manufacturing.

Combined Capabilities

Together, the platforms allow manufacturers to:

• Correlate PCBA-level signals with silicon quality data — identify whether board-level failures originate from PCB fabrication issues, assembly defects, or incoming component quality
• Trace from field failure back to wafer lot — full traceability spanning semiconductor supply chain through board assembly
• Detect cross-stage patterns — statistical patterns that only emerge when board and chip data are analyzed together
• Reduce investigation time — eliminate manual data reconciliation across disconnected systems
• Enable predictive quality — use upstream semiconductor data to predict downstream board-level yield impact

Why This Matters for PCB Manufacturers

The partnership is particularly relevant for manufacturers working with:

• Advanced packaging (chiplets, 2.5D/3D integration) where die-level and substrate-level defects interact
• Photonics integration where optical and electronic test data must be correlated
• High-density interconnect (HDI) boards where increased complexity creates new failure modes at the board-substrate interface
• Automotive electronics where zero-defect requirements demand full traceability from silicon to vehicle

As PCBA complexity increases—with BGA pitch shrinking below 0.4 mm, embedded components, and heterogeneous integration—the boundary between “board-level” and “chip-level” quality becomes increasingly blurred. A solder voiding defect under a BGA might trace back to wafer-level contamination affecting die surface finish, or an HDI microvia failure might correlate with specific die attach processes.

Industry Context

The announcement reflects a broader trend toward unified manufacturing data platforms in electronics. Traditional approaches segmented test data by manufacturing stage, with PCB fabricators, PCBA assemblers, and semiconductor companies each maintaining their own analytics tools. As supply chains become more vertically integrated and quality requirements tighten, the demand for cross-stage data correlation is growing rapidly.

For companies like AtlasPCB that provide both PCB fabrication and assembly services, integrated test analytics enable faster root cause analysis when customers encounter yield issues. The ability to correlate PCB fabrication parameters (copper plating uniformity, dielectric thickness, via fill quality) with downstream assembly test results creates a powerful feedback loop for continuous process improvement.

Looking Ahead

The partnership is initially targeting enterprise manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, and high-reliability electronics where full traceability is either regulatory-required or economically justified. However, as data infrastructure costs continue to decline, expect unified test analytics to become standard practice across all electronics manufacturing tiers within the next 2-3 years.

Source: PR Newswire / Morningstar, May 8, 2026

Image: Alexandre Debiève via Unsplash