Probe Card Gas Manifold for Arc-Suppressed Wafer Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor wafer testing environments face challenges in suppressing electric arcs during performance evaluation, especially when testing smaller devices with complex electrical interconnects, which disrupts the testing environment and makes it difficult to determine breakdown voltages and leakage currents accurately.
Innovation Solution
A wafer test assembly is designed with a probe card assembly, a rigid gas manifold, and a rigid return gas manifold to create a pressurized region using heated gas, which is redirected and monitored to suppress arcs, allowing for precise performance testing without disrupting the testing environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional wafer testing is performed without arc suppression, then the testing environment is simple and easy to maintain, but electric arcs disrupt the testing environment and prevent accurate determination of breakdown voltages and leakage currents
Solution Approach 1:
A gas jet system is introduced as an intermediary between the probe card and the device under test. The gas jet delivers a controlled stream of gas (such as nitrogen or air) to the contact area, forming a protective barrier that suppresses electric arcs without interfering with the electrical measurements. This mediator allows accurate measurement of breakdown voltages and leakage currents while preventing arc disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs pneumatic principles by using a gas jet to create a pressurized gas flow field at the probe contact area. The gas flow is controlled through pressure regulation and directed precisely where needed to suppress arcs. This pneumatic approach provides effective arc suppression while maintaining a stable testing environment suitable for precise electrical measurements.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If gas is used for arc suppression, then arcs are suppressed effectively, but the testing environment becomes more complex with additional gas delivery systems
Solution Approach 1:
The gas delivery system is designed to provide localized gas flow only at the specific contact points where arcs occur. The gas jet is positioned precisely above the probe card contact area, delivering gas only where needed for arc suppression. This localized approach minimizes the overall system complexity while effectively addressing the arc disruption problem at the critical location.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas delivery system is segmented into multiple independent gas jets, each corresponding to specific probe contact areas. This segmentation allows for targeted arc suppression at individual contact points without requiring a complex system-wide gas delivery infrastructure. Each gas jet can be independently controlled, simplifying the overall system design and maintenance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively suppresses arcs during semiconductor testing, enabling accurate determination of breakdown voltages and leakage currents by maintaining a stable testing environment, even with smaller and more complex devices.
Implementation Method 1
The heated gas is injected within a range of pressure and temperature to increase arc suppression on the DUT
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
Testing performance of a semiconductor device includes redirecting a heated gas from an external source into a closed probe card assembly via a rigid gas manifold to create a pressurized region proximate to a device under test (DUT) and returning a sampling of the heated gas from the pressurized region to a controller device external to the closed probe assembly via a rigid return gas manifold. The heated gas is injected within a range of pressure and temperature to increase arc suppression on the DUT, and the pressure and the temperature of the heated gas is monitored at the controller.