Formfactor Patent Grants

Probe systems and methods for calibrating capacitive height sensing measurements

Granted: October 20, 2020
Patent Number: 10809048
Probe systems and methods for calibrating capacitive height sensing measurements. A probe system includes a probe assembly with a probe support body that supports a capacitive displacement sensor that terminates in a sensing tip relative to a substrate and that is configured to generate an uncalibrated capacitive height measurement. A method of utilizing the probe system to generate a calibrated capacitive height measurement includes receiving a height calibration structure architecture;…

Probe systems and methods that utilize a flow-regulating structure for improved collection of an optical image of a device under test

Granted: June 30, 2020
Patent Number: 10698025
Probe systems and methods for collecting an optical image of a device under test (DUT) are disclosed herein. The probe systems include a chuck, a chuck thermal module, an enclosure, an imaging device, and a flow-regulating structure. The chuck defines a support surface configured to support a substrate and the chuck thermal module is configured to regulate a temperature of the chuck. The enclosure defines an enclosed volume, which contains the support surface of the chuck, and an…

Probe systems for testing a device under test

Granted: June 30, 2020
Patent Number: 10698002
Probe systems for testing a device under test are disclosed herein. The probe systems include a platen that defines an upper surface, an opposed lower surface, and a platen aperture. The probe systems also include a chuck that defines a support surface configured to support a device under test. The probe systems further include a lower enclosure extending from the lower surface of the platen and an upper enclosure extending from the upper surface of the platen. The upper enclosure…

Shielding for vertical probe heads

Granted: March 24, 2020
Patent Number: 10598697
Crosstalk between probes in a vertical probe array is reduced by providing a grounded metal carrier disposed between the guide plates of the probe array. The metal carrier includes pockets that are laterally separated from each other by the metal carrier. Probes in different pockets are thereby electrically shielded from each other.

Vertical probe array having a tiled membrane space transformer

Granted: March 3, 2020
Patent Number: 10578649
Vertical probe heads having a space transformer laterally tiled into several sections are provided. This change relative to conventional approaches improves manufacturing yield. These probe heads can include metal ground planes, and in embodiments where the ground planes are provided as separate metal plates parallel to the guide plates, the metal plates can also be laterally tiled into several sections. Such tiling of metal plates improves manufacturing yield and alleviates thermal…

Contact engines, probe head assemblies, probe systems, and associated methods for on-wafer testing of the wireless operation of a device under test

Granted: February 25, 2020
Patent Number: 10571487
Contact engines, probe head assemblies, probe systems, and associated methods for on-wafer testing of the wireless operation of a device under test (DUT). A contact engine includes a flexible dielectric membrane having a first surface and a second surface and a plurality of probes supported by the flexible dielectric membrane. The plurality of probes are oriented to contact a plurality of contact locations on the DUT. Each probe in the plurality of probes includes a corresponding probe…

Probe head with inductance reducing structure

Granted: January 7, 2020
Patent Number: 10527647
Improved impedance matching is provided in vertical probe arrays having conductive guide plates by providing ground pins connecting the guide plates that do not mechanically touch the device under test or the input test apparatus. Such ground pins can be disposed in predetermined patterns around corresponding signal probes to improve an impedance match between the probes and the test apparatus and/or the device under test. Preferably all impedances are matched to 50? as is customary for…

Probe systems and methods

Granted: October 29, 2019
Patent Number: 10459006
Probe systems and methods are disclosed herein. The methods include directly measuring a distance between a first manipulated assembly and a second manipulated assembly, contacting first and second probes with first and second contact locations, providing a test signal to an electrical structure, and receiving a resultant signal from the electrical structure. The methods further include characterizing at least one of a probe system and the electrical structure based upon the distance. In…

Probe systems and methods for automatically maintaining alignment between a probe and a device under test during a temperature change

Granted: July 30, 2019
Patent Number: 10365323
Probe systems and methods for automatically maintaining alignment between a probe and a device under test (DUT) during a temperature change. The methods include collecting an initial image of a planar offset fiducial and determining an initial height reference of a height offset fiducial. The methods further include changing a temperature of the DUT, automatically maintaining a planar alignment between a probe and the DUT during the changing, and automatically maintaining a height…

Probes with spring mechanisms for impeding unwanted movement in guide holes

Granted: July 23, 2019
Patent Number: 10359447
Elongated flexible probes can be disposed in holes of upper and lower guide plates of a probe card assembly. Each probe can include one or more spring mechanisms that exert normal forces against sidewalls of holes in one of the guide plates. The normal forces can result in frictional forces against the sidewalls that are substantially parallel to the sidewalls. The frictional forces can reduce or impede movement parallel to the sidewalls of the probes in the holes.

LED light source probe card technology for testing CMOS image scan devices

Granted: July 16, 2019
Patent Number: 10352870
Improved wafer-scale testing of optoelectronic devices, such as CMOS image scan devices, is provided. A probe card includes an LED light source corresponding to each device under test in the wafer. The LED light sources provide light from a phosphor illuminated by the LED. A pinhole and lens arrangement is used to collimate the light provided to the devices under test. Uniformity of illumination can be provided by closed loop control of the LED light sources using internal optical…

Probe systems and methods including electric contact detection

Granted: June 25, 2019
Patent Number: 10330703
Probe systems and methods including electric contact detection. The probe systems include a probe assembly and a chuck. The probe systems also include a translation structure configured to operatively translate the probe assembly and/or the chuck and an instrumentation package configured to detect contact between the probe system and a device under test (DUT) and to test operation of the DUT. The instrumentation package includes a continuity detection circuit, a test circuit, and a…

Systems and methods for on-wafer dynamic testing of electronic devices

Granted: May 7, 2019
Patent Number: 10281518
Systems and methods for on-wafer dynamic testing of electronic devices. The systems include a probe head assembly, a probe-side contacting structure, a chuck, and a chuck-side contacting structure. The probe head assembly includes a probe configured to electrically contact a first side of a device under test (DUT). The probe-side contacting structure includes a probe-side contacting region. The chuck includes an electrically conductive support surface configured to support a substrate…

Shielded probe systems with controlled testing environments

Granted: May 7, 2019
Patent Number: 10281492
Shielded probe systems are disclosed herein. The shielded probe systems are configured to test a device under test (DUT) and include an enclosure that defines an enclosure volume, a translation stage with a stage surface, a substrate-supporting assembly extending from the stage surface, an electrically conductive shielding structure, an isolation structure, and a thermal shielding structure. The substrate-supporting assembly includes an electrically conductive support surface, which is…

Method of electrically contacting a bond pad of a device under test with a probe

Granted: April 23, 2019
Patent Number: 10267848
The contacts of a probing apparatus are elastically supported on a replaceable coupon and electrically interconnected with conductors on a membrane or a space transformer.

Contactor devices with carbon nanotube probes embedded in a flexible film and processes of making such

Granted: April 23, 2019
Patent Number: 10266402
Electrically conductive columns of intertwined carbon nanotubes embedded in a mass of material flexible, resilient electrically insulating material can be used as electrically conductive contact probes. The columns can extend between opposing sides of the mass of material. Terminals of a wiring substrate can extend into the columns and be electrically connected to an electrical interface to a tester that controls testing of a device under test. A pair of physically interlocked structures…

Test standards and methods for impedance calibration of a probe system, and probe systems that include the test standards or utilize the methods

Granted: January 15, 2019
Patent Number: 10180486
Test standards and methods for impedance calibration of a probe system and probe systems that include the test standards and/or utilize the methods are disclosed herein. The test standards include at least one test structure. In some embodiments, the test standard further includes an alignment structure that is associated with the test structure. In some embodiments, the test standards include a plurality of test structures. In some embodiments, the plurality of test structures includes…

Systems and methods for electrically testing electromigration in an electromigration test structure

Granted: December 25, 2018
Patent Number: 10161994
Systems and methods for electrically testing electromigration in an electromigration test structure are disclosed herein. The systems include a voltage control portion, a current control portion, and a current regulating structure. The systems further include an electric current detector, a first system connection, and a second system connection. The systems also include a voltage detector, and a controller. In some embodiments of the methods, a voltage control portion regulates a…

Multipath electrical probe and probe assemblies with signal paths through secondary paths between electrically conductive guide plates

Granted: November 20, 2018
Patent Number: 10132833
A multiple conduction path probe can provide an electrically conductive signal path from a first contact end to a second contact end. The probe can also include an electrically conductive secondary path and an electrically insulated gap between the signal path and the secondary path. A probe assembly can comprise multiple such probes disposed in passages in substantially parallel electrically conductive guide plates. In some configurations, the probe assembly can include one or more…

Probe head assemblies and probe systems for testing integrated circuit devices

Granted: November 6, 2018
Patent Number: 10120020
Probe head assemblies and probe systems for testing integrated circuit devices are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the probe head assemblies include a contacting structure and a space transformer assembly. In another embodiment, the probe head assemblies include a contacting structure, a suspension system, a flex cable interface, and a space transformer including a space transformer body and a flex cable assembly. In another embodiment, the probe head assemblies include a contacting…