Method and system for detecting an arc condition
Granted: May 25, 2004
Patent Number:
6741092
A method and apparatus for detecting an arc condition in a semiconductor test system is disclosed. While probes in a semiconductor test system are being moved into or out of contact with a semiconductor wafer, the voltage level of power supplied to selected ones of the probes is monitored. If the voltage level of the power exceeds a level that could cause an arc between the probes and the semiconductor wafer while the wafer is being moved, an indication is generated that an arc condition…
Contact carriers (tiles) for populating larger substrates with spring contacts
Granted: May 25, 2004
Patent Number:
6741085
A plurality of contact elements, such as contact bumps or free-standing spring contacts including both monolithic and composite interconnection elements, are mounted to relatively small tile substrates which, in turn, are mounted and connected to a relatively large electronic component substrate, thereby populating the electronic component with a plurality of contact elements while avoiding the necessity of yielding the contact elements directly upon the electronic component. The…
Method of manufacturing a probe card
Granted: May 4, 2004
Patent Number:
6729019
A method of designing and manufacturing a probe card assembly includes prefabricating one or more elements of the probe card assembly to one or more predefined designs. Thereafter, design data regarding a newly designed semiconductor device is received along with data describing the tester and testing algorithms to be used to test the semiconductor device. Using the received data, one or more of the prefabricated elements is selected. Again using the received data, one or more of the…
ELECTRICAL CONTACT STRUCTURES FORMED BY CONFIGURING A FLEXIBLE WIRE TO HAVE A SPRINGABLE SHAPE AND OVERCOATING THE WIRE WITH AT LEAST ONE LAYER OF A RESILIENT CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL, METHODS OF MOUNTING THE CONTACT STRUCTURES TO ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS, AND APPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYING THE CONTACT STRUCTURES
Granted: April 27, 2004
Patent Number:
6727579
Contact structures exhibiting resilience or compliance for a variety of electronic components are formed by bonding a free end of a wire to a substrate, configuring the wire into a wire stem having a springable shape, severing the wire stem, and overcoating the wire stem with at least one layer of a material chosen primarily for its structural (resiliency, compliance) characteristics. A variety of techniques for configuring, severing, and overcoating the wire stem are disclosed. In an…
Microelectronic spring contact elements
Granted: April 27, 2004
Patent Number:
6727580
Spring contact elements are fabricated by depositing at least one layer of metallic material into openings defined in masking layers deposited on a surface of a substrate which may be an electronic component such as an active semiconductor device. Each spring contact element has a base end, a contact end, and a central body portion. The contact end is offset in the z-axis (at a different height) and in at least one of the x and y directions from the base end. In this manner, a plurality…
PC board having clustered blind vias
Granted: April 13, 2004
Patent Number:
6720501
A multilayer printed circuit board having clustered blind vias in power layers to facilitate the routing of signal traces in signal layers. A portion of the blind vias in the power layers are grouped together to form a cluster of blind vias. Corresponding signal routing channels are provided in the signal layers and aligned with the cluster of blind vias in the power layers to permit routing of signal traces or signal circuitry therethrough. A method of manufacturing the multilayered…
Interconnect assemblies and methods
Granted: March 30, 2004
Patent Number:
6713374
An interconnect assembly and methods for making and using the assembly. An exemplary embodiment of an aspect of the invention includes a contact element which includes a base portion adapted to be adhered to a substrate and a beam portion connected to and extending from the base portion. The beam portion is designed to have a geometry which substantially optimizes stress across the beam portion when deflected (e.g. it is triangular in shape) and is adapted to be freestanding. An…
Method and system for designing a probe card
Granted: March 30, 2004
Patent Number:
6714828
A method and system for designing a probe card from data provided by prospective customers via the Internet is provided. Design specifications are entered into the system by prospective customers and compiled into a database. The collective feasibility of each set of design specifications is determined by an automated computer system and communicated to the prospective customer. If feasible, additional software enables prospective customers to create verification packages according to…
Electrical interconnect assemblies and methods
Granted: March 16, 2004
Patent Number:
6705876
Interconnect assemblies and methods for forming and using them. In one example of the invention, an interconnect assembly comprises a substrate, a resilient contact element and a stop structure with an embedded circuit element. The resilient contact element is disposed on the substrate and has at least a portion thereof which is capable of moving to a first position, which is defined by the stop structure, in which the resilient contact element is in mechanical and electrical contact…
Method and apparatus for shaping spring elements
Granted: March 9, 2004
Patent Number:
6701612
Interconnection elements for electronic components, exhibiting desirable mechanical characteristic (such as resiliency, for making pressure contacts) are formed by using a shaping tool (512) to shape an elongate core element (502) of a soft material (such as gold or soft copper wire) to have a springable shape (including cantilever beam, S-shape, U-shape), and overcoating the shaped core element with a hard material (such as nickel and its alloys), to impart to desired spring (resilient)…
Large contactor with multiple, aligned contactor units
Granted: February 10, 2004
Patent Number:
6690185
A method of fabricating a large contactor (62) is provided wherein one or more contactor units (78) are mounted on a support substrate (74) such that contact elements (80) attached to the contactor units are suitably aligned. In this manner, a large area contactor can be prepared using a plurality of smaller contactor units. Preferably the contact elements on the plurality of contactor units are coplanar across the contactor units. This is particularly advantageous for making a large…
Method and apparatus for controlling plating over a face of a substrate
Granted: February 3, 2004
Patent Number:
6685817
According to aspect of the invention, a plating system is provided which includes a tank for containing a plating solution, a shaft extending into the tank, and a substrate holder mounted to the shaft. The shaft and the tank are rotatable relative to one another. The substrate holder is configured to support a substrate in position so that at least a first face of the substrate is exposed to the plating solution in the tank.
Integrated circuit tester with high bandwidth probe assembly
Granted: February 3, 2004
Patent Number:
6686754
Described herein is a probe card assembly providing signal paths for conveying high frequency signals between bond pads of an integrated circuit (IC) and an IC tester. The frequency response of the probe card assembly is optimized by appropriately distributing, adjusting and impedance matching resistive, capacitive and inductive impedance values along the signal paths so that the interconnect system behaves as an appropriately tuned Butterworth or Chebyshev filter.
Integrated circuit interconnect system
Granted: January 20, 2004
Patent Number:
6680659
In an interconnect system for providing access to a common I/O terminal for multiple circuit devices such as drivers, receivers and electrostatic protection devices implemented on an IC, each such device is provided with a separate contact pad within the IC. The contact pads are linked to one another and to the IC I/O terminal though inductive conductors such as bond wires, metalization layer traces in the IC, or legs of a forked, lithographically-defined spring contact formed on the IC.…
System for measuring signal path resistance for an integrated circuit tester interconnect structure
Granted: January 13, 2004
Patent Number:
6677744
Resistances of signal paths within a interconnect structure for linking input/output (I/O) ports of an integrated circuit (IC) tester to test points of an IC are measured by the IC tester itself. To do so the interconnect structure is used to link the tester's I/O ports to a similar arrangement of test points linked to one another through conductors. Drivers within the tester, which normally transmit digital test signals to IC test points via the I/O ports when the IC is under test,…
Distributed interface for parallel testing of multiple devices using a single tester channel
Granted: January 13, 2004
Patent Number:
6678850
A system for testing a number of integrated circuit (IC) devices under test (DUTs) having interface circuitry coupled to a single or multi-channel tester for receiving data values from the tester and providing error information concerning the DUTs. The interface circuitry forwards data values (received from the tester over a single channel) to a number of DUTs in parallel. The circuitry performs comparisons using data values read from the DUTs, and in response generates error values…
Process and apparatus for finding paths through a routing space
Granted: January 13, 2004
Patent Number:
6678876
An initial graph of nodes is created within a routing space, and the number and locations of the nodes in the graph are adjusted. Links are created between nodes of the graph, and traces between specified nodes are created through the linked graph.
Spring interconnect structures
Granted: January 6, 2004
Patent Number:
6672875
An interconnection element of a spring (body) including a first resilient element with a first contact region and a second contact region and a first securing region and a second resilient element, with a third contact region and a second securing region. The second resilient element is coupled to the first resilient element through respective securing regions and positioned such that upon sufficient displacement of the first contact region toward the second resilient element, the second…
Interposer, socket and assembly for socketing an electronic component and method of making and using same
Granted: December 30, 2003
Patent Number:
6669489
Surface-mount, solder-down sockets permit electronic components such as semiconductor packages to be releasably mounted to a circuit board or other electronic component. In an embodiment, resilient contact structures extend through a support substrate, and solder-ball (or other suitable) contact structures are disposed along the bottom of the support substrate in electrical contact with the ends of the resilient contact structures. Composite interconnection elements are used as the…
Electronic component overlapping dice of unsingulated semiconductor wafer
Granted: December 16, 2003
Patent Number:
6664628
The present invention provides an ancillary electrical component in very close proximity to a semiconductor device, preferably mounted directly to the semiconductor device. In one preferred embodiment, the ancillary electrical component is a capacitor. In a preferred embodiment, a terminal is provided on the semiconductor device such that the capacitor can be electrically connected directly to the terminals, as by soldering or with conductive epoxy. Connecting the capacitor between…
