New Prober Lowers Cost of Auto IC Test

July 25th, 2007

FormFactor recently announced a new fine pitch logic product designed to address the unique testing requirements of wire bond logic and SOC devices. The new platform features the ability to reduce device pad pitch down to 60 microns, to increase the number of die tested in parallel (simultaneously) to x64, and test at temperatures up to 150 degrees C. All of these features are critical to ensuring the performance, quality and reliability of advanced automotive devices, and extend to broader wire bond logic applications.

Due to the constraints of conventional cantilever probing solutions, only a few logic devices can be tested in parallel today. As the number of electronic systems increase in automobiles, unit volumes per design and cost pressures are rising. In addition, the integration of Flash memory and other increased functionality is driving up test times for automotive devices — in some cases by an order of magnitude, from a few seconds to up to a few minutes or more. As a result, manufacturers are faced with a need for higher levels of test parallelism to reduce the cost of test.

FormFactor claims its MEMS-based probe card with its scalable MicroSpring contact designs allows for significantly higher pin counts and fewer touchdowns per wafer than alternative technologies. By testing more devices per wafer, chip manufacturers can also extend the life of their testing equipment, further extending their cost reduction benefits. FormFactor’s design roadmap for current MicroSpring technology will extend FormFactor’s pitch capability to smaller nodes in the near future.

The new product has been qualified at early adopter customers, with volume ramp anticipated in early 2008.

Entry Filed under: Electronics Test