News - Component Test

Flexible Probing Platform for On-Wafer Device Measurement

01 February 2013 — Cascade Microtech announced the CM300, a flexible on-wafer measurement platform that scales to meet evolving needs in capability and automation. It enhances device and process characterization and modeling by capturing the true electrical performance of devices and enabling hands-off productivity.

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) shows semiconductor devices following “Moore’s Law and More” with the continuous shrinking of the devices paired with increasing performance. New and enhanced analytical techniques are required to extract the necessary information for device and model development, as well as validation. In the engineering lab, priority is placed on detailed characterization and modeling of the mechanical and electrical properties of ever-shrinking transistor features, so designers can rely on design automation to create robust circuit designs. The CM300’s high-accuracy measurements deliver reliable data, reducing design iterations, costs and time-to-market.

Another trend in device modeling, process integration, and wafer level reliability (WLR) is the requirement for substantially higher volumes of measurement data as proof of device performance. This trend impacts integrated device manufacturers, foundries and fabless design houses alike. While the data produces faster time-to-yield, it also increases test time per wafer. The CM300’s measurement automation, including the ability to reduce idle time while testing over a wide span of temperatures, and test automation using Velox™ software, improves throughput while delivering high volumes of reliable data. With the new Velox probe station control software, the CM300 enables safe and fast wafer loading and easy test automation and measurement system integration, while preventing damage of probe tips, probe cards and customer wafers throughout the entire measurement cycle.

“Our customers are facing demanding challenges in device design and test productivity, with the constant pressure to reduce test costs,” said Debbora Ahlgren, Vice President of Marketing, Cascade Microtech. “With the CM300 our customers benefit from highly configurable and scalable solutions, from semi- to fully-automated. Whether a general purpose or state-of-the-art solution, customers protect their investment with upgrade paths for measurement capability, application flexibility and test automation. By allowing them to create more precise model parameters and achieve reliable, repeatable contact over temperature and time, the CM300 helps them achieve faster time-to-market on new devices and technologies.”

Device Modeling and Temperature Variations on Small Pads

Reliable contact is critical to ensure accurate measurements and reduce design iterations. In addition, model parameters require large volumes of reliable and accurate measurement data for statistical evaluation, including physical dependencies such as temperature variations. The CM300 allows a high degree of measurement complexity and test flexibility to perform I-V, C-V, RF and 1/f measurements over a specified temperature range. With fast and well-characterized thermal transition and probe-to-pad alignment, the CM300 processes a high volume of measurement data with accuracy on pads as small as 30 µm.

Wafer Level Reliability and Automation

WLR test engineers seek optimum throughput and flexibility, and use individual probes/probe cards to generate statistical data with a variety of measurement techniques. The CM300’s ability to perform parallel test of multiple die is key to saving overall characterization time by reducing long test cycles. The CM300 fully-automated probe system offers cassette loading for a single station, or dual stations operating as a ‘cluster’ probe system, for parallel die-level test, to deliver maximum throughput and test efficiency.

Product Availability

The CM300 has been in beta test at an industry-leading integrated device manufacturer in North America, and customer orders have been received from process tool and test service companies. Lead times begin at 12 weeks, and will vary based upon configuration and options required. The CM300 system is available as a shielded system with an upgrade path from a semi-automated to a fully-automated probe system by adding a cassette loader; a second probe station can be added to create a cluster probe system. A roadmap for feature enhancements is planned that will provide CM300 users with incremental benefits over years of product ownership.

www.cascademicrotech.com/