SemiProbe develops fully automatic electro-optical probe system
Winooski, VT. SemiProbe Inc. announced it has installed a 200-mm fully automatic electro-optical probe system at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
VTT has silicon photonics design and foundry capabilities. The organization will use the fully automatic probe system to perform automatic and simultaneous electro-optical tests at wafer level (E/O WLT). These tests support VTT’s silicon-photonics (SiPh) volume production activities and offer advanced E/O test services to other users.
SemiProbe built the system using its patented Probe System for Life (PS4L) architecture. Using PS4L technology, customers can reconfigure the system to add new modules and accessories as requirements change. These changes are made via field upgrades and are a fraction of the cost in comparison to purchasing a new system, the company said.
This FA-8 system consists of four multi-axis programmable manipulators that provide automatic fiber-optic alignment and electrical contact. Two of the manipulators are six axis (X, Y, Z, roll, pitch, and yaw) SmarAct Hexapods with unique fiber and height measurement capabilities. The other two programmable 3-axis (X, Y, and Z) manipulators provide nm accuracy, repeatability and resolution specifications.
The entire system; including the prober, material handling unit, and manipulators are remotely controlled through a customer-developed GUI using LabVIEW. This probe system will handle 150-mm and 200-mm wafers and can be operated in manual, semiautomatic, and automatic modes.
“We are excited to use the cassette-to-cassette automatic PS4L probing station where we contribute our unique fiber probing and alignment know-how,” said Giovanni Delrosso, senior scientist and project manager at VTT’s Photonics Integration team in Espoo.
Dr. Timo Aalto, SiPh pioneer and team leader at VTT, commented, “In the past few years, SiPh has been one of the fastest growing areas at VTT. In 2016, we delivered thousands of SiPh chips for our customers, and, in 2018, the targeted volume of tested chips is over one million. E/O WLT is therefore vital in our R&D and manufacturing value chains. VTT provides R&D and IPR licensing services, while contract manufacturing services are delivered via VTT Memsfab Ltd.”
Denis Place, SemiProbe founder and VP of sales and marketing, stated, “The keys to providing unique, first of a kind application-specific probing solutions is to have a skilled team, a flexible probing platform, and to work closely with the customer to develop the solution.”