Tesla power-semiconductor characterization system debuts
-- Test & Measurement World, 5/29/2007 6:05:00 AM
Cascade Microtech has announced its new Tesla characterization system, which provides for on-wafer probing of power semiconductors at levels to 60 A or 3000 V.
Cali Sartor, senior product manager at Cascade, said the new system takes aim at a worldwide power semiconductor market that’s projected to grow from $25.8 billion in 2007 to $34.2 billion in 2009, according to Yole Développement (www.yole.fr). “Worldwide demand for power semiconductors is growing due to the double-digit demand for more efficient power utilization,” said Philippe Roussel, project manager for power electronics at Yole.
Sartor added that this burgeoning demand for power devices puts time pressure on power-semiconductor engineers and test technicians charged with testing devices such as MOSFETs, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), rectifiers, thyristors, and insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). Traditionally, these engineers have had to interrupt their development process to trim and package their devices to test them, or they’ve had to kludge together a wafer-test system that may not be safe, accurate, or repeatable.
Tesla features two new wafer probes, including a high-current probe that can support 10 A in continuous mode and up to 60 A in pulsed mode. To reduce device heating, the probe tip minimizes contact resistance at the wafer-to-probe interface. The Tesla system also features a high-voltage probe that can make coaxial measurements up to 3000 V and triaxial measurements up to 1100 V. Both the high-current and the high-voltage probes feature a replaceable tip. The Tesla system’s wafer chuck employs a chuck-top technology that optimizes vacuum levels to protect against wafer breakage and probe damage while ensuring minimal contact resistance.
Tesla features a highly polished Au top chuck surface and an optimized vacuum pattern to minimize chuck-to-wafer contact resistance (which is in the milliohm range) to support low RDS(ON) measurements from the wafer backside. It also features a triax system for measuring leakage levels nearing 10 fA.
Safety features of the Tesla system include the highly insulated and electrically shielded cable assemblies that provide both triaxial performance and high-current/high-voltage handling capabilities. To ensure operator safety as well as ease of set-up and configuration, Tesla offers a safety interlock system and remote system operation. The measurement environment and every component in the measurement path is designed and tested by Cascade Microtech to comply with voltages up to 3000V.
Base price: $200,000.
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