2nd article:
Note mention of 60 units sold. Seems like the testing of RDRAM is no longer an issue
204.247.196.14
204.247.196.14
Daily news for semiconductor industry managers
FormFactor delivers 64-device probe card to slash DRAM testing time
A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc.
Story posted 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m., PST, 7/9/99
By Stan Runyon
LIVERMORE, Calif. ( ChipWire/EET) -- A 64-station, 1-GHz memory tester has been nudged closer to reality by FormFactor Inc., which has begun shipping the first production wafer probe card for 64-device in-parallel testing of 64-megabit synchronous DRAMs.
The new card, built with FormFactor's MicroSpring contact technology, doubles the number of chips that can be tested simultaneously by a system and slashes the time to test a wafer by a factor of four -- from four hours to one hour, according to FormFactor.
"Users can boost throughput by over 75%, which should make 64 in-parallel testing the mainstay of the DRAM industry," said Mark Brandemuehl, vice president of marketing for the Livermore-based company.
Although Brandemuehl would not identify customers for the new card, likely users would include the big ATE vendors, such as Advantest Corp. and Teradyne Inc. Both companies have been trying to penetrate the emerging market for Rambus DRAM testing, which is looking for a 64-device, 1-GHz solution. In addition, Teradyne has been working with FormFactor to develop parallel probing solutions for its line of wafer probe systems.
"We're convinced that higher parallelism teamed with core-speed testing will reduce test cost at probe," said Harold LaBonte, marketing manager at Teradyne's Memory Test Division. "High-bandwidth probe cards will be important as more testing moves to the wafer level with Rambus and other high-speed devices."
Teradyne said its interface to the wafer through the MicroSpring technology delivers a bandwidth over 1 GHz.
Gary Fleeman, memory product manager at Advantest America, confirmed the advantages of the new probe card technology. "It provides higher throughput and productivity, and lets our tester make the most of its parallel resources," he said.
Fleeman also pointed to superior reliability and docking, and LaBonte pointed to yield improvement. Indeed, at a workshop last month at Semicon Europa, IBM revealed a 2% yield improvement by using FormFactor's probe cards. But that seemingly small improvement can result in a savings of thousands of dollars each month. Brandemuehl said an additional investment of $2 million in probe cards can result in a savings of $26 million in capital investment.
With 64-Mbit SDRAMs, FormFactor's 64-device-under-test probe makes more than 2,000 wafer contacts in an eight by eight layout, and only 16 touchdowns on a 200-mm wafer. With 256 Mbits, as few as five touchdowns are possible.
|
