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UFO Probe® card – new test card for PIC wafer testing
Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are the chips of the future. Integrated photonics use light instead of electricity for data and signal processing.
The needs of chip manufacturers
- Increased chip complexity and integration density (SoC) through monolithic or heterogeneous integration of optics and electronics
- Economies of scale for cost optimization
- High-throughput test solutions for high-volume production
- High-yield mass production to reduce scrap and losses
- Automated test solutions
- Standardized tests
Challenges in Silicon Photonics Testing
- High-throughput test solutions (suitable for fab requirements) that perform electronic-photonics testing at the wafer level, with high parallelism and as much automation as possible
- Functional testing of PICs at an early stage in the process is critical for higher yields
- Standardization of the test environment and procedures is necessary to enable consistent and predictable testing of silicon photonics.
Free webinar recording: Watch it now and learn more!
“Just the Right PIC – How Advanced Test Concepts Enable Fast PIC Wafer-Level Testing!”
In this exclusive webinar recording, Tobias Gnausch (Jenoptik) and Sylwester Latkowski (TU Eindhoven) provide valuable insights into the following topics:
- Characterization vs. Testing: What are the differences, and why are both indispensable?
- Standardization as a foundation: How uniform test standards form the basis for high-volume production.
- Optoelectronic test methods: Practical approaches that allow you to significantly increase the efficiency of your wafer production
- Reliable testing without “active alignment”: Innovative techniques that eliminate the need for time-consuming alignments while guaranteeing the highest measurement accuracy.
Speed up the world
Custom-designed for a variety of applications
Unlike traditional test solutions, which use separate optical and electrical probe cards, Jenoptik combines an electrical and an optical test module into a single, compact test card. This test card is custom-designed and combines Jenoptik’s expertise in optics and photonics with the established probe technology of leading manufacturers.
Depending on your requirements, the UFO Probe® Card is configured and manufactured to meet your specific needs. Here are three examples of ProbeCard configurations we have already implemented. Contact us to discuss your individual requirements.
UFO Probe® Cantilever in Eurocard Format
- For vertically emitting PICs
- Monolithically integrated optical module with standardized or custom inputs and outputs
- Cantilever probe technology with several hundred probes
- Standard probe interface: Eurocard format
- Integrated distance sensor.
UFO Probe® Vertical in Eurocard format
General operating principle similar to that of the UFO Probe Cantilever, but particularly suitable for…
- High probe counts of up to tens of thousands of probes and beyond
- Extremely small probe sizes and spacings down to >40 µm
- Testing of pads and bumps
- Suitable for multi-DUT (multi-chip) and high-frequency (HF) testing.
UFO Probe® Vertical in ATE format
- Direct-docking design
- Interface for system integration into ATE (automated test equipment) platforms, such as Advantest V93000 or Teradyne UltraFlex
- For vertical-emitting PICs
- Ideal for a high number of electrical and optical contacts, as well as for multi-DUT testing.
Customized for your success
Each UFO Probe® Card is customized to the individual requirements and the respective wafer layout and is available with both cantilever and vertical needle technology. Check out the specifications for more details.
All benefits of the Probe Card Technology on one view
Progress
The PIC ecosystem can be expanded thanks to an efficient test method for high-throughput serial production; and the test time is reduced thanks to parallel qualification of multiple chips.
Innovation
The only commercial test solution for high-volume production that can run on standard test equipment.
Quality
Scrap is identified at an early stage of production for improved yield: All testing of all PICs can be carried out on a wafer.
Plug and Play
It is designed to operate in standard IC testers and automated testers. Low outlay and commissioning costs.
Efficiency
Fault parts are identified early on for increased yield and optimized production flow.
Flexibility
The pitch and number of optical I/O channels can be configured to suit you.
Probe card applications now and in the future
They can easily be integrated into existing test infrastructure
The UFO Probe® card is intended for operation on standard IC probers and/or automated test equipment. So, Jenoptik offers a plug-and-play solution for PIC wafer level tests. Depending on requirements, standard interfaces to wafer samplers can be easily implemented in the layout/design of the probe card – for example, in European card format. UFO Probe® card is used like electrical test cards, so current personnel won't need extensive extra training.
Combination of novel optical concept and proven needle technology
- Monolithically integrated optical module
- Alignment-insensitive optical coupling for vertically emitting PICs (compensates for probe tolerances)
- Simultaneous bonding of the chip’s optical and electrical interfaces
- Use of field-proven probe technologies
- Standard interfaces to testers and wafer probers
Technical details of the UFO Probe® optoelectronic card
| Specifications | Current generation | Future generations |
|---|---|---|
Component to be tested | Electronic and photonic integrated circuit (EPIC); optical transceivers for data transmission and telecommunications applications | EPIC for transceivers, photodiodes, |
Electric needle technology | Cantilever and Vertical | Cantilever, vertical/advanced |
Optical coupling principle DUT | Vertical coupling | Vertical coupling |
Number of optical inputs/outputs (OI/OO) | Up to 32 or more | <200 |
Pitch OI/OO | 127 μm, 250 μm, flexible for >250 μm | flexible |
Layout configuration of OI/OO arrays | Linear arrangement with same direction of inputs/outputs | Configurable to own needs |
Coupling angle | 0° and 11.6° standard, up to 20° customized | 0° - 20° |
Supported wavelength | 1260 - 1625 nm (O/ L-band) | VIS to NIR (U-band) |
Measurement of insertion loss | Repeatability: ~ 0.3 – 0.5 dB | Repeatability target: 0.1 dB |
RF measurement | Up to 110 GHz, depending on needle technology | GHz |
Interfaces | Eurocard format; ATE* | Eurocard format; |
Building on an existing and established IC testing ecosystem
Testing optical and electrical functionality is a critical factor in wafer manufacturing. Especially in high-volume production, it is essential to keep both test and setup times short while maintaining the highest possible yield to remain cost-effective. Here, the UFO Probe®Card offers a clever solution that leverages established IC test infrastructure developed over decades.Expand testing capacity or transition testing equipment to PIC
Your partner in PIC testing
Jenoptik has profound expertise and know-how in micro-optics and optics and we are a competent and valuable partner to the semiconductor industry for many years. We know and understand the challenges of our customers and combine these with our technical experience and knowledge to create innovative solutions, such as the UFO Probe®Card. The necessary skills and the continuous development of technologies is just one aspect that we pursue with one goal: Moving you forward.
High-Performance from A to Z – our competencies:
- Design: Optical module and general electrical and optical probe card card
- Manufacturing and supply chain management
- Micro-assembly and alignment of optical and electrical modules
- Optical test and verification in lab: customized test rig
- Test under manufacturing conditions: Accretech UF3000 Prober
Awarded! Thuringia Innovation Award 2022 for UFO Probe® card
Jenoptik was awarded the Thuringia Innovation Award 2022 in the "Industry & Materials" category on November 30, 2022 in Weimar, Thuringia for its novel opto-electronic probe card for testing PIC wafers. Not quite 100 applications were received by STIFT Thüringen this year. Jenoptik convinced the expert jury with its well-thought-out approach to solving the increasing demand for photonic technologies in the electronics and semiconductor industry.
