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  • Kepler Probe Card
  • Kepler Probe Card

The growing complexity of automotive and industrial devices results in increasing design complexity with increasingly tight pitch layouts and smaller pads. Device complexities are driving more circuity under the pads (Al or Cu) where under-pad circuit damage can lead to either immediate yield failure or compromise the future reliability of these advanced devices. At the same time, semiconductor manufacturers are seeking ways to reduce the cost of test. In response to these challenges, FormFactor has designed Kepler™, a vertical probe card tailored for small pad, fine pitch testing across a wide temperature range.

Unlike competing solutions that may require two separate probe cards to meet the full temperature range for wafer test, Kepler streamlines the testing process by delivering optimal performance in a single, efficient solution. Kepler enables customers to achieve the lowest cost of test by increasing parallelism, multiplying the number of devices tested simultaneously. Our unique high-precision, low-force 2D vertical springs provide proprietary metallurgy, delivering excellent contact stability with superior planarity control over a larger active area.

Kepler is a service-friendly probe card architecture with individual springs or probe card components replaceable in the field to reduce repair cycle time. In addition, Kepler offers the unique capability to make tilt and planarity adjustments in the field without disassembling the probe card. Developed for high probe count multi-DUT testing in high-volume manufacturing environments, Kepler is optimized to help chip suppliers reduce their overall cost of test while maximizing yields.

  • Proprietary probe card architecture with customized alloys and stack-up for the probe and multi-layer composite (MLC) substrates minimizes the effects of temperature gradients, enabling a wide temperature test range of -40°C to 150°C for automotive devices. The architecture provides superior thermal rigidity, ensuring minimal Super Bond Pad (SBP) performance across all temperature ranges supporting customers pad reduction roadmaps.
  • Industry’s lowest probe force 2D MEMS springs of <2gF to minimize the risk of under-pad circuit damage during testing.
  • Field-replaceable springs and components for fast on-site repair when necessary.
  • Unique spring tip materials and composite metallurgy to resist wear and damage, enabling edge travel and longer lifetimes and industry-leading current carrying capability (CCC) at a comparable pitch, reducing the risk of spring damage caused by current spikes during production testing. Additionally, excellent contact resistance (CRES) performance minimizes retest rates, enhancing yields and improving wafer throughput.
  • Flexible probe head configurations with excellent XYZ tip positioning allow accurate probing of small pads down to 30 µm within high-density, 60 µm pitch designs. Additionally, they enable x128 or higher parallelism across 75 mm areas and offer enhanced design flexibility.
  • Field-adjustable tilt and planarity hardware to streamline setup and optimize planarity on the test floor, ensuring quick setup during the initial probe card installation.