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12290results about "Electrical measurement instrument details" patented technology

Resilient contact structures formed and then attached to a substrate

Contact structures exhibiting resilience or compliance for a variety of electronic components are formed by bonding a free end of a wire to a substrate, configuring the wire into a wire stem having a springable shape, severing the wire stem, and overcoating the wire stem with at least one layer of a material chosen primarily for its structural (resiliency, compliance) characteristics. A variety of techniques for configuring, severing, and overcoating the wire stem are disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, a free end of a wire stem is bonded to a contact area on a substrate, the wire stem is configured to have a springable shape, the wire stem is severed to be free-standing by an electrical discharge, and the free-standing wire stem is overcoated by plating. A variety of materials for the wire stem (which serves as a falsework) and for the overcoat (which serves as a superstructure over the falsework) are disclosed. Various techniques are described for mounting the contact structures to a variety of electronic components (e.g., semiconductor wafers and dies, semiconductor packages, interposers, interconnect substrates, etc.), and various process sequences are described. The resilient contact structures described herein are ideal for making a "temporary" (probe) connections to an electronic component such as a semiconductor die, for burn-in and functional testing. The self-same resilient contact structures can be used for subsequent permanent mounting of the electronic component, such as by soldering to a printed circuit board (PCB). An irregular topography can be created on or imparted to the tip of the contact structure to enhance its ability to interconnect resiliently with another electronic component. Among the numerous advantages of the present invention is the great facility with which the tips of a plurality of contact structures can be made to be coplanar with one another. Other techniques and embodiments, such as wherein the falsework wirestem protrudes beyond an end of the superstructure, or is melted down, and wherein multiple free-standing resilient contact structures can be fabricated from loops, are described.
Owner:FORMFACTOR INC

Wireless Power Supply System and Wireless Power Supply Method

An object is to provide a system for improving convenience for users, by which a portable electronic device or the like can be charged even in a place where utility power is not available. Another object is to provide a system which allows a service provider to easily perform customer management. A wireless power supply system includes a power storage device having a power storage portion, a terminal charging device for wirelessly supplying electric power to the power storage device, and a management server having user information. Electric power can be supplied to specified users by intercommunication of user information between the power storage device and the terminal charging device and between the terminal charging device and the management server.
Owner:SEMICON ENERGY LAB CO LTD

Reprogrammable circuit board with alignment-insensitive support for multiple component contact types

The present invention is directed to a system that programmably interconnects integrated circuit chips and other components at near-intra-chip density. The system's contact structure allows it to adapt to components with a wide variety of contact spacings and interconnection requirements, the use of releasable attachment means allows component placement to be modified as needed, the system identifies the contacts and the components to facilitate specifying the inter-component connections, and the system provides signal conditioning and retiming to minimize issues with signal integrity and signal skew.
Owner:NORMAN RICHARD

High bandwidth passive integrated circuit tester probe card assembly

Described herein is a probe card assembly providing signal paths for conveying high frequency signals between bond pads of an integrated circuit (IC) and an IC tester. The frequency response of the probe card assembly is optimized by appropriately distributing, adjusting and impedance matching resistive, capacitive and inductive impedance values along the signal paths so that the interconnect system behaves as an appropriately tuned Butterworth or Chebyshev filter.
Owner:FORMFACTOR INC

Method for forming conductive bumps for the purpose of contrructing a fine pitch test device

A system is described for using with fine pitch devices including singulated bare die, semiconductor wafers, chip sized packages, printed circuit boards, and the like to determine that the fine pitch device is not faulty. The system is also usable for transfer of data, energy, for collecting data measurements or measurement-related data between two pieces, and for effecting at least part of an identification process. The disclosed embodiment includes a substrate having a circuit pad pattern in the mirror image of the pattern of contact points, usually bond pads of the fine pitch device to be connected. A conductive elastomeric probe is permanently formed on the circuit pads of the substrate such that the probe is malleable and allows repetitive electrical contact. The system may also contain an alignment template for orienting the fine pitch device onto the elastomeric probes of the contact point pattern of the substrate.
Owner:EPITECH +1

Probe card assembly and kit, and methods of using same

A probe card assembly includes a probe card, a space transformer having resilient contact structures (probe elements) mounted directly thereto (i.e., without the need for additional connecting wires or the like) and extending from terminals on a surface thereof, and an interposer disposed between the space transformer and the probe card. The space transformer and interposer are "stacked up" so that the orientation of the space transformer, hence the orientation of the tips of the probe elements, can be adjusted without changing the orientation of the probe card. Suitable mechanisms for adjusting the orientation of the space transformer, and for determining what adjustments to make, are disclosed. The interposer has resilient contact structures extending from both the top and bottom surfaces thereof, and ensures that electrical connections are maintained between the space transformer and the probe card throughout the space transformer's range of adjustment, by virtue of the interposer's inherent compliance. Multiple die sites on a semiconductor wafer are readily probed using the disclosed techniques, and the probe elements can be arranged to optimize probing of an entire wafer. Composite interconnection elements having a relatively soft core overcoated by a relatively hard shell, as the resilient contact structures are described.
Owner:FORMFACTOR INC

Fine pitch contact device employing a compliant conductive polymer bump

A reusable test socket is described for testing fine pitch devices including singulated bare die, semiconductor wafers, chip sized packages, printed circuit boards, and the like to determine that the fine pitch device is not faulty. The socket contains a circuit pad pattern in the mirror image of the pattern of contact points, usually bond pads of the fine pitch device to be tested. Each pad of the socket contains a conductive elastomeric probe which has been "screened" onto the bond pad. The socket also contains an alignment template for orienting the fine pitch device onto the elastomeric probes of the contact point pattern of the test socket. Additionally, the socket can be a singular piece or it can be made of two main pieces; the first being a socket, and the second being a test board designed to mate with the socket. The disclosed invention also includes a method of using the reusable test socket which includes the steps of placing the fine pitch device onto the test socket, placing the socket into electrical continuity with test equipment and conducting electrical tests at ambient as well as elevated temperatures.
Owner:EPITECH +1

Microelectronic packages and methods therefor

A microelectronic package includes a microelectronic element having faces and contacts and a flexible substrate spaced from and overlying a first face of the microelectronic element. The package also includes a plurality of conductive posts extending from the flexible substrate and projecting away from the first face of the microelectronic element, wherein at least some of the conductive posts are electrically interconnected with the microelectronic element, and a plurality of support elements supporting the flexible substrate over the microelectronic element. The conductive posts are offset from the support elements to facilitate flexure of the substrate and movement of the posts relative to the microelectronic element.
Owner:TESSERA INC

Device for non-dissipative measurement of the current in an inductor

The invention relates to a device for measuring current in an inductor, which device is intended to be connected in parallel with said inductor, comprising two terminals A and B. The device comprises: a network in parallel with the inductor and connected to the terminals A and B having a resistor R2 in series with a resistor R1 in parallel with a capacitor C1; a voltage offset circuit having a DC voltage generator E connected in parallel with an offset resistor (Roffset) in series with two resistors in parallel R3 and R4, the positive pole of this voltage source being connected to terminal B of the inductor; a temperature compensation circuit comprising a current source controlled as a function of the temperature, one of the two terminals of the current source being connected to the negative pole of the generator E, the other terminal of the current source being connected to different points of the measurement device according to the direction of variation of the current of the source as a function of the temperature. The measurement of voltage Vmes, the image of the current I in the inductor 12, is performed between the common point between the resistors R1, R2 of the network and the common point between the offset resistor and the two resistors R3 and R4.
Owner:THALES SA

Cascode Current Sensor For Discrete Power Semiconductor Devices

A cascode current sensor includes a main MOSFET and a sense MOSFET. The drain terminal of the main MOSFET is connected to a power device whose current is to be monitored, and the source and gate terminals of the main MOSFET are connected to the source and gate terminals, respectively, of the sense MOSFET. The drain voltages of the main and sense MOSFETs are equalized, in one embodiment by using a variable current source and negative feedback. The gate width of the main MOSFET is typically larger than the gate width of the sense MOSFET. Using the size ratio of the gate widths, the current in the main MOSFET is measured by sensing the magnitude of the current in the sense MOSFET. Inserting the relatively large MOSFET in the power circuit minimizes power loss.
Owner:ADVANCED ANALOGIC TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED

Method of making a product with improved material properties by moderate heat-treatment of a metal incorporating a dilute additive

Deposition of metal in a preferred shape, including coatings on parts, or stand-alone materials, and subsequent heat treatment to provide improved mechanical properties. In particular, the method gives products with relatively high yield strength. The products often have relatively high elastic modulus, and are thermally stable, maintaining the high yield strength at temperatures considerably above 25 DEG C. This technique involves depositing a material in the presence of a selected additive, and then subjecting the deposited material to a moderate heat treatment. This moderate heat treatment differs from other commonly employed "stress relief" heat treatments in using lower temperatures and / or shorter times, preferably just enough to reorganize the material to the new, desired form. Coating a shape and heat treating provides a shaped deposit with improved material properties. Coating a shape with a portion connected to a base and a portion detached therefrom can provide a resilient, conductive contact useful for electronic applications.
Owner:FORMFACTOR INC

Cooler having integrated blender and accessories

A portable cooler includes an insulated body that defines a main interior storage space, and a lid structured to at least partially cover the main interior storage space. The lid includes an integrated blender or an integrated blender drive. Components of the blender may include a source of electrical power, an electric motor, and a blender spindle mounted through a surface of the lid and coupled to the electric motor. The integrated blender may also include a blender jar structured to hold food items for blending and one or more blending blades. The lid may further include a blender recess shaped in a negative mold of a collar of the blender jar to prevent the blender jar from rotating during operation.
Owner:GREPPER RYAN

Probe card assembly

In a probe card assembly, a series of probe elements can be arrayed on a silicon space transformer. The silicon space transformer can be fabricated with an array of primary contacts in a very tight pitch, comparable to the pitch of a semiconductor device. One preferred primary contact is a resilient spring contact. Conductive elements in the space transformer are routed to second contacts at a more relaxed pitch. In one preferred embodiment, the second contacts are suitable for directly attaching a ribbon cable, which in turn can be connected to provide selective connection to each primary contact. The silicon space transformer is mounted in a fixture that provides for resilient connection to a wafer or device to be tested. This fixture can be adjusted to planarize the primary contacts with the plane of a support probe card board.
Owner:FORMFACTOR INC

Methods of removably mounting electronic components to a circuit board, and sockets formed by the methods

Surface-mount, solder-down sockets are described which permit electronic components such as semiconductor packages to be releasably mounted to a circuit board. Generally, the socket includes resilient contact structures extending from a top surface of a support substrate, and solder-ball (or other suitable) contact structures disposed on a bottom surface of the support substrate. Composite interconnection elements are described for use as the resilient contact structures disposed atop the support substrate. In use, the support substrate is soldered down onto the circuit board, the contact structures on the bottom surface of the support substrate contacting corresponding contact areas on the circuit board. In any suitable manner, selected ones of the resilient contact structures atop the support substrate are connected, via the support substrate, to corresponding ones of the contact structures on the bottom surface of the support substrate.
Owner:FORMFACTOR INC

User Interface for Signal Integrity Network Analyzer

A signal integrity network analyzer is provided. The analyzer preferably includes a characterization module for characterizing a device under test, an acquisition module for acquiring a waveform, a de-embedding module for selectively embedding and de-embedding on or more system fixtures, and an analysis module for performing analysis on the acquired waveform, with one or more system features selectively embedded or de-embedded. A single user interface is provided and is adapted to control the characterization module, the acquisition module, the de-embedding module and the analysis module.
Owner:TELEDYNE LECROY

Closed-grid bus architecture for wafer interconnect structure

An interconnect structure employs a closed-grid bus to link an integrated circuit tester channel to an array of input / output (I / O) pads on a semiconductor wafer so that the tester channel can concurrently communicate with all of the I / O pads. The interconnect structure includes a circuit board implementing an array of bus nodes, each corresponding to a separate one of the I / O pads. The circuit board includes at least two layers. Traces mounted on a first layer form a set of first daisy-chain buses, each linking all bus nodes of a separate row of the bus node array. Traces mounted on a second circuit board layer form a set of second daisy-chain buses, each linking all bus nodes of a separate column of the bus node array. Vias and other circuit board interconnect ends of the first and second daisy-chain buses so that they form the closed-grid bus. Each bus node is connected though a separate isolation resistor to a separate contact pad mounted on a surface of the circuit board. A set of spring contacts or probes link each contact pad to a separate one of the I / O pads on the wafer.
Owner:FORMFACTOR INC

Socket for an electronic device

One embodiment of the present invention is a socket useful to contact an electronic device, the socket including: (a) one or more contactor holder plates including one or more first through holes having a first hole cross sectional area, and one or more second through holes having a second hole cross sectional area; (b) one or more first contactors having a body with a first body cross sectional area disposed in the first through holes; (c) one or more second contactors having a body with a second body cross sectional area disposed in the second through holes; and (d) a heat sink in thermal contact with one or more of the one or more contactor holder plates; wherein a first ratio of the first hole cross sectional area to the first body cross sectional area is different from a second ratio of the second hole cross sectional area to the second body cross sectional area.
Owner:CENTIPEDE SYST

Method for continuously controlling color of display device

A method for continuously controlling color of a display device comprises the steps of receiving three sets of data respectively representing the portions of three primary colors, accumulating three counts in accordance with the data, respectively, and setting three bistable devices for the respective durations of the accumulating. The outputs of the three bistable devices are coupled for respectively energizing three buses, to which the light emitting diodes of three primary colors are connected in accordance with their colors, for controlling the portions of the light signals of the primary colors emitted therefrom.
Owner:TEXAS DIGITAL SYST

High conducting thin-film nanoprobe card and its fabrication method

A conducting thin-film nanoprobe card fabrication method includes the steps of: (a) arranging nanotubes on a substrate in vertical; (b) covering the nanotubes with a liquid polymeric resin and then hardening the polymeric resin to form a conducting nanomembrane; (c) removing a part of the polymeric resin from the conducting nanomembrane to expose one end of each nanotube to outside; (d) removing the substrate and preparing a ceramic substrate having contacts at one side and metal bumps at the other side and plated through holes electrically respectively connected with the contacts and the metal bumps; (e) mounting the nanomembrane on the ceramic substrate to hold the nanotubes in contact with the contacts of the ceramic substrate, and (f) forming recessed holes in the nanomembrane by etching and inserting a metal rod in each recessed hole to form a respective probe.
Owner:IND TECH RES INST

Low cost electronic probe devices manufactured from conductive loaded resin-based materials

Electronic probe devices are formed of a conductive loaded resin-based material. The conductive loaded resin-based material comprises micron conductive powder(s), conductive fiber(s), or a combination of conductive powder and conductive fibers in a base resin host. The ratio of the weight of the conductive powder(s), conductive fiber(s), or a combination of conductive powder and conductive fibers to the weight of the base resin host is between about 0.20 and 0.40. The micron conductive powders are formed from non-metals, such as carbon, graphite, that may also be metallic plated, or the like, or from metals such as stainless steel, nickel, copper, silver, that may also be metallic plated, or the like, or from a combination of non-metal, plated, or in combination with, metal powders. The micron conductor fibers preferably are of nickel plated carbon fiber, stainless steel fiber, copper fiber, silver fiber, or the like.
Owner:INTEGRAL TECHNOLOGY INC

Electrical wiring inspection system

A system for testing and documenting the electrical wiring in a building, for example, comprises a Portable Circuit Analyzer (PCA) that is connected to the building's Load Center through an umbilical cord. The PCA is in wireless communication with a hand-held computer device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) as now widely available, provided with custom software according to the invention. The electrician connects the PCA in succession to each circuit in the building, operating each switch, and each fixture or appliance, while recording the test results of the circuit element on the PDA. The PCA measures the resistance and length of each circuit thus established. When the test process is completed, the PDA is enabled to generate a complete schematic diagram of the building, including, for example, an identification of the branch circuit to which each fixture, outlet, appliance, or other load or connection point is connected.
Owner:BLADES FREDERICK K

Transmission line input structure test probe

A differential electrical test probe tip for sensing a plurality of electric signals and generating a differential signal including an elongate common substrate having a two signal test points at one end and a differential amplifier at the second end. Two transmission lines are on the common substrate, each connecting a respective signal test point a signal input of the differential amplifier. The characteristic impedances of the two transmission lines are substantially equal. In one preferred embodiment, the common substrate is a flexible substrate. In one preferred embodiment an over-mold, which may have gaps therein, at least partially encloses the common substrate, the first transmission line, and the second transmission line.
Owner:TELEDYNE LECROY

Probe card cooling assembly with direct cooling of active electronic components

A probe card cooling assembly for use in a test system includes a package with one or more dies cooled by direct cooling. The cooled package includes one or more dies with active electronic components and at least one coolant port that allows a coolant to enter the high-density package and directly cool the active electronic components of the dies during a testing operation.
Owner:FORMFACTOR INC

Needle fixture of a probe card in semiconductor inspection equipment and needle fixing method thereof

A needle fixture of a probe card and a needle fixing method in semiconductor inspection equipment include a needle fixture of a probe card in semiconductor inspection equipment including a printed circuit board; a needle fixture installed in the printed circuit board; a resin unit affixing a probe needle to the needle fixture using an adhesive; and a separation preventer for preventing separation of the resin unit from the needle fixture, wherein the separation preventer includes: a plurality of notches formed along a bottom surface of the needle fixture; and the adhesive filling the plurality of notches.
Owner:SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

Flexible membrane probe and method of use thereof

A measuring apparatus for measuring a semiconductor wafer, or a film or coating thereon, includes an electrically conductive wafer chuck and a probe having a probe body defining an internal cavity in fluid communication with an electrically conductive and elastic or resilient membrane. The membrane and a topside of the semiconductor wafer are moved into spaced relation when the semiconductor wafer is supported by the wafer chuck. A pressure of fluid supplied to the internal cavity of the probe body is selectively controlled whereupon the membrane expands into contact with the topside of the semiconductor wafer. A suitable test stimulus is applied to the membrane and the semiconductor wafer and the response of the semiconductor wafer to the test stimulus is measured.
Owner:SOLID STATE MEASUREMENTS
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