Apparatus and methods for testing semiconductor devices

A system for aligning a wafer with a probe card assembly for testing, comprising:

• a chuck disposed within a test site configured to hold a wafer against a probe card assembly, wherein said chuck remains within the test site;
• and
• a movable carriage configured to align said chuck while holding the wafer with the probe card assembly, wherein said movable carriage comprises:
• a first alignment assembly configured to align the wafer rotationally;
• a first robot configured to place the wafer on said first alignment assembly and to move the wafer from said first alignment assembly to a top surface of said chuck;
• and
• a second alignment assembly configured to hold said chuck and align said chuck with the wafer and to align the wafer on said chuck with the probe card assembly;
• wherein said second alignment assembly comprises:
• a first alignment module;
• and
• a second alignment module disposed on top of said first alignment module,
• wherein said first alignment module and said second alignment module move vertically to align and attach a top surface of said second alignment module with a bottom surface of said chuck, wherein said first alignment module and said second alignment module move vertically to align and attach said top surface of said chuck with a bottom surface of the wafer, and wherein said first alignment module and said second alignment module move vertically to align and attach a top surface of the wafer with a bottom surface of the probe card assembly.

A system for aligning a wafer with a probe card assembly for testing, comprising:

• a chuck disposed within a test site configured to hold a wafer against a probe card assembly, wherein said chuck remains within the test site;
• a movable carriage configured to align said chuck while holding the wafer with the probe card assembly, wherein said movable carriage comprises:
• a first alignment assembly configured to align the wafer rotationally;
• a first robot configured to place the wafer on said first alignment assembly and to move the wafer from said first alignment assembly to a top surface of said chuck;
• and
• a second alignment assembly configured to hold said chuck and align said chuck with the wafer and to align the wafer on said chuck with the probe card assembly;
• a first vacuum to secure the wafer against said top surface of said chuck;
• a second vacuum to secure said chuck against said second alignment assembly;
• and
• a third vacuum to secure the wafer against the probe card assembly.

A system for testing a plurality of wafers, comprising:

• an array of wafer test sites, wherein each of said wafer test sites comprises:
• a probe card assembly;
• a corresponding probe card controller configured to test a wafer;
• and
• a chuck configured to hold the wafer against said probe card assembly;
• a movable carriage configured to move the wafer into and from any one of said wafer test sites and to align the wafer with said probe card assembly, wherein said movable carriage comprises:
• a receptacle configured to hold the wafer before testing;
• a first alignment assembly configured to align the wafer rotationally;
• a first robot configured to retrieve the wafer from said receptacle and to place the wafer on said first alignment assembly and to move the wafer from said first alignment assembly to a position above said chuck;
• and
• a second alignment assembly configured to hold said chuck, to align said chuck with the wafer, and to align the wafer on said chuck with said corresponding probe card assembly;
• a second robot configured to move said movable carriage to any one of said wafer test sites;
• a first vacuum to secure said chuck against said second alignment assembly;
• a second vacuum to secure the wafer against said top surface of said chuck;
• and
• a third vacuum to secure the wafer against said probe card assembly.