# US 2014/0197858 A1 · Maintaining a wafer/wafer translator pair in an attached state free of a gasket disposed > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0197858 A1 - Document ID: US20140197858A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/744,180 - Filed: 2013-01-17 - Published: 2014-07-17 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-17 - Assignees: Advanced Inquiry Systems, Inc. - Inventors: Aaron Durbin; Morgan T. Johnson; Jose A. Santos - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140197858A1 ## CPC - G01R 31/2893: {Handling, conveying or loading, e.g. belts, boats, vacuum fingers (G01R31/2867 takes precedence; handling semiconductor devices or wafers during manufacture or treatment H10P72/00)} - G01R 31/2831: {Testing of materials or semi-finished products, e.g. semiconductor wafers or substrates (G01R31/318511 takes precedence; testing during manufacture H10P74/00)} - G01R 31/2886: {Features relating to contacting the IC under test, e.g. probe heads; chucks (G01R31/2865 takes precedence, test connections, e.g. test sockets, or probes per se, G01R1/04 or G01R1/06)} - G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12) ## Abstract A wafer translator and a wafer, removably attached to each other, provides the electrical connection to electrical contacts on integrated circuits on a wafer in such a manner that the electrical contacts are substantially undamaged in the process of making such electrical connections. Various embodiments of the present invention provide a gasketless sealing means for facilitating the formation by vacuum attachment of the wafer/wafer translator pair. In this way, no gasket is required to be disposed between the wafer and the wafer translator. Air, or gas, is evacuated from between the wafer and wafer translator through one or more evacuation pathways in the gasketless sealing means. ## Claims ### Claim at position 1 1-20. (canceled) ### Claim 21 An assembly, comprising: a wafer translator having an inquiry-side, a wafer-side, and a peripheral sidewall; a wafer having contact pads at a first side, a second side facing away from the first side, and a peripheral sidewall, the first side of the wafer facing the wafer-side of the wafer translator; and a sheet of flexible material having a first portion disposed along the second side of the wafer, a second portion disposed along the peripheral sidewall of the wafer and the peripheral sidewall of the wafer translator, and a third portion disposed along the inquiry-side of the wafer translator; wherein an enclosed space defined at least in part by the wafer, the wafer translator, and the sheet of flexible material is at a pressure that is lower than a pressure outside the enclosed space. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The assembly of claim 21 wherein the first portion of the flexible material is disposed along the entire second side of the wafer. ### Claim 23 (depends on 21) The assembly of claim 21 wherein the first portion of the flexible material includes a generally annular hole. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) The assembly of claim 21 wherein the third portion of the flexible material is disposed only partially along the inquiry-side of the wafer translator. ### Claim 25 (depends on 21) The assembly of claim 21 wherein the wafer-side of the wafer translator is electrically connected with the contact pads at the first side of the wafer. ### Claim 26 (depends on 21) The assembly of claim 21 wherein the flexible material comprises a compliant material. ### Claim 27 An assembly, comprising: a wafer translator having an inquiry-side, a wafer-side, and a peripheral sidewall; a wafer having contact pads at a first side, and a second side facing away from the first side, wherein the first side of the wafer faces the wafer-side of the wafer translator; and a first flexible support structure having a first base portion and a first upper portion, the first upper portion contacting the wafer-side of the wafer translator to form a first sealed contact; and a second flexible support structure having a second base portion and a second upper portion, the second upper portion contacting the second side of the wafer to form a second sealed contact. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The assembly of claim 27 wherein the first upper portion is bendable toward the peripheral sidewall of the wafer translator and the second upper portion is bendable toward a center of the wafer. ### Claim 29 (depends on 27) The assembly of claim 27 wherein the first flexible support structure and the second flexible support structure comprise rubber. ### Claim 30 (depends on 27) The assembly of claim 27 wherein a gas in a space between the first side of the wafer and the wafer-side of the wafer translator is at a lower pressure than a gas outside of the space. ### Claim 31 (depends on 30) The assembly of claim 30, further comprising a valve having an open state and a closed state and being positioned in a fluid communication between an environment external to the assembly and the space between the first side of the wafer and the wafer-side of the wafer translator. ### Claim 32 (depends on 27) The assembly of claim 27, further comprising: a ring having an inner diameter greater than a diameter of the wafer and having: a first substantially circular groove positioned to receive the base portion of the first flexible support structure; a second substantially circular groove positioned to receive the base portion of the second flexible support structure; and at least one evacuation pathway between the first and the second grooves. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The assembly of claim 32 wherein the first groove is flanged. ### Claim 34 (depends on 27) The assembly of claim 27, further comprising: a ring having an inner diameter greater than a diameter of the wafer and having: a substantially circular groove positioned to receive the base portions of the first and the second flexible support structures; and at least one evacuation pathway extending between the base portions of the first and the second flexible support structures. ### Claim 35 (depends on 27) The assembly of claim 27 wherein: a space between the first side of the wafer and the wafer-side of the wafer translator is at a pressure lower than a pressure outside of the space; and the wafer-side of the wafer translator and the contact pads at the first side of the wafer are in an electrical contact.