Apparatus and method for hard-docking a tester to a tiltable imager

A method for orienting an optical system with respect to a specimen, the optical system having a tabletop, collection optics coupled to said tabletop, and a specimen holder coupled to said tabletop, the method comprising:

• placing the specimen in the specimen holder;
• fixing said specimen holder at a fixed orientation;
• and
• controlling said optical system so as to place said collection optics in an orientation such that the optical axis of said collection optics is perpendicular to an area of interest on said specimen without changing said fixed orientation,
• wherein the controlling said optical system includes changing an angular alignment of the optical axis of said collection optics.

A system for testing an integrated circuit (IC) stimulated to simulate operating conditions, comprising:

• a tabletop;
• a specimen holder coupled to said tabletop, said IC connected to said specimen holder;
• collection optics coupled to said tabletop;
• an adapter for hard-docking a tester head to said IC and thereby holding said specimen holder in a fixed orientation;
• and
• an aligner coupled to said tabletop and operable to change an angular alignment of the optical axis of said collection optics with respect to said IC without changing said fixed orientation.

A system for alignment of an inspected surface of a specimen to be orthogonal to an optical axis of a collection optics, the system comprising:

• a tester head;
• a tabletop located at a distance from the tester head;
• an adapter plate hard-docked to the tester head through a rigid connector, the adapter plate fixed to the specimen leaving the inspected surface of the specimen exposed;
• collection optics coupled to the tabletop through an x-y-z stage and facing the inspected surface of the specimen;
• plungers coupled to the tabletop for operations of self-leveling and vibration-isolating the tabletop;
• level control valves coupled to the plungers for controlling the plungers;
• blocking valves coupled to the level control valves and capable of blocking the level control values from controlling the plungers;
• and
• an optical axis control mechanism for changing an orientation of the collection optics with respect to the tester head to obtain alignment of the optical axis with an axis orthogonal to the inspected surface of the specimen while keeping the adapter plate in a fixed position,
• wherein the optical axis control mechanism is selected from a group consisting of:
• a tilting mechanism coupling the tabletop to the adapter plate, the tilting mechanism operable to tilt the tabletop, when the blocking valves are blocking the level control valves,
• an elastic connection coupling the tabletop to the adapter plate and elevating mechanisms located between the plungers and the tabletop, the elevating mechanisms operable to tilt the tabletop by elevating the tabletop above some but not all of the plungers, when the blocking valves are blocking the level control valves, and
• one or more rotational elements coupled between the collection optics and the tabletop, the rotational elements operable to rotate the optical axis.