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US 9,435,858 B2Granted
Focusing optical systems and methods for testing semiconductors
AssigneeCascade Microtech, Inc.
InventorsPeter Andrews, David Hess
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Focusing optical systems and methods for testing semiconductors are disclosed herein. The methods include receiving an image of a probe through a single optical path of a microscope, substantially focusing the microscope on the probe, and determining a vertical height adjustment between the probe and a device under test based upon the focusing.
Claims18
A method for automatically probing a device under test, said method comprising:
- (a) receiving an image of a probe used to test the device under test through a single optical path of a microscope;
- (b) substantially focusing said microscope on said probe;
- (c) based upon said substantially focusing, automatically determining a vertical height adjustment between said probe and said device under test while the probe is not in contact with the device under test;
- (d) repeating said receiving said image, said substantially focusing said microscope, and said automatically determining for a plurality of different locations of said device under test to determine a plurality of said vertical height adjustments;
- (e) utilizing said plurality of vertical height adjustments to automatically adjust a distance between said device under test and said probe for a location not proximate one of said plurality of different locations of said device under test;
- and
- (f) increasing a temperature of the device under test, wherein, subsequent to the increasing, the method further includes refocusing on the probe, evaluating an offset of the microscope when the probe is substantially in focus, correlating an amount of the offset of the microscope to a change in a vertical position of the probe, and adjusting a distance between the probe and the device under test based upon the change in the vertical position.
4 more elements
A method for automatically probing a device under test with a probe, the method comprising:
- (a) collecting an image through a single optical pathway of a microscope;
- (b) substantially focusing the microscope on the device under test;
- (c) substantially focusing the microscope on the probe;
- (d) automatically determining an amount of offset of the microscope based, at least in part, on the substantially focusing the microscope on the device under test and the substantially focusing the microscope on the probe;
- (e) automatically correlating the amount of offset to a vertical distance between the probe and the device under test when the probe is not in contact with the device under test;
- and
- (f) automatically adjusting the distance between the probe and the device under test to bring the probe into contact with the device under test, wherein the automatically adjusting is based, at least in part, on the automatically correlating.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.