Kyocera Develops Silicon Nitride for Next-Gen Chip Testing
Recently, Kyocera announced the development of a new silicon nitride ceramic material for functional testing of next-generation microchips. This new material boasts enhanced thermal expansion properties and flexural strength, enabling the production of thin silicon nitride plates with extremely narrow spacing between contact probes, which is critical for testing next-generation microchips.
A semiconductor probe card is a precision electronic testing tool used to make contact with various test points on semiconductor chips during wafer-level testing (commonly referred to as "pads"). By establishing contact at these points, the probe card can transmit electrical signals to assess the chip’s functionality, performance, and electrical characteristics. Typically mounted on automatic test equipment (ATE), the probe card is used for preliminary screening before wafer dicing to eliminate defective chips. These probes, installed on silicon nitride guide plates, can consist of metal contacts, spring probes, or MEMS probes. The layout and spacing of these probes must be precisely designed (the distance between probes is often only a few dozen microns, with up to 100,000 probes on a single guide plate) to ensure accurate contact with test points on the wafer. In addition to requiring high mechanical and flexural strength to support the probes, the silicon nitride guide plates’ thermal stability and insulating properties help reduce expansion-induced resistance changes and prevent current leakage, all of which are crucial for accurate testing.
Enhanced Thermal Expansion Coefficient
Kyocera has disclosed that the new silicon nitride has effectively doubled its thermal expansion coefficient at 150°C compared to previous materials and offers a high flexural strength exceeding 800 MPa (megapascals). The combination of the silicon nitride substrate with the probe card enhances efficiency and precision in semiconductor testing, ensuring chip quality and performance.
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