RF probe card and calibration software debut
-- Test & Measurement World, 6/15/2006 4:42:00 AM
| To read more news from IMS 2006, see the links box in our main IMS story: "RF enables "mobile living room." |
The new |Z| RF probe card targets the need to extract S-parameters on the production floor to provide feedback for optimizing manufacturing processes. The |Z| RF probe card integrates MEMS-based contact technology to test up to 32 RF channels and, when configured with the company’s Multi |Z| technology, can test DC signals as well. Long, independent contact springs facilitate DUT contact despite troublesome variations in pad height.
“The |Z| probe card is completely repairable,” said Steffen Schott, HF product manager at Suss. “The probes can be replaced quickly and easily when needed. And due to the |Z| probe contact technology, the lifetime of the |Z| probe card is more than 1 million contact cycles on aluminum pads.”
SussCal Professional enhances the accuracy of on-wafer measurements by supporting the calibration of vector network analyzers, cables, and wafer probes using a set of well-defined standards to eliminate systematic errors. It employs a top-down process to guide the user through the calibration process. It makes use of the company’s PortMapping technology for multiport calibration.
It also employs the vendor’s Suss LRM+ calibration method to support accurate measurements from DC to 110 GHz and beyone. LRM+ eliminates the need for de-embedding.
“Suss realizes that measuring your RF and microwave devices on the wafer is a daunting task,” said Andrej Rumianstev, SussCal product manager. “We have included several tools such as SussView for viewing measurement data and a calibration verifier to give the user exactly what he needs to be an RF and microwave test expert.”
