A method of controlling a component handler includes acquiring and using calibration data. The component handler includes a calibrated actuator comprising a stationary part, a movable part, coil(s), and an actuating member, and a component holder comprising a distal end and an elastic member. The component holder is actuable from a resting to an extended position by the actuating member and in reverse by the elastic member. The calibration data is acquired by: bringing the actuating member into contact with an actuable portion of the component holder, moving the component holder in a position within the resting and extended position, measuring a required current in the coil(s) to maintain or move the component holder in the position, and determining the calibration data from the current, which is used to control the actuator such that the distal end applies a predetermined force on the component in a pick-up position.

A substrate support includes a supporting unit and a light irradiation mechanism. The supporting unit includes a plate member on which an inspection target is placed and a transparent member. The light irradiation mechanism is configured to irradiate light to increase a temperature of the inspection target. Each of the plate member and the transparent member is made of a low thermal expansion material having a linear expansion coefficient of 1.0×10.sup.−6/K or less.

A wafer probe station system for reliability testing of a semiconductor wafer. The wafer probe station is capable of interfacing with interchangeable modules for testing of semiconductor wafers. The wafer probe station can be used with different interchangeable modules for wafer testing. Modules, such as probe card positioners and air-cooled rail systems, for example, can be mounted or docked to the probe station. The wafer probe station is also provided with a front loading mechanism having a rotatable arm that rotates at least partially out of the probe station chamber for wafer loading.

A wafer testing system and a method of testing a wafer include placing a wafer on a vacuum chuck containing a plurality of vacuum zones, determining a warpage of the wafer, providing a different magnitude of vacuum suction to different vacuum zones at the same time based on the determined warpage of the wafer to reduce the warpage of the wafer, and testing the wafer.

A prober includes a plurality of inspection chambers, each of the plurality of inspection chambers including: a probe card having a plurality of probes; a probe card holder configured to hold the probe card; a chuck top configured to place a wafer on the chuck top; a seal mechanism configured to form a sealed space between the probe card holder and the chuck top; a temperature adjustor configured to adjust a temperature of the chuck top; and a gas supplier configured to supply a dry gas to the sealed space, and wherein, in a state in which no wafer is placed on the chuck top, the sealed space is purged with the dry gas, and precooling of the probe card is performed by cold heat of the chuck top having a temperature adjusted by the temperature adjustor.

According to one embodiment, a storage device includes a control apparatus and a stocker. The control apparatus writes data to or reads data from a storage medium that includes a plurality of non-volatile memory chips. The stocker stores a plurality of the storage media that are detached from the control apparatus. The control apparatus includes a first temperature control system. The first temperature control system raises temperature of the storage medium to a first temperature or higher. The stocker includes a second temperature control system. The second temperature control system cools the storage medium to a second temperature or lower. The second temperature is lower than the first temperature.

A contact for burning-in and testing a semiconductor IC and a socket device including the contact are proposed. The contact includes: an upper terminal part (111) having an upper tip part (111b) at an upper end part thereof; a lower terminal part (112) having a lower tip part (112c) at a lower end part thereof and provided on the same axis as the upper terminal part (111); and an elastic part (113) elastically supporting the upper terminal part (111) and the lower terminal part (112), wherein the upper terminal part (111) and the lower terminal part (112) include a shoulder part (111a) and a shoulder part (112a), respectively, formed by protruding therefrom in width directions thereof, and the elastic part (113) has a third width (w3), and includes a first strip (113a) and a second strip (113b).

Disclosed herein is a high-performance thermal chuck for enhanced thermal management of high-power integrated circuit (IC) devices. The disclosed high-performance thermal chuck provides active heating and cooling for post-manufacture device testing. A high-performance heatsink comprises microfluidic channels in a high thermal conductivity silicon carbide (SiC) body for providing enhanced active cooling of an IC device. A refractory heating element is embedded between an integrated heat spreader comprising diamond and the heatsink for providing active heating. The integrated heat spreader is bonded to the heatsink. Closely matched coefficients of thermal expansion between the diamond heat spreader and the heatsink mitigate thermally-induced warpage.

There is provided a control method of a test device, the test device comprising a chuck on which an object to be tested is mounted, a tester configured to supply electric power to the object to be tested to test the object to be tested, and a controller configured to control a temperature of the chuck. The control method comprises: when an actual temperature of the object to be tested cannot be fed back, estimating a temperature difference between the temperature of the chuck and the temperature of the object to be tested on the basis of a heat amount of the object to be tested; correcting a target temperature of the chuck on the basis of a target temperature of the object to be tested and the temperature difference; and controlling the temperature of the chuck on the basis of the corrected target temperature of the chuck and an actual temperature of the chuck.

A wafer inspection method, wherein a motorized chuck stage is controlled by a control rod to be displaced between an upper position and a lower position along Z-axis direction, to change a relative position of a wafer on the motorized chuck stage relative to a probe. The control rod is movable between an upper and an lower limit positions. The wafer inspection method includes: determining a position of the control rod based on a measurement signal; determining a first moving direction and a moving distance of the control rod based on a change of the measurement signal; generating a control signal based on the moving distance of the control rod; controlling the motorized chuck stage to be displaced along a second moving direction opposite to the first moving direction; and controlling an objective lens module to keep focusing on the wafer when the motorized chuck stage is on the move.