The present invention provides a probe card. A module cap, on the probe card substrate, is designed to have a chute and the probe module can be installed on or uninstalled from the module cap via the chute. That simplifies the operations of assembling and disassembling the probe card and avoids positioning error.

A method for aligning probe pins with respect to positions of electronic devices comprises conducting contact stamping on a first electronic device with the probe pins to form first probe marks on lead pads of the first electronic device, capturing an image of the first electronic device, determining positions of the first probe marks on the first electronic device using the captured image, calculating an offset using the positions of the first probe marks, adjusting relative positions between a subsequent plurality of electronic devices and the probe pins using the offset, and contacting lead pads of the subsequent plurality of electronic devices with the probe pins for testing said electronic devices. The first probe marks are configured to have greater visibility as compared with second probe marks formed when contacting the lead pads of the subsequent plurality of electronic devices with the probe pins, so as to improve the accuracy of the offset calculated.

Planar error between a probe card and a semiconductor wafer may be reduced with a low-profile gimbal platform. The low-profile gimbal platform may be coupled between a probe card and a tester head. The low-profiled gimbal platform includes a number of linear actuators and pistons that are used to perform high-precision in situ planarity adjustments to the probe card to achieve co-planarity between the probe card and the semiconductor wafer. The in situ planarity adjustments may reduce the likelihood of malfunctions due to misalignment of the probe card.

An electrical contact assembly that uses an elastomer strip for each row of individual contacts. Each contact comprises a rigid bottom pin and a flexible top pin with a pair of arms which extend over and slide along sloped concave surfaces of the bottom contact. The elastomer strip is located between rows of the bottom and top pins. A bottom socket housing is provided with grooves which receive each elastomer strip. A row of top pins is then placed over each elastomer strip, and through ducts in the bottom socket housing. Bottom pins are then snapped into place in between the pair of arms.

An electrical contact assembly that uses an elastomer strip for each row of individual contacts. Each contact comprises a rigid bottom pin and a flexible top pin with a pair of arms which extend over and slide along sloped surfaces of the bottom contact. The elastomer strip is located between rows of the bottom and top pins. A bottom socket housing is provided with grooves which receive each elastomer strip. A row of top pins is then placed over each elastomer strip, and through ducts in the bottom socket housing. Bottom pins are then snapped into place in between the pair of arms.

A manufacturing method of contact probes for a testing head comprises the steps of:—providing a substrate made of a conductive material; and—defining at least one contact probe by laser cutting the substrate. The method further includes at least one post-processing fine definition step of at least one end portion of the contact probe, that follows the step of defining the contact probe by laser cutting, the end portion being a portion including a contact tip or a contact head of the contact probe. The fine definition step does not involve a laser processing and includes geometrically defining the end portion of the contact probe with at least a substantially micrometric precision.

A diagnostic system for a power supply having first and second output terminals that output first and second reference voltages, respectively, is provided. The diagnostic system includes a microcontroller having an analog-to-digital converter with first and second banks of channels. The microcontroller samples the first reference voltage at a first sampling rate utilizing a first common channel in the first bank of channels to obtain a first predetermined number of voltage samples. The microcontroller determines a first number of voltage samples in the first predetermined number of voltage samples in which the first reference voltage was outside of a predetermined voltage range. The microcontroller sets a first power supply diagnostic flag equal to a first fault value if the first number of voltage samples is greater than a first threshold number of voltage samples.

Provided are an apparatus and method for controlling a ripple current sensing motor. An apparatus for controlling a ripple current sensing motor may include a first shunt resistor having one end connected to one end of a motor and the other end of the first shunt resistor connected to a ground, a second shunt resistor having one end connected to the other end of the motor and the other end of the second shunt resistor connected to the ground, a first amplifying circuit amplifying a first signal from one end of the motor, a second amplifying circuit amplifying a second signal from the other end of the motor, and a detector detecting a rotation amount and a rotation direction of the motor using a change in voltages of a first detection signal from the first amplifying circuit and a second detection signal from the second amplifying circuit.

A probe head comprises a plate-shaped support including respective pluralities of guide holes, a plurality of contact probes being slidingly housed in the respective pluralities of guide holes and including at least a first group of contact probes being apt to carry only one type of signal chosen between ground and power supply signals, a conductive portion realized on the support and including a plurality of the guide holes housing the contact probes of the first group, and at least one filtering capacitor having at least one capacitor plate being electrically connected to the conductive portion, the conductive portion electrically connecting the contact probes of the first group.

A probe for a vertical probe card includes an unsupported base portion that extends from the vertical probe card, a cantilevered portion that extends substantially perpendicular to the unsupported base portion and a contact portion that includes a tip. The cantilevered portion has a first thickness at an end adjacent the unsupported base portion and a second thickness at an end adjacent the contact portion, the second thickness being less than the first thickness.