Evaluation of TSV and micro-bump probing for wide I/O testing

Practical silicon stacking requires pre-tested dies, but contact probing of TSV interconnects requires much higher density, lower probing forces, and lower cost per pin than conventional probe cards have achieved. This paper examines a cost-effective, lithographic-based MEMS probe card technology that is suitable for probing 40μm pitch arrays, and scalable to finer pitches. Initial mechanical and electrical results are presented, demonstrating the feasibility of probing large arrays at 1 gram-force per tip with very low pad damage, so as not to impair downstream bonding or other processing steps.