Die/Wafer Probe Card
Theory
Particle Interconnect lead frame package
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Solder bumped chip (ILB) on Particle Interconnect lead frame (OLB). | Particle Interconnect bumped chip (ILB) on Particle Interconnect lead frame (OLB). |
SEM's of contact surface
Tin-Lead solder over Nickel coated particles.
22x magnification with 88x zoom view.
BGA
Particle Interconnect - Sandia Lab Known Good Die (KGD)
Known-Good-Die probe/burn-in. Proof of removable die MCM-L/D/C.
- 0.030" pitch 19x19 miniBGA.
- Burn-in at 125 ° C, 168 hours.
- 0 failures, 100+ runs, no deformation.
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0 failures, 11 runs shown above. | Particle Interconnect surface mount BGA socket. |
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Particle Interconnect - Sandia mBGA interposer schematic. | Sandia mBGA interposer |
Particle Interconnect - Hughes Aircraft 1988 - 1989
50,000 die joint production test venture.
Before burned-in:
- No bump deformation.
- Die Sn/Pb 3/97, socket Au 100, load 1 gm/mil2 pad to socket. Burned-in 125 ° C for 168 hours. Particles milled into gold ceramic ink and fired onto ceramic substrate. (Depression in center of bump is aluminum die pad covered by protective passivation layer.)
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50x bumped chip before pressing against PI gold thick film. | 500x bump before contacting PI. |
After burned-in:
- No bump deformation.
- PI/gold bonded to tin/lead bump and was ripped off substrate. Resulting in using nickel as higher strength Particle Interconnect bond layer in future test socket/temporary contact usages and other metal combinations in permanent usages.
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50x bumped chip after pressing against PI gold thick film metal matrix with 1 gm/mil2 load. | 500x bump after contacting PI, metal matrix is on bump. |
Particle Interconnect - Hughes environmental test die
Particle Interconnect removable MCM die socket.

100% of 500 die lot survived 4x Mil-Std-883C.
- Particle Interconnect with both adhesive and mechanical hold-down of chips while accumulating 4 runs of:
- 168 hours (672 hours total) 125 ° C for burn-in (other test passed are continuous 125 ° C),
- 500 cycles (2,000 cycles total) -55 to +125 ° C fast ramp MIL-STD-883C shock test,
- 24 hours (96 hours total) in salt/fog corrosion test,
- 24 hours (96 hours total) HAST (Highly Accelerated Stress Testing) pressure chamber (30 psi, +125 ° C pressure pot),
- Results in 50,000 die lot test prior to transfer into production.
- 96/4 Pb/Sn reflowed plated bump to spherize with special passivation configuration.
- Die orientated same as CAD picture for clarity (see: Removable die MCM - L/D/C).
- Note contact resistance test pads on left edge.
- Note traces for passivation crack detection.
- Note temperature sensors in center of die.
- Note traces for edge crack detection.
- Note traces for die heating.
- Note Particle Interconnect imprint.
Particle Interconnect piercing SDRAM DDR1 package balls
- Demonstrating damage free performance when exposed to excessive loading.
- 60 pounds of force on 60 balls.
- Note minor depth of penetration.
Particle Interconnect surface mount BGA socket
0.030" pitch, 19x19 version.
Particle Interconnect - MMS - TI - HP bare die probe
Proof of removable Known-Good-Die. Note single layer of particle on pad.
IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging, And Manufacturing Technology
A Bare-Chip Probe for High I/O, High Speed Testing
Alan Barber, Keunmyung Lee, and Hannsjorg Obermaier
Examples
Particle Interconnect Package (PIP)
Advanced low-cost minimal IC package.
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QFP 132 lead, 0.012" pitch OLB (Outer Lead Bond). | Leadframe / Chip-On-Board socket & carrier. |
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Removable die MCM
Removable die Multichip Module - L/D/C
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Removable die MCM | Louver contact |
- Low-cost heat exchanger designed for modular dissipation needs.
- Removable die locator (precisor) aligns all die on 0.010" edge-to-edge mosaic tile pattern of silicon.
- Precisor is accurately aligned by corner guide pins in heat sink.
- Removable die PI interposer sockets die to PCB and spring loads die against heat sink.
- Interposer is accurately aligned by corner guide pins in heat sink.
- Removable die PI interposers with 0.001" - 0.008" travel on 0.001" - 0.030" pitch are available.
- Removable multilayer PCB interconnects all die together with controlled impedance from die pad to die to pad.
- PI vias between laminate layers allow 0.002" "blind" vias by punching through adhesive layer during lamination.
- PCB is accurately aligned by corner guide pins in heat sink.
- Removable package PI interposer sockets package to PCB and spring loads package to PCB.
- MCM is accurately aligned and held to PCB by corner guide pins for manual or automatic insertion.
- Package interposers with 0.08"-0.020" travel on 0.010"-0.050" pitch with either peripheral or array patterns available.
- Die are removable by simply unstacking layers.
- Both bumped and wire bond die pads are mixable.