International Business Machines Corporation
Test probe assembly with fiber optic leads and photodetectors for testing semiconductor wafers

Abstract:

A test probe assembly includes a probe card, a plurality of test probes mounted to the probe card with each of the test probes having a probe tip segment and a probe end for positioning adjacent respective individual test pads of a semiconductor wafer, and a fiber optic lead mounted to each test probe. The fiber optic leads are arranged to direct incident light toward respective individual test pads of the semiconductor wafer. A plurality of photodetectors may be arranged about the probe card with individual photodetectors configured for reception of light reflected off the respective individual test pads to emit output signals used to generate image data representative of the individual test pads on the semiconductor wafer. The image data may be utilized to align the test pads with the test probes for subsequent testing.