SBIR-STTR Award

We propose developing a small pitch probe card with a pitch down to 5 µm that will have minimal thermally induced deformations over an operational temperature range of 77 to 300 Kelvin. The probe card design will contain eight probe points initially, but the number of points can be increased or decreased as needed by the customer. The pitch can also be specified anywhere from 5 µm and up. The probe card will be a MEMS based structure built with silicon carbide. By using silicon carbide, the alignment between the probe points and the test chip pixels will be easier because silicon carbide is transparent at visible wavelengths. The high elastic modulus and strength of silicon carbide will enable the probe to be robust at cryogenic temperature and minimize thermally induced deformations. MEMS fabrication of silicon carbide will make the probe tip array flexible relative to support frame to avoid any damage to the FPA.

The proposed work will develop a fully functional and fully tested small pitch cryogenic probe card. The prototype cards designed and fabricated under this project will be designed for cryogenic testing of focal plane arrays but the technology will allow customization over a wide range of probe tip counts and probe tip placement locations. The probe card will provide industry standard probe tip force and displacement, allowing direct use in existing commercial cryogenic probe stations. Furthermore, the probe card will include features designed to simplify alignment, which is anticipated to be challenging given the very small pitch of the probe tips and probe features on the focal plane array die. The work will be divided into three separate design, build, and test iterations of prototype probe cards. The initial design will be based on the design developed during the Phase I project. The final prototype will be a refined and tested probe card product ready to transitioned for military and commercial use. The team conducting this work is highly experienced in cryogenic probe card design and production, MEMS fabrication, and 3D fabrication techniques which will enable the team to move quickly in developing the proposed small pitch probe card technology.