ParametricStudy of ContactFritting

for ImprovedCRes Stability

06/12/2006 SWTW, San Diego
Dr. Christian Degen, Oliver Nagler,
Michael Horn, Dr. Florian Kaesen
Infineon Technologies AG, Germany
Communication Solutions Test Techonolgy (COM TT)
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 2
??? Fritting ???
Electrical conditioning of contacts by overvoltage / overcurrent
Holm Holm s s theory of electric theory of electric contacts contacts
Can Can fritting fritting be be utilized utilized for for contact contact conditioning of probe needles? conditioning of probe needles?
Overview Overviewover over evaluation evaluation setup setup
PR PRobe obeFO FOrce rceI Investigation nvestigationT Tool (PROFIT) ool (PROFIT)
Parameters under Parameters under study: study:
A A- -fritting and B fritting and B- -fritting fritting
Current Current level and polarity level and polarity
pro pro s and con s and con s, conclusions s, conclusions
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 3
Holms theory of electric contact:
(Holm: Electric Contacts, Springer 1967)
two conductors in mechanical contact, separated by
thin insulating layer (e.g., probe needle on Al-pad
separated by layer of native oxide)
the insulating layer can be broken mechanically
the insulating layer can brake-down locally due to
electrical voltage (A-fritting), creating a channel for
initial current flow (A-spot)
the A-spot can be broadened by transport effects
due to electric current (B-fritting), reducing CRes
??? Fritting in theory ???
What happens during formation of an electrical contact?
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 4
How to study fritting of probe needles?
universal tool @ IFX probing lab: PROFIT =PRobeForceInvestigationTool
(SWTW2005: Nagler et al / An Advanced Probe Characterization Tool for Online Contact Basics Measurements)
motorized x-y-z stages, x-z force sensors, top-viewmicroscope
standard PCBs for mounting various single probes
substrates with standard pad material (Si-wafer pieces, coated with Al, Au, )
LabViewbased custom-made software for automatic multi-TD investigations
high precision SMU for parametric tests
capabilities: probe force, current/voltage dc, RF, leakage, S-parameter,
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 5
How stable is a probe contact?
TungstenRheniumcantilever 20m tip on Aluminum, OD=20m, 1000TDs
0
2
4
6
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20
CRes @ I=1mA


CRes @ I=10mA



0 200 400 600 800 1000
0
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CRes @ I=30mA
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number TDs
0 200 400 600 800 1000
CRes @ I=100mA

CRes degrades after several 100 TDs without cleaning
probes accumulate Al-oxide -> isolating layer between tip and pad
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 6
Why are electric contacts bad? -> Conductors separated by isolating layer!
(here: high current relay contact, from literature)
from:
Diagnostic routines for automotive relays
in the field, IC- and EOL-tests,
application note by Tyco Electronics
I-U characteristics during fritting cycle
A-fritting is voltage induced formation of initial conductive channel
B-fritting is current induced broadening of existing channel
(for details see Holm: Electric Contacts, Springer 1967)
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 7
0 -20m -40m -60m -80m -100m
0.00
-0.05
-0.10
-0.15
-0.20
-0.25
-0.30
-0.35
-0.40
2.8Ohms
18Ohms
s
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drive current in Amps
0.0 -20.0m -40.0m -60.0m -80.0m -100.0m
0.0
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.4
-0.5
contact overdrive
v
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current in Amps
A-fritting
B-fritting
Formation of electric contact: cantilever TD on Aluminum pad
(high precision quasistatic measurement / full trace ~1sec)
observation of A-fritting and B-fritting
for probe needles on pad material
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0.0E+00 1.0E-04 2.0E-04 3.0E-04 4.0E-04 5.0E-04
time in seconds
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0.00
0.02
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A
m
p
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CRes during fritting
CRes after fritting
current ramp
What are the typical timescales for contact fritting?
-> investigation of voltage drop across contact during current step
current step <50s
full breakdown of insulating layer after ~150s (typ. <<1msec)
instantaneously lowCRes for 2nd cycle (after fritting)
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 9
Characteristic curve of contact fritting:
voltage drop across contact during current step
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12
current in Amps
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Cres ~20Ohms
(t=25s)
Cres ~ 9Ohms
(t=45s)
Cres ~ 4Ohms
(t=145s)
typical timescale <<1msec
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 10
1
10
100
1000
10000
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fritting method (200TDs each)
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before fritting
after fritting
What is dominant for contact fritting of probe needles?
voltage effects vs current effects
U=-20V
(I<1mA)
I=-100mA
(U<2.5V)
U=-20V
(I<1mA)
I=-100mA
(U<2.5V)
U=-20V &
I=-100mA
Is the effect always initiated @ U<2.5V ? -> YES
Or do higher voltages assist conditioning? -> current is crucial
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 11
summary part1 contact fundamentals
contact formation and fritting:
fritting cycle observed on probe-pad-
contacts
fritting cycle typically <<1msec
A-spot prepared by A-fritting at
voltages <2.5V (assisted by
mechanical scrub)
current fritting (B-fritting) significantly
lowers CRes
next questions:
polarity of fritting current ?
level of fritting current ?
multi-TD test ?
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 12
Flow of multi-TD experiments:
1. meas. CRes before do fritting meas. CRes after -> all the same TD
2. no fritting, only meas. CRes -> reference without any fritting effects
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 13
Which polarity of fritting current gives better stability?
(cantilever probe, OD=20m, I=60mA changing polarity)
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-60mA +60mA -60mA
fritting current (500TD each)
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before fritting
after fritting
negative current = better CRes stability (pad=ground, probe=negative)
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 14
Which polarity of fritting current gives better stability?
(cantilever probe, OD=20m, I=100mA changing polarity)
0
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-100mA +100mA -100mA
fritting current (500TD each)
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before fritting
after fritting
negative current = better CRes stability (pad=ground, probe=negative)
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 15
How much current is necessary for CRes stabilisation by fritting?
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fritting current (200TDs each)
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before fritting
after fritting
significant improvement from I > -40..-60mA to I=-100mA
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 16
1
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1000
10000
1 501 1001 1501 2001
number TDs
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before fritting
after fritting
So fritting works are there any drawbacks?
2000TDs, fritting I=-100mA, CRes @ U=1mV (i.e., no current load)
Very stable CRes 2.0 .. 3.0 Ohms
High fritting current enhances probe pollution -> probe gets addicted to fritting
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 17
Once more about drawbacks
1000TDs, fritting I=-100mA, CRes @I=10mA (i.e., with current load)
less degradation (before fritting) than CRes @ U=1mV
1
10
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1000
10000
1 501
number TDs
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(
@
I
=
1
0
m
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)
before fritting
after fritting
susceptibility for degradation
(contamination) depends on
load, i.e., power dissipation or
current across contact point
CRes stability and fritting may
vary between IO and power pins
tests with low current values are
more sensitive to poor contacts
test applications need to be
evaluated individually
Again very stable CRes 2.0 .. 3.0 Ohms
Enhanced pollution is less significant if standard testing current is higher!
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 18
How significant is fritting enhanced contamination?
-> Comparison of fritting OFF / ON / OFF
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 19
Fritting OFF-ON-OFF:
contact conditioning and subsequent probe degradation
B
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fritting: I=-100mA
(200TD per box)
CRes@I=1mA
CRes@I=10mA
CRes@I=30mA
CRes@I=100mA
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fritting improves contact stability but makes probes addicted to current
negatives effects become negligible for higher testing currents (power pins)
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 20
summary / conclusions
FRITTING WORKS!
A-fritting starts at voltages <2.5V (Tungsten-Rhenium on Al)
B-fritting significantly lowers CRes
currents >40mA required (with negative polarity)
fritting makes addicted: after turning fritting off, CRes is
higher than before (current assisted contamination)
amount of CRes improvement depends on current level
during testing (operation) mode
fritting is suitable to reduce CRes for power pins where negative
effects due to enhanced contamination are less significant
fritting very efficiently reduces CRes also for IO-pins but probe
cleaning / maintenance strategy must be adjusted accordingly in
order to control enhanced contamination
fritting cannot substitute online cleaning but it can stabilize CRes
in between cleaning executions
C. Degen:
Contact Fritting
(SWTW 2006)
Page 21
perspectives
FRITTING WORKS!
currently used in IFX production
fritting used in several test programs but so far only
limited productive experience
application in front-end and back-end test
observation of both, yield improvement and enhanced probe wear out
future tasks
adjust fritting parameters according to newfindings
re-evaluate yield improvement vs probe wear out
unified recommendations for test development groups
Thank you for your attention !