Salient Characteristics.doc

Salient Characteristics

Commercial Availability Certification:

I have evaluated the commercial marketplace and determined that all of the salient characteristics documented below are available in products/services offered in the commercial marketplace.

Signature (typed name): Matthew Chin Technical Point of Contact (TPOC)

The Army Research Directorate (ARD) at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) requires one (1) Automated Probe Station system with the following salient characteristics:

· The system shall be able to accept up to an eight (8) inch (200-millimeter (mm)) diameter substrate, with the ability to accommodate smaller samples down to ten (10) mm by ten (10) mm while maintaining measurement stability and measurement access to the entirety of the sample.

· The system shall accommodate substrates of both silicon and silicon dioxide (quartz) with a typical thickness ranging between 500 micrometers (µm) and one (1) millimeter.

· Operating temperatures of the system shall range from room temperature (typically 20-25 degrees Celsius (°C)) up to 300 °C.

· The system shall perform direct current current-voltage (DC-IV), direct current capacitance-voltage (DC-CV) and pulsed current-voltage (pulsed IV) electrical measurements for multiple devices on a bare die in a sequential, automated fashion, without user intervention after initial setup and alignment of the substrate.

· The system shall accommodate a minimum of six (6) probe arms that can hold direct current (DC) and parametric probes with tip diameters of 10 µm or less, as well as the ability to hold a probe card holder in place of the probe arms.

· The system shall have an automation software package that can be easily integrated with common test executive suites used by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), including Mathworks Matlab, National Instruments LabVIEW, and Anaconda Python.

· The system shall be able to interface with common electrical characterization systems, and specifically, must be able to interface with the Keysight B1500A Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer and the Keithley 4200 Semiconductor Characterization System.

· The system shall possess an integrated or provided vibration isolation solution to minimize both vibration and acoustic noise of its surrounding environment.

· The system shall possess electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding that will allow for electrical measurements with noise levels under 300 femtoamps (fA) in current.

The automated probe station system shall furthermore include these (bold) components and their (bulleted) features:

Wafer Chuck/Platen with Thermal Control

· Possessing a vacuum system capable of securely holding up to an eight (8)-inch (200 mm) diameter substrate while also being capable of securely holding down to a 10 mm x 10 mm substrate (not simultaneously) based on infrastructure/house vacuum provided by the laboratory facility.

· Possessing a heater system capable of uniformly heating an eight (8)-inch (200 mm) diameter substrate from room temperature (about 20-25 °C) up to 300 °C with a temperature resolution of at least 0.5 °C, and a uniformity of less than three (3) percent (%) full-range variation across the wafer at 300 °C

· Possessing a wafer chuck with a breakdown voltage of at least 500 V

Motorized Stage Control Hardware

· Capable of 200 mm x 200 mm X-Y travel distance to cover the full extents of a 200 mm diameter substrate.

· Possessing X-Y stage travel resolution of at least one (1) µm

· Possessing X-Y stage travel accuracy of at least five (5) µm

· Possessing theta stage travel of at least +/- 5°

· Possessing a feedback system of some kind to ensure accuracy over time and distance of stage movement.

· Capable of being controlled by vendor-provided software suite.

· Capable of operating accurately for a minimum of eight (8) hours without user intervention.

Adjustable Probe Fixtures for I-V, C-V, pulsed I-V electrical measurements.

· Possessing a minimum of six (6) probe arms with direct current (DC) and parametric probes capable of accurately probing 25 µm x 25 µm contact pads.

· Capable of adding or removing probe arms as needed in between measurements using untethered means (i.e., no electrical or vacuum lines that go off the probe station for each individual probe arm)

· Capable of replacing probe arms with a system-compatible standard four and a half (4.5) inch by seven (7) inch probe card adapter/holder

· The electrical connections between probe tips and any connectors on probe arms or external to the probe tips must be replaceable and/or serviceable by ARL personnel.

· Capable of connecting probes to triax, three (3)-lug connectors and cables

· Capable of operating between direct current (DC) and 10 gigahertz (GHz) frequency range

· Capable of deploying a minimum of two (2) ground-signal-ground (GSG) probe arms and probe tips for radio frequency (RF) measurements will be taken into consideration but is not required.

· Capable of performing capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements compatible with or using a variety of instrumentation including LCR meters, and auto-balancing bridge-type C-V meters

Compatible Probe Card Adapter for I-V, C-V, pulsed I-V electrical measurements.

· Possessing a mount to hold a standard four and a half (4.5) inch by seven (7) inch probe card that can be purchased from multiple vendors.

Mitigation for Environmental Vibration and Electromagnetic Interference

· Possessing some form of vibration isolation to minimize environmental vibration transmitted to the devices under test and to the probes.

· Possessing EMI shielding that can guarantee electrical measurement sensitivity down to 100’s of fA.

· Capable of optical shielding from excessive exposure to ambient light will be taken into consideration but is not required.

Digital Optical System for sample, probe, and wafer placement/inspection

· Possessing a digital camera system and associated microscope optics for viewing features on a 200 mm wafer or smaller substrate

· Capable of vertical (Z-axis) travel distance of at least 10 mm (1 cm)

· Possessing Z-axis stage travel resolution of at least 1 µm

· Possessing Z-axis stage travel accuracy of at least 2 µm

· Capable of optical viewing and focusing on samples, probes, and devices using a digital display

· Capable of viewing and identifying structures on the order of 10’s of square micrometers (µm2)

· Capable of imaging or viewing across the entirety of a 200 mm diameter substrate

Software Suite for automated control of probed electrical measurements

· Possessing a software suite for automated programming and control of probe or sample movements to accurately place electrical probes in contact with substrates/devices under test, installed on a vendor-supplied computer system.

· Possessing a graphical user interface on the system or vendor-supplied monitor that can be navigated with a vendor-provided control interface.

· Possessing calibration and alignment utilities for ensuring accurate probe placement for arbitrary substrate and device layouts

· Capable of working with (i.e., being compatible and compliant with) typical test executive controller suites that Army Research facilities commonly use including National Instruments LabVIEW, Mathworks Matlab, and Python

· Capable of automated movement, probe touchdown, and measurement start for sequential device measurements across multiple devices without user intervention between devices for dozens of devices and multiple hours of operations.

· Capable of structure identification for automatic wafer alignment or device measurement purposes once trained on a device structure on a substrate.

Servicing and Warranty

· Possessing a minimum of a three (3) year service contract with the OEM of the probe station

· Possessing a minimum of a one (1) year system warranty

· Capable of maintaining service packages for maintenance and troubleshooting will be taken into consideration.

Other Items

· Possessing all required cables and accessories needed to run system.

· Possessing required cables between the probe tips and probe arm connectors to external electrical measurement systems for operating parametric probes

· Shipping, packing, and insurance for system must be delivered to the Adelphi Laboratory Center at 2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783, within 16-18 weeks of award.

· Installation and acceptance testing of the system must be provided.

· Confirmation of functional operation using vendor-provided test or calibration standards must be provided.

· On-site training for basic operations given to two (2) ARL personnel and eight (8) hours of on-site training using the purchased system must be provided.

Contracting Officer:

Template last updated 01/8/2019.