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Integrated, Turnkey Modeling and Measurement Systems

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Keysight Technologies

Integrated, Turnkey Modeling and Measurement Systems

Article Reprint

This article first appeared in the March 2016 edition of Microwave Journal. Reprinted with kind permission from Microwave Journal.

Integrated, Turnkey Modeling and Measurement Systems

Editor’s Note: As time-to-market demands have increased and modeling/measurement systems have become more complex and difficult to assemble, companies have been seeking fully integrated, turnkey system solutions. Microwave Journal asked some leading software and measurement companies to review their offerings in this area including their advantages for customers. Keysight Technologies, National Instruments, Maury Microwave and Focus Microwaves review their capabilities in the area of integrated modeling/measurement solutions, many made up of software and hardware components from multiple companies teaming up to offer a full turnkey system solution.

Turnkey Solutions for Semiconductor On-Wafer Measurements

Yoshiyuki Yanagimoto, Keysight Technologies, Santa Rosa, Calif.

As semiconductor technology continues to evolve, time-to-market cycles are shrinking and the need for even greater accuracy is increasing. Unfortunately, those trends often run counter to the need to properly characterize semiconductor components and devices during their development and manufacture. One issue is the time that is required to configure and assemble a measurement system to handle this task. In a typical wafer-level measurement system for mmWave measurements, for example, over 25 to 30 cables must be properly configured and assembled. The semiconductor test engineer may spend several months evaluating, ordering, assembling and verifying that system. And because it is so complex, there is a greater likelihood that a cable, connector or mechanical component will be missed, further delaying its commissioning. The software used in the measurement system can also create challenges for the engineer. Such systems, which typically include a probe station, measurement instruments and calibration, are generally controlled by multiple pieces of software. That means that the engineer is forced to deal with different user interfaces just to operate one system. Even highly skilled engineers have to spend months or even years working to establish measurement automation. According to one recent customer survey, the need for a software solution capable of efficiently controlling both the prober and instruments, while maintaining the necessary flexibility to address diverse measurement needs, was identified as a “top three” priority. 

These challenges demand an integrated, turnkey system that can quickly and accurately perform advanced DC, RF/microwave/mmWave, high power and flicker noise measurements on semiconductor components and devices. Keysight Technologies and Cascade Microtech set out to deliver this type of system in June 2014 and launched wafer-level measurement solutions (WMS). WMS provides fully configured and validated RF measurement solutions to satisfy the ever increasing demands, both technically and volume-wise, of on-wafer measurements. To date, over 80 configurations have been tested and over 1,800 calibrations performed. Since WMS was first announced, an increasing number of semiconductor test engineers developing and manufacturing semiconductor components and devices are asking for a complete solution, rather than a collection of individual parts from various suppliers.

Integrated, Turnkey Solution

Providing an answer to that demand for a “solution,” the WMS program delivers a turnkey solution for on-wafer measurements through three key deliverables: guaranteed configuration, guaranteed installation/verification and guaranteed support. These deliverables are critical to ensuring the measurement system is not only turnkey, but can quickly and accurately make the measurements today’s semiconductor test engineers demand.

With guaranteed configuration, Keysight and Cascade Microtech also guarantee that if there is a missing piece in the delivered system, it will be provided free of charge. One way they ensure a complete system is delivered is through a three-way joint meeting; essentially a Keysight/Cascade Microtech sales team meeting that takes place with the engineer at the beginning of any new engagement. The three-way joint meeting eliminates the need for the engineer to meet with the sales teams from each company separately. This is not only a much more efficient use of time, but makes sure that the end system will satisfy the engineer’s needs with the most reasonable and reliable configuration. It also helps ensure that there are no missing components in the system or careless mistakes made; something which can easily occur when different parties are involved in separate meetings.

Guaranteed installation allows engineers to request a variety of services at purchase, such as installation service, on-site functional qualification, measurement consultation, application training, and complete system verification and performance — all provided by application experts. These services eliminate the headaches and worries an engineer normally faces when installing a measurement system and drastically shortens the time-to-first measurement. Keysight’s WaferPro Express software was specifically designed to enable engineers to quickly setup and execute automated measurements, as well as the system performance verification. The WMS program’s guaranteed support means that engineers gain a single point of contact for support, rather than having to wonder which company to contact when a system level issue is encountered.

Pre-Configured System Option

To further simplify the process of making on-wafer measurements and speed the actual time-to-first measurement, the companies spent a tremendous amount of time evaluating commonly used combinations of measurement instruments, including Keysight’s B1500A Semiconductor Device Parameter Analyzer, N6705B DC Power Analyzer, PNA and PNAX Network Analyzers and mmWave Extenders, and Cascade Microtech’s multiple probe stations (e.g., the SummitTM/Elite300TM/CM300 series probe stations) and probes (e.g., Infinity® probes). As a result of these effort, a number of pre-configured systems are now available with guaranteed performance. When one of these systems is purchased, the companies provide a system specification that serves as an acceptance criteria at installation

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