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Risk Mitigation Strategies for mmWave Production Test Environments

With the 5G mobile network in full deployment, antenna transceivers operating in the 24.25 GHz to 43.5 GHz frequency bands have become integral components of high-end smartphones. These transceivers utilize advanced beam steering and beamforming techniques to optimize wireless data transmission, necessitating precise phase control across up to 32 RF signals. Ensuring these chips are verified as Known Good Die prior to module integration is crucial, demanding probe cards and testing equipment that deliver laboratory-grade precision in RF measurements at production scales. Employing membrane-based probe technologies meets the electrical demands which result in higher forces, necessitating meticulous setup and system deflection management to ensure optimal contact performance and durability. This challenge is further compounded when scaling test parallelism to reduce the Cost of Test. For instance, with an eight-site probe head configuration, there are hundreds of nets, nearly a third of them being RF signals, interacting through approximately 5000 probe contacts, and resulting in 50-80 kg of probing force. This presentation delves into several strategies and the utilization of specific equipment to gather empirical data on Actual vs. Programmed Overtravel in multi-site RF probe cards. We will explore how this data informs the development of baseline models for predictive Finite Element Analysis modeling, paving the way for enhancements in future applications. These methodologies mitigate some of the prevalent risks associated with mmWave chip testing in high-volume manufacturing contexts, ultimately contributing to a reduction in the overall Cost of Test.

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