Pyramid Probe Card Support

In general, custom boards are readily accommodated. Specialized, proprietary, or expensive/hard to find connectors - like the OSSP connectors - must be supplied.

You have three choices:

• We can build a board to your specifications;
• We can mechanically cut and paste a core interface board into a board you supply; or
• We can provide you with design specifications on our board-to-core interface so that you can design and build your own board.

We recommend the following connectors, available from many electronic component distributors:

Manufacturer: EDAC Inc., Ontario, Canada, (416)754-3322

48-finger: EDAC Series 305 P/N 305-048-500-202 (CMI Part No. 105-793)
70-finger: EDAC Series 342 P/N 342-070-500-202 (CMI Part No. 105-791)

The square pins referred to are standard 0.100-inch-spacing square-pins commonly used throughout the industry for general-purpose connectors. You may have seen them used with configuration jumpers on older PC cards or motherboards, before all the configuration information went into CMOS.

The specifics of the grounding vary somewhat with the probe board configuration. Some configurations have a ground plane; others rely on individual lines connected to ground. In either case, the probe core membrane layout normally has a common ground mesh connecting the solid grounds of all signal lines.

Figure 6 of the January 1997 Microwave & RF article shows an RFC Pyramid Probe using the positioner mount configuration. The Wireless Positioner Mount Pyramid Probe board is very similar, the difference being the high-frequency connections. On the Wireless board, eight SMA connectors are directly mounted to the board and routed to the core using microstrip lines on the board.

Two opposing positioners are used, in either E-W or N-S orientation. Since more degrees of freedom are available, setup and use are more complex.

Use only isopropyl alcohol (2-propanal) CMOS grade, 99.5% (IPA) or methanol CMOS grade when cleaning the Pyramid probes.

Methanol CMOS grade.

No. We recommend using the solvent out of a solvent squeeze bottle to ensure the use of clean solvent each time.

Brushes designed specifically for cleaning probe tips are included with your original shipment. For additional brushes, contact your local applications or sales support.

Use a maximum of 40 psi (275 kPa).

Yes. Please refer to the Pyramid Probe Core User Guide, starting on page 16 for both the Standard (non-P800-S) and P800-S cores.

Completely removing the frame screws is not necessary. The frame screws are captive and should be loosened and not removed.

When not installed in a printed circuit board, cores should be stored securely in the core box for mechanical protection. With all precision components, cores should be stored in sealed containers to keep out dust and contaminants, away from excessive heat.

We recommend lapping films, abrasive loaded elastomers and coated foams as the cleaning media. Be sure to read our technical brief – Pyramid Probes: Online Cleaning Methods.

Yes. We offer a few different options, from Basic Training to complete Certification Training. You can find a complete list of training options on our Probe Card Training and Certification tab.

• See the Data Package tab.
• Enter the design specific Part Number and Serial Number
• Click “Get Data”
• Download the Final Inspect folder to find the Certificate of Conformance

If your probe station doesn't already provide a z-axis position readout, it can be useful to add one. Normally in these cases, the station will provide a platen lift mechanism that allows change between contact and separation positions. Measuring the relative vertical position of the platen after first electrical contact provides good overtravel information.

A general-purpose dial test indicator and suitable base providing 0.5-mil resolution or better works well for overtravel measurements. This type of instrument is used in machine shops and may be obtained from many industrial supply companies.

One source is MSC Industrial Supply Company (1-800-645-7270), which features a variety to choose from in their catalog's Measuring Instruments: Dial Test Indicators and Accessories section. One configuration we have used is a Brown & Sharpe 599-585 base with a BesTesT dial indicator.

The most common method is to establish the overtravel required to make good contact, then add 25 to 50 microns of safety margin. Many operations start new cards with as little overtravel as will work, then allow the probe floor to gradually increase overtravel as required to maintain yields, but not exceed a pre-determined maximum. This maximizes card life and minimizes pad damage.

For one-port VNA calibrations, use short-open-load calibration coefficients for an equivalent Air Coplanar® (ACP) probe pitch and configuration (ground-signal-ground or ground-signal). Use the impedance standard substrate indicated in the following table:

Coefficients for VNA calibration depend on the style and pitch of the probe, as well as the ISS used. Calibration coefficients are also suitable for corresponding Pyramid Probe contact configurations.

Probe cards provide a challenge for two-port calibration. The fixed probe spacing, often with inconveniently oriented ports, makes it difficult to make an ideal thru calibration standard.

For two-port calibrations, a thru standard is required. The general-purpose ISS membrane provides a number of different length thrus, allowing connection of two ports. The electrical behavior may not be that of an ideal thru since it may have a right-angle bend, extra loss, or reactive stubs due to excess length. A custom calibration thru consisting of printed lines on membrane material mounted on a flat slide is available. For longer thrus, it is essential to enter the thru loss into the VNA calibration kit.

Best results will be obtained for two-port Pyramid Probe calibrations using the SOLR (short-open-load-reciprocal thru) calibration available in Cascade Microtech's WinCal VNA Calibration and Measurement software. The SOLR algorithm is not affected by the non-ideal characteristic of the thru, and only a rough estimate of the thru delay is required.