Probe station thermal chuck with shielding for capacitive current
US6445202B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 30, 1999 |
| Grant date | Sep 3, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 30, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10N10/17
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The chuck of a probe station is shielded from capacitive currents generated by fluctuation of the power to the thermal unit of a thermal chuck. The thermal chuck includes a chuck for supporting a device under test; a thermal unit for modifying the temperature of the chuck and a conductive member capacitively coupled to but free from direct electrical connection to the thermal unit. The conductive member is electrically connected to the controller supplying power to the thermal units. The conductive member intercepts substantially all of the capacitive currents emanating from the operation of the thermal unit and provides a conductive path to return these currents to the controller. An extension of the probe station's conductive environmental enclosure is capacitively coupled to the conductive member so as to intercept capacitive currents emanating from the conductive member and conduct these currents to ground outside of the environmental enclosure.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.