From Lab To Fab: Increasing Pressure To Fuse IC Processes


Test, metrology, and inspection are essential for both the lab and the fab, but fusing them together so that data created in one is easily transferred to the other is a massive challenge. The chip industry has been striving to bridge these separate worlds for years, but the economics, speed, and complexity of change require a new approach. The never-ending push toward smaller, better-defined... » read more

5G Chips Add Test Challenges


The advent of chips supporting millimeter-wave (mmWave) 5G signals is creating a new set of design and testing challenges. Effects that could be ignored at lower frequencies are now important. Performing high-volume test of RF chips will require much more from automated test equipment (ATE) than is required for chips operating below 6 GHz. “MmWave design is a pretty old thing,” said Y... » read more

New Test Methods For 5G Wafer High-Volume Production


In order to provide the chips required for this change in the landscape, there will be a large number of changing requirements in wafer test that come out of these architectural requirements. Form Factor partnered with Intel to investigate these changes, and tested one such example of a new test methodology. In a joint collaboration with Intel to develop a test methodology for their 5G RF-So... » read more