December 2, 2013. Multitest, a designer and manufacturer of final test handlers, contactors, and load boards used by integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and final-test subcontractors, announced that its Mercury 040 spring probe contactor has passed more than five months of evaluation for a strip-test application at a South East Asia high-volume production site. The substantial cost of test improvement of 25% percent is based on the very competitive pricing as well as the significantly longer life span of the Mercury probes.
The evaluation was driven by issues with the life span of only about 200k insertions and the reliability of the housing of the existing solution. The Mercury contactor reached 900k insertions without any yield issues and is still in production. Overall, the Mercury showed a 4% better yield than the competition.
Particularly for high parallel strip test, the contactor reliability and life span is crucial. Every single probe needs to perform properly to avoid unplanned down time and significant yield losses. Contactor reliability is key to ensuring optimum test cell efficiency.
The Mercury probe is based on Multitest’s proprietary Quad Tech design that leverages innovative architecture and advanced materials and coatings to achieve best electrical and mechanical performance at highly competitive price. Mercury probes are available for pitches down to 0.4 mm.