Abstract: An apparatus for testing substrates reduces the area required and the costs which arise with the testing of substrates, in particular semiconductor wafers, during the production process. The apparatus includes testing arrangements comprising a chuck, a chuck drive, control electronics, probe or probe board holding means with a handling system, a substrate magazine station and an alignment station. The testing arrangements include at least two testing arrangements, both of which are all jointly operatively connected to the handling system, the substrate magazine station and the alignment station.

Abstract: A test apparatuss for testing substrates at low temperatures has a chuck, which can be displaced in the working area by means of a chuck drive, the temperature of which can be controlled using heating and cooling means. The chuck has a receiving surface for receiving a test substrate and holding means for fixing a substrate carrier which receives the test substrate. Spatially and thermally defined test conditions are maintained with minimal energy and labor costs both at room temperatures and at low temperatures. This is achieved by providing a vacuum chamber which surrounds the working area of the chuck. The chuck is on one side thermally decoupled from the uncooled chuck drive and on the other side is thermally connected in a releasable manner to the test substrate. The cooled chuck and the cooled test substrate are shielded from the thermal radiation of the surrounding uncooled assemblies by means of a directly cooled thermal radiation shield.

Abstract: The invention, which relates to a test apparatus with loading device which has a chuck, which is provided with a bearing surface for a test substrate and with a chuck drive, by means of which the chuck can be displaced with a working area, and which has a receiving means for receiving test substrates, which can be displaced from a working area of the chuck to a receiving position outside the working area, is based on the object of increasing the accuracy of the movement of the chuck. Moreover, in the case of test apparatus with a controlled atmosphere, a further object is to prevent the chuck from being exposed to the open-air atmosphere.

Abstract: A substrate-holding device is designed as a one-piece ceramic element having a number of variably heavily doped layer regions. At least one layer region is a conductive region and at least one layer region is an insulative region. A multilayer chuck structure is thereby formed which does not exhibit mechanical surface interfaces between the layers.