Abstract: A temperature-controlled semiconductor wafer chuck system, the chuck being configured for mounting on a prober stage of a wafer probe test station. The chuck having a top surface and a bottom surface including a heat sink configuration for removal of thermal energy from the chuck. A primary heater configured to add heat to the chuck is adjacent the top surface of the chuck. A secondary heater is adjacent to the bottom of the chuck, whereby the temperature of the top surface of the chuck and the bottom of the chuck can be independently controlled. The chuck may include a plurality of layers above the heat sink which may be connected to accommodate differential expansion and contraction, thereby minimizing distortion of the chuck due to thermal effects. The heat sink and associated layers are integrally connected and are configured to stiffen the chuck to resist deformation due to forces applied to the chuck by probe pins.

Abstract: A temperature-controlled semiconductor wafer chuck system, the chuck being configured for mounting on a prober stage of a wafer probe test station, the chuck having a top surface and a bottom surface and including a heat sink configured for removing thermal energy from the chuck, a primary heater configured to add heat to the chuck adjacent the top surface of the chuck and a secondary heater adjacent the bottom of the chuck, whereby the temperature of the top surface of the chuck and the bottom of the chuck can be independently controlled; and wherein the chuck can include a plurality of layers above the heat sink which are connected so as to accommodate differential expansion and contraction and thereby minimize distortion of the chuck due to thermal effects; and wherein the heat sink and associated layers integrally connected are configured to stiffen the chuck and resist deformation due to forces applied to the chuck by probe pins.

Abstract: A test apparatus (1) has a temperature controlled chuck (8) which provides good mechanical stability across a wide temperature range. This significantly reduces the number of times the probes (9) must be re-positioned, and in some cases eliminates such re-positioning. The chuck (8) has a support plate (20) which is connected to a base plate (35) by pillars (40) which have a low thermal expansion coefficient. This limits thermal expansion between the support plate (20) and the base plate (35). In addition, the heat transfer means is mounted so that thermal expansion is accommodated internally.