Patents by Inventor Mark Raymond LaForce

Mark Raymond LaForce has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6020750
    Abstract: A plurality of multilayer glass-ceramic substrates are arranged in coplanar relationship in a tile pattern within a support platform. The glass-ceramic substrates and the support platform are both formed of materials having thermal expansion characteristics substantially equal to that of a wafer which is supported by the coplanarly aligned substrates during test and burn-in of the wafer. The present invention effectively solves the problem of providing a single large support member for wafer test and burn-in, which heretofore have been limited in mechanical properties and power capability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2000
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel George Berger, James Noel Humenik, Mark Raymond LaForce, Charles Hampton Perry
  • Patent number: 5977787
    Abstract: A multiple-chip probe assembly suitable for wafer testing over a wide temperature range includes a plurality of individual buckling beam probe elements. A support structure supports the plurality of buckling beam probe elements in an arrangement in accordance with an electrical contact footprint for use in electrically contacting multiple chips of a wafer under test and enables buckling movement in a contacting direction of the plurality of buckling beams. The support structure includes a principal support material having a thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE) matched with the wafer under test and a second material other than the principal support material, wherein a contact positioning of the plurality of buckling beam probe elements upon the wafer under test during a testing operation is maintained. The second material prevents an individual probe element from electrically contacting the principal support material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Gobina Das, Paul Mathew Gaschke, Suryanarayan G. Hegde, Mark Raymond LaForce, Dale Curtis McHerron, Charles Hampton Perry, Frederick L. Taber, Jr.