Without hot switching, dry reed relays in Reedholm systems have lifetimes of 10^9 operations, with end of life defined by contact resistance increasing to several times the initial resistance of 100mΩ. Even if operated continuously, which never happens, a relay would last more than 20 years. That is why we say relays do not wear out. That is also why we say that relay failures are due to hot switching.

One step in the quest to eradicate hot switching involved changing the power control logic (PCL) board to prevent turn-on of the 120V supplies when AC power is applied by requiring software initialization first. Another source of uncontrolled hot switching are sneak paths that charge unassigned pins, only to have those paths discharged to ground between tests. More details can be found in SN-136 on our web site.

Getting rid of possible sneak paths can be a needle in the haystack problem when a system has been doing production testing for any length of time. Stuck relays and scrambling are highly intermittent events that can bring testing to a halt, even though problem tests vary from wafer to wafer or week to week.

If you have not found the time or resources to change test conditions, but are faced with stuck node 0 relays, you might want to consider changing to matrix modules that have circuitry and software that lowers the chance of a node zero force relay being closed with voltage on a pin. Migrating to the new PAM-16N and CPM-N does not eliminate scrambling or all hot switching, but does minimize damage to node 0 switches, which are the most likely to face hot switching.

Customers that have migrated to the improved matrix card report significantly lower failure rates (19 to 2) and some have seen no stuck pins. One reason is that resistance added to the node 0 sense path prevents welding of the sense relay and provides a discharge path if there is voltage. The force relay is not allowed to close until voltage is less than 1V, which is below the arcing voltage. Thus, even if there is switch bounce, the voltage is too low to transfer material, which leads to welding, or sticking, of contacts.

Please contact us at support@reedholmsystems.com if you would like to discuss your system updates. We look forward to hearing from you.

With Regards,

Jim Reedholm – CEO

Thank you again for the positive feedback and many discussions and meeting at the recent CS Mantech (Compound Semiconductor Mfg Conference) in Minneapolis MN, a mere 1,144 miles straight up I-35 from Georgetown/Austin, TX. It is rather amazing how so much of the conference pertains to WBG devices and manufacturing challenges both for GaN and SIC based devices.

We were also happy to host at our booth Suragus, a German based manufacturer of a non-contact systems that utilitze Eddy current meausurement techniques. A number of companies have already been in touch with us about getting samples measured so that comparioson can be made in their aging tools for possible replacement.

The lead article for this month details how and why compound semiconductor manufacturers find Reedholm systems to be a good match for production test requirements. We will be meeting many of you on the upcoming trip to Taiwan/China, so please let us know if there is interest in further discussions at this time.

Again, we thank you everyone for your support and business. We have a lot of interesting things being worked on and in the pipeline, details of which we hope to make available in the not too distant future.

We look forward to hearing from you.

With Regards,

Jim Reedholm – CEO

• Replace probe card with loopback card & run main diagnostics

• Run SelfCal

Even the most reliable test systems can occasionally have problems. That’s why this months newsletter focuses on helping customers maintain their investment.

We look forward to hearing from you.

With Regards,

Jim Reedholm – CEO

Service Agreements:

Here are four reasons why a Reedholm service agreement simply makes sense:

1. The average price of a non contract repair ($3,450) is 230% higher than the rate of the same repair done under contract (average of $1,500). And the service contract repair is expedited, so it is processed twice as fast.
   
   
2. Customers with a service contract also receive a 10% discount on the purchase of modules.
   
   
3. Customers with a service contract enjoy as much as a 40% discount for applications support. The service contract rate for our hourly rates for apps help ($150/hour) and development ($200/hour) while non contract customers are billed at a $250 rate (apps or development).
   
   
4. A contract allows customers to work from a budget and not have to chase a PO anytime a repair or help is needed.
   

The Probe Card Interface Assembly (PCIA) can interface with any wafer size. The PCIA is robust and trouble free, it is quite reliable. It fits into the same opening as the 9.5″ RC-2 carrier ring used by most prober manufacturers for rectangular probe cards.

Click here for further details

Test Structure and Software for Measuring Thin Film TCR

This product offering consists of test software, a GDSII compatible test structure, testing of at least one wafer, and one day of training at Reedholm. It can be ordered with a new Reedholm test system or retro-fitted in a Reedholm system which has at least three VFIF’s and a DMM-16.

Use of Low TCR Films

Performance of many precision integrated circuits is dependent on low temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) resistors. For example, analog to digital and digital to analog converters typically use low TCR films in ladder networks and as feedback resistors. Some signal processing IC’s make use of low TCR films for gain setting. TCR values, matching, and stability are extremely important in such applications.

Click here for further details

Our progress continues. It has been a busy last couple of months with systems being shipped all over the world.

On the business front, we are busy at work completing this year’s CARTA corporate valuation paperwork. Everyone that you work with at Reedholm Systems is a shareholder in our entity, which means they have a stake in your success too!

This month we are promoting a couple of test accessories that we hope are of interest:

• Reedholm’s PCIA has proven to be a workhorse for customers, dramatically reducing if not eliminating cable failures that otherwise result in a down test system. And these are matched by simple high-performance probe cards that are wafer size independent. The PCIA is normally shipped with Reedholm test systems but can be shipped for use with just about any test system while delivering sub-pA performance if desired. The probe card end remains the same, however a cable and connector that that matches up to other brands of testers needs to be incorporated.
• The other test accessory is the automated TCR capability. Comprised of a test structure and automated and integrated test routines, this allows customers to gather comprehensive TC data in production.

Finally, we are updating our website with the availability of spares or replacement modules, both new and refurbished. If not immediately available, online ordering will be in place by the end of the year.

We look forward to hearing from you.

With Regards,

Jim Reedholm – CEO

WBG Collaboration with Texas State University & Piner Research Group

July 17, 2018 Georgetown, TX – Reedholm Systems announces, effective immediately, that the Company has formally engaged with The Piner Research Group (located on the Texas State University Campus) to develop reliability methods and standards for production test of WBG devices (wide band gap) as well as to provide technical consulting services to Reedholm Systems.

Both parties recognize the unique needs and challenges faced by WBG device manufacturers and Reedholm Systems’ need to refine its measurement instrumentation and long-term reliability stress capabilities specifically for the GaN, SiC, GaN on Si, and other WBG devices and materials.
Click here for further details

Thanks to all of those that came to see us at CS Mantech in Austin, TX. As always, the organizers at CS Mantech know how to throw a party, with no shortage of food, drinks and snacks throughout the event! Well done!

From discussions about fast production test systems, to ways of dealing with oscillations with high speed devices to novel WBG reliability stress test systems – we were busy throughout the event.

Joining us in our booth at CS Mantech was Dieter Ratheir of DR YIELD. As many of you saw, DR YIELD creates software based yield solutions for the integration and visualization of data and helps you make sense of it. This allows smarter and faster decisions, ultimately resulting in significant cost savings. Once installed, it will quietly sit back and look for anomalies in the data that don’t trigger existing rules and automatically alert your engineers. Let us know if you would like more information.

We will be traveling throughout the Pacific Rim in September. We look forward to face to face meetings with both existing and future customers. If you would like to meet then, please drop us a line.

With Regards,

Jim Reedholm – CEO

Upcoming Events:

The 6th Annual IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices & Applications
Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center

Atlanta, Georgia | www.wipda.org
Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2018

To address the need for statistically significant sample sizes for reliability testing, the WBG systems offer 30 DUT per experiment stress condition and up to 3 simultaneous experiments for a total of up to 90 DUT under stress. Each experiment operates independently of the others and switch in the parametric measurement instrumentation for periodic measurement cycles. Click here for further details

Our focus at Reedholm is on the accurate and fast measurement of test structures, both at the wafer and packaged levels. This focus also makes our systems suitable for final DC test of funtionality for some products.

We concentrate on applications, not the sale of products. We want to ensure the integrated system can be used on the day of installation. This approach can take more time and effort but it is worth it.

We provide data-driven test environments that are easy to use and which eliminate the need to program, making the difficult tasks of interpreting and resolving cryptic run-time and compiler error messages a thing of the past.

Reliability and Durability are designed into each of our systems. Working lives of decades are realistic. State of the art performance is maintained with periodic system upgrades that provide new life at a fraction of the price of a new system.

Please let us know if you would like more information. We welcome the chance to serve you and help address your test requirements.

Sincerely,

Jim Reedholm – CEO
Upcoming Events:

CS Mantech – Booth 713
Hyatt Regency
208 Barton Springs Road, Austin, TX USA
May 7-10, 2018

High power devices built on silicon carbide and other types of substrates achieve maximum performance through use of vertical structures with the drain or collector at the bottom of the stack. Screening high power transistors also requires measurement of low level on resistance and saturation voltage.
Click here for the full applications note
Cost Effective Service Agreements

Most customers enjoy significant savings by having service agreements in place. Besides a lower net price on repairs, customers with contracts receive discount pricing on the order of other goods and services. Agreements can be structured in a number of ways, either just for repairs, or for a combination of support hours plus timely repairs. Contracts run a full year, the price of a single system annual agreement is $6,000, coverage for two systems is $8,000, three systems $10,000 and four or more are priced at $12,000. We recommend some combination of repairs and hours so that help can be provided without delay to help trouble-shoot during down situations. Coverage starts once payment is received. Please email sales@reedholmsystems.com if you wish to consider an agreement. Please let me know if this has your support and we can prepare a contract/quote.
Click here for further details

MEMS Fab Complex in Scotland

Client Profile: Semefab – UK Semefab (www.semefab.com) is a silicon wafer foundry operation manufacturing microelectonics and MEMS in Glenrothes, Scotland. It accomplishes this with three fabs. This enables Semefab to work with customers, large and small. Clients can choose to utilize standard process building blocks, or implement customer processing steps as required. Click here for Profile

Thank You!

On behalf of the entire Reedholm Systems team, we want to thank everyone that has helped make our first full year of operation a sucecess and a profitable one to boot.

We provide comprehensive support to the installed Reedholm base, covering repairs, module and assembly sales, technical support, as well as the successfull sales and installations of systems. We’ve also signed a comprehensive agreement with STAr for sales and support activities throughout the Pacific Rim.

We have a number of improvements in the works. As detailed on our web site, our instrumentation modernization design effort is underway, starting with a surface mount version of the DMM-16 module. We also have software modernization activities to discuss, including a migration to a Linux version.

We are also leveraging our experience in Wide Band Gap device testing to the reliability realm and building a constant current packaged reliablity test system specifically for GaN HEMT devices.

If you are interested in any of the above, or have different test interests, please reach out to us. We are here to help.

Here’s wishing everyone a prosperous 2018,

Jim Reedholm
Upcoming Events:

IRPS – Burlingame – San Francisco, CA USA
March 11-15, 2018

ICMTS – Austin, TX, USA March 19-22, 2018

The sun never sets on Reedholm Systems. That’s because Reedholm products are found worldwide in large and small semiconductor companies, handling everything from routine process control to production die sort, to a variety of wafer and packaged level test requirements.

We have a rich 30+ library of IP to draw from and a new management team. Simply put, we want to make it possible for customers to have test system that work the way they need them to. We have a host of projects under consideration, ranging from SW extensions to HW improvements designed to modernize and continuously improve our systems.

Whether this is your first time hearing of us, or you are an established customer, we hope you find out newsletter to be technically informative. We welcome the chance to serve you and help address your test requirements.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Jim Reedholm
Upcoming Events:

WiPDA – Albuquerque New Mexico, USA – October 31 – Nov 1, 2017 : Wide Band Gap Semiconductor Workshop