Presto Engineering and DelfMEMS Collaborate to Design Ultra Fast RF MEMS Test Solution

PXI-based test cell reduces total cost-of-ownership and shortens characterization test time for faster yield ramp and time-to-volume of mobile chips

CAEN, France & VILLENEUVE D’ASCQ, France--()--Presto Engineering, Inc., a world leader in semiconductor back-end turnkey production services, and DelfMEMS, a leading provider of MEMS devices for mobile applications, announced today that they have worked together to design, from specification to integration, the first full PXI-based test system for ultra-fast characterization testing of radio frequency (RF) micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS). The PXI-based test cell significantly reduces total cost-of-ownership and speeds time-to-volume and yield optimization compared to currently prevailing test methods.

DelfMEMS, the first to market RF systems based on MEMS ohmic switches for mobile telephony applications, needed an innovative test solution. According to Karim Segueni, CTO, DelfMEMS, “Presto Engineering exceeded our expectations in designing and developing this custom test system - meeting all of our specifications on time, and on budget. The new system has reduced wafer test time by a factor of ten compared to the manual bench test setup we were using. We will use it to validate the design of our new 4G LTE RF MEMS SPNT chip, and the faster cycle time will enable us to ramp to high-volume production more quickly and with better yield predictability.”

Standard RF wafer probing approaches on automatic test equipment (ATE) are not cost-effective for device characterization during a ramp phase. Because of their high capital cost, ATE is best suited for high-volume production. Increasing throughput via parallel testing (several sites tested simultaneously) can reduce costs. This is especially true for the extremely low-cost, high-volume devices, such as RF MEMS for mobile phones. Characterization testing of these devices during the ramp phase, using either an ATE or bench test system, is, respectively, too expensive or too slow to meet the time-to-volume objective.

“Our innovative solution automates volume collection of data during the ramp phase with minimal cost-of-ownership. It is designed to facilitate easy re-use on devices regardless of their pin configurations, and is flexible enough to enable fast characterization for yield learning,” stated Cédric Mayor, vice president technology & marketing, Presto Engineering. “Our biggest challenge in developing this system was achieving customer targets for <1 Ohm contact resistance and S-parameter on N-input/output for each device, keeping in mind a sufficient throughput capability.”

The new test bench enables intensive device characterization during ramp-up phase by using an industrial solution capable of volume test production. It has been designed has a versatile measurement platform in order to fully characterize, both in the time-domain and frequency-domain, various RF-MEMS chips from the SPST till the SP16T configuration. It provides transient Kelvin measurement with a high-sampling rate (every 250ns) in order to characterize the dynamic operation (ON-state, OFF-state and switching events) and the lifetime of the RF MEMS relays from a mechanical and electrical standpoint. The same measurement hardware is also capable of performing RF measurement up to 6 GHz. The PXI-based solution easily handles the high volume of data typically collected in the characterization phase. In addition to characterizing RF-MEMS chips, the new test bench can serve as a platform to develop and validate test routines for volume-test production with ATE.

Presto’s PXI-based test cell custom-design service is available for any RF MEMS or equivalent device. For more information visit: www.presto-eng.com.

About Presto Engineering, Inc.

Presto Engineering provides comprehensive semiconductor product engineering solutions to IDM, fabless and electronics companies, contributing to improving ramp time, margins and quality of new products.

Presto Engineering is a recognized expert in the development of test solutions for component characterization and production. This expertise, combined with state-of-the-art ESD, reliability and failure analysis capabilities, produces a competitive advantage for our customers in optimizing end-product performance and accelerating time to market. We offer turn-key solutions from customer tape-out to delivery of finished goods to end-customer(s), including assembly, test, qualification, industrialization, and production sustaining activities.

Presto Engineering is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has operations in Europe and Israel. Additional information is available on the company’s website at www.presto-eng.com.

About DelfMEMS

DelfMEMS is the world’s first supplier to market of radiofrequency systems based on MEMS ohmic switches for mobile telephony applications. Next-generation mobile devices will increasingly rely on tunable and low loss components to deliver high performance multi-standard and multi-mode devices at a reasonable cost. The developed technology is optimal for tunability and reconfiguration of antennas and power amplifiers used in portable devices using 3G, 4G-LTE and Wifi. Key benefits include better call quality, massively improved data rate, reduced costs, and lower power consumption, thereby improving the device’s overall carbon footprint. The total addressable market in 2017 is forecasted to be more than $1 billion. For more information please visit: http://www.delfmems.com.

Contacts

Presto Engineering
MindWrite Communications, Inc.
Sandy Fewkes, +1 408-224-4024
sandy@mind-write.com
or
DelfMEMS
Publitek
Robert Huntley, +44 1225 470000
Robert.huntley@publitek.com

Contacts

Presto Engineering
MindWrite Communications, Inc.
Sandy Fewkes, +1 408-224-4024
sandy@mind-write.com
or
DelfMEMS
Publitek
Robert Huntley, +44 1225 470000
Robert.huntley@publitek.com