• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.545-551
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• 2012

In semiconductor manufacturing, the circuit integrity of packaged BGA devices is tested by measuring electrical resistance using test sockets. Test sockets have been reported to often fail earlier than the expected life-time due to high contact resistance. This has been attributed to the formation of Sn oxide films on the Au coating layer of the probe pins loaded on the socket. Similar to contact failure, and known as "fretting", this process widely occurs between two conductive surfaces due to the continual rupture and accumulation of oxide films. However, the failure mechanism at the probe pin differs from fretting. In this study, the microstructural processes and formation mechanisms of Sn oxide films developed on the probe pin surface were investigated. Failure analysis was conducted mainly by FIB-FESEM observations, along with EDX, AES, and XRD analyses. Soft and fresh Sn was found to be transferred repeatedly from the solder bump to the Au surface of the probe pins; it was then instantly oxidized to SnO. The $SnO_2$ phase is a more stable natural oxide, but SnO has been proved to grow on Sn thin film at low temperature (< $150^{\circ}C$). Further oxidation to $SnO_2$ is thought to be limited to 30%. The SnO film grew layer by layer up to 571 nm after testing of 50,500 cycles (1 nm/100 cycle). This resulted in the increase of contact resistance and thus of signal delay between the probe pin and the solder bump.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.178-190
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• 2005

In order to develop a new corrosion sensor for detecting and monitoring the external and internal corrosion damage of buried pipeline, the electrochemical property of sensors and the correlation of its output to corrosion rate of steel pipe, were evaluated by electrochemical methods in two soils of varying resistivity (5,000 ohm-cm, 10,000 ohm-cm) and synthetic tap water environments. In this paper, two types of galvanic probes were manufactured: copper-pipeline steel (Cu-CS) and stainless steel-pipeline steel (SS-CS). The corrosion behavior in synthetic groundwater and synthetic tap water for the different electrodes was investigated by potentiodynamic test. The comparison of the sensor output and corrosion rates revealed that a linear relationship was found between the probe current and the corrosion rates. In the soil resistivity of $5,000{\Omega}-cm$ and tap water environments, only the Cu-CS probe had a good linear quantitative relationship between the sensor output current and the corrosion rate of pipeline steel. In the case of $10,000{\Omega}-cm$, although the SS-CS probe showed a better linear correlation than that of Cu-CS probe, the Cu-CS probe is more suitable than SS-CS probe due to the high current output.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.293-298
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• 2006

Thermopiezoelectric method, using poly silicon heater and a piezoelectric sensor, was proposed for writing and reading in a probe based data storage system. Resistively heated tip writes data bits while scanning over a polymer media and piezoelectric sensor reads data bits from the self-generated charges induced by the deflection of the cantilever. 34${\times}$34 array of thermopiezoelectric nitride cantilevers were fabricated by a single step wafer level transfer method. We analyzed the noise level of the charge amplifier and measured the noise signal. With the sensor and the charge amplifier 20mn of deflection could be detected at a frequency of 10KHz. Reading signal was obtained from the cantilever array and the sensitivity was calculated.

• Transactions of the Society of Information Storage Systems
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2007

In this paper, a thermo-piezoelectric mechanism with integrated heaters and piezoelectric sensors has been studied for low power probe-based data storage. Silicon nitride cantilever integrated with silicon heater and piezoelectric sensor has been developed to improve the uniformity of cantilevers. Data bits of 40 nm in diameter were recorded on PMMA film. The sensitivity of the piezoelectric sensor was 0.615 fC/nm after poling the PZT layer. And, the $34\times34$ probe array integrated with CMOS circuits has been successfully developed by simple one-step bonding process. The process can simplify the process step and reduce tip wear using silicon nitride tip.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.187-190
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• 1998

In this paper a probe for the' measurement of dielectric properties of dielectric sheet materials is designed and implemented as a coaxial air line type. Using the broadband impedance method with this measurement probe the dielectric constant and loss tangent of the glass-epoxy and teflon are determined in the frequency range of 0.1 - l.O[GHz] with the temperature variation from $25[^{\circ}C]$ up to $65[^{\circ}C]$. A measured relative dielectric constant of the glass-epoxy is 4.42 and a loss tangents is 0.019 relatively, and the relative dielectric constants of teflon is 2.17 and a loss tangents is 0.002 relatively

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.831-841
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• 2010

The conventional vertical probe has the thin and long signal path that makes transfer characteristic of probe worse because of the S-shaped structure. So we propose the new vertical probe structure that has branch springs in the S-shaped probe. It makes closed loop when the probe mechanically connects to the electrode on a wafer. We fabricated the proposed vertical probe and measured the transfer characteristic and mechanical properties. Compared to the conventional S-shaped vertical probe, the proposed probe has the overdrive that is 1.2 times larger and the contact force that is 2.5 times larger. And we got the improved transfer characteristic by 1.4 dB in $0{\sim}10$ GHz. Also we developed the simulation model of the probe card by using full-wave simulator and the simulation result is correlated with measurement one. As a result of this simulation model, the cantilever probe and PCB have the worst transfer characteristic in the probe card.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.122-126
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• 2013

The heterogeneous nucleation of the ${\Theta}^{\prime}$ phase on nanoscale precipitates has been investigated using a combination of three-dimensional atom probe tomography and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Two types of ${\Theta}^{\prime}$ phases were observed, namely small (~2 nm thick) cylindrical precipitates and larger (~100 nm) globular precipitates and both appear to be heterogeneously nucleated on the nanoscale precipitates. The composition and crystal structure of precipitates were directly analyzed by combination of two advanced characterization techniques.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.117-126
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• 2016

Atom probe tomography (APT) has been fast rising in prominence over the past decade as a key tool for nanoscale analytical characterization of a range of materials systems. APT provides three-dimensional mapping of the atom distribution in a small volume of solid material. The technique has evolved, with the incorporation of laser pulsing capabilities, and, combined with progress in specimen preparation, APT is now able to analyse a very range of materials, beyond metals and alloys that used to be its core applications. The present article aims to provide an overview of the technique, providing a brief historical perspective, discussing recent progress leading to the state-of-the-art, some perspectives on its evolution, with targeted examples of applications.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.262-269
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• 1997

An eddy current probe ($8{\times}1$ multiple-element, surface scan) was successfully designed and fabricated at the KEPRI using the impedance equivalent circuit theory. The probe is intended for the detection of circumferential deformations (cross-section view) of the heat exchanger tubing that can occur due to corrosion, erosion, and denting. Optimum design parameters providing the highest sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio, such as the coil dimensions, electrical characteristics, and test frequencies, were determined based on initial laboratory experiments conducted on the test specimen (SS304 tubing: OD : 9.68mm, wall-thickness : 0.47mm) containing artificial flaws (e.g., dents and corroded surface on tube OD) using the available Zetec-made probe. Using this parameters, a new probe was made and tested on an unknown specimen. The result indicated that the new probe is capable of detecting the circumferential deformation with the error of ${\pm}0.2%$ (0.022mm) of the tube O.D.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.169-174
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• 2007

We measured the field profiles, H(x)'s of coated conductors by using scanning Hall probe method when various magnetic fields, $H{_\alpha}'s$ or currents, I's were applied. From the measured field profiles, we calculated the current profiles, J(x)'s by the inversion method. The calculated J(x)'s of coated conductors show some different properties from the standard critical state model. $J{_c}'s$ are inhomogeneous varying with the positions and are not constant when $H_{\alpha}$ or I changes. And when I decreases the features of current reversion are remarkably different from the model.