July 8, 2008 — SV Probe (SV), a wholly owned subsidiary of SGX mainboard-listed Ellipsiz Ltd, has introduced two new probe cards: LogicTouch, a MEMS-based fine pitch vertical probe card, and SureTouch, a one touch full wafer probe solution for NAND Flash Memory.

LogicTouch is a MEMS-based fine pitch vertical probe card targeted at advanced mixed signal and logic devices such as microprocessors, digital signal processors and system-on-Chip (SOC) ICs that demand high parallelism testing and device adjacent pad pitch of 60 microns and below. MEMS-based probe cards use photolithographic technology in the fabrication of critical probe card components such as the probe pins. It allows probe card manufacturers to meet the challenges of shrinking chip pad geometries, higher pad density and testing parallelism as well as higher performance demands.

SureTouch is targeted for NAND Flash Memory. Its one touch full wafer probe design enables testing of all the devices on the wafer with just one contact between the probe card and the wafer, instead of multiple step contacts as with other traditional test products. SureTouch™ is positioned to address customers’ demand for high parallelism testing, short manufacturing lead times and lower cost of ownership for NAND Flash Memory. NAND Flash Memory is widely used in consumer products such as digital still cameras, MP3 players and Flash Memory storage cards.
“Over the next few years, we believe the key emphasis for probe card products will be on cost/performance benefits that are driven by high parallelism and fine pitch probing capabilities,” says Kevin Kurtz, President and CEO of SV. “We see these two new probe card solutions along with the growth strategy as a cornerstone to creating above market revenue growth that will further strengthen SV’s competitive market position.”

Probe cards are essential tools in the electrical testing of semiconductor wafers before they are diced, packaged and assembled in electronic products such as mobile phones, computers and digital media players. According to VLSI Research Inc (May 08), the market revenue for memory probe cards in 2007 was US$800.2 million, or about 59 percent of the global probe card revenue of US$1.36 billion. Over the next 5 years to 2012, VLSI predicts the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for the memory probe card market to be 13.6 percent, while that of the non-memory probe card revenue will be 10.5 percent.