Rudolph’s Next-Generation PrecisionWoRx VX4 Extends the Capabilities of Leading Probe Card Test and Analysis Tool

Rudolph Technologies has announced the PrecisionWoRx VX4, the next generation of its market-leading probe card test and analysis tools. The new system, which will replace the PrecisionPoint VX3, adds configurable channels, higher loading forces, a user interface and software architecture consistent with other WoRx family tools, and a current generation operating system (Windows XP or Vista). Rudolph plans to release the new VX4 in the first half of 2009.

The new capabilities are designed to allow the VX4 to maintain and extend the dominant market position established by its predecessors. Configurable channels, which may be programmed for I/O and utility functions, add flexibility and convenience. Higher load forces, up to 150 kg, will accommodate newer probe cards with high pin counts. The new user interface, as suggested by the slightly modified PrecisionWoRX moniker, is consistent with other Rudolph products in the WoRx family (ProbeWoRx and WaferWoRx), simplifying inter-operability and data exchange. Provision of a current generation Windows XP or Vista operating system running on a multi core processor improves the tool’s speed, reliability and security.

With an installed base numbered in the hundreds, the VX platform has become the industry standard for testing, analyzing and reworking probe cards. Its advanced capabilities allow semiconductor manufacturers to evaluate and correct the planarity, alignment, contact resistance, leakage current, probe force, tip wear, scrub characteristics and numerous other critical probe card parameters that impact probing process performance. Information provided by the new PrecisionWoRx tool can help test floor managers and test engineers reduce yield losses in the probing process and extend the lifetime of expensive probe cards.

Rudolph Technologies