FormFactor - Cascade Chucks - Non-thermal and thermal chucks
Flexibility
- Application flexibility: Coax, Triax, RF/mmW, High Power, Double Sided
- Temperatures range from -60°C to +300°C
- Surfaces are nickel or gold-plated
- Hybrid chuck design – operation with and without cooling unit
- Field-upgradeable: On-site cold upgrades for all main prober platforms
Highest Efficiency for Reduced Cost of Test
- Up to 25% lower air consumption (CDA) than other systems on the market with no compromise in transition times
- Up to 15% faster transition times than other systems on the market
Chucks and Thermal Systems
All FormFactor wafer probe stations are fully integrated with an exclusively developed non-thermal chuck or a highly-reliable thermal chuck system from ATT. Depending on your application, temperature range and performance requirements we offer a large variety of thermal systems from -60°C to 300°C, ranging from the most powerful and fastest high-performance systems in the market to extremely economic systems providing the best cost-performance ratio you can get.
All our systems are nickel or gold-plated and guarantee superior electrical performance. Our patented MicroVac™ and FemtoGuard™ technologies provide advanced measurement accuracy and ultra-low wafer contact resistance, even for warped/thin wafers.
The modular concept for convenient and cost effective system upgrades provides highest safety of investment and easy customization.
Full Thermal Range Systems (-60°C to 300°C)
- Most powerful and fastest high-performance systems for highly demanding requirements Shortest transition times in the market Optional ECO Mode for lower air consumption (CDA) than other systems in the market (365l/min)
Economic Thermal System (-40C° to 300°C)
- 25% lower air consumption (CDA) than other systems in the market (300l/min) Power Mode: 15% faster transition times than other systems in the market Best cost-performance ratio of systems with a wide thermal range
Hot-Only Systems (+20°C/+30°C to 300°C)
- Modular and field-upgradeable to cold (-40°C or -60°C): grows with your needs Controlled Ambient Technology (+20°C): Precise temperature control, even below ambient temperatures, with no need of an additional chiller
Besides our technology-leading coaxial and triaxial chuck systems, our portfolio is complemented with the following specialized chucks:
- RF/microwave chucks, equipped with up to three auxiliary chucks for holding calibration substrates and/or cleansing pads
- High-power chucks with Taiko wafer handling capability, an anti-arcing solution and an auto-discharging system for high throughput and measurement accuracy, while providing a regulatory-certified safe testing environment
- Double Side Chucks: Patented double side design can be configured to hold a variety of different substrate designs and sizes. Mainly used within emission microscopy systems, it can also be used to hold special substrates including MEMS dies held in square metal carriers.
*Chuck performance is specified in probe station Data Sheets.
Low Thermal Resistance
- Low Thermal Resistance Technology
- MultiSense with multiple temperature sensors
- Best temperature accuracy and uniformity
Superior Electrical Performance
- Isolated from ground
- Includes a jack for grounding and biasing
- Highly planar chuck surface for consistant contact force and overtravel
Patented MicroVac™ Technology
- Advanced wafer vacuum system for warped/partial thin wafers
- Provides uniform vacuum across the entire wafer surface
- 495 micro-holes with 200 µm diameter patterned throughout the chuck
- Five user selectable vacuum zones: even partial wafers that do not cover all the chuck vacuum holes are held down with uniform vacuum
- Increased measurement accuracy with uniform device heat dissipation and ultra-low wafer contact resistance
Patented FemtoGuard™ Technology
- Advanced shielding technology
- Enables ultra-low noise, fully guarded measurements and controlled leakage
- Low residual capacitance for repeatability and advanced measurement accuracy and speed
IntelligentDry Air Control
- Active CDA purge control to reduce the dry air consumption
Auxiliary Chucks
- Dedicated RF chucks come with up to three auxiliary chucks for holding calibration substrates and/or cleansing pads
- Different materials available: Steel, Absorber, Ceramic
More Product Information

Superior Mechanics
- Highly stable granite base
- Independent, coarse movement of X and Y axes, combined with easy fine adjustments
- Excellent measurement accuracy and repeatability
- Fast navigation and high-precision probe positioning
See "Specifications & Details" tab for more key features

- Power bypass inductance: 8 nH
- Standard DCQ probes have flat tip needles available in nickel-plated tungsten or BeCu with diameters of 0.75 mil, 1.0 mil and 1.5 mil.
- Supports collinear and non-standard needle configurations
- Up to 16 DC for standard; maximum of 24 DC for custom
- Ideal for probing the entire circuit for functional test
- DC probes can provide power or slow logic to circuit under test

- Light-tight version and EMI-shielded version for low noise and light-sensitive measurements
- Application flexibility, ideal for use in high frequency applications
- Sized to accommodate thermal chucks, laser cutter, and video equipment on the probe system
- Suitable for integration with vibration isolating tables

Comprehensive, Turn-key Integrated Measurement System (IMS) with Keysight A-LFNA for On-wafer R&D Advanced Low-Frequency Noise Measurements

- Designed for use with specific Probe Systems
- Tables to suit all facility requirements and applications
- Stable probing, even in submicron range
- Granite platen ensures rigidity and temperature stability
- Can be combined with the Shield Enclosures

Focus Microwaves' Harmonic Tuners are engineered to enable precise control of impedance at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies (typically f₀, 2f₀, and 3f₀), making them essential for nonlinear device characterization and power amplifier design.
These tuners feature multiple cascaded probes within a single tuner body, allowing independent or simultaneous tuning at multiple frequencies. Their robust design ensures high tuning accuracy, minimal insertion loss, and excellent repeatability across a broad frequency range. Harmonic tuners are the ideal solution for advanced Load Pull measurements where harmonic control is critical.

Floating Action Buttons
- Easy and fast setup of camera views
- Go to Light and Image Settings of the selected camera view with only one mouse click
Workflow Wizard
- Guided workflows for wafer setups, alignment tools and Autonomous Assistants
- Workflow wizard shows task-relevant settings and options only
- Wizard settings can be corrected anytime – no need to restart the wizard
- Wizard helps with intelligent solutions in case of error
See "Specifications & Details" tab for more key features

Three Probe Technologies
- Infinity Probe: best for Al (Si)
- ACP Probe: best for AU (III-Vs)
- |Z| Probe: robust solution (long lifetime)
- Precision contact on a wide variety of materials from 26 GHz to 67 GHz
- Accurate results with excellent crosstalk
- Matching cables and substrates included
Precise Contact Solution
- RF chuck ±3 μm surface planarity
- Unique 500 μm platen contact/ separation stroke with ≤± 1 μm accuracy for repeatable contact
- Precision probe alignment
- Consistent contact force and overtravel
- Stable contact performance
WinCal Calibration Software
- Exclusive 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-port on-wafer calibration algorithms
- Automated calibration monitoring
- Unique measurement & analysis methods
- Accurate S-parameter measurements
- Automatic calibration setup for higher efficiency
- Fast and easy data interpretation and reporting

Gold-plated TESLA High-power MicroVac™ Chucks
- Prevent thin wafers from curling and breaking
- Advanced MicroVac chuck surface for minimum contact resistance between wafer and chuck
- Accurate Rds(on) measurement at high current
- Accurate UIS measurements at high temperature

FormFactor, Inc.
FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORM) is a leading provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full IC life cycle – from characterization, modeling, reliability, and design de-bug, to qualification and production test.
We constantly strive to help our customers solve the advanced test and measurement challenges of the broader semiconductor industry. Our focus on customer partnership, innovation, agility and operational excellence allows us to earn sustainable business every day.
Contact Details
FormFactor, Inc. Corporate Headquarters
7005 Southfront Road, Livermore, CA 94551, USA
Phone: 925-290-4000
Test & Measurement





