News

15 June 2009

 

Cascade extends on-wafer power device characterization for GaN and SiC

Cascade Microtech Inc of Beaverton, OR, USA has announced a set of new probes and accessories for its Tesla on-wafer power device characterization system, making it fully compatible with the recently released Agilent B1505A power device analyzer. The combined solution offers an extended triaxial measurement range to accommodate low-noise probing of power devices up to 2000V.

The broad use of power semiconductors has created a pressing need to characterize power devices quickly and efficiently, the firm says. The Tesla on-wafer power device characterization system meets this challenge, it claims, reducing time-to-market for new power devices.

In particular, with emerging energy standards driving demand for efficient power utilization (creating the need for accurate power device characterization in automotive, mobile devices, transportation, and power station manufacturing), there is also a need to measure at increasing voltage and current levels when characterizing devices fabricated using wide-bandgap materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), Cascade Microtech adds.

The Tesla system meets these demands by offering what is claimed to be the industry’s highest voltage and current range for on-wafer measurements up to 2000V triax/3000V coax and 60A pulsed/20A continuous. Tesla is hence claimed to be the first power device measurement system that provides a complete on-wafer solution for over-temperature, low-contact-resistance measurements of power semiconductors up to 60A and 3000V.

The new Tesla probes have specifically been designed to take full advantage of the performance of Agilent’s B1505A power device analyzer, meeting the requirements of more advanced device characterization applications.

“The Tesla system facilitates on-wafer C-V, IV and breakdown measurements, which in turn enables faster development cycles at an overall lower cost-of-test versus packaged test,” says CEO Geoff Wild. “Unlike other solutions, the Cascade Microtech Tesla system allows users to realize the full potential of their B1505A, with the maximum range of voltage, current and application compatibility,” he claims.

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