26 February 2015

Cascade Microtech adds Lake Shore as MeasureOne solutions partner

Cascade Microtech Inc of Beaverton, OR, USA, which provides equipment enabling precision contact, electrical measurement and test of wafers, ICs, IC packages, circuit boards and modules as well as MEMS, 3D TSV and LED devices, has announced its latest MeasureOne solutions partner as Lake Shore Cryotronics Inc of Westerville, near Columbus, OH, USA, which makes scientific sensors, instruments and systems for measurement and control under extreme temperature and magnetic field conditions.

The formal collaboration aims to accelerate the time to first device measurement for a collective customer base where early-stage research typically requires testing in extreme cold and magnetic flux. The MeasureOne partnership enables the sales and service teams from both companies - now cross-trained across each other's product lines - to quickly guide the customer to the best probe station to address their requirements. Validated measurement solutions from both firms aim to deliver confidence in performance and reliability.

While both companies offer cryogenic probe stations, their respective platforms differ in functionality and address different stages of the R&D lifecycle. Lake Shore's probe stations are used in the earliest phases of new semiconductor and magnetic materials R&D. Its platform features align with the limited size and number of samples being measured, as well as the need to probe at the lowest possible temperatures (below 10K) and within high magnetic fields (often over 2T), where sample stages are generally fixed in position. Cascade Microtech's probe stations are focused on the next phases of device development, where multiple copies of devices have now been constructed. Its platform features align with a larger wafer size and number of devices, as well as a need to replicate measurements across those many devices. Sample stages are moveable in a manual or semi-automated fashion.

"Our customers begin their research of new semiconductor and magnetic materials at very low temperatures and high fields, where our probe stations excel," says Lake Shore's president & CEO Michael Swartz. "This partnership offers customers a smooth transition from the research lab into full-scale semiconductor device development, combining the significant complementary expertise of both companies," he adds. 

"This latest MeasureOne alliance connects customers with best-of-breed cryogenic measurement solutions that extend all the way from basic materials research in the lab to wafer-scale production," says Cascade Microtech's president & CEO Michael Burger. "We're both fully acquainted with each other's capabilities and understand just where to position customers within the overall space that we jointly address," he adds. "Together we can deliver a level of technical know-how second to none for cryogenic probing, even in high magnetic fields," he claims. 

The collaboration is expected to bolster the product lines of both companies through shared research and technology. Cascade Microtech's radio frequency to Terahertz probing expertise is reckoned to be a natural fit with Lake Shore's focused expertise on measurements near the bottom of the Kelvin scale and in very high magnetic fields. Similarly, Lake Shore's cryogen-free technology and magnetic field expertise may have future applicability in Cascade Microtech's highly automated cryogenic probe stations.

Cascade Microtech's MeasureOne program is dedicated to identifying and collaborating with suppliers offering complementary technology and products that represent the best of breed in any particular category. The consolidated approach aims to offer customers highly optimized solutions to the challenges of test and measurement in a wide variety of environments.

Tags: Lake Shore Cascade Microtech

Visit: www.cascademicrotech.com/measureone

Visit: www.lakeshore.com