Spring Pins – High Technology Business Development

BiTS Workshop – The Next 15 Years

Thanks to the BiTS Committee for the hard work to make this a great event!

Wow! The Burn-in and Test Strategy (BiTS) Workshop just turned 15! The world of semiconductors has certainly changed over the years. And the BiTS Workshop has kept up with what is “Now & Next” in the burn-in and test of packaged integrated circuits (ICs). These achievements were celebrated in style by the more than three hundred participants at the recently held 2014 BiTS Workshop in Mesa, Arizona.

“When the BiTS Workshop started in 2000, there were no Continue reading “BiTS Workshop – The Next 15 Years”

Riding Off Into the Sunset – BiTS 2013

Sunset over Phoenix, Arizona during BiTS Workshop

As the Burn-in & Test Strategies (BiTS) Workshop 2013 fades into the sunset (queue the music), here is a round-up of the highlights. There were gun fights in the corral as well as technical questions for the presenters. The saloon girls and gunfighters took an edge off of the “geek” factor. This year over three hundred fifty people come to the “Circle BiTS Ranch” (aka the Hilton in Mesa, Arizona) for the premier conference focused on what is new and next for semiconductor test tooling and strategy. Oh, did I mention that the theme this year was Western?

This was the 14th annual BiTS Workshop, which has achieved the perfect conference trifecta of Continue reading “Riding Off Into the Sunset – BiTS 2013”

IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop 2012 – Session 9 (Wednesday)

Semiconductor wafer test workshop swtw sign 500x352

Here are the highlights from Session Nine “Productivity / Cost of Ownership (COO)” of the 22nd annual IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop (SWTW) from Wednesday June 13, 2012.

Teruyuki Kitagawa (Nomura Plating, Co., Ltd. – Japan), “Unique Characteristics of the Novel Carbonaceous Film with High Electrical Conductivity and Ultra High Hardness for Semiconductor Test Probes”:

In a follow-up to last year’s presentation, improvements to Nomura’s carbonaceous film were discussed. The film has a much higher hardness (Hv 4000) than palladium (Pd, Hv 350 ~ 400) or even diamond-like carbon (DLC, Hv 1000 ~ 2000) which provides wear resistance and acts as a self cleaning surface. The significant improvement since last year is Continue reading “IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop 2012 – Session 9 (Wednesday)”