Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Integrated Telecom Express, Inc.

Ta-Yung Lee

Chin-Hsiang Lin

Jong-I Mou

Tseng Chin Lo

Jui-Long Chen

Hui-yun Chao

Chien-Chih Liao

You-Hua Chou

Ming-Kang Liu

Young Way Liu

Chiao-Ping Cheng

Ying Chi Wu

Dean C Wang

Wen-Ching Andy Chou

Chin-I Huang

A system and method for aligning a probe, such as a wafer-level test probe, with wafer contacts is disclosed. An exemplary method includes receiving a wafer containing a plurality of alignment contacts and a probe card containing a plurality of probe points at a wafer test system. A historical offset correction is received. Based on the historical offset correct, an orientation value for the probe card relative to the wafer is determined. The probe card is aligned to the wafer using the orientation value in an attempt to bring a first probe point into contact with a first alignment contact. The connectivity of the first probe point and the first alignment contact is evaluated. An electrical test of the wafer is performed utilizing the aligned probe card, and the historical offset correction is updated based on the orientation value.

Method of test probe alignment control

One or more overhead cranes are provided. The overhead cranes include a first horizontal rail having a first end and a second end, a second horizontal rail having a third end and a fourth end, a first post connected to the first end of the first horizontal rail, a second post connected to the second end of the first horizontal rail, a third post connected to the third end of the second horizontal rail, a fourth post connected to the fourth end of the second horizontal rail and a cross member extending from the first horizontal rail to the second horizontal rail. The cross member includes a center span section, a first side arm and a second side arm. In some embodiments, the center span section is trapezoidialy shaped. In some embodiments, the overhead crane includes a vacuum system.

Overhead crane

An ADSL physical transmission layer retrieves data to be transmitted from either a transmit data buffer, or a dummy cell buffer in the case when no actual data is being transmitted to maintain a continuous data stream in an ADSL data link. The ADSL physical transmission layer and an associated ATM protocol layer are implemented as an interrupt service routine and delayed procedure call respectively in an ADSL software modem application. Because the ATM protocol layer does not fill the transmit data buffer with dummy cell data, it is simpler and faster. Moreover, latency is minimized, and overall system throughput enhanced since the maximum latency is independent of any operating system latency, and is no greater than the size of the cell stored in the dummy cell buffer. The invention has significant potential for beneficial use in an ADSL based software modem where wide variations in performance and latency of computing systems pose engineering challenges in maintaining a continous data link between a real time transceiver and a non-real time operating system.

System and method for reducing latency in software modem for high-speed synchronous transmission

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Taipei, Taiwan

Ta-Yung Lee