TSI close to commercializing probe card for DRAM
Quality tests being done with 2 companies
Chip and display panel component maker TSI was close to commercializing probe cards for DRAM chips, TheElec has learned.
It was conducting quality tests with two main customers for the cards that will be finished within the first quarter, sources said.
It had already completed a quality test with another customer last year, they added.
Probe cards are used during EDS to measure the electric performance of memory chips.
The pin within the card sends an electric signal to the wafer and by reading the returning signal, it detects whether there is a defect.
TSI already supplies probe cards for NAND to Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and YMTC.
Probe cards for DRAM are more difficult than NAND so South Korean chipmakers have so far relied on imports for them.
The cards will be made at TSI’s three-story factory at Cheonan; the first story is for probe cards and the top two levels are for sockets, which started operation last month.
The probe card level is expected to start production once the quality tests with customers are completed.
While the memory chip market is currently going through a downturn, TSI is aiming to expand its annual revenue this year by 20%, backed by the launch of probe cards for DRAM.