Semiconductor inspection component maker TSE has succeeded in developing a key component of probe cards used to inspect high-end computing chips.
The company said on Monday that it has developed a space transformer organic-multi-layer (STO-ML) with 50-micrometer circuit width that can applied to vertical probe cards and interface boards.
The component was previously made effectively exclusively by Japan’s Fujitsu. TSE is the first South Korean company to develop STO-ML.
The company said it succeeded in the development STO-ML, which is used in probe cards for testing of CPU, GPU, and high bandwidth memory, after five years of research.
Vertical probe cards used to inspect high-speed logic chips are made by Italy’s Technoprobe and the US’ Formfactor.
These cards are attached to automated testing equipment to check the durability and defects of semiconductor wafers that have finished processing.
TSE said it plans to supply its STO-ML to major probe card makers as well as use it on its own vertical probe cards to supply to chipmakers.
TSE focused on probe cards for memory in the past so its expansion to logic will secure it new revenues. Probe cards currently account for around 30% of its annual revenue.
The company formed a subsidiary in Vietnam back in 2021 in preparation for the mass production of STO-ML.
