Patent ID: 7436171

Claim:
An apparatus for probing multiple integrated circuit devices, comprising: a platform with an opening; two vertical rails positioned at two sides of the opening; two vertical sliding modules each including a vertical sliding base positioned on the vertical rail, a bearing member, and a pivot connecting the vertical sliding base and the bearing member; at least one non-circular lateral rail with two ends positioned on the bearing member of the vertical sliding module; at least one lateral sliding module each including a lateral sliding base positioned on the lateral rail and a hanger positioned on the lateral sliding base; and at least one tunable stage configured to hang on the non-circular lateral rail via the hanger of the lateral sliding module, the tunable stage comprising: a carrier configured to load a probe card including a circuit board and a plurality of probes fixed on the circuit board; an angular adjusting module configured to adjust an angle between the probe card and an integrated circuit device under test by rotating the carrier in an x-y plane that is parallel to the loaded probe card; a first driving module configured to adjust a relative position along the x-axis between the probe card and the device under test; a second driving module configured to adjust a relative position along the y-axis between the probe card and the device under test; and a third driving module configured to adjust a relative position along the z-axis between the probe card and the device under test.