40 s boot · 250,000 dies · Chinese UI
uP200A Prober Control System Upgrade
The mechanics of an older prober are often still good; what limits it is the control system - three minutes to boot, too few dies, a Japanese interface, and data that only moves on floppy disk. uP200A replaces the control system while keeping the mechanical body and the existing probe cards and consumables. Boot drops to 40 seconds, dies per wafer rise to 250,000, the interface becomes Chinese, and mapping data can travel over network or magneto-optical disk.
Category visual of a prober. The upgrade targets APM90A and UF200 series machines already in service.
Equipment and engineering solution
Applications
Designed for the following probe card manufacturing, test and maintenance tasks.
Capacity limited on an older machine
The mechanics are still usable but the control system's die limit and takt have become the bottleneck.
Interface and data format friction
The original machine runs an English or Japanese interface with floppy-only data transfer.
Protecting the existing consumable investment
The plan is to keep using the original probe cards and consumables rather than repurchase.
SPECIFICATIONS
Specifications
The final configuration follows the card, interfaces, site conditions and acceptance items.
| Item | Specification / configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrade target | Tokyo Seimitsu APM90A and UF200 series probers in service | Mechanical body is retained |
| Boot time | uP200A 40 s; UF200 70 s; APM90A 180 s | Catalogue comparison table |
| Dies supported | uP200A 250,000; UF200 100,000; APM90A 60,000 | Per wafer |
| Wafer sizes | 4, 5, 6 and 8 inch | Backward compatible |
| Data transfer | Floppy, magneto-optical disk and network | Original machines offer floppy, or floppy plus network |
| Data format | Compatible with UF200 and UF200A data formats | The original APM90A is not |
| Consumable compatibility | Compatible with APM90A and UF200 probe cards and consumables | No repurchase required |
| Overall accuracy | 5 μm | As stated in the catalogue |
| Chuck | 8 inch nickel/gold heatable chuck | With the 8 inch control module |
| Functions | Pad auto-alignment, tip auto-alignment and cleaning, fail-mark check, multi-probe probing, multi-bin output, live mapping display | LCD touch monitor |
| Interfaces | GPIB and TTL | For host system integration |
| Utilities | Compressed air >0.4 MPa; vacuum >-53 kPa; single phase 220 V; max load current 6 A; max power 1.5 kVA | Site conditions must be met |
| Supplying entity | Shanghai Wenlan Trading / Shanghai Lude Integrated Circuit | Different from the probe card equipment supply entity |
WORKFLOW
Workflow
Confirm the model, control system state and existing consumables
Defines the upgrade scope
Confirm mapping data format and host system interfaces
Covers GPIB, TTL and network
Replace the control system, keep the mechanical body and consumables
Carried out on site
Confirm boot time, die count, alignment and mapping output
Measured results govern
FAT / SAT
Project delivery
Sample evaluation
Confirm the object, interfaces, current state, failure modes and available validation samples.
Technical agreement
Define configuration, measurement method, limits, takt, data interfaces and responsibilities.
FAT
Verify functions, repeatability, reporting and exception handling with agreed samples.
SAT
Complete site integration, training, upstream/downstream interfaces and issue closure.
CONFIGURATION
Configuration and acceptance
System configuration, optional items and acceptance conditions are summarized below.
Source
Boot time, die count, data transfer and compatibility comparisons come from the model comparison table in the uP200A product catalogue.
Scope
This page covers control system upgrades for APM90A and UF200 series legacy machines and does not apply to current generation probers.
Not published
Upgrade lead time, spare part coverage and warranty terms depend on the specific machine and are not given as general values in the source.
Share the card, interfaces and target
Send the sample, installed equipment, current issue and target takt. We will acknowledge receipt within one business day.