Functional testing and characterisation of (bio-)chemical sensors on wafer level

Abstract

An automated computer-assisted system for the testing and characterisation of (bio-)chemical sensors on wafer level is developed and integrated into a commercial prober station. The system enables the identification and selection of "good" sensors on wafer level and thus, allows avoiding expensive bonding, encapsulation and packaging processes for defective or non-functioning sensor structures. Moreover, a specifically designed flow-through electrochemical microcell offers the possibility of wafer-level characterisation of (bio-)chemical sensors in terms of sensitivity, hysteresis and response time at an early process stage. The system has been exemplarily tested using wafers combining pH-sensitive field-effect transistors with different geometrical sizes and gate layouts.