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

An automated computer-assisted system for the functional 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 to avoid further 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, drift, hysteresis and response time at an early process stage. The system has been exemplarily tested using wafers combining pH-sensitive capacitive electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor structures as well as ion-sensitive field-effect transistors with different geometrical sizes and gate layouts.