Probe Card Inspection and Maintenance Guide

Routine probe-card inspection helps prevent unstable contact resistance, false test failures, pad damage, and unexpected downtime. Maintenance should combine visual inspection, electrical trends, cleaning records, planarity checks, and touchdown history.

Preparation

Review the product drawing, material specification, equipment capability, and acceptance criteria before starting. Confirm that measuring tools are calibrated and that the selected samples represent normal production conditions.

Key technical checks

• Inspect probe tips for contamination, wear, bending, and abnormal scrub patterns.
• Verify alignment, planarity, overdrive, and contact resistance after cleaning or repair.
• Set maintenance intervals from performance trends and usage instead of relying on a fixed calendar alone.

Verification and documentation

Record the baseline, the variables changed, inspection results, and final settings. Release the process only after repeatability is confirmed against the agreed criteria. Keep the qualified settings, maintenance requirements, and response plan available to operators so that future deviations can be identified and corrected quickly.