Small Form Factor Heating Possibilities Expand for OEMs
For many applications, small form factor heating elements can make or break the overall performance and reliability of the product or component being produced. Small form factor heating elements are especially critical in semiconductor applications because they provide precise, localized, and controllable heat—increasingly important as processes happen at the micro, and even, nano scale.
Backer Hotwatt recently collaborated with a global test solutions OEM to help them develop a custom product for a
very specific technical challenge. The company required a small form factor heating element that would improve the effectiveness and speed of their legacy socket test fixture system, while enabling increased throughput and decreasing heater failure rates during strenuous testing protocols.
For semiconductor applications, the ability to heat exactly what you need, exactly where you need it, and only when you need it is essential, and also happens to be Backer Hotwatt’s sweet spot. Our unique SunRod heater product line—which can produce heating elements as small as .5” long with a diameter as small as 3 mm—are ideally suited to rigorous testing conditions involving temperature extremes, high voltages, and high-use cycles.
[Image: Backer Hotwatt’s micro-cartridge heaters are the smallest in the world, and yet, they produce more heat than anything else on the market.]
Meeting the Challenge of Fully Flexible Heater Connections
One of the design requirements was the ability of the heater lead wires to withstand 10,000 flex cycles of a test socket opening and closing during the heater’s test life—a capability that other heaters the company evaluated did not meet, with competitors’ connections breaking after just a few thousand cycles.
To meet the design necessity of fully flexible connections, Backer Hotwatt engineers first designed a heater with flexible wire that could be spliced to the existing solid lead. The first batch of samples was shipped to the customer, but they found that the splice fell too close to the flex points and could not be used.
Determined to find a solution, the engineering team went back to the drawing board and built a SunRod micro cartridge heater with fully flexible power leads that showed no degradation in performance when compared to other heaters that were tested.
Advantages of the SunRod heater’s patented high-temperature design include:
- Split-sheath expansion: When energized, the patented split-sheath expands into contact with surrounding bore for maximum heat transfer and fast response.
- Easy removal: When de-energized, the split-sheath contracts for easy, slide-out removal. SunRod heaters are guaranteed never to seize in the bore.
- Fully heated tip: Uninterrupted hot zone and fully heated tip provides unmatched heat distribution without cold spots.
The unique design of the SunRod micro-cartridge heater’s heated tip allows for better heat transfer and faster heat up times, reducing cycle times in semiconductor test applications.
After reviewing the new design, the company’s R&D group—excited at the possibilities of the innovative new product—asked Hotwatt to provide additional samples for flex and electrical testing.
Hotwatt’s engineering team built a test bench with the customer’s fixtures and components and performed side-by-side testing against the leading competitor. The test results proved that the fully flexible SunRod micro cartridge heater was superior in its ability to survive the rigorous testing protocol, with a measurable improvement in overall performance.
Successful outcomes of the project include:
- More durable, robust lead wires that withstand 100,000 flex cycles.
- Sunrod’s unique design allowed the customer to eliminate the use of thermal grease in the testing protocol, which greatly reduced the risk of test failure and contamination of the test device.
- Time to reach target temperature was reduced, allowing the customer to improve their test-cycle rate.
Committed to Solving Complex Technical Challenges for Customer Success
Hotwatt successfully met the challenge of creating a custom heater that enabled the customer to provide a more advanced, precise heating solution, while keeping the original test socket fixture design in place. Hotwatt helped the company solve a unique engineering challenge, and in the process, created an exciting new flexible lead technology with many promising applications.
Hotwatt’s willingness to tackle complex technical challenges and commitment to small- and high-volume custom work is what sets us apart in the industry. The SunRod micro cartridge heater—unique for its small form factor and heat capacity—is just one example of how our engineering ingenuity helps speed development times and advance miniaturization for the semiconductor industry.
Our collaborative partnerships with customers enable the discovery and production of advanced heating solutions that our competitors—who typically won’t take on custom projects—can’t match. Get in touch with one of our engineers to learn more about how we can help you create a customer heating solution for your next project. Let’s advance your technology.