Design of an actuator for probecard asset correction

Nowadays, all the manufactured electronic components need to be tested to ensure the proper functioning and high level of quality; Spea S.p.a is an Italian company that manufactures systems specifically designed for this purpose, from semiconductor to functional tester. In the last year the test requirements are becoming increasingly stringent in terms of accuracy and measure precision and lately there has been a growing need to be more accurate in positioning and orientation of the testing tool inside the machines. A new field in the test application is related to silicon photonics components that in addition to the standard electrical test introduce a new characterization: the light test. This technology nowadays has been increasingly widespread, offering significant advantages over traditional known technologies. These components, much like their traditional counterparts, require testing; however, due to their unique structure, improvements to existing machines used for testing traditional components are necessary. This new test requires that those systems are able to perform not only a XYZ positioning but also an asset correction of the light stimuli. Indeed, these components have channels that allow the beam of light coming from the optical fiber to pass through, but in order to have a perfect coupling between these two elements the fiber has to be properly oriented, such that the coupling is at its maximum. Since these correction angles are around hundredths of a degrees, the need of a specific actuator emerged, capable of performing micrometric and millimetric displacements with high precision that are then translated into rotations. Hence arises the role of this thesis, whose purpose is to do a feasibility study and a related design and validation of a compact and cost-effective actuation module, starting from the mathematical model, moving to the validation with the mechanical model till to the control system implementation. To do so, different technologies of actuation have been analysed, then the chosen one has been integrated inside a mechanical structure properly modelled and controlled through suitable drives; the performances of the built actuation module have been tested, to ensure its correct functioning. The actuator developed may be improved with a miniaturization that allows the integration inside the Spea's machines to add the new feature of asset correction; furthermore, its versatility makes it suitable for any asset adjustments for any kind of contacting interface.