Design and production of Probe Cards and test interfaces for the wafer-level testing of semiconductor chips
Technoprobe S.p.A.
Cernusco Lombardone (IT) · Osnago (IT) · Vimercate (IT) · Agrate Brianza (IT) · Catania (IT) · Rousset (FR) · Munich (DE) · San Jose, CA (US) · Singapore (SG) · Cabuyao, Laguna (PH) · Suwon-si (KR) ·New on Amplifa
About Technoprobe
Technoprobe is an Italian company founded in 1996 and headquartered in Cernusco Lombardone (LC), specialized in the design, development and production of Probe Cards for the wafer-level testing of semiconductor chips. The electromechanical product portfolio ranges from Cantilever and EPOXY technology to the proprietary TPEG™ Vertical MEMS technology and Final Test Boards and test interfaces (FusionLink/DIS Tech); every product is manufactured to customer specifications. The mechanical production of the core components – housing, space transformer, stiffener – takes place in the company's own machine shop in Osnago with CNC milling, CNC grinding machines, micro-drilling, and partially automated robotic operation at temperature-controlled micron precision. Materials include nickel alloys, (non-)magnetic stainless steel, ceramics, aluminum, copper, brass, titanium, steel, technopolymers and silicon wafers. With 3,355 employees, four R&D centers and a worldwide network of production and service sites (including Singapore, the Philippines, Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, USA, France, Germany), Technoprobe serves industries such as semiconductors, automotive, data center, 5G, IoT and consumer electronics. Since 2022 the company has been listed on Euronext Growth Milan and since 2024 in the FTSE MIB.
- Site
- Cernusco Lombardone (LC)
- Processes
- Design, development and production of probe cards (wafer testing for chip electronics), Cantilever technology for probe cards, TPEG Vertical MEMS technology (vertical MEMS needles, First Vertical Probe Head 2000: 960 needles,, COBRA needle technology, EPOXY technology (probe cards), Advanced micromachining (R&D), 2D-3D MEMS manufacturing of miniaturized electromechanical components, Micro-scale additive manufacturing (Microfabrica Inc.)
- Materials
- Nickel alloys, Magnetic and non-magnetic stainless steel, Steel, Ceramics, Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Titanium
- Certificates
- ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001, ISO 9001 (Korea), ISO 14001 (Korea, Taiwan), ISO 45001 (Korea, Taiwan), RBA Validated Assessment Program, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001
- Founded
- 1996
- Employees
- 3355
- Industries
- Semiconductors, Microelectronics, Digital Data & 5G, IoT, Data Center, Automotive & Self-driving cars
- 01
Design and engineering of the probe card
- 02
Manufacturing of mechanical components (housing, space transformer, stiffener)
- 03
MEMS probe head manufacturing (TPEG™/Vertical MEMS)
- 04
Electronics and board integration (motherboards, final test boards)
- 05
Metrology and testing (Athena probe card analyzer)
- 06
Delivery, service and repair via customer centers worldwide
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design, development and production of probe cards (wafer testing for chip electronics)Testing | – | – | – | – | Silicon (wafer), Nickel alloys, Ceramics |
| Cantilever technology for probe cardsTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| TPEG Vertical MEMS technology (vertical MEMS needles, First Vertical Probe Head 2000: 960 needles,Testing | minimum pitch 240 µm | – | – | – | – |
| COBRA needle technologyTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| EPOXY technology (probe cards)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Advanced micromachining (R&D)Machining | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2D-3D MEMS manufacturing of miniaturized electromechanical componentsAdditive | – | – | – | – | Ceramics |
| Micro-scale additive manufacturing (Microfabrica Inc.)Additive | – | – | – | – | – |
| Motherboards and final test boards (FusionLink, PCB/interface manufacturing)Testing | – | – | – | – | Plastic |
| CNC milling (palletized, partially automated with anthropomorphic robots, temperature-controlled)Machining | micron precision; flatness ≤ 10 µm | – | – | – | Nickel alloys, non-magnetic and magnetic stainless steel, Ceramics, Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Technopolymers, Plexiglas, PEEK, Titanium |
| CNC grindingMachining | – | – | – | – | Steel, Stainless steel |
| Micro-drilling of space transformers (micro-holes from 1/100 mm diameter,Machining | micron positioning and diameter tolerances | – | – | – | Ceramics |
| Manufacturing of stiffeners (steel frames)Forming | – | – | – | – | Steel |
| Production of mechanical components to drawingMachining | – | – | – | – | Nickel alloys, Stainless steel, Ceramics, Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Titanium, Plastic |
| Quality inspection with optical and mechanical measuring machines (precision down to one tenth of aTesting | 0.1 µm measurement precision | – | – | – | – |
| Probe card analyzing / metrology (optical, mechanical and electrical measurement; WLI,Testing | X/Y = 0.16 µm; Z = 0.15 µm; LEP 0.3 µm; Cres 0.005 ohm; | 300 mm (wafer 12'') | – | – | – |
| Repair and service centers for probe cardsTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
6 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palletized CNC milling machines | – | – | – | – | Osnago (LC), Italy |
| CNC grinding machines | – | – | – | – | Osnago (LC), Italy |
| Special drilling machines (drillers) for micro-drilling of space transformers | – | – | – | – | Osnago (LC), Italy |
| Anthropomorphic robot arms for automated pallet loading/unloading (~50% of the milling machines) | – | – | – | – | Osnago (LC), Italy |
| Optical and mechanical measuring machines (precision 0.1 µm) | – | – | – | – | Osnago (LC), Italy |
| Fully automated probe card analyzer (Athena) | Technoprobe Athena | – | full wafer 12''/300 mm; fine pitch from 25 µm; max. array force 600 kg; 9,216 channels | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality & Certifications
All sites share the same international quality standards; quality control of mechanical production is performed with optical and mechanical measuring machines with precision down to one tenth of a micron. For probe card metrology, the fully automated Athena probe card analyzer is available (optical, mechanical and electrical measurement, including WLI, loopback testing, contact resistance).
| Evidence | Cernusco Lombardone | Osnago | Singapore | Cabuyao, Laguna | Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | |||||
| ISO 14001 | |||||
| ISO 45001 | |||||
| ISO 27001 |
History
- 1989
Giuseppe Crippa founds, together with his son Cristiano, a small business producing tips for probe cards
- 1993
First company structure in the Crippa family home in Merate (LC); 'Technoprobe' as a sole proprietorship
- 1995
Formal incorporation of Technoprobe S.r.l.
- 1996
Official founding of Technoprobe; purchase of the first building in Cernusco Lombardone with around 10 employees
- 1997
First company headquarters in Cernusco Lombardone
- 2000
Delivery of the first vertical probe head (COBRA, 960 needles, 240 µm pitch)
- 2001
First international expansion: Technoprobe France in Rousset
- 2003
Technoprobe Singapore: production facility and service center
- 2007
First probe card with Vertical MEMS technology on the market; 'Most Innovative Technology' award (SWTest San Diego); founding of Technoprobe America (San José)
- 2010
Start of operations in the Philippines with 15 employees
- 2011
Expansion of the Italy site begins (new factory in 2013, +4,000 m²); introduction of TPEG™ MEMS
- 2014
Among the world's leading probe card manufacturers
- 2015
Founding of Technoprobe Korea (production and technical support)
- 2017
New factory in Cernusco Lombardone (+7,000 m²); third-largest probe card manufacturer worldwide; founding of Technoprobe Japan
- 2019
Acquisition of Microfabrica Inc.; repair center in Taiwan; opening of the China factory; second-largest probe card manufacturer worldwide
- 2021
TPI Agrate (3,500 m² R&D); best probe card supplier for the fourth consecutive year (VLSI Research); TPI5 building in Cernusco Lombardone, temporary Covid-19 vaccination hub (160,000 vaccine doses)
- 2022
Listing on Euronext Growth Milan (February 15); opening of Technoprobe Catania (500 m² design center)
- 2023
Acquisition of Harbor Electronics (Santa Clara); Teradyne acquires a 10% stake and sells its Device Interface Solutions division to Technoprobe
- 2024
Merger of DIS Tech Italia Srl into Technoprobe S.p.A.; seventh consecutive year as best test subsystems supplier (TechInsights); inclusion in the FTSE MIB
- 2026
1st place in the 'Top 130 Italian Companies' at Leader dell'Innovazione 2026; Intel EPIC Supplier Award 2025; TSMC Excellent Performance Award 2024