Nanoprobing · PS8

Prober Shuttle PS8

High-precision in-situ electrical nanoprobing with up to eight ultra-flat MM4 manipulators — for advanced-node failure analysis.

Get in touch Download brochure
Compatible
SEM image of eight nanoprobe tips converging on a patterned chip surface, 200 nm scale bar.
up to 8 × MM4Manipulators
7 nmNode rating and beyond
< 0.02 nmLinear resolution
6 inchLoad-lock compatible

Eight probes, twenty-seven axes#

Where the PS8e adds encoders, the PS8 is the platform they were built on: a 140 mm diameter, 10 mm tall shuttle carrying up to eight ultra-flat MM4 three-axis manipulators plus a three-axis substage — 27 axes of motion in total, each resolving linear moves below 0.02 nm. Every manipulator’s Z drive swings up 90° for clear access to the sample and tool-free exchange of probe tips, and each carries its own low-noise triax connector so weak signals stay clean from tip to rack.

Built for the failure-analysis lab#

The whole platform loads into the chamber through a 6 inch load lock, so swapping samples doesn’t mean venting the SEM — cycle times stay short and throughput stays high. Manual probe placement, guided by the same 0.02 nm-class positioners as the PS8e, keeps the PS8 rated for the 7 nm node and beyond; step up to encoded pre-alignment on the PS8e when low-kV imaging across all eight probes becomes the bottleneck. Add the optional Advanced Probing Tools suite (Live Contact Tester, Electron-Beam-Induced-Current EBIC/EBAC imaging) and the PS8 covers most in-situ electrical characterization work in the lab. Non-magnetic construction and FIB-angle tilt round out a platform built to retrofit onto an existing stage.

Up close

Gallery

  • SEM close-up of six probe tips converging radially on a patterned chip surface, 200 nm scale bar.
    Six tips landed on a patterned surface — 200 nm scale bar.
  • Top-down photo of the PS8 platform with eight MM4 manipulators arranged radially around a central chip.
    The 140 mm platform fully populated with eight MM4 manipulators.
  • Close-up of a chip carrier and socket assembly mounted on the PS8 platform, probe arms visible in the background.
    A packaged device mounted on the substage, ready for probing.
  • SEM image of three probe tips landed on a device, with an inset transistor I-V family graph, 100 nm scale bar.
    Transistor I–V family acquired in situ, overlaid on the landed probes.
Specifications

Technical data

Overview

Diameter
140 mm
Total height
10 mm
Max. sample area
20 × 20 mm
Max. sample height
20 mm
Manipulators
up to 8 × MM4

Substage

Travel — X / Y
9 mm
Travel — Z
0.7 mm

Motion (per manipulator)

Range — A / C
5 mm
Range — B (rotation)
90°
Resolution — A / C
< 0.02 nm
Resolution — B
< 0.5 nm
Max. velocity
up to 1 mm/s
Drift
< 1 nm/min

Electrical

Max. voltage
100 V
Max. current
100 mA
Noise
20 fA @ 1 Hz
Insulation leakage — probes
< 50 fA/V
Insulation leakage — sample
< 150 fA/V
Signal conductor resistance
< 5 Ω
On film

See it run

PS8 Prober Shuttle packaging instructions
PS8 Prober Shuttle — replace MM4 micromanipulator
PS8 sample exchange
Why it wins

Advantages

Same platform, manual control

  • 27 axes across eight MM4 manipulators and the three-axis substage, each resolving below 0.02 nm
  • Every manipulator's Z drive swings up 90° for direct access and probe-tip changes without tools
  • Low-noise triax connector on every manipulator for clean low-current signals

Built for the failure-analysis lab

  • 6 inch load-lock compatible platform for short cycle times and high sample throughput
  • Rated for the 7 nm node and beyond
  • Compatible with the Advanced Probing Tools suite, including Live Contact Tester and EBIC/EBAC imaging

Easy to integrate

  • 19-inch rack electronics stay outside the chamber and out of the operator's sightline
  • Non-magnetic construction; tilts to the FIB angle for circuit-edit work
  • Plug-and-play, modular components drop onto an existing sample stage
Applications

What it’s used for

SEM image of three nanoprobe tips contacting a patterned device, 50 nm scale bar.Semiconductor

Nanoprobing

Land ultra-fine needles on individual transistors to measure their electrical behaviour at the most advanced nodes.

Explore
In action

Application articles

Introduction

What is nanoprobing?

How in-situ probing measures the electrical behaviour of individual transistors at the most advanced nodes.

Introduction
Four-panel current map of a probe tip contacting a metal grid at 100 V to 300 V bias, the current spread widening with voltage.
Technical

EBAC — Electron-Beam Absorbed Current

Tracing conductive paths and finding opens in interconnects, with no bias applied to the device.

Technical
Technical

EBIRCH — Electron-Beam-Induced Resistance Change

Biased, AC current imaging that lights up resistive and leaky defects as bright spots.

Technical
Video series

Nanoprobing in the microscope

In-situ nanoprobing and failure analysis, filmed inside the SEM, from probe landing to live I–V curves.

6 videos
Explore

Related products & accessories

Top-down view of the PS8e Prober Shuttle, eight MM4 manipulators converging on a central chip.
PS8e

Prober Shuttle PS8e

A compact, fully integrated nanoprobing system — now encoded for automatic probe pre-alignment at the 3 nm node and beyond.

View product
SEM images of nine Mesoscope tungsten probe tips at radii from 50 nm to 5 nm, shown against a 5 µm scale bar.
Mesoscope

Mesoscope Probe Tips

High-end tungsten probe tips with radii from 250 nm down to 5 nm — ready to probe straight from the pack.

View product
The PS4 Prober Shuttle hardware — a circular stage carrying four ultra-flat MM4 manipulators with copper and gold detail.
PS4

Prober Shuttle PS4

A compact two- or four-probe nanoprobing system for in-situ electrical characterization at advanced nodes.

View product
The NW4 platform — a load-lock-compatible base with space for up to four MM3A-EM micromanipulators arranged around a large substrate.
NW4

NW4

A load-lock platform hosting up to four MM3A-EM manipulators — nanoprobing and failure analysis on large substrates up to 120 × 120 mm.

View product
The ProbeWorkstation+ — multiple MM3A-EM micromanipulators arranged around a central sample on a long-range substage.
ProbeWorkstation+

ProbeWorkstation+

Up to eight manipulators, a roof-mounted prober and a 30 mm substage — a complete in-SEM probe station, installed or removed in 60 seconds.

View product
The Micro Heating and Cooling Stub mounted on a Prober Shuttle PS8.
MHCS-PS

Heating & Cooling Stage for PS8

A heated/cooled stub for the Prober Shuttle PS8 — regulate sample temperature from −20 °C to +150 °C during probing, water-cooling-free.

View product
Get in touch

Talk to an application engineer

Tell us your sample and your microscope — we’ll walk you through the workflow and route you to the right regional team.

Get in touch