TANAKA develops ‘TK-SK’ palladium alloy for chip testing tools
The alloy offers maximum hardness of 640 HV, making it ideal for use in test socket applications, particularly in the final continuity testing stage (back-end process), the company said.
Japan’s TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. has announced the development of TK-SK, a palladium alloy designed for probe pins used in the final testing stage (post-processing) of semiconductor packages.
This palladium alloy offers maximum hardness of 640 HV, making it ideal for use in test socket applications, particularly in the final continuity testing stage (back-end process), the company said.
TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. develops industrial precious metal products as one of the core companies of TANAKA Precious Metals.
The company has manufactured and supplied a range of precious metals for probe pins used in testing equipment in the front-end and back-end processes of semiconductor manufacturing.
Demand for high-hardness probe pins has increased in recent years. But one common challenge with harder materials is that they can be more difficult to process and are prone to breaking during machining. Also, palladium alloys on the market previously had a maximum hardness of around 560HV.
TANAKA says that it has successfully developed TK-SK with a hardness of 640 HV, through its unique processing technology. By 2028, the company aims to ship 1.5 times the volume of its existing products.
High-hardness probe pins reduce wear-related deformation, leading to longer service life and lower maintenance costs for semiconductor test equipment.
Since its foundation in 1885, TANAKA Precious Metals has built a portfolio of products to support a diversified range of business uses focused on precious metals. With 5,355 employees, the group’s consolidated net sales for the fiscal year ending December 2023 was 611.1 billion yen.
