A probe card characterizes optical structures formed on a MEMS wafer. The probe includes a substrate having a circuit thereon. The substrate has an opening wherein a plurality of metal probes, electrically coupled to the circuit, pass through the opening. The probe card further includes an optical test device electrically coupled to the circuit. The optical test device includes a light source and a photosensitive area. The photosensitive area receives directly light reflected from the optical structures. The optical test device can be positioned directly over the opening, or the optical test device can be positioned on a periphery of the opening. Furthermore, the optical test device can be positioned so as to provide a test light beam that is parallel to the wafer to test pop-up optical MEMS components. The optical test device also may be positioned between the probe card and the MEMS wafer.

A packaged device includes a package substrate and a plurality of optical structures formed on a semiconductive substrate and positioned on the package substrate, forming an active area. The packaged device further includes a contiguous solderable seal structure surrounding the plurality of optical structures and a cap formed over the plurality of optical structures and upon the contiguous solderable seal structure. The cap has, formed thereon, patterned metalization. The patterned metalization is located over the active area.

An arrangement for the visual inspection of substrates (S) comprises a microscope (2) for viewing the substrate (S) present at an inspection point (I); at least one viewing field (11), arranged next to a microscope viewing port (2a), for viewing an image or an image area of the substrate (S); and/or at least one further viewing field (12), arranged next to the microscope viewing port (2a), for direct viewing of the substrate (S) or a portion of the substrate (S); the microscope viewing port (2a) and the viewing fields (11, 12) being arranged with respect to an operating position (P) in such a way that from the operating position (P), the viewer looks in a first viewing direction (A) perpendicularly onto the microscope viewing port (2a), and in at least one further viewing direction (B, B') approximately perpendicularly in each case onto one of the viewing fields (11, 12). The first viewing direction (A) and the viewing directions (B, B') enclose acute angles (.alpha., .alpha.'). The result is to create an inspection arrangement notable for favorable ergonomic properties and a compact design.

An in-line die attaching and curing apparatus for a multi-chip package (MCP) comprises at least one die attaching apparatus and at least one snap-cure apparatus. In one embodiment, the die attaching apparatus comprises a loader, an index rail, a transfer gripper, a wafer loader, a chip alignment table, an adhesive applying device and an apparatus for placing a device on a chip mounting area. The die attaching apparatus further comprises a UV radiation device and a vision camera. The adhesive curing apparatus comprises a frame providing unit being provided with the chip mounting frame from the index rail, a plurality of heating zones, each having a heating means, the heating means operable to raise and/or lower the temperature condition of the heating zones, a frame discharging unit discharging the chip mounting frame, and frame transfer means transferring the chip mounting frame from the frame providing unit to the frame discharging unit through the heating zones.

A plastically deformable element of a microelectromechanical device is strained so as to improve the lifetime of the microelectromechanical device. The element of the device can be strained by deforming the element into a deformed state and holding the element at the deformed state for a particular time period so as to acquire an amount of plastic deformation. The operation states of the device are calibrated according to the states before straining and the acquired plastic deformation. After then, the device is operated in the calibrated states.