Electricity: measuring and testing – Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components – Of individual circuit component or element
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-15
2003-08-19
Cuneo, Kamand (Department: 2829)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components
Of individual circuit component or element
C324S1540PB
Reexamination Certificate
active
06608497
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to semiconductor devices and, more specifically, to an apparatus and method for the post production testing of semiconductor devices at different temperatures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The testing of an integrated circuit is a very important step in the production of quality semiconductor devices. A number of different test may be performed on the integrated circuit to identify whether the circuit is operating correctly and whether or not the circuit is likely to malfunction in the future.
One type of testing that is done to ensure reliability is environmental testing. Environmental testing of integrated circuits entails the testing of these circuits at elevated and/or reduced temperatures. When testing integrated circuits at different temperatures, it is desirable to maintain a constant and uniform temperature on each circuit that is being tested. If the temperature on each integrated circuit is not uniform, the test results will differ significantly for the different circuits.
Many efforts have been made to provide uniform temperature testing of integrated circuits. However, presently no one has been able to provide an effective way for the uniform post production temperature testing of semiconductor devices. This is especially true for post production parallel strip testing of semiconductor devices.
Therefore, a need existed to provide a device and method that will maintain a uniform temperature of semiconductor devices mounted on a test board.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An apparatus and method for maintaining a uniform temperature to allow for the environmental testing of an integrated circuit. A contactor assembly is used for connecting the integrated circuit to a piece of testing equipment. The contactor assembly is able to altering the temperature of the integrated circuit. A porting assembly is coupled to the testing equipment and to the contactor assembly. The porting assembly transfers a gas to the contactor assembly in order to allow the contactor assembly to alter the temperature of the integrated circuit.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 4870355 (1989-09-01), Kufis et al.
patent: 5550482 (1996-08-01), Sano
patent: 6288561 (2001-09-01), Leedy
patent: 6437593 (2002-08-01), Ito et al.
Adney Daniel R.
Mendiola, Jr. Ignacio A.
Amkor Technology Inc.
Nguyen Tung X.
Weiss, Moy & Harris P.C.
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