Electricity: measuring and testing – Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components – Of individual circuit component or element
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-06
2001-11-20
Metjahic, Safet (Department: 2858)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components
Of individual circuit component or element
C324S1540PB
Reexamination Certificate
active
06320398
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device testing apparatus for testing semiconductor devices as to whether they operate in normal condition or not, and more particularly to a semiconductor device testing apparatus of the type in which a semiconductor device to be tested, particularly a semiconductor integrated circuit that is a typical example of semiconductor devices, is transported on a test tray to a test or testing section where it is tested for its electrical characteristic while remaining placed on the test tray, and upon completion of the test, the tested semiconductor integrated circuit together with the test tray is carried out of the test section, followed by being sorted out on the basis of the data of the test results.
BACKGROUND ART
Many semiconductor device testing apparatus (commonly called IC tester), which measures the electrical characteristics of semiconductor integrated circuits (which will be referred to as ICs hereinafter) by applying a test signal of a predetermined pattern to the ICs being tested, have a semiconductor device transporting and processing or handling apparat us (commonly called handler) integrally connected thereto for transporting the ICs to be tested (ICs under test) to a test section where they are brought into electrical contact with a socket of the test head (a measuring section of the semiconductor device testing apparatus for applying and receiving various testing electrical signals), followed by carrying the tested ICs out of the test section and sorting them out into conforming and non-conforming articles on the basis of the data of the test results. The testing apparatus having the handler of the type described above integrally connected thereto is also herein termed “semiconductor device testing apparatus”. In the following disclosure the present invention will be described by taking ICs typical of semiconductor devices by way of example for the convenience of explanation.
First, an example of the prior art handler called “horizontal transporting system” will be described with reference to FIG.
7
. The handler
10
illustrated therein comprises a loader section
11
where ICs
15
to be tested which have been beforehand loaded on a customer tray (user tray)
13
by a user are transferred and reloaded onto a test tray
14
capable of withstanding high/low temperatures, a constant temperature chamber
20
including a test section
21
for receiving and testing the ICs transported from the loader section
11
, and an unloader section
12
where the tested ICs
15
which have been carried on the test tray
14
out of the constant temperature chamber subsequently to undergoing a test in the test section
21
are transferred from the test tray
14
to the customer tray
13
to be reloaded on the latter (generally, the tested ICs are often sorted by categories based on the data of the test results and transferred onto the corresponding customer trays).
The test tray
14
is moved in a circulating manner from and back to the loader section
11
sequentially through the constant temperature chamber
20
and the unloader section
12
. More specifically, the test tray
14
loaded with ICs
15
to be tested is transported from the loader section
11
to a soak chamber
22
within the constant temperature chamber
20
where the ICs
15
placed on the tray
14
are heated or cooled to a predetermined constant temperature. Generally, the soak chamber
22
is configured to store a plurality of (say, ten) test trays
14
stacked one on another such that a test tray
14
newly received from the loader section
11
is stored at the top of the stack while the lowermost test tray of the stack is delivered to the test section
21
in the constant temperature chamber
20
, for example. The ICs
15
to be tested are heated or cooled to a predetermined constant temperature while the test tray
14
is moved sequentially from the top to the bottom of the stack within the soak chamber
22
, so that the ICs
15
are loaded with temperature stresses of either a designed high or low temperature.
The ICs
15
heated or cooled to the constant temperature together with the test tray
14
are then transported while maintained at that temperature from the soak chamber
22
to the test section
21
where the ICs under test while remaining loaded on the test tray
14
are brought into electrical contact with an IC socket or sockets (not shown) disposed in the test section
21
to be measured for their electrical characteristics. Upon completion of the test, the tested ICs
15
together with the test tray
14
are transported from the test section
21
to an exit chamber
23
where the ICs
15
are restored to the ambient temperature.
Like the soak chamber
22
, the exit chamber
23
is also configured to accommodate test trays in the form of a stack. For example, the arrangement is such that the tested ICs
15
are brought back to the ambient temperature as the associated test tray is moved sequentially from the bottom to the top of the stack within the exit chamber
23
. Thereafter, the tested ICs
15
as carried on the test tray
14
are passed to the unloader section
12
where the tested ICs are sorted by categories based on the test results and transferred onto the corresponding customer trays
13
. The test tray
14
emptied in the unloader section
12
is delivered back to the loader section
11
where it is again loaded with ICs
15
to be tested from the customer tray
13
to repeat the same steps of operation.
It is to be noted here that the transfer of ICs already tested as well as of ICs to be tested between the customer tray
13
and the test tray
14
is typically effected by suction transport means utilizing a vacuum pump which may pick up one to several ICs at a time for the transfer. In the loader section
11
the customer tray
13
is moved by the associated transfer arm
30
to a transfer position where ICs
15
to be tested are transferred from the customer tray
13
to the test tray
14
, while in the unloader section
12
the customer tray
13
is moved by the associated transfer arm
30
to a receiving position to receive the tested ICs
15
from the test tray
14
.
As discussed above, ICs
15
to be tested are carried on a test tray
14
from the loader section
11
to the test section
21
from where they are transported while carried on the test tray to the unloader section
12
after having undergone the test. In the test section
21
, ICs under test are brought, while remaining placed on the test tray, into electrical contact with IC sockets which are supplied with a signal of a predetermined test pattern from the semiconductor device testing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as IC tester), whereby the ICs are tested for their electrical characteristics. The test section
21
of the handler is disposed in the constant temperature chamber
20
since it needs to conduct the test on ICs
15
under test under an atmosphere of a designated temperature. The IC socket or sockets mounted to the test head need also be disposed in an adiabatic condition within the constant temperature chamber
20
.
FIG. 8
illustrates an example of the construction of the test tray
14
. The test tray
14
comprises a rectangular frame
16
having a plurality of (three in the illustrated example) equally spaced apart parallel cleats
17
extending longitudinally of the frame between the opposed longitudinal side frame members
16
a
and
16
b
of the frame. Each of the cleats
17
has a plurality of equally spaced apart mounting lugs
18
protruding therefrom on both sides thereof, and likewise each of the longitudinal side frame members
16
a
,
16
b
opposing the adjacent cleats has similar mounting lugs
18
protruding therefrom. The mounting lugs
18
protruding from each cleat
17
on both sides thereof are located such that each of the mounting lugs
18
protruding from the cleat
17
on one side thereof is positioned in the middle between two corresponding mounting lugs
18
protruding from that cleat
17
on the opposite s
Ito Akihiko
Kobayashi Yoshihito
Advantest Corporation
Gallagher & Lathrop
Lathrop David N.
Metjahic Safet
Sundaram T. R.
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