Data processing: measuring – calibrating – or testing – Testing system – Of circuit
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-30
2001-05-22
Hoff, Marc S. (Department: 2857)
Data processing: measuring, calibrating, or testing
Testing system
Of circuit
C324S500000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06236952
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to testing of semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) devices. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a system and a method for automatically creating test conditions necessary for the IC device test and then transmitting the test conditions to a tester host so that the test conditions are loaded into a corresponding test program for controlling each of a plurality of testers.
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) devices such as mask ROMs (Read Only Memory) are manufactured based on the requirements of the specific users, such as the operational speed of a device, Ce/Oe (Chip enable/Output enable) pin option, operational modes, and ROM codes. This information, so-called predetermined handling conditions, is directly reflected throughout the various portions of the manufacturing process, including the manufacturing mask, wafer fabrication, EDS (Electrical Die Sorting) test, package assembly, and final test processes.
Usually, the production information for the ASIC devices, i.e., the specific user or customer requirements, are first delivered to the marketing/sales department of the semiconductor manufacturer. The marketing/sales department builds a database of production information which is stored in a computer system, e.g., a remote host, so that many different manufacturing departments or factories can gain access to the remote host and separately retrieve information from the production information database for use in producing IC devices having specific functions and quality as required by the user.
For example, within the manufacturing departments, the testing department has to re-write test conditions into a test program for the specific IC devices according to the production information. Conventionally, in order to write the test conditions, the test engineers must access the remote host and download the necessary data from the production database. Reviewing the downloaded data, the test engineers choose and enter data suitable for the specific device IC into a test program. However, since the writing of the test condition is performed manually, human errors are inevitable and it is difficult to quickly respond to situations when new specific devices are ordered. This lengthens the testing time and decreases the efficiency of the test process. Accordingly, it is desirable to automatically create test conditions and to automatically load the test conditions into a test program.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to automatically create test conditions and to automatically load the test conditions into a test program.
It is another object of the present invention to enhance the efficiency of the test process and reduce the test time.
A system for automatically creating and transmitting a test condition of the present invention comprises data collecting means for collecting data necessary for the test condition from a remote host which has a database containing production information for the IC devices; operating means for creating the test condition by comparing the collected data with a predetermined handling condition; and transmitting means for transmitting the test condition to a tester host which controls a plurality of testers by making use of corresponding test programs, and for loading the test condition into a corresponding test program.
The data collecting means uses SQL (Structured Query Language), which is suitable for interrogating and processing data in a relational database, and the data transmitting means uses a communications protocol such as the TCP/IP protocol (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
A method of the present invention comprises the steps of: collecting data necessary for the test condition from a remote host which has a database containing production information for the IC devices; creating the test condition by comparing the collected data with a predetermined handling condition; and transmitting the test condition to a tester host which controls a plurality of testers by making use of corresponding test programs, and for loading the test condition into a corresponding test program.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5243274 (1993-09-01), Kesley et al.
patent: 5311438 (1994-05-01), Sellers et al.
patent: 5539752 (1996-07-01), Berezin
patent: 5589765 (1996-12-01), Ohmart et al.
patent: 90-2690 (1990-04-01), None
patent: 92-6969 (1992-08-01), None
Jun Woo Chul
Lim Jong Hwan
Park Hyun Suk
Hoff Marc S.
Jones Volentine, LLC
Raymond Edward
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
LandOfFree
System and method for automatically creating and... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with System and method for automatically creating and..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and System and method for automatically creating and... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2563210