Electricity: measuring and testing – Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components – Of individual circuit component or element
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-25
2001-11-27
Nguyen, Vinh P. (Department: 2858)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components
Of individual circuit component or element
C324S765010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06323666
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for testing both of a test burn-in board (hereinafter, it may be simply referred to “TBIB”) and a device under test, in particular, it relates to a test burn-in board handler for inserting and pulling out a device under test in and from a TBIB in a test burn-in process for the device under test, such as an integrated circuit (IC).
2. Description of Related Art
For an apparatus for carrying out a screening test, such as a burn-in process in order to remove a semiconductor device having an inherent defect or a device leading a failure depending on time and stress because of variation of production, a burn-in apparatus has been known.
Before the burn-in, a pretest of the device under test is carried out in the test burn-in board handler, as described later.
The test burn-in board handler (hereinafter, it may be simply referred to “TBIB handler”) is used for the devices, such as, for instance, memory integrated circuits of a TSOP type or a SOJ type, which are surface mounting types.
Next, the organization of the TBIB handler in earlier technology will be explained as follows with referring to FIG.
2
.
In
FIG. 2
, reference numeral
1
A denotes an IC under test (hereinafter, it may be simply referred to “IC”), reference numeral
5
denotes a tray, reference numeral
8
denotes a carrier rack, reference numeral
20
denotes a TBIB handler, reference numeral
21
denotes a TBIB, reference numeral
22
denotes an IC test circuit, reference numeral
26
denotes an alignment stage, and reference numeral
27
denotes a test stage.
In
FIG. 2
, recess portions are formed crosswise in the tray
5
, which are partly shown in the Figure, wherein the ICs
1
A are loaded. The trays
5
, for example, 35 pieces thereof are piled up. The respective ICs
1
A are transferred one after another from the trays
5
to the alignment stages
26
by a hand with a vacuum absorbing system, which is not shown.
The ICs
1
A are loaded in recess portions formed in the alignment stages
26
and having shapes which are slightly larger than the external shapes of the ICs
1
A, where attitudes of the ICs
1
A are straightened. The ICs
1
A of which attitudes are straightened are transferred from the alignment stages
26
to the test stages
27
by the hand with the vacuum absorbing system.
On the test stages
27
, IC sockets as electrodes are disposed and electrically connected to the IC test circuit
22
. The ICs
1
A which are in contacted with the IC sockets are tested by the IC test circuit
22
.
The IC test circuit
22
performs the pretest of the ICs
1
A by a simplified function test before the burn-in test of the ICs
1
A. The ICs
1
A judged non-defective by the IC test circuit
22
are transferred to the TBIB
21
described later and inserted in IC sockets on the TBIB
21
.
In the carrier rack
8
, the TBIBs
21
in which the ICs
1
A are not inserted are piled. A piece of TBIB
21
is took out from the carrier rack
8
and transferred to the inserting position for the ICs
1
A.
At the inserting position, as above-described, the ICs
1
A with non-defective are transferred from the test stages
27
to the TBIB
21
and inserted in the IC sockets thereon. When the predetermined number of ICs
1
A are inserted in the TBIB
21
, the TBIB
21
is returned to the carrier rack
8
.
After the ICs
1
A are inserted in all TBIBs
21
in the carrier rack
8
, the carrier rack
8
is transferred to the burn-in apparatus performing the burn-in test which is the next process. Then, a series of operations of the TBIB handler
20
are completed.
With the TBIB handler
20
having the structure as shown in
FIG. 2
, the ICs
1
A determined non-defective by the IC test circuit
22
are mounted on the TBIBs
21
, however, after the ICs
1
A are mounted on the TBIBs
21
, the pretest of the ICs
1
A is not carried out by the IC test circuit
22
.
Accordingly, in the burn-in test in the next process, when it is judged defective because of a contact failure between the IC socket on the TBIB
21
and the IC
1
A, the IC
1
A is removed from the IC socket at the position by a manual work.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was developed in view of the above-described problem. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a TBIB handler having a burn-in board checker for testing a TBIB, and a test circuit for performing a pretest of ICs by a simplified function test. Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for testing a burn-in board, which tests both of the burn-in board and the device under test.
In order to accomplish the above-described object, in one aspect of the present invention, a TBIB handler for inserting and pulling out ICs in and from a TBIB, the handler comprises: a test circuit for performing a pretest of the ICs by a simplified function test before the ICs are burn-in tested; and a burn-in board checker for testing the TBIB.
The burn-in board checker is for testing the TBIB to check defects thereof, for example, a pattern disconnection, a solder failure, a short circuit or other defect. According to the TBIB handler, the TBIB handler comprises the test circuit for the ICs and the burn-in board checker, so that the TBIB is tested by the burn-in board checker and the pretest of the ICs by the simplified function test is performed by the test circuit before the burn-in test.
The TBIB handler can further comprise an electronic switch being electrically connected with the TBIB on which the ICs are mounted, and the electronic switch switching between first test signals of the test circuit and second test signals of the burn-in board checker.
According to the TBIB handler comprising the electronic switch, when the electronic switch switches to a side of the test circuit with the first test signals and the TBIB on which the ICs are mounted is electrically connected with the test circuit for IC, the pretest of the ICs can be performed, while when the electronic switch switches to a side of the burn-in board checker with the second test signals, the TBIB can be tested.
The TBIB handler can further comprise an alignment stage for straightening attitudes of the ICs transferred from a tray on which the ICs are mounted, wherein after the attitudes of the ICs are straightened at the alignment stage, the ICs can be transferred to and mounted on normal integrated circuit sockets on the TBIB.
According to the TBIB handler, the attitudes of the ICs can be straightened at the alignment stage, thereafter the ICs can be transferred to and mounted on the normal integrated circuit sockets on the TBIB, so that the ICs of which attitudes are straightened at the alignment stage can be directly transferred to the normal integrated circuit sockets on the TBIB and mounted thereon.
With the TBIB handler, the pretest of the ICs can be performed by the test circuit in a state that the ICs are mounted on the normal integrated circuit sockets on the TBIB, the normal sockets are judged non-defective by the burn-in board checker.
Accordingly, it can be possible to perform the pretest of the ICs in the state that the ICs are mounted on the normal integrated circuit sockets on the TBIB. Therefore, the electronic switch switches between the test of the TBIB and the pretest of the ICs in a state that the ICs are mounted on the TBIB, thereby the TBIB handler can have improved test efficiency.
With the TBIB handler, the test circuit, the burn-in board checker and the electrical switch can be made up as a unit, and the unit can be connected to the test burn-in board through a connector.
According to the TBIB handler, the test circuit, the burn-in board checker and the electrical switch can be made up as the unit, and the unit can be connected to the TBIB through the connector, thereby the test circuit, the burn-in board checker and the electrical switch can be easily and electrically connected with the TBIB as one unit through the connector, so that it can be possible to enable various combinations of testers.
I
Ando Electric Co. Ltd.
Nguyen Vinh P.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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