Semiconductor Test
Changing design scales, shrinking geometries, and the use of new materials make wafer-level reliability testing more important than ever for integrated circuit manufacturers.
Acer provides modular PXI and LXI matrix switching solutions that have been used in many semiconductor test applications, including package-level and wafer-level testing, short/open circuit, capacitance, I/V testing for transient charge trapping and SCPT (Single Charge Pulse Trapping) ...
Open Box System Solution
Changing design scales, shrinking geometries, and the use of new materials make wafer-level reliability testing more important than ever for integrated circuit manufacturers. If a wafer is defective or packaging equipment fails, this drives reliability testing and modeling upstream in the production process to reduce time, capacity, money and material losses.
When faced with the problem of testing higher I/O volumes while reducing costs, many reliability engineers find they cannot solve this problem with traditional switching solutions. Instead, engineers increasingly prefer modular, flexible solutions that can be scaled to fit their needs.
Pickering's modular PXI and LXI matrix switching solutions have been used in many semiconductor test applications, including package-level and wafer-level testing, open/short testing, capacitance testing, and I/V testing for transient charge capture and SCPT single charge pulse capture.
Our semiconductor test matrix switching solutions have the following features:
· High Fidelity Connectivity - Pickering Primary reed relayLow path resistance, reconnectable
· Multiple analog buses -Can be tested in parallel to increase throughput
· High relay closure counts -Used in I/V Multiple test points grounded during testing
· Load the test sequence into the– Reduce test time by integrating into the unit and utilizing triggers to increase the ability to perform conversion tests.
· Quick switching time– The matrix module is based on pickering Reed Relay
· Easily create switching paths–utilization Switch Path Manager Signal Routing Software
· Modular Design–Scalable and easy system maintenance
Typical Case Sharing
Clients
Amkor Technology is one of the world's largest contract semiconductor assembly and test service providers. Founded in 1968, Amkor pioneered the outsourcing of IC packaging and test and is now a strategic manufacturing partner to more than 300 leading semiconductor companies and the electronics OEM world.
Applications
Amkor's Korea division needed a new test system - one part of the system was to be used for open and short circuit testing of semiconductor packages. The project required a very large - 3072 x 4 matrix switch configuration to perform 4-wire measurements, I/V characterization, and 2-wire measurements. Because it will be used in many test applications, it needs to be very cost-effective.
Solutions
After recognizing their needs, Amkor decided to use three Pickering's LXI interface high density matrix modules (Model 60-553-008). These LXI matrix modules, which consist of electromagnetic relays, are available on the market at a lower price and allow up to 1027 intersections to be closed simultaneously.
In addition, from the point of view of testing relationship and future maintenance, this LXI matrix module is equipped with BIRST (Built-In Relay Self-Test) function, which allows users to check the status of each relay in the module at any time, thus making the system maintenance more convenient and faster.
Open Short Circuit Test
Open and short circuit testing is the most commonly used method for evaluation and functional test verification of semiconductor packages. In addition to testing, it also enables package failure analysis in I/V characterization tests.
For this type of application, test cells and matrix switches are essential, depending on the number of pins in the test cell, and the entire platform can be based on PXI or other LXI-like test platforms.
For switching matrices, we use matrices that support both 2-wire (NX2) and 4-wire (NX4) measurements, depending on the customer's needs. For open and short circuit testing only, the NX2 configuration can be used. For low resistance measurements and high precision I/v needs, eliminating switch and cable channel resistance, the NX4 must be chosen.
Each of the three relay types has its own advantages and disadvantages for the 4-wire connection method:
Reed Relay
Electromagnetic Relay
Solid State Relay
- Fast action time
- High reliability (sealed)
- Higher cost
- Low switching power
- Higher switching power
- Lowest Price
Slow Motion Time - Short life expectancy
- Nearly unlimited life and the fastest action speed (no switching mechanical rebound)
- Limitations in bandwidth, leakage, and pressure resistance.
In addition, whether to use PXI, VXI or LXI depends on the size of the system and the number of channels.
Customized Design - System integrators offer switching matrices constructed from scratch rather than choosing an off-the-shelf product. This product has had the advantage of being the lowest cost. However, the matrix requires a 2 meter cabinet, making it very bulky and not a good choice.
VXI is a very reliable form factor specifically suited for military, avionics and aerospace applications testing, but it is an older technology with lower channel densities.VXI modules now have a value in supporting existing applications over the long term. Since this project is a new application and switching modules for VXI platforms are decreasing, this option was eliminated.
PXI or PXI Express is a relatively new platform. If the project requires a low number of switching matrix channels, this may be a good solution. However, if the system requires a switching matrix that must have a large number of channels, then this is not an appropriate choice. For example, if a 1024 x 4 matrix is configured with a PXI/PXIe module with 512 crosspoints, then eight modules are required, and the cost of eight modules plus a PXI host chassis and controller far outweighs the cost of a straightforward 1024 x 4 LXI high-density matrix switch. In addition, the PXI backplane power supply limits the number of simultaneously closed crosspoints to a maximum of 40% or 64% of the number of module crosspoints, depending on the type of relay, which makes the PXI/PXIe platform unsuitable for building oversized test platforms.
LXI is a new type of modular instrument controlled via Ethernet. The LXI main chassis from each manufacturer contains a variety of instruments and switches.
The different categories make it very versatile. Advantages include the ability to close multiple crosspoints at the same time, no strict form factor limitations like PXI/PXIe, and no backplane power limitations. The LXI solution uses the fewest modules of the options, with only three 1U-high LXI modules used to create a 3072×4 matrix.
Pickering was selected as a preferred supplier for several reasons: size, flexibility and competitive pricing.
Honghong is committed to high-density switching and sensor simulation solutions. If you have similar needs, please feel free to contact us for consultation.
Typical Products
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