WO2002031518A2

WO2002031518A2 - Conversion board for dual handlers and single site device interface boards

Info

Publication number: WO2002031518A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/027607
Authority: WO
Inventors: Supachai Vesaruch; Kittinan Chanvivatkun; Natthaphong Bunheun; Sutas Panyoo
Original assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-10-12
Filing date: 2001-09-05
Publication date: 2002-04-18
Also published as: WO2002031518A3; AU2001287104A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device, system, and method that permits the use of a dual device handler (110) in conjunction with a single site DIB (122). The device comprises a circuit board (100) that fits between the contactor (112) of a dual device handler (110) and a single site DIB (122) of a device tester (120). The circuit board (100) has connectors on both sides, the connectors being arranged and interconnected so that the board (100) serves as an adapter between the dual device handler contactor (112) and the single site DIB (122). As a result, the invention permits the combination of equipment previously considered incompatible. The invention thereby allows integrated circuit chip manufacturers to expand the versatility of expensive device testing ad handling equipment.

Description

HIFI CONVERSION BOARD FOR DUAL HANDLERS & SINGLE SITE DEVICE INTERFACE BOARDS

Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to semiconductor testing and testing devices. In particular, the present invention relates to a conversion board that permits dual device handlers to be used with single site device interface boards. Background of the Invention

Integrated circuit devices are subject to exhaustive testing during and after manufacturing. To test the devices, the device leads are coupled to the channels of an integrated circuit device tester. The tester applies a series of excitations to each device and analyzes the devices' responses. On the basis of the test results, the devices are graded. Testing is desirably carried out rapidly, accurately, and in high volume. For these purposes, automated testing equipment has been developed. A typical testing system includes a device handler for handling the devices under test and a device tester, which includes the testing circuitry. The handler places the device under test into electrical communication with a contactor. The contactor is then brought into electrical communication with the device interface board (DIB) of the tester. All this equipment, must be durable, avoid damaging the device leads, and minimize noise that could affect the test results.

Device handlers and device testers are separately purchased components that are selected based on the devices being tested, which vary widely. Devices vary in terms of package type, pin arrangement, and pin count. Package types include ball grid arrays, pin grid arrays, plastic leaded chip carriers, and plastic quad flat packs. For each of these package types, there are varying pin counts and pin arrangements. Because of these variations, chip manufacturers require a wide variety of device handling and testing equipment. Often, the particular combination of equipment needed is not available on site.

Further complicating matters, device handlers and device testers may be designed to process one, two, or four devices at a time. Device handlers are generally designed to process a certain number of devices and to interface with a tester having a certain number of test sites. As a result, a specific device handler and a specific device tester both suitable for testing a given type of device may not be compatible.

In light of these circumstances, there is an unsatisfied need for systems and methods that reduce the number of device handlers and device testers that must be purchased and maintained by chip manufacturers.

Disclosure of the Invention The invention relates to a device, system, and method that permits the use of a dual device handler in conjunction with a single site DIB. The device comprises a circuit board that fits between the contactor of a dual device handler and a single site DIB of a device tester. The circuit board has connectors on both sides, the connectors being arranged and interconnected so that the board serves as an adapter between the dual device handler contactor and the single site DIB. As a result, the invention permits the combination of equipment previously considered incompatible. The invention thereby allows integrated circuit chip manufacturers to expand the versatility of expensive device testing and handling equipment.

One aspect of the invention provides a conversion board including a printed circuit board having a contactor side and a tester side, contactor side connectors extending from the contactor side of the printed circuit board and configured to mate with a contactor of a dual device handler, tester side connectors extending from the tester side of the printed circuit board and configured to mate with a single site device interface board of a device tester, and electrical connections between the contactor side connectors and the tester side connectors, wherein the conversion board permits the device tester having the single site device interface board to test a device under test held by the contactor of the dual device handler.

Another aspect of the invention provides a system for testing integrated circuit devices including a dual device handler having a contactor, an integrated circuit tester having a single site device interface board, and a conversion board interfacing between the contactor and the single site device interface board.

A further aspect of the invention provides a conversion board including means for forming electrical connections with a contactor of a dual device handler, means for forming electrical connections with a single site device interface board of a device tester, and means for transmitting electrical signals between the contactor of the dual device handler and the single site device interface board of the device tester.

A further aspect of the invention provides a method of using a dual device handler with an integrated circuit tester having a single site device interface board, including attaching a printed circuit board to the single site device interface board, engaging the contactor of the dual device handler with a device under test, mating the contactor with the printed circuit board, and testing the device under test using the integrated circuit tester and transmitting test signals to and from the device under test though the printed circuit board.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a high level schematic of a system according to one aspect of the present invention. Fig. 2a illustrates an example of connector arrangement for a single site contactor. Fig. 2b illustrates an example of connector arrangement for a dual site contactor.

Fig. 3a is an illustration of a top (contactor side) view of a conversion board according to the present invention.

Fig. 3b is an illustration of a bottom (device interface board side) view of a conversion board according to the present invention.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention The present invention provides a conversion board that permits using a dual device handler in conjunction with a single site DIB. As illustrated in Figure 1, a conversion board 100 of the invention is positioned between contactor 112 and single site DIB 122. Contactor 112 is part of dual device handler 110 and single site DIB 122 is part of integrated circuit device tester 120. Conversion board 100 permits integrated circuit device tester 120, with single site DD3 122, to test device under test 130, which is handled by dual device handler 110. Dual device handler 110 electrically and physically connects device under test 130 to contactor 112. Contactor 112 is brought into physical contact and electrical communication with conversion board 100. Conversion board 100 physically contacts and electrically communicates with single site DIB 122. Thus, signals to and from integrated circuit device tester 120 pass through single site DIB 122, conversion board 100, and contactor 112 to device under test 130, whereby integrated circuit device tester 120 may test device under test 130 held by dual device handler 110.

Dual device handler 110 may be any dual device handler suitable for handling integrated circuit devices. Such device handlers are commercially available from several manufacturers, including Aetrium, Inc., Optics Associates, Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Company. Dual device handler 110 has dual site contactor board 112, which is a contactor board designed to act as an interface between devices under test and a dual site DIB of a device tester. Dual site and single site contactors differ in connector configurations. For example, the connectors of a single site contactor may be male pins 210 arranged in a circle, as illustrated in Fig. 2a, whereas the connectors for a dual site contactor may be male pins 220 arranged in rows that are parallel to the edges of an imaginary rectangle, as illustrated in Fig. 2b. Integrated circuit device tester 120 may be any device suitable for testing integrated circuit devices.

Such device testers are commercially available from several manufacturers, including Aetrium, Inc., Lorlin Test Systems, and Hewlett-Packard Company. Integrated circuit device tester 120 has single site DIB 122, which is a board designed to act as an interface between the tester and a single site contactor board. The connectors of dual and single site DIBs have configurations complimentary to those of dual and single site contactors. For example, the connectors of a single site DIB may be female pins arranged in a circle, mirroring the arrangement of male pins 210 illustrated in Fig. 2a, whereas the connectors for a dual site DIB may be female pins arranged in rows that are parallel to the edges of an imaginary rectangle, mirroring the arrangement of male pins 220 illustrated in Fig. 2b.

Conversion board 100 adapts a single site DIB to connect with a dual site contactor board. Conversion board 100 may be, for example, a printed circuit board with connectors mating with a single site

DIB extending from one side and connectors mating with a dual site contactor board extending from the other side. A printed circuit board has a substantially flat or planar structure and includes one or more conductive layers, such as metal layers or metal doped layers, and one or more non-conductive layers, such as epoxy reinforced glass or polyimide layers. The connectors mating with single site DIB 122 may be a set of male pins arranged in a circle, like the pins 210 illustrated in Fig. 2a, and the connectors mating with dual site contactor

112 may be a set of female pins arranged in rows that are parallel to the edges of an imaginary rectangle, mirroring the arrangement of male pins 220 illustrated in Fig. 2b.

The connectors extending from the tester side of conversion board 100 are electrically connected to the connectors extending from the contactor side of conversion board 100. The connections may be formed, for example, by conductive metal traces. The metal traces may be formed in a conductive layer of a printed circuit board using lithographic techniques, for example. Such techniques may involve removing conductive material in a conductive layer on either side of a path where it is desired to leave a conductive trace. The connectors on either side of conversion board 100 are generally of two types, signal connectors and ground connectors. Signal connectors form signal connections and ground connectors form ground connections. The signal connectors on the tester side of conversion board 100 are those connectors that mate to form electrical connections with signal channels of single site DIB 122. The signal connectors on the contactor side of conversion board 100 are those connectors that mate to form electrical connections with signal channels of dual site contactor 112. Connections between signal connectors on either side of conversion board 100 are one-to-one, that is, each contactor side signal connector is connected to one tester side signal connector. Ground connectors mate to form electrical connections with ground channels. Ground connectors, in contrast to signal connectors, may all be connected through a common ground. A broad conductive layer within the printed circuit board, such as a conductive layer providing a common ground for ground connections, provides shielding between the device under test and the testing circuitry. Such shielding reduces noise. To enhance the shielding function, the printed circuit board is advantageously made at least about 50% larger in area than the size necessary to encircle the connectors. The area of the printed circuit board refers to the gross area (excluding surface roughness and the like) of one of the flat sides of the printed circuit board. The area necessary to encircle the connectors is the area of the smallest round circuit board that is large enough to contain all the connectors on either side of the conversion board while preserving the positions of the connectors.

It is likewise advantageous if only small portions of a conductive layer are removed to isolate conductive traces, whereby the bulk of the conductive layer may be left to provide shielding. In particular, it is advantageous if a conductive layer spans at least about 80% by area of the conversion board. The span of the conductive layer is the area of the conductive layer measured on one side.

Figs. 3a and 3b are top and bottom views of an exemplary conversion board 300 in accordance with one aspect of the invention. The top view illustrates the contactor side of the board and the bottom view illustrates the DIB side. Male pins extending out the DIB side are soldered at points 310. Female pins extending out the contactor side are soldered at points 320. Conductive traces 330 on the contactor side of conversion board 300 connect signal pins 312 to signal pins 322. Another set of conductive traces 340 on the DIB side of conversion board 300 also connect signal pins 312 to signal pins 322, duplicating the connections formed on the contactor side. Duplicating these signal pin connections reduces the chance of conversion board 300 failing due to a defective connection. Conductive traces 330 are isolated by removing material from conductive layer 350. Conductive traces 340 are isolated by removing material from conductive layer 360.

Material is removed from these layers by standard lithographic techniques. Ground pins 314 and 324 are connected to the contiguous portions of conductive layers 350 and 360 by conductive traces 370 and 380. Thus, there are two grounding layers and the ground connections are also duplicated. Conductive layers 350 and 360 form both grounding layers and conductive traces. In operation, conversion board 300 attaches (plugs in) to a single site DIB. A device under test is placed on the contactor of a dual device handler and the contactor lowers to mate with conversion board 300. The device held in the contactor of the dual device handler is then tested by the device tester with the single site DDB.

What has been described above is the present invention and several of its specific aspects. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the present invention are possible. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Industrial Applicability The devices, methods and systems of the present invention are useful in the field of integrated circuit fabrication, and especially back-end processing. Particularly, the devices, methods and systems of the present invention are useful in testing and handling central processing units, memory devices and related integrated circuit devices while ensuring that such devices are not damaged during testing and handling.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. A conversion board, comprising: a printed circuit board having a contactor side and a tester side; contactor side connectors (320) extending from the contactor side of the printed circuit board and configured to mate with a contactor of a dual device handler; tester side connectors (310) extending from the tester side of the printed circuit board and configured to mate with a single site device interface board of a device tester; and electrical connections (330) between the contactor side connectors (320) and the tester side connectors (310); wherein the conversion board permits the device tester having the single site device interface board to test a device under test held by the contactor of the dual device handler.

2. The conversion board of claim 1 , wherein the contactor side connectors (320) comprise contactor side signal connectors (322); the tester side connectors (310) comprise tester side signal connectors (312); and the printed circuit board comprises conductive traces (330) on both the contactor side and the tester side forming connections between the tester side signal connectors (322) and the contactor side signal connectors (312).

3. The conversion board of claim 1, wherein the printed circuit board comprises a conductive layer; the contactor side connectors comprise contactor side ground connectors (324);

the tester side connectors comprise tester side ground connectors (314); and the contactor side ground connectors (324) and the tester side ground connectors (314) are in electrical communication with a common ground formed by the conductive layer.

4. The conversion board of claim 1, wherein the tester side connectors (310) comprise male pins arranged in a circle.

5. The conversion board of claim 4, wherein the contactor side connectors (320) comprise female pins arranged in rows that are parallel to the edges of an imaginary rectangle.

6. The conversion board of claim 1, wherein the contactor side connectors (310) comprise female pins arranged in rows that are parallel to the edges of an imaginary rectangle.

7. The conversion board of claim 1, wherein the printed circuit board has an area at least about 50% greater than that necessary to encircle the tester side connectors (320) and the contactor side connectors (310).

8. A system for testing integrated circuit devices, comprising: a dual device handler (110) comprising a contactor (112); an integrated circuit tester (120) comprising a single site device interface board (122); and a conversion board (100) interfacing between the contactor (112) and the single site device interface board ( 122) .

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the contactor (112) comprises pins arranged in rows that are parallel to the edges of an imaginary rectangle and the device interface board (122) comprises pins arranged in a circle.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the conversion board (100) provides shielding between a device under test and the integrated circuit tester (120).

11. A conversion board, comprising: means for forming electrical connections with a contactor (112) of a dual device handler (110); means for forming electrical connections with a single site device interface board (122) of a device tester (120); and means for transmitting electrical signals between the contactor (112) of the dual device handler (110) and the single site device interface board (122) of the device tester (120).

12. A method of using a dual device handler (110) with an integrated circuit tester (120) having a single site device interface board (122), comprising: attaching a printed circuit board (100) to the single site device interface board (122); engaging the contactor (112) of the dual device handler (110) with a device under test (130); mating the contactor (112) with the printed circuit board; and testing the device under test (130) using the integrated circuit tester (120) and transmitting test signals to and from the device under test (130) though the printed circuit board (100).

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the printed circuit board (100) comprises a conductive layer that provides a common ground for ground connections between the single site device interface board (122) and a contactor (112) of the dual device handler (110).

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the dual device handler (110) comprises a contactor (112) comprising pins arranged in a circle and the device interface board (122) comprises pins arranged in rows that are parallel to the edges of an imaginary rectangle.