Apparatus and method for measuring and controlling the internal temperature of a semicondcutor device

Abstract

A method for controlling the temperature of a semiconductor device-under-test (DUT) by forming an apparatus (100) including a feedback loop between a Temperature Forcing Unit (TFU, 110) conductively tied to an Automated Test Equipment (ATE, 120) having a chamber encasing the DUT (122), and the ATE conductively connected to a Control Computer (CC, 130) conductively tied back to the TFU. The CC is calibrated with reference values of temperatures and measured voltages using a diode integral with a diode-isolated circuit protecting a pin of the DUT against electrostatic discharge. The thermal air stream to stabilize the temperature of the ATE chamber loaded with the DUT is reset by the CC until the DUT is stabilized at the goal temperature.

Description

FIELD[0001]Embodiments of the invention are related in general to the field of semiconductor devices and processes, and more specifically to the structure and method of a system for measuring and maintaining the true temperature of a semiconductor circuit.DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART[0002]When the characteristics of a semiconductor component or integrated circuit (IC) have to be measured as a function of temperature, the temperature of the actual semiconductor chip of the component or IC has to be known accurately. Due to their miniature size and sensitive connections, however, semiconductor chips have to be encapsulated in a package in order to allow handling of the packaged device (“device-under-test”, DUT) in the environment of an electronic system. Consequently, it is the temperature of the package which is typically measured for all practical purposes; the temperature of the chip proper is extrapolated from the package temperature.[0003]One of the popular temperature measurement ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text is talking about a specific way to design a pin to prevent interference with the temperature sensing accuracy. The pin needs to be chosen so that other parts of the circuit don't affect the way the diode works. Additionally, the current through the diode needs to be small, but can be increased significantly to make sure the voltage measurement is accurate. This helps to maintain the desired linear behavior of the diode.

Problems solved by technology

The DUT may never reach the set temperature, because the thermal stream does not create an adequately sealed thermal chamber.

Furthermore, there is still the uncertainty of the true temperature of the chip inside the device package.

While this mode reduces the settling time considerably, the gas temperature may go beyond the desired DUT temperature.

In addition, the proper placement of the thermocouple remains debatable, since the air flow may influence the thermocouple more than the actual DUT temperature.

Integrated circuits (ICs) may be severely damaged by electrostatic discharge (ESD) events.

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