A method for detecting ATE channel connectivity

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for detecting the connectivity of ATE channels, comprising the following steps: S01: connecting channels in pairs to form a test pair, and setting a test resistor between the channels connected in pairs; S02: inputting a test current or a test voltage at one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and measuring the voltage value or the current value at the output port of the other channel; judging whether the two channels in the test pair are connected according to the corresponding relationship between the test current and the measured voltage value or the corresponding relationship between the test voltage and the measured current value. The method for detecting the connectivity of ATE channels provided by the present invention can reduce the dependence of channel detection in integrated circuit automatic test equipment on third-party equipment and personnel, and can shorten the test time and reduce the test cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of ATE channel testing, and in particular to a method for detecting ATE channel connectivity. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, under the influence of the international situation, my country's integrated circuit industry has experienced explosive growth. With the development of more and more chip companies, the demand for integrated circuit testing equipment has also exploded. Therefore, the later maintenance, inspection and repair of integrated circuit testing equipment have also become key issues.

[0003] Nowadays, most integrated circuit testing companies need to spend a lot of time to confirm when there is a problem with the equipment. In this process, not only the assistance of suppliers is needed, but also some complex external circuits need to be connected to execute some detection codes that are not open to the outside world by the manufacturer in order to get the results.

[0004] If the problem is found to be a hardware problem of the tester and cannot be solved on site, the IC testing company will often need to coordinate the time to send the machine back to the manufacturer for repair.

[0005] There are several problems in the detection process:

[0006] 1. In the integrated circuit industry, the third-party equipment used by manufacturers for testing is often very expensive, ranging from tens of thousands of RMB to millions of RMB, which is not something that integrated circuit testing companies can easily afford;

[0007] 2. The entire process requires personnel input from equipment manufacturers, and high human resource requirements;

[0008] 3. The entire testing cycle is very long. If the IC testing company and the equipment provider are not in the same place, the cycle may be extended to several days or even weeks;

[0009] 4. Taking all the above into consideration, the overall economic cost will be very high. Summary of the invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting ATE channel connectivity, which can reduce the dependence of channel detection in integrated circuit automatic test equipment on third-party equipment and personnel, shorten the test time, and reduce the test cost.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a method for detecting ATE channel connectivity, comprising the following steps:

[0012] S01: connect the channels in pairs to form a test pair, and set a test resistor between the channels connected in pairs;

[0013] S02: Input a test current or a test voltage at one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and measure the voltage value or the current value at the other channel output port; determine whether the two channels in the test pair are connected based on the corresponding relationship between the test current and the measured voltage value or the corresponding relationship between the test voltage and the measured current value.

[0014] Furthermore, the resistance values ​​of the test resistors in the test pair are all equal.

[0015] Furthermore, the resistance value of the test resistor is 1KΩ.

[0016] Furthermore, the step between step S01 and step S02 also includes writing a test program, which ensures that all test pairs in the ATE are sequentially input with test current or test voltage, and sequentially output measured voltage values ​​or measured current values, thereby obtaining a scan list.

[0017] Furthermore, the writing process of the test program is: writing the input quantity and the output quantity into the driver program of ATE.

[0018] Furthermore, in step S02, the test currents input into each test pair are equal.

[0019] Furthermore, in step S02, a test current is input into one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and a voltage value U is measured at another channel output port; if the deviation between the measured voltage value U and IR is less than or equal to 5%, it is determined that the two channels in the test pair are connected; if U=0, it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is short-circuited; if the deviation between the measured voltage value U and IR is greater than 5%, it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is abnormal;

[0020] Wherein, I is the test current value, and R is the resistance value of the test resistor.

[0021] Furthermore, in step S02, the test voltages input to each test pair are equal.

[0022] Furthermore, in step S02, a test voltage is input at one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and a current value I' is measured at another channel output port; if the deviation between the measured current value I' and U' / R is less than or equal to 5%, it is determined that the two channels in the test pair are connected; if I'=0, it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is short-circuited; if the deviation between the measured current value I' and U' / R is greater than 5%, it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is abnormal;

[0023] Wherein, U' is the test voltage value, and R is the resistance value of the test resistor.

[0024] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: the method of the present invention is simple and fast, and the test program can be written based on the original driver of ATE; and the entire test process is fast and accurate, and only the test resistance needs to be increased, thereby avoiding the dependence on third-party test devices and professionals in the prior art, significantly reducing the test cost, and improving the channel test efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Attached Figure 1 It is a test schematic diagram of the test method in Example 1;

[0026] Attached Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the scan list in Example 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the specific implementation modes of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] Each board of ATE (Automatic Test Equipment) equipment has many channels, and each channel has the parameter functions of voltage and current such as output voltage, measurement voltage, output current, and test current; it also has logical operations that can be completed within a specific time constraint. The methods for channel testing in the prior art all need to rely on third-party detection devices, and the entire testing process is costly and slow. The method for measuring channel connectivity of the present invention only needs to be implemented with the help of external test resistors. At the same time, by utilizing the programmable characteristics supported by ATE itself, we write all the required outputs into the detection program, and finally display all the test results on the log output interface. According to the test results, the connectivity of each channel can be quickly determined.

[0029] The present invention provides a method for detecting ATE channel connectivity, comprising the following steps:

[0030] S01: connect the channels in pairs to form test pairs, and set test resistors between the channels connected in pairs; the resistance values ​​of the test resistors in each test pair are equal. The resistance value of the test resistors can preferably be set to 1KΩ.

[0031] The two channels in the test pair of the present invention can be any two channels in the ATE device. In the actual detection process, we fix the channels before the detection, because the channels in the test pair can be considered as any channels with measurement capabilities. The formation of the test pair in the present invention is also randomly generated, and two channels that are convenient to connect can be connected through test resistors according to the position and layout of the channels to form a test pair. Test pairs connected in different ways do not affect the scheme and protection scope of the present invention.

[0032] After forming the test pair in the ATE device, it is necessary to write a test program. The test program ensures that all test pairs in the ATE are sequentially input with test current or test voltage, and sequentially output with measured voltage value or measured current value, so as to obtain a scan list. The writing process of the test program is: write the input and output quantities into the driver of the ATE. The test program is a test code written in VS, and the specific code is related to the strategy when the ATE is designed. For example, the test program uses a dedicated statement to call the channel to supply the test voltage or test current or measure the voltage value or measure the current value.

[0033] S02: Input a test current or test voltage at one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and measure the voltage value or current value at the other channel output port; determine whether the two channels in the test pair are connected based on the corresponding relationship between the test current and the measured voltage value or the corresponding relationship between the test voltage and the measured current value. This step can be automatically completed under the drive of the test program, and then a scan list is obtained; the scan list records the input and output of each test pair, and the connectivity of the two channels in each test pair can be determined based on the input and output.

[0034] There are two specific testing methods in the present invention. One is to input current and measure output voltage. The details are as follows:

[0035] The test current input to each test pair is equal. Input the test current to one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and measure the voltage value U at the other channel output port; if the deviation between the measured voltage value U and IR is less than or equal to 5%, it is determined that the two channels in the test pair are connected; if U = 0, it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is short-circuited; if the deviation between the measured voltage value U and IR is greater than 5%, it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is abnormal; where I is the test current value and R is the resistance value of the test resistor.

[0036] The other is to input voltage and measure output current. Specifically: the test voltage input to each test pair is equal. Input the test voltage at one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and measure the current value I' at the other channel output port; if the deviation between the measured current value I' and U' / R is less than or equal to 5%; then it is determined that the two channels in the test pair are connected; if I'=0, then it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is short-circuited; if the deviation between the measured current value I' and U' / R is greater than 5%, then it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is abnormal; where U' is the test voltage value, and R is the resistance value of the test resistor.

[0037] It is worth noting that in the present invention, if it is detected that the channels in one of the test pairs are not connected, the connection method can be changed and tested again. However, after changing the connection method, the test program also needs to be changed accordingly, because each test program is programmed according to the connection relationship of the test pair. When the connection method of the test pair is changed, the original test program is no longer applicable.

[0038] The above measurement method is specifically described below through two embodiments:

[0039] Embodiment 1:

[0040] The present embodiment 1 provides a method for detecting ATE channel connectivity, comprising the following steps:

[0041] S01: As attached Figure 1 As shown, the channels of the ATE device are connected in pairs through test resistors to form 5 test pairs; in one test pair, channel A is 1CH and channel B is 10CH. In this embodiment, the test resistor is 1KΩ.

[0042] S02: Output 1V test voltage from channel A to channel B;

[0043] S03: Measure the corresponding current value in channel B.

[0044] S04: If the value measured by channel B is about 1mA, it means that the channel connectivity is correct. If the value measured by channel B is 0mA, it means that the channel is open. If the value obtained is not within 1mA (+-5%), it can be determined that the channel connectivity is abnormal after confirming that the detection device is normal.

[0045] This embodiment can be automatically completed under the drive of the test program, thereby obtaining a scan list; the scan list is as shown in the attached Figure 2 As shown, the input and output of each test pair are recorded, and the connectivity of the two channels in each test pair can be determined based on the input and output.

[0046] Embodiment 2:

[0047] S01: As attached Figure 1 As shown, the channels of the ATE device are connected in pairs through test resistors to form 5 test pairs; in one test pair, channel A is 1CH and channel B is 10CH. In this embodiment, the test resistor is 1KΩ.

[0048] S02: Output 1mA test current from channel A to channel B;

[0049] S03: Measure the corresponding voltage value in channel B.

[0050] S04: If the value measured by channel B is about 1V, it means that the channel connectivity is correct. If the value measured by channel B is 0V, it means that the channel is open. If the value obtained is not within 1V (+-5%), it can be determined that the channel connectivity is abnormal after confirming that the detection device is normal.

[0051] This embodiment can be automatically completed under the drive of the test program, thereby obtaining a scan list; the scan list is as shown in the attached Figure 2 As shown, the input and output of each test pair are recorded, and the connectivity of the two channels in each test pair can be determined based on the input and output.

[0052] Since our external circuit only needs wires and resistors, the cost of this external device can be basically controlled within RMB 1,000. Because the detection procedures of this invention are all completed under the content that can be operated by the integrated circuit testing company, it reduces the dependence on the personnel of the integrated circuit testing equipment supplier. Once the integrated circuit testing manufacturer finds a problem, it can detect it by itself. This cycle is very short, and the overall cost reduction is very considerable.

[0053] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the embodiment is not intended to limit the patent protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent structural changes made using the description and drawings of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the claims attached to the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for detecting ATE channel connectivity, characterized in that: The steps include: S01: connect the channels in pairs to form a test pair, and set a test resistor between the channels connected in pairs; S02: writing a test program, wherein the writing process of the test program is: writing input quantities and output quantities into a driver of the ATE, wherein the test program ensures that all test pairs in the ATE are sequentially input with a test current or a test voltage, and sequentially output a measured voltage value or a measured current value; Thus obtaining a scan list; There are two test methods: one is to input current and measure output voltage; the test current input to each test pair is equal; Input a test current to one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and measure a voltage value U at the other channel output port; if the deviation between the measured voltage value U and IR is less than or equal to 5%, it is determined that the two channels in the test pair are connected; if U=0, it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is short-circuited; if the deviation between the measured voltage value U and IR is greater than 5%, it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is abnormal; wherein I is the test current value, and R is the resistance value of the test resistor; The other is to input voltage and measure output current; the test voltage input to each test pair is equal; input test voltage to one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and measure the current value I' at the other channel output port; if the deviation between the measured current value I' and U' / R is less than or equal to 5%, then it is determined that the two channels in the test pair are connected; if I'=0, then it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is short-circuited; if the deviation between the measured current value I' and U' / R is greater than 5%, then it is determined that at least one channel in the test pair is abnormal; wherein U' is the test voltage value, and R is the resistance value of the test resistor; S03: input a test current or a test voltage at one of the channel input ports of the test pair, and measure a voltage value or a current value at another channel output port; determine whether two channels in the test pair are connected according to a corresponding relationship between the test current and the measured voltage value or a corresponding relationship between the test voltage and the measured current value; S04: If it is detected that the channels in one of the test pairs are not connected, the connection method of the test pair and the test program are changed to continue testing again to find out the abnormality of a specific channel.

2. A method for detecting ATE channel connectivity according to claim 1, characterized in that: The resistance values ​​of the test resistors in the test pair are all equal.

3. A method for detecting ATE channel connectivity according to claim 2, characterized in that: The resistance value of the test resistor is 1KΩ.

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