Semiconductor device and method for improved antenna testing

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices and methods for improved antenna testing. The semiconductor device is tested by placing an antenna-in-package (AiP) module below a test antenna. A first signal is transmitted using the first antenna of the AiP module. The test antenna is moved to a peak power output of the first signal. A second signal is transmitted using the second antenna of the AiP module. While the second directional axis of the test antenna remains static, the test antenna is moved along the first directional axis from a peak power output of the first signal to a peak power output of the second signal. The first antenna of the AiP module is tested while the test antenna is at the peak power output of the first signal. The second antenna of the AiP module is tested while the test antenna is at the peak power output of the second signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to semiconductor devices and methods for improved antenna testing. Background Art

[0002] Today's advanced communications technologies demand higher performance in smaller packages. As more devices connect to wireless networks, multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology is being used to increase capacity. However, MIMO antennas further increase the complexity of semiconductor packaging.

[0003] Testing semiconductor packages with integrated antennas is an important part of the manufacturing process. However, for smaller MIMO packages, small misalignments between the package and the test equipment can cause significant errors in the test results. The package under test is manually placed in the test equipment. When using manual placement procedures, beam angle deviations of up to 5 degrees are not uncommon. As a result, the test antenna being used is often placed outside the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of one or more antennas in the MIMO package, resulting in flawed test results.

[0004] Therefore, a need exists for improved semiconductor devices and methods for improved antenna testing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1a and 1b The diagram shows the test of the antenna module in the package;

[0006] Figure 2a and 2b Illustration of a motorized fixture used to automatically adjust for manual placement errors during testing;

[0007] Figure 3 Illustrate process steps for using a motorized gripper; and

[0008] Figures 4a-4d Graphics based on Figure 3 The method uses a motorized clamp. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] The present invention is described in one or more embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings in the following description, in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements. Although the present invention has been described in accordance with the best mode for carrying out the purposes of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents supported by the following disclosure and drawings. As used herein, the term "semiconductor die" refers to both the singular and the plural form of the word, and therefore, can refer to both a single semiconductor device and a plurality of semiconductor devices. The terms "semiconductor die" and "die" are used interchangeably.

[0010] Figure 1a An antenna-in-package (AiP) 100 is shown undergoing testing as part of the manufacturing process. An AiP 100 is a semiconductor package in which an antenna 102 is integrated as part of the package. Any type or style of semiconductor package can function as an AiP if one or more antennas are incorporated into the package. An AiP 100 includes one or more semiconductor dies to operate the antennas, as well as any discrete active or passive devices required for amplification, filtering, and other manipulation of radio frequency (RF) signals. In other embodiments, antenna 102 is manufactured as part of a separate module that is connected, attached, or mounted to another semiconductor package for control.

[0011] AiP 100 is a MIMO package with five antennas 102a-102e formed on a single package. To test AiP 100 and confirm that antennas 102a-102e operate properly, the AiP is placed under a test antenna 110. Test antenna 110 wirelessly communicates with AiP 100 via radio frequency (RF) transmissions through each antenna 102a-102e, as indicated by arrow 112, to ensure that all antennas are properly manufactured. Antennas 102a-102e are tested one at a time to isolate each individual antenna during testing.

[0012] One problem that may occur when the AiP 100 is placed under the test antenna 110 is that the AiP may not lie completely flat on the underlying carrier or substrate, such as Figure 1b In many process flows, the AiP 100 is placed manually by hand, which exacerbates the problems associated with inconsistent placement. Figure 1bLine 120 in shows the direction of maximum power broadcast by center antenna 102c, illustrating that the output of antenna 102c is offset from center by a distance Δ1 when the signal reaches the height of test antenna 110. Test antenna 110 is still able to properly test center antenna 102c because the center of the test antenna is within the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of center antenna 102c. The HPBW is the range of angles of antenna 102c where the power received by test antenna 110 is at least half of the possible maximum. Figure 1b In the example, HPBW is equal to 2*θ A .exist Figure 1b , the angle θ of the test antenna 110 relative to the line 120 D is the deviation caused by the manual placement procedure of the AiP 100. Angle θ D Within the HPBW of antenna 102c, allowing the center antenna to be properly tested.

[0013] However, combined with the angular offset of AiP 100 as a whole, the lateral offset of rightmost antenna 102e places test antenna 110 outside the HPBW of the rightmost antenna. Line 122 illustrates the highest power output angle of rightmost antenna 102e and points outside of test antenna 110 by Δ2. Line 122 is offset from center relative to test antenna 110 by a total distance Δ, resulting in the HPBW of rightmost antenna 102e being completely outside of test antenna 110. Box 126 indicates the distance at which test antenna 110 is outside the HPBW of the beam from rightmost antenna 102e.

[0014] Line 124 is the centerline of the signal broadcast from test antenna 110 and shows the direction in which the broadcast power is highest for the test antenna. Cone 125 around line 124 shows the HPBW of test antenna 110. The point of cone 125 is the center of test antenna 110 and is also the location to which the HPBW of antenna 102 under test must reach in order for the test to be valid.

[0015] In one specific example of a 40 GHz signal, the HPBW coverage from antenna 102 is 17.4 millimeters (mm) across the height of test antenna 110. A is the HPBW of the test antenna 120 and each antenna 102, which is equal to 8.25 degrees. D is the angle at which the AiP 100 is tilted, which is equal to 5 degrees. Δ1 is 10.5 mm, Δ2 is 9.2 mm, and Δ is the total of 19.7 mm. Box 126 illustrates how far the test antenna 110 is outside the HPBW of the rightmost antenna 102e, which in this example is 2.3 mm. Figure 1b, the rightmost antenna 102e cannot be properly tested by the test antenna 110 because the deviation of the AiP 100 when placed below the test antenna places the test antenna outside the HPBW of the rightmost antenna.

[0016] Figure 2a and 2b The test antenna 110 is shown mounted to a motorized fixture 140 , which would allow the test antenna to be moved to account for placement of the AiP 100 under test with angular or lateral displacement. Figure 2a Shown from Figure 1b The two-dimensional view is obtained from the angle of Figure 2b The motorized fixture 140 includes an arm 142 on which the test antenna 110 is mounted. The motorized fixture 140 uses the arm 142 to move the test antenna 110 in the x and y directions (as represented by arrows 144x and 144y), respectively.

[0017] Lines 120a and 120b illustrate the expected range of the signal from center antenna 102c with the maximum normal expected placement variance. Lines 122a and 122b show the corresponding broadcast directions for edge antennas 102a and 102e, respectively. Motorized fixture 140 is capable of moving test antenna 110 far enough to cover the maximum expected offset for each antenna 102a-102e in both the x and y directions.

[0018] Figure 3 The process steps of a calibration method 200 and a testing method 230 for testing an AiP 100 using a test antenna 110 on a motorized fixture 140 are shown. Figures 4a-4d The various steps in the calibration method 200 and the test method 230 are shown. At calibration start 210, the AiP 100 has been placed below the test antenna 110 and may have an unknown angular offset from vertical. Step 212 involves transmitting a signal from the center antenna 102c.

[0019] Figure 4a Steps 210 and 212 are shown. AiP 100 has been placed below test antenna 110 and has an unknown angular offset to the right. Signal lobe 250c represents the power of the signal transmitted from antenna 102c according to step 212. The power is highest at the location indicated by arrow 120. At the location where test antenna 110 receives the signal at the point of cone 125, the power is significantly lower.

[0020] While the signal is being transmitted from center antenna 102c in response to step 212, step 214 begins. In step 214, motorized fixture 140 is moved in a programmable manner until peak point 120 of center antenna 102c is found. Motorized fixture 140 moves test antenna 110 and monitors the power level of the signal received from center antenna 102c. Test antenna 110 is moved in the X and Y directions until the maximum power level along both axes is found. Figure 4b The test antenna 110 is shown moved to the right to be centered on arrow 120 (the location of the highest power output of the broadcast lobe 250c). This X, Y coordinate location is stored as the location of the peak power output of the center antenna 102c.

[0021] Since the antennas 102a-102e are arranged along the Figure 2b Because the X-axis is aligned as illustrated by line 144x in FIG, the Y coordinate of all antennas 102a-102e can be fixed to the value determined by center antenna 102c in step 216. This Y value can be stored once and reused for each antenna 102, or stored multiple times as part of a separate X, Y coordinate for each antenna.

[0022] After the X and Y coordinates of the test antenna 110 to be centered on the center antenna 102c have been determined, steps 218-222 are repeated for each of the remaining antennas 102a, 102b, 102d, and 102e. In step 218, each individual antenna has a signal transmitted therefrom, similar to the transmission of the center antenna 102c in step 212. In step 220, the maximum beam peak point of the current transmit antenna is determined by maintaining the Y coordinate of the test antenna 110 static and moving the test antenna only along the X axis using the motorized fixture 140. When the peak is found, the X coordinate of the test antenna 110 at that peak is stored as the X coordinate of the current transmit antenna 102.

[0023] Figure 4c Steps 218-222 are shown for the rightmost antenna 102e. Lobe 250e represents the signal transmitted from antenna 102e, while arrow 252 indicates the direction of maximum power. Test antenna 110 is moved only along the x-axis until the test antenna is centered on arrow 252 (which is the maximum power output of antenna 102e). The x-coordinate of test antenna 110 is stored to indicate the position where antenna 102e is at maximum power.

[0024] Steps 218-222 are repeated for each antenna 102 except for the center antenna 102c. Figure 4dThe steps are shown repeated for the leftmost antenna 102a. Lobe 250a represents the power output of the signal transmitted from antenna 102a. Arrow 254 shows the direction of maximum power. Test antenna 110 is moved along the x-axis until the test antenna is centered on arrow 254. The x-coordinate is stored for each antenna, and the y-coordinate determined for center antenna 102c is used for all antennas 102. Once the x-coordinate for each antenna is determined and stored, calibration ends at step 226. In other embodiments, a different antenna is used for the baseline measurement in step 216. The baseline measurement does not necessarily use the centrally located antenna.

[0025] Typically, a computer program automatically runs the calibration method 200, including controlling which antennas 102a-102e transmit, moving the test antenna 110, and monitoring the power level of the signal received by the test antenna to find the peak power signal. The saved coordinates determined by the calibration method 200 are stored in memory by the computer program for recall during the test method 230. In other embodiments, different levels of manual intervention may be required.

[0026] Calibration method 200 can be modified as needed for the specific AiP module being tested. For example, if there is not an odd number of antennas, the initial antenna used to find the Y axis in steps 212-216 may be off-center. In embodiments where antennas 102 are not aligned in a linear fashion, steps 212-214 may be repeated and steps 218-222 skipped to obtain new X and Y coordinates for each antenna, rather than reusing the Y coordinate in steps 218-220. AiP 100 may be positioned so that antennas 102 are aligned in the Y direction, in which case a common X coordinate will be determined in step 214 and reused for each of the other antennas.

[0027] With the coordinates of all five antennas 102a-102e stored, test method 230 can proceed to run tests on each individual antenna 102. Steps 232-238 are repeated five times, testing each individual antenna 102a-102e once. In step 232, a signal is transmitted from one of the five antennas 102a-102e. In step 234, the computer program running calibration method 200 and test method 230 inputs the X and Y coordinates of the current transmitting antenna into motorized fixture 140. In response, in step 236, motorized fixture 140 moves test antenna 110 to the indicated X and Y coordinates. Steps 234 and 236 for moving test antenna 110 to the appropriate position for testing can be performed before broadcasting the test signal in step 232. In step 238, test antenna 110 is used to test the current transmitting antenna by receiving the signal transmitted in step 232. In some embodiments, the transmitted signal in step 238 is modified multiple times during the test routine.

[0028] All five antennas 102a-102e are tested by repeating steps 232-238 five times, once for each antenna. In some embodiments, steps 232-238 are combined with calibration steps 218-222 by running test 238 on the antenna immediately after finding its X coordinate in step 222, rather than storing the coordinates to return to later.

[0029] Finding and storing the X, Y coordinates of each antenna 102 in calibration method 200 and then testing the antennas by moving test antenna 110 to the peak power position of each antenna allows for efficient testing even when AiP 100 is positioned with an angular displacement relative to vertical. Inconsistent manual placement can be used for AiP 100 without compromising the testing process.

[0030] Although one or more embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications and adaptations may be made to those embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for testing a semiconductor device, comprising: Place the antenna-in-package AiP module below the test antenna of the test system; The test system was calibrated by the following steps: transmitting a first signal using the first antenna of the AiP module, moving the test antenna to find the power output peak of the first signal, storing the coordinates of the power output peak of the first signal for both a first directional axis and a second directional axis, interrupting the transmission of the first signal using the first antenna, After interrupting the transmission of the first signal using the first antenna, transmitting a second signal using the second antenna of the AiP module, moving the test antenna along the first directional axis from the power output peak of the first signal to the power output peak of the second signal while the position of the test antenna along the second directional axis remains static, and storing only a first coordinate along the first direction axis for the power output peak of the second signal; and After calibrating the test system, the AiP module is tested by the following steps: returning the test antenna to the stored coordinates of the power output peak of the first signal, testing the first antenna of the AiP module while the test antenna is at the power output peak of the first signal, moving the test antenna along the first directional axis to the stored first coordinates of the power output peak of the second signal, and The second antenna of the AiP module is tested while the test antenna is at the power output peak of the second signal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: After moving the test antenna to the power output peak of the second signal, returning the test antenna to the power output peak of the first signal to test the first antenna.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: The test antenna is moved using a motorized fixture including an arm that holds the test antenna.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting a third signal using a third antenna of the AiP module; and The test antenna is moved along the first direction axis to a power output peak of the third signal while the second direction axis of the test antenna remains static.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: Manually place the AiP module under the test antenna.

6. A method for testing a semiconductor device, comprising: Place the antenna-in-package AiP module under the test antenna; transmitting a first signal using a first antenna of the AiP module; moving the test antenna to a peak power output of the first signal; storing coordinates of the power output peak of the first signal for both a first directional axis and a second directional axis; interrupting the transmission of the first signal; After interrupting the transmission of the first signal, transmitting a second signal using the second antenna of the AiP module; moving the test antenna along the first directional axis to a power output peak of the second signal while the second directional axis of the test antenna remains static; and Only the first coordinate along the first direction axis is stored for the power output peak of the second signal.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: After moving the test antenna to the power output peak of the second signal, returning the test antenna to the power output peak of the first signal to test the first antenna.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: After testing the first antenna, returning the test antenna to the power output peak of the second signal to test the second antenna.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising: The test antenna is moved using a motorized fixture including an arm that holds the test antenna.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising: transmitting a third signal using a third antenna of the AiP module; and The test antenna is moved along the first direction axis to a power output peak of the third signal while the second direction axis of the test antenna remains static.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising: Manually place the AiP module under the test antenna.

12. A method for testing a semiconductor device, comprising: Place the antenna-in-package AiP module below the test antenna of the test system; The test system was calibrated by the following steps: transmitting a first signal using the first antenna of the AiP module while the second antenna of the AiP module is not transmitting, and moving the test antenna to a power output peak of the first signal while the first antenna is transmitting the first signal and while the second antenna of the AiP module is not transmitting, interrupting the transmission of the first signal using the first antenna, After interrupting the transmission of the first signal using the first antenna, transmitting a second signal using the second antenna of the AiP module, moving the test antenna to a power output peak of the second signal while the second antenna is transmitting the second signal; as well as After calibrating the test system, the AiP module is tested by the following steps: returning the test antenna to the stored coordinates of the power output peak of the first signal, testing the first antenna of the AiP module while the test antenna is at the power output peak of the first signal, moving the test antenna to a peak power output of the second signal, and The second antenna of the AiP module is tested while the test antenna is at the power output peak of the second signal.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: The first antenna is tested while the test antenna is at the power output peak of the first signal.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: The test antenna is moved using a motorized fixture including an arm that holds the test antenna.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising: The test antenna is moved along the first direction axis while the test antenna is kept stationary along the second direction axis to locate power output peaks of the plurality of additional antennas of the AiP module.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: storing coordinates of the power output peak of the first signal for both the first directional axis and the second directional axis; and Only the first coordinate along the first direction axis is stored for the power output peak of each of the additional antennas.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising: Each of the additional antennas is tested while the test antenna is aligned with a power output peak of the corresponding antenna.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising: Manually place the AiP module under the test antenna.

19. A semiconductor testing device comprising: Motorized clamps; a test antenna mounted to an arm of the motorized fixture; An antenna-in-package AiP module is placed below the test antenna; as well as A computer is configured to calibrate the semiconductor test device by the following steps: transmitting a first signal using the first antenna of the AiP module, moving the test antenna to find the power output peak of the first signal, storing the coordinates of the power output peak of the first signal for both a first directional axis and a second directional axis, interrupting the transmission of the first signal using the first antenna, After interrupting the transmission of the first signal using the first antenna, transmitting a second signal using the second antenna of the AiP module, moving the test antenna along the first directional axis from the power output peak of the first signal to the power output peak of the second signal while the position of the test antenna along the second directional axis remains static, and storing only a first coordinate along the first direction axis for the power output peak of the second signal; The computer is configured to test the AiP module by: returning the test antenna to the stored coordinates of the power output peak of the first signal, testing the first antenna of the AiP module while the test antenna is at the power output peak of the first signal, moving the test antenna along the first directional axis to the stored first coordinates of the power output peak of the second signal, and The second antenna of the AiP module is tested while the test antenna is at the power output peak of the second signal. 20 . The semiconductor testing device of claim 19 , wherein the test antenna is aligned with a power output peak of the first antenna of the AiP module.

21. The semiconductor testing device according to claim 20, further comprising: A pair of coordinates, stored in memory, defines the position of the test antenna at the peak of the power output of the first antenna.

22. The semiconductor testing device according to claim 21, further comprising: A single coordinate, stored in memory, defines the position of the test antenna while located at a peak power output of the second antenna of the AiP module.

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