Inductance control system

Abstract

An exemplary polarity inverter includes a plurality of contactors, each of which includes a controllable switch for configuring a current path. Each of the plurality of contactors includes interleaved contacts such that a first contact receiving a voltage having a first polarity alternates with a second contact receiving a voltage having a second polarity, the first polarity being different from the second polarity. The polarity inverter also includes a first conductive plate electrically connected to each of the first contacts and a second conductive plate electrically connected to each of the second contacts. The first conductive plate and the second conductive plate are parallel. A dielectric material is interposed between the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification describes exemplary techniques for controlling inductance in electronic components such as polarity inverters.

Background Art

[0002] An exemplary polarity inverter includes a circuit that changes the polarity of an electrical signal such as a voltage or current. Polarity generally represents the potential within a circuit. By convention, current flows from the positive terminal to the negative terminal. Physically, however, electrons flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal. The positive terminal has a higher potential than the negative terminal. Thus, polarity can be understood with respect to both current and voltage.

[0003] Inductance includes the tendency of a conductor to resist changes in the current flowing through it. Thus, inductance can affect the operation of devices such as polarity inverters that implement changes in current.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] An exemplary polarity inverter includes a plurality of contactors. Each of the plurality of contactors includes a switch controllable to form a current path. Each of the plurality of contactors also includes interleaved contacts such that a first contact receiving a voltage having a first polarity alternates with a second contact receiving a voltage having a second polarity, the first polarity and the second polarity being different. The polarity inverter also includes a first conductive plate electrically connected to each of the first contacts and a second conductive plate electrically connected to each of the second contacts. The first conductive plate and the second conductive plate are parallel. A dielectric material is interposed between the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate. The exemplary polarity inverter may include one or more of the following features, either alone or in combination.

[0005] The number of contactors may correspond to the amount of current passing through the polarity inverter and may be based on the specifications of the type of contactor used. The contacts may include input contacts. Each of the multiple contactors may include output contacts on a side different from the input contacts of the switch. The output contacts may be interleaved such that a third contact on the current path having a first contact alternates with a fourth contact on the current path having a second contact. The polarity inverter may also include a first busbar electrically connected to each of the third contacts, a second busbar electrically connected to each of the fourth contacts, the second busbar being parallel to the first and second busbars, and a dielectric material between the first and second busbars.

[0006] The switch may be controllable to configure current to flow through a plurality of contactors in a first or second direction. The first direction may be opposite to the second direction. Each of the first and second conductive plates may include conductive fingers for connecting to each of the contacts. The plurality of contactors may include at least two input contactors and at least two output contactors. At least two input contactors may be configured to receive current from a current source, and at least two output contactors may be configured to output current on a path to a device interface board. The dielectric may be a polyimide film or may include a polyimide film. The dielectric may be polypropylene or may include polypropylene.

[0007] The spacing between the first plate and the second plate, and the interleaving of the contacts, may allow the polarity inverter to have an inductance of less than 200 nanohenries (nH). The spacing between the first plate and the second plate, and the interleaving of the contacts, may allow the polarity inverter to have an inductance of 100 nanohenries (nH) or less.

[0008] The thickness of the dielectric material between the first plate and the second plate may be about one-tenth of a millimeter. The thickness of the dielectric material between the first plate and the second plate may be 0.5 millimeters (mm) or less. The thickness of the dielectric material between the first busbar and the second busbar may be about one-tenth of a millimeter. The thickness of the dielectric material between the first busbar and the second busbar may be 0.5 millimeters (mm) or less.

[0009] The contactor may include an input contactor and an output contactor. The input contactor may include a first conductive plate and a second conductive plate connected to a first voltage or current and a second voltage or current, respectively. The polarity inverter may include an output contactor having interleaved contacts such that a third contact receiving a voltage or current having a first polarity alternates with a fourth contact receiving a voltage or current having a second polarity. The polarity inverter may also include a third conductive plate electrically connected to each of the third contacts and a fourth conductive plate electrically connected to each of the fourth contacts, wherein the third and fourth conductive plates are parallel. The first polarity may be a positive voltage relative to the second polarity. The first polarity may be a forced high voltage and the second polarity may be a forced low voltage, with the forced high voltage being greater than the forced low voltage.

[0010] An exemplary test system includes a device interface board (DIB) connected to the device under test (DUT), an interposer connected to the DIB, a current source, and a polarity inverter that receives current from the current source and controls the direction of current flow to the interposer. The polarity inverter includes a plurality of contactors, each of which includes a switch controllable to form a current path. Each of the plurality of contactors includes interleaved contacts such that a first contact receiving a voltage having a first polarity alternates with a second contact receiving a voltage having a second polarity, and the first and second polarities are different. The polarity inverter also includes a first conductive plate electrically connected to each of the first contacts and a second conductive plate electrically connected to each of the second contacts. The first and second conductive plates are parallel. A dielectric material is interposed between the first and second conductive plates. The exemplary test system may include one or more of the following features, individually or in combination:

[0011] The switch may be controllable to configure current to flow through a plurality of contactors in a first or second direction. The first direction may be the opposite of the second direction. The polarity inverter may include at least two input contactors and at least two output contactors. At least two input contactors may be configured to receive current from a current source, and at least two output contactors may be configured to output current to an interposer.

[0012] Any two or more of the features described herein, including the summary section of this invention, can be combined to form implementations not specifically described herein.

[0013] At least some of the devices and techniques described herein may be configured or controlled by executing instructions stored on one or more non-temporary machine-readable storage media on one or more processing devices. Examples of non-temporary machine-readable storage media include read-only memory, optical disk drives, memory disk drives, and random-access memory. At least some of the devices and techniques described herein may be configured or controlled using a computing system comprising one or more processing devices and memory for storing instructions that can be executed by one or more processing devices to perform a variety of control operations, including high-current testing. The devices, systems, and / or components described herein may be configured, for example, by design, construction, arrangement, configuration, programming, operation, activation, deactivation, and / or control.

[0014] Details of one or more implementation configurations are described in the attached drawings and the following description. Other features and advantages will become apparent from those descriptions, drawings, and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of the components of an exemplary polarity inverter. [Figure 2] This figure shows a right-hand perspective view of an exemplary polarity inverter configured to reduce inductance. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a left perspective view of an exemplary polarity inverter. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of an exemplary conductive parallel plate that can be attached to a polarity inverter described herein. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view of an exemplary conductive parallel busbar that can be attached to a polarity inverter described herein.

[0016] Similar reference numbers in different drawings refer to the same element. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] This specification describes examples of techniques for reducing inductance in electronic devices such as polarity inverters. In one example, a polarity inverter is configured to reduce or minimize the inductance around the polarity inverter, thereby reducing the total inductance of at least a portion of the signal delivery path between a current source and a current destination such as a device under test (DUT). In one example, the polarity inverter includes a plurality of contactors, each of which includes a switch controllable to constitute a current path. Each contactor includes interleaved contacts such that a first contact receiving a voltage having a first polarity alternates with a second contact receiving a voltage having a second polarity different from the first polarity. A first conductive plate is configured to be electrically connected to each of the first contacts, and a second conductive plate is configured to be electrically connected to each of the second contacts. The first and second conductive plates are physically parallel to each other, with a dielectric material interposed between them. Thus, the current path is partially defined by the conductive plates and the switches.

[0018] The overall inductance of a polarity inverter can be reduced by using the type of parallel plates described herein, particularly those that are close together. For example, the overall inductance of a polarity inverter can be minimized or reduced compared to a conventional polarity inverter with a different configuration. Furthermore, the overall inductance can be canceled out and therefore at least partially reduced by alternating the first and second contacts. In addition, parallel busbars separated by a dielectric can also be part of the current path, as described below. In one example, there may be a pair of parallel busbars on each side of the polarity inverter. The overall inductance of the polarity inverter can be further reduced by using this type of busbar, particularly those that are close together. In one example, the measured inductance of a high-current (e.g., 2000 amperes (A)), low-inductance polarity inverter of the type described herein is about 100 nanohenry (nH), compared to about 480 nH in an exemplary conventional polarity inverter. That said, the polarity inverters described herein are not limited to these values, or any specific inductance values, current values, and / or voltage values.

[0019] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the components included in an exemplary polarity inverter 10. In this example, the polarity inverter 10 includes six contactors 11-16. The exemplary contactors are electronic devices that include switches and other circuits for passing current from their input contacts to their output contacts. Referring to contactor 13, which represents another contactor, each contactor includes four input contacts collectively labeled 18 and four output contacts collectively labeled 19. However, the techniques described herein are not limited to contactors having this configuration. Switches (not shown) are present within each contactor to control the current path between the input and output contacts. The switches may be controlled electronically or manually. For example, a computing system or controller (see, e.g., Figure 6) may control individual switches to open or close in order to configure or create a desired current path(s) through the polarity inverter.

[0020] In exemplary operation, the current source is connected in series with the polarity inverter 10, as shown in Figure 6. In this example, the current source is a high-current source. Examples of high currents include, but are not limited to, currents exceeding 500A, 1000A, 2000A, and 3000A. In some implementations, the current is pulsed for at least part or all of the time. In some examples, the pulsed current includes a rapid transient change in amplitude from a baseline value such as "0" to a higher or lower value, followed by a rapid return to the baseline value. In some implementations, the current is periodic, e.g., sinusoidal. In some implementations, the current is steady for at least part of the time. The current source is connected in series with the input terminals of the polarity inverter, supplying positive polarity, e.g., forced high voltage / current (or simply "forced high") at input terminal 20, and negative polarity, e.g., forced low voltage / current (or simply "forced low") at input terminal 21. Devices such as the device interface board (DIB) of the test system (see Figure 6) are connected in series with the output terminals of the polarity inverter and selectively supply positive polarity, e.g., forced high voltage / current, or negative polarity, e.g., forced low voltage / current, at output terminals 24 and 25. In this example, output terminals 24 and 25 are labeled “collector” and “emitter” to represent the input voltage terminal and output voltage terminal of a bipolar junction transistor (BJT). More generally, however, terminals 24 and 25 may be any terminals configured to supply electrical signals of different polarities to the connected device or system. In some examples, voltages in the range of 35 volts (V) to 85 V may be used. However, the systems described herein are not limited to any voltage range.

[0021] In this example, contactors 12, 13, 15, and 16 are configured as inputs, and contactors 11 and 14 are configured as outputs or loads. For example, as shown in Figure 1, input voltage and current are applied to input contactors 12, 13, 15, and 16, and these voltages and currents are output to output contactors 11 and 14, from which they are output to terminals 24 and 25. The contacts on each contactor are interleaved such that a first set of contacts receiving a voltage and current with a first polarity, such as forced high or positive, alternates with a second set of contacts receiving a voltage and current with a second polarity, such as forced low or negative. As described herein, by arranging the contacts in this alternating manner on each contactor, the current paths through the contactors become alternating, which can reduce inductance.

[0022] For example, in the case of contactor 13, contacts 1 and 5 are forced to be connected to high, and contact 3 is forced to be connected to low. Also, contacts 2 and 6 can be connected along the same current path as contacts 1 and 5, and contacts 4 and 8 can be connected along the same current path as contacts 3 and 7. Contacts 1, 3, 5, and 7 are interleaved in the sense that two adjacent contacts are not connected to voltages and currents of the same polarity. The same applies to contacts 2, 4, 6, and 8. In other words, the contacts are interleaved in the sense that their polarities alternate. In one example, on the input side 26 of contactor 13, contact 1 is forced to be connected to high, contact 3 is forced to be connected to low, contact 5 is forced to be connected to high, and contact 7 is forced to be connected to low. In another example, on the output side 27 of contactor 13, contact 2 can be connected to high, contact 4 can be connected to low, contact 6 can be connected to high, and contact 8 can be connected to low. Each of the input contactors 12, 15, and 16 has the same input and output contact configuration as the input contactor 13 shown in Figure 1.

[0023] As an example, in the case of the output contactor 11, contacts 1 and 5 are connected to terminal 24, and contacts 3 and 7 are connected to terminal 25. Also, contacts 2 and 6 can be connected along the same current path as contacts 1 and 5, and contacts 4 and 8 can be connected along the same current path as contacts 3 and 7. Contacts 1, 3, 5, and 7 are interleaved in the sense that no two adjacent contacts are connected to voltages and currents of the same polarity. The same is true for contacts 2, 4, 6, and 8. In other words, the contacts are interleaved in the sense that the polarities alternate. In one example, at the input side 34 of the contactor 11, contact 1 is connected to terminal 24, contact 3 is connected to terminal 25, contact 5 is connected to terminal 24, and contact 7 is connected to terminal 25. In one example, at the output side 27 of the contactor 11, contact 2 can be connected to forced high, contact 4 can be connected to forced low, contact 6 can be connected to forced high, and contact 8 can be connected to forced low. The contactor 14 has the same contact configuration of input and output contacts as the contactor 11. Further, the "input" 34 and "output" 35 on the output contactor are labeled according to convention and do not necessarily indicate the direction of the current flow into or out of the output contactor.

[0024] In an exemplary operation, the switches within the contactor are controlled to supply forced high to terminal 24 (e.g., collector) and forced low to terminal 25 (e.g., emitter), and are controlled, for example, to open or close.

[0025] To supply a forced high to terminal 24, the switch in input contactor 30 is controlled, for example, to be closed so that a current path is created between contacts 1 and 2 and between contacts 5 and 6. The switch in output contactor 11 is controlled, for example, to be closed so that a current path is generated between contacts 1 and 2 and between contacts 5 and 6. The switch in contactor 30 is controlled, for example, to be open to prevent current flow to or from contacts 3 and 4 and to or from contacts 7 and 8. The switch in output contactor 11 is controlled, for example, to be open to prevent current flow to or from contacts 3, 4, 7, and 8.

[0026] To supply a forced low to terminal 25, the switch in input contactor 31 is controlled, for example, to be closed so that a current path is created between contacts 3 and 4 and between contacts 7 and 8. The switch in output contactor 14 is controlled, for example, to be closed so that a current path is generated between contacts 3 and 4 and between contacts 7 and 8. The switch in contactor 31 is controlled, for example, to be open to prevent current flow to or from contacts 1 and 2 and to or from contacts 5 and 6. The switch in contactor 14 is controlled, for example, to be open to prevent current flow to or from contacts 1, 2, 5, and 6.

[0027] In a different exemplary operation, the switch in the contactor is controlled, for example, to open or close to supply a forced high to terminal 25 (e.g., emitter) and a forced low to terminal 24 (e.g., collector). Thereby, the polarities of output terminals 24 and 25 are reversed, and thus the current direction is reversed with respect to the configuration described in the previous paragraph.

[0028] To supply a forced high to terminal 25, the switch in the input contactor 31 is controlled to close, for example, so that current paths are created between contacts 1 and 2 and between contacts 5 and 6. The switch in the output contactor 14 is controlled to close, for example, so that current paths are created between contacts 1 and 2 and between contacts 5 and 6. The switch in contactor 31 is controlled to open, for example, to prevent the flow of current to or from contacts 3 and 4, and to or from contacts 7 and 8. The switch in the output contactor 14 is controlled to open, for example, to prevent the flow of current to or from contacts 3, 4, 7, and 8.

[0029] To supply a forced low to terminal 24, the switch in the input contactor 30 is controlled to close, for example, so that current paths are created between contacts 3 and 4 and between contacts 7 and 8. The switch in the output contactor 11 is controlled to close, for example, so that current paths are created between contacts 3 and 4 and between contacts 7 and 8. The switch in contactor 30 is controlled to open, for example, to prevent the flow of current to or from contacts 1 and 2, and to or from contacts 5 and 6. The switch in contactor 11 is controlled to open, for example, to prevent the flow of current to or from contacts 1, 2, 5, and 6.

[0030] The previous paragraph described an example of how the current flowing through the polarity inverter 10 can be reversed by controlling the operation of the contactor switch. To reduce the overall inductance of the polarity inverter, the contacts and associated switches within the contactor are interleaved as described above. In addition, the electrical connections to the input and output terminals of the polarity inverter may be implemented using parallel conductive plates separated by an insulator.

[0031] The electrical connections of various input contacts, such as contacts 1, 3, 5, and 7, to forced high voltage / current and forced low voltage / current may be implemented using parallel conductive plates separated by a dielectric material so that the conductive plates do not make contact and do not form a current path. The electrical connections of various output contacts, such as contacts 2, 4, 6, and 8, may be implemented using parallel conductive busbars separated by a dielectric material so that the conductive busbars do not make contact and do not form a current path. Figures 2 and 3 show exemplary implementations of a polarity inverter 40 including the contactor described with respect to Figure 1 and the conductive plates and conductive busbars described herein. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a pair of conductive plates 41 that may be used with the polarity inverter 40, and Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a pair of conductive busbars 42 that may be used with the polarity inverter 40.

[0032] In the exemplary polarity inverter 40, contactors 43-48 may have the same structure and function as contactors 11-16 in Figure 1. The polarity inverter 40 has two sets of conductive plates 50 and 51. The first set of conductive plates 51 are electrically connected to input terminals such as terminals 20 and 21 in Figure 1, and the second set of conductive plates 50 are electrically connected to output terminals such as terminals 24 and 25 in Figure 1. The conductive plates 51 are located in a current path including a current source as shown in Figure 6. The conductive plates 50 are located in a current path to an output device such as a DIB in a test system as shown in Figure 6. The conductive plates 50 and 51 are not directly electrically connected to each other, but are electrically connected via contactors as described herein.

[0033] In this example, conductive plate 55 is connected to a positive polarity or forced high voltage / current, and conductive plate 56 is connected to a negative polarity or forced low voltage / current. In this example, conductive plate 57 is connected to one output terminal (e.g., the emitter in Figure 1), and conductive plate 58 is connected to another output terminal (e.g., the collector in Figure 1). The polarity of the current and voltage on conductive plates 55, 56, 57, and 58 is controlled by controlling the switches in the contactor, as described with respect to Figure 1.

[0034] The input contacts on contactors 43-48 are connected to conductive plates 50 and 51, as shown in Figure 1. The output contacts on contactors 43-48 are connected to conductive busbars 42a and 42b, which are arranged in parallel and separated by a dielectric material, as shown in Figure 1. Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, there may be a pair of parallel busbars 42a for mounting electrical connections 61 on the output side and a pair of parallel busbars 42b for mounting electrical connections 60 on the output side. The conductive busbars and conductive plates may be made from any suitable conductive material, including but not limited to copper or gold. Examples of dielectrics that may be sandwiched between the parallel conductive plates and parallel busbars include, but are not limited to, Formex®, Kapton®, polyimide film, polypropylene, or a combination thereof. In another example, the dielectric is a Mylar tape with a thickness of 10 mils (0.254 mm).

[0035] In the examples of Figures 2 and 3, the polarity inverter 40 includes six contactors 42-48. In this example, each contactor includes a contact, and therefore the six contactors have 24 contacts on their upper assembly 64 and 24 contacts on their lower assembly 65. For a given contactor, such as contactor 43, two contact points are for forced high voltage / current, and the remaining two contact points are for forced low voltage / current. The conductive plates are made using parallel copper plates. The conductive plates 51 of the input contactors 44, 45, 47, and 48 are configured such that two fingers from the upper copper plate 55 alternately terminate to four contacts for forced high voltage / current, forced low voltage / current, forced high voltage / current, and forced low voltage / current, and two fingers from the lower copper plate 56 alternately terminate to four contacts for forced high voltage / current, forced low voltage / current, forced high voltage / current, and forced low voltage / current. The conductive plates 50 of the output contactors 43 and 46 are configured such that two non-adjacent fingers of the upper copper plate 58 are terminated to two contacts with forced high voltage / current, and two non-adjacent fingers of the lower copper plate 57 are terminated to two contacts with forced low voltage / current. This configuration can reduce inductance by increasing the number of parallel current paths through the polarity inverter. The output contacts of each contactor are connected via parallel busbars, as shown in Figure 1.

[0036] Reducing the spacing between conductive plates can reduce the inductance associated with the conductive plates, thereby reducing the overall inductance of the polarity inverter. For example, the thickness of the dielectric material between any two parallel conductive plates may be around one-tenth of a millimeter (mm), such as 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, or 0.9 mm. In some implementations, the thickness of the dielectric material between any two parallel conductive plates may be 0.5 mm or less. Similarly, reducing the spacing between parallel busbars can reduce the inductance associated with the parallel busbars, thereby reducing the overall inductance of the polarity inverter. For example, the thickness of the dielectric material between any two parallel busbars may be around one-tenth of a millimeter (mm), such as 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, or 0.9 mm. In some implementation configurations, the thickness of the dielectric material between parallel busbars may be 0.5 mm or less.

[0037] In some implementations, combinations of features described herein, such as busbars and the spacing between them, conductive plates and the spacing between them, and interleaved contacts and switches, enable polarity inverters to have an inductance of less than 200 nanohenries (nH) or less than 100 nH. That said, one or more of the features described herein may enable polarity inverters or any suitable electronic device including such features to reduce their inductance to these levels, or to levels higher or lower than these levels.

[0038] The polarity inverters described herein may be part of a test system including an automated test apparatus ATE70. For example, as shown in Figure 6, an exemplary test system may include a current source 71, a polarity inverter 72 of the type described herein (e.g., polarity inverter 10 in Figure 1 or polarity inverter 40 in Figures 2 and 3), an interposer 73, and a DIB 74. Current flows from the current source through the polarity inverter 72, where its polarity is kept the same or changed as described herein. The current output from the polarity inverter is passed to the interposer 73, which is an electrical and / or mechanical interface to the DIB 74. The DIB holds the DUT within the site 75 for testing and distributes current from the interposer to the DUT for testing, as described above.

[0039] ATE70 also includes a control system 76. The control system may include a computing system comprising one or more microprocessors or other suitable processing devices as described herein. Communication between the control system and other components of ATE70 is conceptually represented by line 77. DIB74 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) that includes mechanical and electrical interfaces to one or more DUTs being tested or to be tested by the ATE. Power, including voltage, may be supplied to the DUTs connected to the DIB through one or more layers in the DIB. DIB74 may also include one or more ground layers and one or more signal layers having connected vias for transmitting signals to the DUTs.

[0040] The DIB includes site 75, which may include pins, conductive traces, or other electrical and mechanical connection points to which the DUT may be connected. Test signals and response signals, including high-current signals, pass through test channels on site between the DUT and the test equipment. The DIB 74 may also include, among other things, connectors, conductive traces, conductive layers, and circuits for routing signals between the test equipment, the DUT connected to site 75, and other circuits.

[0041] The control system 76 communicates with test equipment (not shown) to control the test. The control system 76 may also configure a switch in the polarity inverter 72 to supply voltage / current with the polarity required for the test. The control may be adaptive in that the polarity can be changed during the test as desired or as needed.

[0042] All or part of the test systems described herein and their various modifications may be configured or controlled at least partially by one or more computers, such as a control system 76, using one or more computer programs tangibly embodied on one or more information carriers, such as one or more non-temporary machine-readable storage media. The computer programs may be written in any form of programming language, such as a compiled or interpreted language, and may be deployed in any form, such as a standalone program, or as modules, parts, subroutines, or other units suitable for use in a computing environment. The computer programs may be deployed to run on a single computer, on multiple computers in one location, or on multiple computers distributed across multiple locations and interconnected by a network.

[0043] The operations relating to configuring or controlling the test systems described herein may be performed by one or more programmable processors running one or more computer programs for controlling or performing all or part of the operations described herein. All or part of the test systems and processes may be configured or controlled by dedicated logic circuits such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and / or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or embedded microprocessors localized to the equipment hardware.

[0044] Processors suitable for executing computer programs include, for example, both general-purpose and dedicated microprocessors, as well as any one or more processors in any type of digital computer. Generally, a processor receives instructions and data from read-only storage, random-access storage, or both. The elements of a computer include one or more processors for executing instructions and one or more storage devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer also includes or is operably coupled with one or more machine-readable storage media, such as magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks, which are mass storage devices for storing data, and either receive data from or transfer data to or from those storage media. Non-temporary, machine-readable storage media suitable for realizing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile storage, including, for example, semiconductor storage devices such as erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash storage devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and digital versatile disc read-only memory (DVD-ROM).

[0045] By combining elements of the different implementations described herein, other implementation forms not specifically described herein may be formed. Elements may be excluded from the aforementioned system without adversely affecting their operation or the operation of the system in general. Furthermore, various distinct elements may be combined into one or more individual elements in order to perform the functions described herein.

[0046] Other implementations not specifically described herein are also within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A polarity inverter, Each of the contactors comprises multiple contactors, each having multiple input contacts and multiple output contacts. Each of the plurality of contactors comprises a plurality of switches that can be controlled to form a single current path between the plurality of input contacts and the plurality of output contacts, The plurality of input contacts include a first input contact to which a potential corresponding to a first polarity is applied, and a second input contact to which a potential corresponding to a second polarity different from the first polarity is applied. The first input contact and the second input contact are arranged alternately along one direction. The polarity inverter further, A plate-shaped first conductive plate electrically connected to each of the first input contacts in each of the plurality of contactors, A plate-shaped second conductive plate electrically connected to each of the second input contacts in each of the plurality of contactors, The dielectric material between the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate Equipped with, A polarity inverter in which the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate are arranged parallel to each other so as to face each other via the dielectric material.

2. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the number of contactors is determined based on the amount of current passing through the polarity inverter and the current that each of the contactors allows.

3. The plurality of output contacts include a third output contact and a fourth output contact, The third output contact and the fourth output contact are arranged alternately along one direction. The polarity inverter further, A plate-shaped first busbar electrically connected to each of the third output contacts, A plate-shaped second busbar electrically connected to each of the fourth output contacts, A dielectric material disposed between the first busbar and the second busbar, Equipped with, The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the first busbar and the second busbar are arranged parallel to each other so as to face each other via the dielectric material.

4. The plurality of switches can be controlled to switch the direction of the current flowing through the plurality of contactors to a first direction or a second direction opposite to the first direction. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the first direction and the second direction are the directions in which current is applied to the device under test connected to the output side of the polarity inverter.

5. Each of the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate is provided with a plurality of conductive fingers protruding from the edge of each plate toward the corresponding first input contact or second input contact. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of conductive fingers is electrically connected to the corresponding first input contact or the second input contact.

6. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of contactors comprises at least two input contactors and at least two output contactors, the at least two input contactors being configured to receive current from a current source and transmit the current to the at least two output contactors via the plurality of switches, and the at least two output contactors being configured to output the current to a device interface board via an interposer.

7. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric material includes a polyimide film.

8. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric material includes polypropylene.

9. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the opposing surfaces of the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate, and the alternating spacing between the first input contact and the second input contact are set to achieve an inductance of less than 200 nanohenries (nH) in the polarity inverter.

10. The polarity inverter according to claim 9, wherein the spacing between the aforementioned surfaces and the alternating arrangement spacing are set to achieve an inductance of 100 nanohenries (nH) or less in the polarity inverter.

11. The dielectric material disposed between the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate has the form of a film. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the film is about one-tenth of a millimeter.

12. The dielectric material disposed between the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate has the form of a film. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the film is 0.5 millimeters (mm) or less.

13. The dielectric material disposed between the first busbar and the second busbar has the form of a film. The polarity inverter according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the film is about one-tenth of a millimeter.

14. The dielectric material disposed between the first busbar and the second busbar has the form of a film. The polarity inverter according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the film is 0.5 millimeters (mm) or less.

15. The aforementioned plurality of contactors comprises a plurality of input contactors and a plurality of output contactors, The plurality of input contactors are electrically connected to the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate, respectively. The aforementioned plurality of output contactors are equipped with a plurality of output contacts, The plurality of output contacts include a third output contact to which a potential corresponding to the first polarity is applied and a fourth output contact to which a potential corresponding to the second polarity is applied. The third output contact and the fourth output contact are arranged alternately along one direction. The polarity inverter further, A plate-shaped third conductive plate electrically connected to each of the third output contacts, A plate-shaped fourth conductive plate electrically connected to each of the four output contacts, Equipped with, The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the third conductive plate and the fourth conductive plate are arranged parallel to each other with a dielectric material in between.

16. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the first polarity is a positive voltage relative to the second polarity.

17. The first polarity is a forced high voltage connected to the positive side of the current source. The polarity inverter according to claim 1, wherein the second polarity is a forced low voltage connected to the negative side of the current source.

18. It is a testing system, A device interface board (DIB) connected to the device under test (DUT), An interposer connected to the aforementioned DIB, A current source and A polarity inverter that receives current from the current source and reverses the direction of the current flow to the interposer and outputs the result. Equipped with, The polarity inverter is, A plurality of contactors, each having a plurality of switches that can be controlled to form a single current path from the current source to the interposer, Each of the plurality of contactors is provided with a plurality of contacts, each including a first contact to which a potential corresponding to a first polarity is applied, and a second contact to which a potential corresponding to a second polarity different from the first polarity is applied, wherein the first contacts and the second contacts are arranged alternately along one direction, A plate-shaped first conductive plate electrically connected to each of the first contacts, A plate-shaped second conductive plate electrically connected to each of the second contacts, A dielectric material disposed between the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate, Equipped with, A test system in which the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate are arranged parallel to each other so as to face each other via the dielectric material.

19. The plurality of switches can be controlled to switch the direction of the current flowing through the plurality of contactors to a first direction or a second direction opposite to the first direction. The test system according to claim 18, wherein the first direction and the second direction are the directions in which current is applied to the device under test connected to the output side of the polarity inverter.

20. The polarity inverter comprises at least two input contactors and at least two output contactors. The at least two input contactors are configured to receive the current from the current source, The test system according to claim 18, wherein the at least two output contactors are configured to output the current to the interposer.

Images