JP3305632B2 - Semiconductor device parallel inspection method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a parallel inspection method for electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device such as a light receiving / emitting device, a photo interrupter, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a parallel inspection method of semiconductor elements has been used to efficiently inspect electrical characteristics of many semiconductor elements. When implementing this parallel inspection method, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of identical measurement units (No.
A, a, a ... are a plurality of semiconductor elements (No. 1 to No. 1).
No. n) The plurality of semiconductor elements b, b, b, b.
The electrical characteristics of b, b... are inspected. In addition, the inspection device c
Includes a power supply unit d that supplies power to the plurality of identical measurement units a, a, a,..., And an inspection device controller e that controls the operation of the plurality of identical measurement units a, a, a,. Have. Further, the semiconductor elements b, b, b,... Are connected to the respective measurement units a, a, a,. In the test handler f, the inspection device controller e
Is input to the test handler controller g, the test handler f performs handling according to the control signal.

In the conventional inspection, as shown in a time chart of FIG. 9, the same inspection item (No. 1 to No. m) is simultaneously measured for each semiconductor element, and a plurality of inspection items are sequentially inspected. I was (For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-0867)
(See No. 38)

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional parallel inspection method for semiconductor devices, when a forward current of 500 (mA) is applied to measure the forward voltage of the semiconductor devices, for example, 20 semiconductor devices are required. When trying to measure at the same time, the inspection device is 500 (mA) × 20 = 10
(A) The current must be supplied. Since the current power supply for supplying such a large current is large and heavy and expensive, it hinders downsizing and cost reduction of the inspection apparatus.

In the case where the electrical characteristics of adjacent semiconductor elements are measured at the same time, measurement errors may occur due to mutual induction, and accurate measurement may not be possible.

On the other hand, there is another conventional parallel inspection method for semiconductor devices (see FIGS. 10 and 11). In this inspection method, the electrical characteristic inspection apparatus i includes one measurement unit a and a plurality of relay units h, h,
h ..., and by switching the relay units h, h, h ..., a plurality of semiconductor elements (No. 1 to No. n) b, b, b ... are sequentially connected to one measurement unit a. , The electrical characteristics of the plurality of semiconductor elements b, b, b... Are measured and inspected.

However, in the inspection method using the electrical characteristic inspection apparatus shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, it is necessary not to measure a plurality of semiconductor elements at the same time but to measure all the inspection items sequentially. In this inspection method, processing time is significantly long. That is, a plurality of the same measurement units (No. 1 to No. 1) shown in FIGS.
n) The inspection time is T when using an electrical characteristic inspection apparatus c in which a, a, a... are connected to a plurality of semiconductor elements b, b, b. In the inspection method, the inspection time of each semiconductor element takes T, and the inspection time of the entire semiconductor element (assuming n) takes n times (T × n) as described above. Inevitable. Further, since the relay unit is frequently opened and closed, there is a possibility that a trouble may occur due to the deterioration of the relay unit.

[0008] The present invention reduces the size of the electrical characteristic inspection apparatus.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a parallel inspection method for semiconductor devices that is inexpensive, has no risk of measurement error due to mutual induction, has a high processing capability, and does not cause trouble due to a relay unit.

[0009]

The present invention has the following configuration to achieve the above object. The invention of claim 1 is
More by using a plurality of identical measuring units a plurality of which are connected in one-to-one correspondence to the semiconductor device electrical property test device, when inspecting a plurality of semiconductor elements, a plurality of test items
Inspecting all of the semiconductor elements , wherein the inspection item
For the items to be inspected by passing a high current within the eye, before
In order to inspect a plurality of semiconductor elements individually in order ,
For other inspection items, the plurality of semiconductor elements
A parallel testing method of a semiconductor device characterized in that so as to inspection. According to the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the same measurement
Units are connected one-to-one to multiple semiconductor elements
Inspection of multiple semiconductor elements using an electrical characteristic inspection device
When testing multiple semiconductor devices for multiple inspection items
All inspections are performed, and mutual
For the test items where the inductive action causes erroneous measurement,
In order to inspect a plurality of semiconductor elements individually in order,
For other inspection items, the plurality of semiconductor elements
A parallel testing method of a semiconductor device characterized in that so as to inspection.

[0010] The invention according to claim 3, using the electrical characteristic test device in which a plurality of the same measurement unit which are connected one-to-one to the plurality of semiconductor elements, when inspecting a plurality of semiconductor elements, a plurality of test Detect all semiconductor devices for an item
In the case of adjacent semiconductor devices,
Check the order of the test items so that they are not the same at the same time.
This is a parallel inspection method for semiconductor devices, wherein the inspection is performed while being shifted . The invention according to claim 4 relates to each semiconductor element.
The order of all the inspections is a certain one of the plurality of inspection items.
3. The parallel inspection method for semiconductor devices according to claim 2, wherein the inspection order of the inspection items is constant .

According to the present invention, a semiconductor device is inspected for a plurality of inspection items at the same time, and among the inspection items, an item to be inspected by applying a large current and an electrical characteristic of an adjacent semiconductor device are measured. For items that cause erroneous measurement, all the plurality of semiconductor elements are not tested at the same time, so that the output current capacity of the current power supply can be reduced. Therefore, the electrical characteristic inspection device can be reduced in size and cost. And according to the invention of claim 1 or 2,
In addition, other inspection items are measured simultaneously, so that the inspection time is minimized. In addition, since the inspection items are sequentially inspected for a plurality of semiconductor elements, all the semiconductor elements can be inspected without fail, and the control flow of the plurality of semiconductor element inspections is easily simplified.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the inspection order for each semiconductor element can be freely set, so that when the electrical characteristics of adjacent semiconductor elements are measured, the mutual induction may cause an erroneous measurement. It is possible to flexibly determine a test order in which such mutual induction does not occur. According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the operation and effect of the invention of claim 3, since the inspection order is constant for a plurality of inspection items, steps of the plurality of inspection items are collectively handled. And the control flow for testing a plurality of semiconductor elements can be easily simplified.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory block diagram of a parallel inspection device according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the parallel inspection device, n identical measurement units (No. 1 to No. n) 1, 1, 1,.
o.1 to No. n) Inspection of the electrical characteristics of the n semiconductor elements 2, 2, 2,... using the electrical characteristic inspection device 3 connected one-to-one to 2, 2, 2,. I do. The inspection device 3 controls the operation of the power supply unit 4 that supplies power to the plurality of identical measurement units 1, 1, 1,... And the operation of the plurality of identical measurement units 1, 1, 1,. An inspection apparatus controller 5 also having a memory.

The semiconductor elements 2, 2, 2,... Are held in the test handler 6 while the measuring units 1, 1,.
.. Are connected. Then, in the test handler 6, when a control signal is input from the inspection device controller 5 to the test handler controller 7, the test handler 6 performs handling according to the control signal. In the embodiment, n semiconductor elements (No. 1)
To No. n) 2, 2, 2,... Are to be inspected in parallel for m electrical characteristic measurement items (No. 1 to No. m).

An inspection method according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows inspection program data of the inspection method according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows an inspection processing operation time chart. In the inspection program, the mode variable
Is a variable for setting whether the measurement order of the inspection items is the same or not. Variable mode = 0: The inspection item is not changed. Variable mode = 1: Changes the inspection item.

For m inspection items (1 to m), flags (FLG [1] to FLG [m]) and item names (ITM [1])
~ ITM [m]), upper limit (UL [1] ~ UL [m]) / lower limit (LL [1] ~ LL [m]) and measurement conditions (MC [1] ~ MC [m]) It is stored in the controller 5 of the inspection device 3. here,
The flags have the following meanings. If the value of the flag is "0", parallel simultaneous measurement is possible. If the value of the flag is "1", parallel simultaneous measurement is not possible. In the example of FIG. 2, only the inspection item No. 2 has the flag FLG [2] = 1.
And cannot be measured simultaneously in parallel.

The contents shown in the time chart of FIG. 3 will be described. In the test handler 6 shown in FIG. 1, n semiconductor elements 2, 2, 2,... Are fixed at predetermined positions, and electric power is supplied to the measurement units 1, 1, 1,. When the initial connection is completed, the test handler 6 sends a test start signal (TEST ST
ART) (transmit). Then, the controller 5 of the inspection apparatus 3 receives (receives) this signal and issues an instruction to each of the measurement units 1, 1, 1,... To measure the inspection item No. 1 for which parallel simultaneous measurement is possible. . When the measurement of the designated inspection item No. 1 is completed, the individual measurement units 1, 1, 1,.
Output the measurement completion signal of O.1.

When receiving the measurement completion signal, the controller 5 of the inspection apparatus 3 proceeds to the measurement instruction of the next inspection item. In the inspection item No. 2, the flag value is “1”, that is, the parallel simultaneous measurement is disabled, so that the controller 5 of the inspection device 3 first checks the inspection item No. 1 only in the measurement unit 1 No. 1. Give the measurement instruction of 2. Next, N of the measurement unit 1
When it is notified from o.1 that the measurement of the inspection item No. 2 is completed, the controller 5 of the inspection device 1
The measurement instruction of inspection item No. 2 is issued only to No. 2 In this way, the above processing operations are sequentially performed, and the N
Measure inspection item No. 2 until o.n. And when No. n of the measurement unit 1 finishes the measurement of the inspection item No. 2,
The controller 5 of the inspection device 3 proceeds to the measurement instruction of the inspection item No. 3.

Thereafter, the inspection items of all the semiconductor elements 2, 2, 2,... Are measured up to No. m in accordance with the inspection program of FIG. When all the measurements are completed, the controller 5 of the inspection apparatus 3 compares the m measurement values received from the n measurement units 1 with the upper and lower limits of the criterion of the inspection program in FIG. The determination result of the inspection of the individual semiconductor elements is stored in the memory.

The controller 5 of the inspection device 3 that has completed the determination
Are the individual semiconductor elements 2, 2, 2,.
Is passed, and an inspection end signal is issued. One cycle of inspection is completed as described above.

Next, an inspection method according to the second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an example in which the order of inspection items of each semiconductor element 2, 2, 2,. FIG. 4 shows inspection program data which is the basis of the inspection method according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows an inspection processing operation time chart. In the inspection program, set the value of the variable mode to 1
To change the order of inspection items.

In the second embodiment, first, the inspection program is read by the controller 5 of the inspection apparatus 3. This is directly used as the inspection program for No. 1 of the semiconductor element 2. In other words, the inspection sequence for No. 1 of the semiconductor element 2 includes the item No. 1, the item No. 2, and the item No.
3,... Are recorded in the memory as item No. m. Based on this, the inspection sequence for No. 2 of the semiconductor device 2 is shifted by one, and the item No. m, item No. 1, item No. 2, item No. 3,. Is recorded in the memory. Similarly, the inspection sequence is determined by shifting the semiconductor elements No. 3 and later one by one. The processing up to this point is processed as an initialization routine of the inspection device 3.

When the controller 5 of the inspection apparatus 3 receives the inspection start signal from the test handler 6, the controller 5 according to the predetermined inspection order of the individual semiconductor elements 2, 2, 2,. Are inspected in parallel.

Next, an inspection method according to the third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment is an example in which the order of inspection items of the semiconductor elements 2, 2, 2,... Is shifted. FIG. 6 shows inspection program data which is the basis of the inspection method according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 7 shows an inspection processing operation time chart.

In the inspection program, the value of the variable mode is set to 1 to change the order of inspection items. Inspection items for which the flag FLG is 1 are the flags FLG
Means that the order is not changed in the inspection items No. 1 and No. 2 in which “1” is 1. Inspection items No. 1 and No. 2 in which the flag FLG is 1 are shifted so that adjacent semiconductor elements are not measured simultaneously. An example in which the measurement order is not changed is, for example, a case where another item is measured in the next step after a semiconductor element is heated by flowing a current for a predetermined time.

In the third embodiment, the initialization routine of the inspection apparatus 3 is processed as in the second embodiment, and the inspection of the n semiconductor elements 2, 2, 2,... Is performed in parallel.

In the above description, the inspection items 1 and / or 2 are not inspected at the same time in the first to third embodiments. However, it is clear that the inspection of the present invention is not limited to this, and the inspections can be simultaneously performed as appropriate. Items not to be inspected can be set.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric characteristic inspection apparatus in which a plurality of identical measurement units are connected to a plurality of semiconductor elements one-to-one. When testing a plurality of semiconductor devices, the items to be tested by passing a large current and the items that cause mutual measurement to cause erroneous measurement when measuring the electrical characteristics of adjacent semiconductor devices must Are not tested at the same time, the output current capacity of the current power supply can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the inspection apparatus for electrical characteristics. Then, for each semiconductor element, other inspection items can be measured at the same time, and each inspection item is measured without time, so that the inspection time is minimized. According to the invention of claim 3
Inspection order can be set freely for each semiconductor device.
Therefore, when measuring the electrical characteristics of adjacent semiconductor elements,
For items where mutual induction causes erroneous measurement,
Flexibly determine the test order that does not cause such an interaction
Can be According to the invention of claim 4, according to claim 3,
In addition to the functions and effects of the present invention, for certain inspection items
Since the inspection order is fixed,
Steps can be handled collectively, multiple semiconductors
The control flow of device inspection is easily simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory block diagram of a parallel inspection device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of inspection program data of the inspection method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an inspection processing operation time chart according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of inspection program data of an inspection method according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an inspection processing operation time chart according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of inspection program data of an inspection method according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an inspection processing operation time chart according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory block diagram of a parallel inspection device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional inspection processing operation time chart.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory block diagram of another parallel inspection device.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of another conventional inspection processing operation time chart.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1, 1 ... Measurement unit 2, 2, 2 ... Semiconductor element 3 Inspection device 4 Power supply unit 5 Controller of inspection device 6 Test handler 7 Controller of test handler

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] [Claim 1] with a plurality of identical measurement units electric characteristics inspection device formed by connecting one-to-one to the plurality of semiconductor elements, when inspecting a plurality of semiconductor elements, a plurality of semiconductor for a plurality of test items It is examined all the elements
A shall, for the items to be examined by passing a large current among the inspection items examines in turn the plurality of semiconductor elements individually
As for other inspection items, the plurality of semiconductor elements are simultaneously
Parallel testing method of a semiconductor device characterized in that so as to inspection. 2. Using a plurality of identical measurement units electric characteristics inspection device formed by connecting one-to-one to the plurality of semiconductor elements, when inspecting a plurality of semiconductor elements, a plurality of semiconductor for a plurality of test items It is examined all the elements
And the mutual induction among the test items may cause erroneous measurement.
For the inspection items, the plurality of semiconductor elements are individually
Inspection is performed sequentially, and for other inspection items, the plurality of semiconductor elements are simultaneously tested.
Parallel testing method of a semiconductor device characterized in that so as to inspection. 3. A semiconductor device comprising : a plurality of the same measuring units;
Use an electrical characteristics inspection device connected one-to-one to the element
When inspecting a plurality of semiconductor elements, all the plurality of semiconductor elements are inspected for a plurality of inspection items.
The same inspection item is applied to adjacent semiconductor elements at the same time.
A parallel inspection method for semiconductor elements, wherein inspection is performed by shifting the order of inspection items so as not to be inconsistent . 4. The inspection order for each semiconductor element is as follows.
About several inspection items among multiple inspection items
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the inspection order is constant.
Parallel inspection method of the above-mentioned semiconductor element.