Apparatus for Tracking Integrated Circuit Devices

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the testing of integrated circuit devices, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for tracking a plurality of integrated circuit devices during testing so that the test results can be correlated with the correct devices.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Testing standards for integrated circuit devices vary depending upon the application intended for the sevice. Where a lower degree of reliability is required, it is often satisfactory to provide a batch of devices with only a certain percentage of the devices meeting predetermined specifications. In these situations testing can be performed on a statistical basis, without segregating the test results for each individual device, or test results provided statistically.

Where high reliability is desired, on the other hand, it may be necessary to test each device individually and to reject all devices not meeting the required specifications. With this type of testing it is extremely important to keep track of all the devices so that the test results can be correlated with the proper devices. Any mixup can result in unacceptable devices being left in, or acceptable devices being rejected. Complicating this requirement for accurate correlation is the fact that testing is performed most efficiently when a large number of devices are tested in succession and unacceptable parts are removed only after all of the devices have been tested, rather than stopping the testing process each time an unacceptable part is encountered.

The most commonly used method for high reliability testing of integrated circuit devices, referred to as data logging, involves testing the devices in sequence and recording the test results in the same sequence, lining up the devices after testing, and loading them into container tubes. In order to properly correlate the devices in the tubes with the test results it is necesary to maintain the sequential order of both the tubes and of all devices within each tube. With this method it is possible to throw off the results of an entire test sequence by placing a single device seriously out of sequence, or by arranging the tubes in the wrong order.

In view of the above problems associated with the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel and improved apparatus and a method for tracking a plurality of integrated circuit devices during testing so that the test results can be accurately matched with the individual devices with assurance.

Another object is the provision of novel and improved apparatus and a method for automatically tracking integrated circuit devices during a test sequence, without having to arrange the devices in any particular physical order or sequence.

These and other objects are realized in the present invention by providng a plurality of carriers, each of which is adapted to hold an integrated circuit device while the device is tested. Each of the carriers includes a coding means which is recognizable by an automatic decoding apparatus. Unique codes are assigned to each carrier, whereby the code can be automatically read and the carrier identified as the device is tested or immediately thereafter. The active identification of each carrier permits the test results to be reliably correlated with the individual devices tested.

In a preferred embodiment each of the carriers has an array of perforations which extend through its body, while a membrane blocks the passage of light through each perforation. A unique combination of perforations can be broken for each carrier, thereby establishing a unique identification code for each carrier that is detected by transmitting light through the broken perforations to an optical decoding device. The identity of all integrated circuit devices which do not meet the testing standards can thus be reliably determined by testing each device while in its respective carrier, recording the test results for each device, reading the identification code for each carrier in the same sequence that the test results are recorded, and correlating the test results with the carrier identifications to match each device with its respective results. Alternatively, an optical bar code display or other coding mechanism which is recognizable by an automatic decoding apparatus can be used to establish a unique identification code for each carrier.

These and other features and objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carrier for an integrated circuit device constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the carrier shown in FIG. 1 holding an integrated circuit chip;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are respectively views taken along the lines 3--3 and 4--4 of FIG. 2 with the chip removed;

FIG. 5 is a cut-away perspective view illustrating apparatus used to identity the carrier of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a carrier for an integrated circuit device employed in another embodiment of the invention.

A carrier which may be used to hold an integrated circuit device for testing in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The carrier consists of a body 2 having a standard exterior shape to facilitate automatic handling of the carrier and the integrated circuit device which it holds. The body has a wide base with two lateral wings 4 and 6, a central channel 8 running the length of the carrier along its underside, and a raised central portion 10 for receiving an integrated circuit chip. A pair of vertical slots 12 and 14 are cut through wing 4, and a single vertical slot 16 is cut through wing 6 to permit automatic alignment of the carrier in environmental handling machines; the size and positions of the slots and of wings 4 and 6 are industry standards. A groove 18 cut into the underside of wing 4 enables the carrier to be aligned on a track in a bowl feed apparatus.

The carrier shown in FIG. 1 is designed to be used for a leadless integrated circuit chip. However, the present invention is applicable to carriers for many different kinds of integrated circuit devices, and the depiction of the leadless chip carrier is for purposes of illustration only. Extending inwardly from the upper central surface of the carrier body shown in FIG. 1 is a cavity 20, the lateral dimensions of which are slightly larger than a standard leadless integrated circuit chip which the carrier is designed to hold. A generally rectangular opening 22 extends through one of the side walls of the carrier body bounding cavity 20 to provide lateral access to the cavity. Opening 22 permits the insertion of a standard leadless chip into the cavity, which has a floor 24 at its lower end to support the chip. A circular opening 26 is centrally located in the floor to assist in equalizing the temperature at the upper and lower surfaces of the chip.

A generally L-shaped, stiffly flexible cantilevered arm 28 formed integrally with the carrier body extends through a recess 30 which is separated from the cavity by a thin wall 32. Arm 28 terminates in a head 34 which protrudes into cavity 20 through a gap between wall 32 and the carrier wall in which opening 22 is formed. Arm 28 is positioned so that it must be flexed away from the cavity when a chip is inserted, its head 34 thereafter bearing against the chip under the internal spring bias of the flexed arm to hold the chip in place within the cavity. A series of tabs 36 project into the cavity from three of its upper corners to hold the chip down. A leadless integrated circuit chip 38 is shown in place within the carrier in FIG. 2. Further details of the mechanism for retaining a leadless chip within the carrier are disclosed in my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 350,246, filed on the same date at the present application.

The carrier has a special coding mechanism enabling it to be uniquely coded so that it can be tracked and accurately identified during testing of a chip held in the carrier. This is important when a large number of chips are tested at once, because without proper identification it is possible to mix up the chips and assign the various results to the wrong chips. The coding apparatus employed in this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1-4. It consists of an array of perforations 40 which extend vertically through the central portion 10 of the carrier. Each perforation consists of a first opening 42 extending down from the upper surface of the carrier, a second opening 44 extending upward in axial alignment with opening 42 from the underside of the carrier, and a thin membrane 46 which extends across the perforation to separate the two openings. Membranes 46 may be provided as separate elements, but preferably are formed integrally with the body of the carrier in a molding operation. The carrier is formed from a suitable rubber, plastic or similar material which is capable of withstanding the environmental conditions to which a chip is subjected during testing, but which permits membranes 46 to be broken as described hereinafter.

The carrier illustrated in the drawings has four rows of perforations, three on one side of the cavity and one on the opposite side, with four perforations to each row. Other arrays can also be employed with different numbers and positions of perforations, but the illustrated arrangement is a convenient one for sensing the coding applied to each carrier.

Each of a series of carriers is uniquely coded by breaking a combination of membranes which is unique to each carrier. For example, of the membranes are numbered in order, one carrier may be coded by breaking only the first membrane, the second by breaking only the second membrane, the third by breaking the first and second membranes, the fourth by breaking only the third membrane, etc. The coding technique thus lends itself very conveniently to a binary coding system, with each separate carrier assigned a unique binary code as determined by the combination of perforations with broken membranes.

The carriers can be positively identified at any convenient point in a testing or processing sequence by illuminating one side of the array of perforations and detecting light which is transmitted through those perforations with broken membranes. Since the intact membranes block the transmission of light through their respective perforations, the pattern of light emitted from the array of perforations can be used to identify the carrier. In practice, each of a set of carriers is assigned a unique code by piercing a unique combination of membranes for that carrier with a punch or other suitable instrument. An integrated circuit device is then loaded into each carrier, and the carriers are moved sequentially through a test system. The test results for each integrated circuit device are recorded as the device is tested, and the carriers are then automatically identified while in the same sequence. Carrier identification can be accomplished either after or simultaneously with testing. The test results can thus be reliably correlated with the identity of the individual carriers and the integrated circuit devices they hold. Even if the carriers are later mixed up, a positive identification of any particular circuit device can be established merely by reading its carrier's identification code. The identification of those circuit devices to be rejected and those which have passed the test can thus be made with confidence even if the carriers are not maintained in their original order

FIG. 5 illustrates a system which can be used to read the carrier identification codes. A light source 48 is positioned over the carrier and illuminates each of the perforations in the array. A bundle of optical fibers 50 are held in openings of a plate 52 in respective alignment with each of the perforations. The ends of the fibers extend to a point immediately adjacent the underside of the carrier, and are lapped smooth so that each fiber detects light transmitted only through its respective perforation. Light transmitted from the perforations to the fibers is guided by the fibers to a decoder 54, which provides a carrier identification as determined by the combination of fibers transmitting light. Numerous types of suitable fibers and decoders are available; when the carriers are digitally coded a digital decoder would be employed.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6. In this embodiment a carrier identical to that previously described is employed, but instead of perforations 40 a bar coded pattern 56 is displayed on the outer shoulder of carrier wing 6. Each carrier is provided with a unique bar code, enabling the various carriers to be identified by scanning the bar code area with an optical readout device. Standard bar codes may be employed, so long as each carrier receives its own code. The bar codes may be burned into the carrier with a laser, displayed on a sticker which is adhered to the carrier, or by any other convenient means. Application of the codes by a laser burn can be controlled by means of a computer operated, articulating mask which forms a separate code for each successive carrier, or a collection of different masks having different code patterns for each carrier could be used. The bar coding technique is very adaptable to the automatic identification of individual carriers, and again makes it possible to track and positively identify the various carriers during and after testing even if they get out of their original sequential order.

While various embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it should be understood that other modifications and alternate embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the carriers could be coded by placing various patterns of dots of magnetic material on their respective surfaces, and magnetic sensing heads employed to determine the dot patterns and thereby identify each carrier. Also, the orientation of the perforations could be altered and the perforations centered on curved or bent axes. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only in terms of the appended claims: