A Modular and Cost Effective

Approach to Module and Chip Testing

Birger Schneider

National Instruments

TestForum 2011

2

New Generation of Semiconductor Test

• In the past, chip testing and semiconductor module testing typically done

using highly expensive "big iron" test systems that only few companies

could afford.

• A new generation of test solutions for chips and semiconductor module

testing is emerging:

A suite of solutions that lends itself well for the chip vendors in their aims of bring

down test costs

Useful many companies designing own chips and advanced FPGA ASIC solutions.

• The new approach builds upon lower cost, COTS modules in PXI/PXIe

form factor.

3

The ―New Way‖ in Digital ATE

• Basically ATE digital testers(digital + PMU) are now available

in PXI for medium sized pin-counts.

• One or more PXI chassis in a “test head” operated on a

manipulator brings the functionality close to the DUT.

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National Instruments

• Leaders in Computer-Based Measurement and Automation

• Long-term Track Record of Growth and Profitability

• $873M Revenue in 2010

• Q2-2011: $253M

• More than 6,000 employees; operations in 40+ countries

• Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For Twelve Consecutive Year

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The National Instruments Vision

“To do for test and measurement

what the spreadsheet did for financial analysis.”

Virtual Instrumentation

6

1980 1990 2000 2010

• GPS

• Radio

• Phone

• MP3 Player

• Camera

Technologies are converging

within a single device/chip 1

Test cost is increasing while

manufacturing cost is decreasing 2

Top 2 Trends in Test

Cost of Silicon Manufacturing and Test

7

Converging Complexities – Systems on Chip

SPI - I2C - JTAG Memory Audio/Video RF/Wireless

LAN/USB

GPIO & Timing

8

Semiconductor Test Overview

9

Trends & Issues with Chip Test Today

First Silicon Validation / Lab Characterization

• Remains largely un-automated – manual rack and stack testing

• Hard to correlate test results from lab to production

↑ More mixed signal parts / integration with other ICs

↓ Time-in-market

NI Confidential

10

Trends & Issues with Chip Test Today

Production Test / ATE Systems

• Integration of BIST and other techniques to make test easier

• Emergence of high-volume - more production in Asia

↑ RF / mixed signal components – sensor heavy (MEMS)

↓ Price - ICs being commoditized; ATE, handlers, probers not scaling

11

Semiconductor Ecosystem

Silicon

Fab/Foundry

EDA Tools,

Simulation, etc.

Production Process

Equipment

Blank

Wafers

Chip

Wafers Ink, Dice

& Bin

Wafer

Test Bond &

Package

Final

Chip Test

Chip

Designer

Chip Packaging Subcontractor Semiconductor Chip Company

Fabless Chip Company

Chips

Lab Test Setup and Optimization

First Silicon Test

Characterization Test

Process Test

Equipment Lab/Production Data Correlation

Reel, Pack

& Ship

Product Throughput, Time-to-Market

IP, Protocols, Standards…

Failure Analysis

Test Systems

Instrumentation

Test Fixture

Prober/Handler

Test Software

Models, IP, Test Vectors…

Test Systems

Production Test Setup and Optimization

Instrumentation

Test Fixture

Prober/Handler

Test Software

Test Plans

Yield Analysis

Failure Analysis

Test Results

NI Confidential

Major Challenges: - Time-to-Market, Cost of Test

- Increasing Complexity

- Lab<->Production Leverage & Re-use

- Lab<->Production Data Correlation

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Focus Areas within Semiconductor

Wireless ICs LED / Discretes Data Converters

NI Confidential

• High analog / RF content, low digital pin count

Good match for our current products

• Lab: Automated Bench Equipment

Flexible test systems to address custom test requirements

• Production: Cost Constrained Parts

Consumer Electronics / High Volume – MEMS / PAs

MEMS

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NI’s Value Statement for Semiconductor Market

“Accelerate designs and lower the cost of test by delivering a

new generation of highly optimized, cost-effective test systems

that can:

• Improve automation in the lab

• Replace/enhance traditional “Big-Iron” production

ATE systems.”

NI Confidential

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Backplane

- PCI bus communication

- Timing and Synchronization

Peripheral Instrument Modules

- Over 1,500 modules from 70+ vendors

Chassis

- 4, 8 and 18 slot options

Controller

- Embedded PC, remote PC,

or laptop interface

- Runs all standard SW

PXI – PC-Based Modular Instrumentation

Systems Alliance

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NI Semiconductor Test Solutions

Application Development

Test Management Software

Digital Instrumentation

Analog/RF Instrumentation DC Parametric Measurements

Switching/Connectivity - Up to 200 MHz/400 Mbps

- SPI, I2C, JTAG, etc.

- Up to 24-bit acquisition

- Bandwidth over 1 GHz

- Resolution down to 10 pA

- Open/shorts, leakage, etc.

High-Speed Digital and FPGA I/O

SMUs and Power Supplies Digitizers and RF VSAs/VSGs

SSRs and FETs

- ~50 switch module options

- Multiple topologies

PXI Modular Instrumentation Platform

Characterization and Production Test Platform

NI TestStand

National Instruments Confidential

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Software-Defined Instrumentation

Graphical Programming

Configuration Textual Math

Modeling & Simulation

Statecharts

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NI TestStand—Test Management Software

• Graphical sequence editor

environment

• Automate tests written in any

language

• Multithreaded sequence

execution

• ASCII, HTML/Web, XML, and

ATML report generation

• Access, Oracle, SQL Server

database connectivity

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• Replaced traditional ATE with PXI

• Used for characterization and

production test of MEMS

microphones

Cost

Footprint

Weight

Facility

PXI Tester Reduction Previous ATE

$40K USD

18”x24”x7”

60 lb

600 W

11X

15X

66X

16X

$450k+ USD

98”x66”x74”

4000 lb

10 kW

High-Volume MEMS Production Test

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RF Power Amplifier Testing

Challenge: Changing PA Market dynamics

More modes + more bands = more measurements

Increasing time-to-market pressure

RF instruments test faster & cheaper

Solution: Migrate existing test bench to PXI

Reduce test time and maintain accuracy

“With PXI, we were able to reduce the characterization time of new parts

from two weeks to about a day”

Gary Shipley, Senior Engineer

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Solution: PXI-Based Tester

Previous Characterization Test Bench PXI-Hybrid Characterization Test Set

Original Test Time PXI Test Time Speedup

GSM Test 6 sec 1.1 sec 6x

EDGE Test 14 sec 1.1 sec 14x

WCDMA Test 9 sec 1.1 sec 9x

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NI PXI Semiconductor Suite

High-Speed Digital I/O

- 200 MHz clock rates,

up to 700 Mbps

Source Measure Unit

- Measurements down to 10 pA

New Products Expand DC, Digital, RF, and Switching Capabilities for PXI

RF 14.4 GHz

VSA/VSG

- Fast multiband

RF measurements

Embargoed until November 10th, 2009

WGL/STIL Importing Software

- Import WGL and STIL digital data formats

from EDA tools directly with NI HSDIO

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Product Description Platform Digits

PXI-4071 High-resolution DMM and 1.8 MS/s isolated digitizer PXI 7½

PXI-4072 DMM, 1.8 MS/s isolated digitizer, and LCR meter PXI 7

NI 4070 DMM and 1.8 MS/s isolated digitizer PCI, PXI 7

NI 4065 Low-cost DMM PXI, PCI, PCIe, USB 6½

PCMCIA-4050 Portable PCMCIA DMM PCMCIA 5½

NI PXI-4071 7½-Digit FlexDMM

NI’s Complete Digital Multimeter Offering

• Industry’s Most Accurate 7½-digit DMM

• Wide measurements ranges ±10 nV to 1000 VDC, ±1 pA to 3 A , 10 µ to 5 G

±500 VDC/Vrms common-mode isolation

• 1.8 MS/s isolated, high-voltage digitizer Flexible resolution: 1.8 MS/s at 10 bits to 5 S/s at 23 bits

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NI PXI-4110

Power Supply

NI PXI-4130

Power SMU

NI PXI-4132

Precision SMU

NI PXI-4154

Battery Simulator

NI PXIe-4140 /4141

4-Channel SMU

Description /

Applications

3-channels

General purpose power

sourcing & read-back

High power (40W)

IV sweeps, Component

characterization and

general purpose SMU

Low-power (2W)

leakage test, semiconductor

characterization

Mobile Device Test

Fast Transient Response

Programmable Output

Resistance

4-SMU Channels

Semiconductor High pin

count test,

Max Voltage +6V, +20V, -20V +/-20V +/- 100V +6V, +8V +/-10V

Max Current 1A on each channel +/- 2A +/- 100mA (2W max) 3A +/-100mA

4-quadrant 1-quadrant 4-quadrant 4-quadrant 2-Quadrant 4-quadrant

Current

Sensitivity

400 nA 1 nA 10pA 1uA 100pA/10pA

Guarding No No Yes No Yes

Output timing Software Timed Software Timed SW or HW timed SW or HW timed SW or HW timed

Triggering No No Yes – PXI backplane Yes – PXI backplane Yes – PXI backplane

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PXIe-4140 Four-Channel SMU PXIe-4141 Four-Channel Precision SMU

with SourceAdapt™ Technology

PXIe-4140 PXIe-4141

# of SMU Channels: 4 4

Voltage/Current: ± 10V @ ± 100mA ± 10V @ ± 100mA

Voltage Measure Range: 10V 10V

Voltage Measure Sensitivity: 100 µV 10 µV

Current Measure Ranges: 10uA, 100µA, 1mA, 10mA, 100mA 10uA, 100µA, 1mA, 10mA, 100mA

Current Measure Sensitivity: 100 pA 10 pA

Maximum Sampling Rate: 600 kS/s 600 kS/s

Maximum Source-Measure Rate 15 kS/s 15 kS/s

Compensation Modes Slow, Normal, Fast Slow, Normal, Fast, Custom

Additional Features SourceAdapt™ technology for

Custom compensation mode.

Programmable output resistance

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What you expect?

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What you get!

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Typical SMU in a V-source Mode

+

-

RS

V

V = Vout

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Typical SMU in a V-source Mode

+

-

RS

RL

V

Vop

=(RS+R

L)/R

L * V

V = Vout

RL is part of the

control loop

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Typical SMU in a V-source Mode

+

-

RS

RL

V

gain=(RS+R

L)/R

L

V SMU GBW f

c ≈ 30kHz

Gai

n dB

10 1k 100k 100 10k

20

0

40

60

1M

Pha

se

10 1k 100k 100 10k

-90

-180

0

1M

Phase margin ≈ 70˚

Stable with resistive

load

31

Effect of Capacitive Load

+

-

RS

CL

V

CLadds a pole at f=1/(2 π R

SC

L)

SMU GBW fc now ≈ 2kHz

Gai

n dB

10 1k 100k 100 10k

20

0

40

60

1M

Pha

se

10 1k 100k 100 10k

-90

-180

0

1M

-135

Phase margin now ≈ 0˚

Adding a pole at 100Hz

Unstable with

capacitive load

32

DAC

Implemented with

Analog Hardware Components

load

Set Point

Analog Digital

V-I

Control

ADC

Traditional SMU

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Output

DAC

load

Analog Digital

FPGA

Control

ADC

Moved into Digital Domain

Set Point

NI PXIe-4141 with SourceAdapt Technology

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Customize SMU response to any load:

For Faster, more stable measurements while protecting the DUT

SourceAdapt Technology on PXIe-4141

Ideal for use with inductive or

capacitive loads:

•ICs with by-pass Caps

•MEMs devices

•Medical Devices

•Consumer Electronics

1V Step response:

capacitive load

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Demo: Achieving an Ideal Response for Any Load

• A variety of loads

• Use digital control loop to tune SMU

response

• Key Benefits:

Faster rise times Faster test

More stable No more oscillations

Protect the DUT No accidental DUT

damage from overshoots

NI PXI-4132 High-Precision SMU

Applications

• Leakage test on discrete components

• Parametric measurements on packaged semiconductors

• IV characterization LEDs / transistors

• High-voltage physical measurements, wafer test

10pA measurement

sensitivity

Up to +/-100V and

up to +/-100mA

Remote (4-wire)

sense, guarding

High-speed hardware

sequencing and triggering

4-quadrant

source/sink

operation

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NI PXIe-4154 Battery Simulator Power Supply Optimized for Mobile Device Test

Specification NI PXIe-4154

Platform 3U PXIe, 2 Slot

Battery Output Capability 6V, 3A

Transient Resp. <20us (fast mode)

Max Sampling Rate 200 kS/s continuous

Current Ranges 30mA, 3A

Current Sensitivity 1uA on 30mA range

Programmable Output Resistance -0.04Ω to 1Ω

Charger Simulation Additional 8V, 1.5A Charger Simulation Channel

Sequencing, Triggering HW Timing, PXI Backplane

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Digital Test

• Functional Test

Was the DUT logic designed correctly

• Structural Test • Was the DUT built correctly

• Parametric Test

In Characterization Lab & Production

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DC Parametric Test

• Characterization

Leakage (swept Force V, Measure I)

Threshold (swept Force V, read digital)

Voltage accuracy under load (swept Force I, Meas. V)

Functional Testing (Digital, SCAN)

• Production

Continuity – Protection Diodes (Force I, Measure V)

Threshold and output voltage margins (Force/Measure V)

Structural Testing (Digital, SCAN)

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PCI / PXI-6541/42 PXIe-6544/45 PXIe-6547/48 PCI / PXI-6551/52 PXIe-6556

Max Speed 50 / 100 MHz 100MHz / 200 MHz 100MHz / 200 MHz 50 / 100 MHz 200MHz

Platform PCI / PXI PXI Express PXI Express PCI / PXI PXI Express

# of Channels 32 32 32 / 24 (with HWC) 20 24 + 4 +8

Direction Input or Output Input or Output In/Out or Bidirectional Bidirectional Bidirectional

Precision CLK No Yes Yes No Yes

Voltage Levels Selectable

1.8, 2.5, 3.3, 5V*

Selectable - 1.2, 1.5,

2.5, 1.8, 3.3 V

Selectable 1.2 - 3.3V

(100 mV res.)

Programmable -2 to

5V (10 mV res.)

Programmable -2 to

7V

HWC / Tri-state No No Yes (24 ch) Yes (20 ch) Yes

Streaming 115 MB/s 400 / 660 MB/s 400 / 660 MB/s 115 MB/s 700Mbps

NI PXI High Speed Digital Offering

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NI PXIe-6556 Digital ATE • Specifications (per-pin)

– I/O Toggle Rate: 200 MHz / 5ns edge placement

– PPMU Channels: 24 data + 4 control

– Digital only Channels: 8

– Data Deskew Resolution: 30 ps

– Programmable Voltage: -2 to 7V (15mV accuracy)

– Current Range: 2 uA to 32 mA (1% accuracy)

– Active Load*: 24 mA

– Memory: Up to 64 Mb/ch (512 MB / board)

– Streaming Rate: 700 MB/s in each direction

– Current 655X features (data delay, HW Compare, TCLK, scripting)

• Advanced Features

– Hardware timed PMU*

– External SMU integration in place of PMUs

– In-circuit calibration for production*

* Active Load, HW PMU and In-circuit cal to be added in future software release.

• NI PXIe-6556 8Mb/ch - $11,299 • NI PXIe-6556 64Mb/ch - $12,999

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PCI / PXI 6541/42 PCI / PXI-6551/52 PXIe-6556

Platform PCI / PXI PCI / PXI 2 slot PXIe

Max Speed 50/100 MHz 50/100 MHz 200 MHz

Channels 32 20 24

TCLK

Data Delay / Scripting

TTL Voltage

Sweep Voltage

HWC / Tri-state

Per-pin Voltage

Per-pin PMU

Per-pin Active Load

Per-pin Deskew

Cal/System SMU

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NI PXI Pin Electronics Module

+ =

ni.com/lp/semiconductor

High Speed Digital Source Measure Unit PPMU