KR20090020354A - Test handler - Google Patents

Abstract

The chamber unit of the test handler used for testing the semiconductor devices is connected to a tester, and a tray buffer space in which the test trays in which the semiconductor devices are housed are brought in and out and a test process of the semiconductor devices in the test trays are performed. Include a test site. The loading unit houses the semiconductor devices for the test from the customer trays into the test trays, and the unloading unit houses the semiconductor devices from which the test has been performed from the test trays into the customer trays. The transfer unit transfers test trays between the chamber unit and the loading and unloading units, and the tray storage temporarily stores empty test trays. Therefore, empty test trays can be smoothly supplied to the loading unit.

Description

Test handler

The present invention relates to a test handler for testing semiconductor devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to a sorter unit for classifying and transferring semiconductor devices between a customer tray and a test tray of a test handler.

In general, semiconductor devices such as volatile or nonvolatile memory devices and system large-scale integration (LSI) circuit elements are shipped after their operating characteristics are examined through various test procedures.

The test handler may be connected to a tester to test the operating performance of the semiconductor devices. Specifically, the test handler includes chamber units connected to testers, sorter units for loading and unloading semiconductor devices between the customer trays and the test trays, between the chamber units and the sorter units. A tray transfer unit for carrying the test trays may be included.

Each chamber unit may have a tray buffer space into which a certain number of lot of test trays are loaded or taken out, and may include a test site where a test process is performed on the test trays inserted from the tray buffer space.

The test site may include a preheating chamber, a test chamber, and a heat removing chamber. The preheat chamber creates an environment for testing of semiconductor devices. For example, using a liquid nitrogen or the like to form a cryogenic environment of -40 ° C or lower, or a heat sink to create a high temperature of 125 ° C or higher, and the heat removal chamber restores the semiconductor devices tested in the test environment to room temperature. In order to cool or heat the semiconductor devices.

Meanwhile, the test trays in which the test process is completed are loaded in lot units in the test tray buffer space of the chamber unit.

Each sorter unit carries semiconductor devices from customer trays to test trays, and test trays in which the semiconductor devices are stacked in a tray buffer space in the sorter units may be stacked in a stack form. When the test trays in which the semiconductor devices are stacked become lot units of a set quantity, the test trays may be transferred to the chamber unit by the transfer unit.

In addition, the respective sorter units transfer the semiconductor devices from the chamber units to the customer trays from the lot-based test trays transferred by the transfer unit. In this case, the semiconductor devices may be classified by grades according to test results, and may be stored in customer trays for each grade.

The transfer unit may include an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) for transferring test trays loaded in units of lots.

However, in the case of the test handler as described above, since the sorter unit simultaneously loads and unloads the semiconductor devices, the time required for the test handler may be increased. Specifically, the semiconductor devices accommodated in the test trays transferred from the chamber unit are unloaded into the customer trays. However, since the loading operation of the semiconductor devices can be performed only when the unloading is completed and the empty tray is provided, when the test trays are not supplied from the chamber unit, the loading operation cannot be performed and the sorter unit must be kept in the standby state. . When the standby state of the sorter unit is maintained, the test trays may not be smoothly supplied to the chamber units, which may result in a decrease in the throughput per unit time of the test handler.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide a test handler that can increase the throughput per unit time.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a test handler for performing a test process for the semiconductor devices, the test trays are connected to the tester for testing the semiconductor devices and the test trays in which the semiconductor devices are housed A chamber unit including a tray buffer space to be brought in and taken out into and out of the test tray, and a test site where a test process of the semiconductor devices stored in the test trays is performed, and the semiconductor devices for the test from the customer trays to the test trays. A loading unit, an unloading unit for receiving the tested semiconductor devices from the test trays to the customer trays, and a transfer unit for transferring the test trays between the chamber unit and the loading and unloading units. Can be.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the test handler may further include a tray storage unit for temporarily storing empty test trays after the semiconductor devices are unloaded by the unloading unit.

According to embodiments of the present invention, after the semiconductor devices are unloaded by the unloading unit, empty test trays may be provided to the loading unit by the transfer unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a test handler is connected to a tester for testing semiconductor devices, and a tray buffer space in which the test trays in which the semiconductor devices are stored are loaded and exported in units of lots, and the test tray. A plurality of chamber units each including a test site on which a test process of the semiconductor devices stored in the plurality of semiconductor devices is performed, a plurality of loading units accommodating the semiconductor devices for the test from the customer trays to the test trays, and A plurality of unloading units for receiving the tested semiconductor devices from the test trays to the customer trays, a transfer unit for transferring test trays between the chamber units and the loading and unloading units, and the chamber Requirements of the test process performed on the units It may comprise a control unit for controlling the operation status of the loading unit and unloading unit according to the liver.

According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, since loading and unloading of the semiconductor devices are performed separately by each loading unit and the unloading unit, an increase in the process time due to the delay of supply of empty test trays can be prevented. Can be. In addition, since the extra test trays are temporarily stored in the tray storage portion, the possibility of disruption in the supply of empty test trays to the loading unit can be eliminated.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and may be implemented in other forms. The embodiments introduced herein are provided to make the disclosure more complete and to fully convey the spirit and features of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the thicknesses of individual devices or components and regions are exaggerated for clarity of the invention, and each device may additionally include various additional elements not described herein, and specific elements Is said to be located on another component or device, it may be placed directly on the other component or device, or an additional element may be interposed therebetween.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a test handler according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the test handler 10 may include a chamber unit 100, a loading unit 200, an unloading unit 300, and a transfer unit 400. As shown, the test handler 10 includes a plurality of chamber units 100, a plurality of loading units 200, a plurality of unloading units 300 and a transfer unit 400. However, the scope of the present invention will not be limited to the quantity of each component that the test handler 10 has.

Each chamber unit 100 may be connected to an external tester 20 for testing semiconductor devices, and a tray into which test trays 30 (T-trays) in which the semiconductor devices are housed are loaded and taken out in a unit of lot. It may include a test site for testing the buffer space and the semiconductor devices accommodated in the test trays (30).

The transfer unit 400 may include an automatic conveying device (AGV), and the plurality of test trays 30 stacked in a predetermined quantity of lot units may include the chamber units 100 and the loading units 200. And unloading units 300.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the chamber unit shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, each chamber unit 100 has a tray buffer space 110 through which the test trays 30 in a lot unit are loaded and unloaded by the transfer unit 400. The tray buffer space 110 may include a tray loading area 112, a tray loading area 114, and a tray loading area 116. The tray loading area 112 may be located at the center portion of the tray buffer space 110, and the tray loading and unloading areas 114 and 116 may be located at both sides.

Although not shown in detail, the tray loading area 112 is loaded in a state in which the test trays 30, for example, 40 test trays 30, are stacked in the tray loading area 112. Loaded on an elevator (not shown). Here, the processing order of the stacked test trays 30 is ranked from the bottom to the top, and the test sites 120 are put in the order of the ranking.

Although not shown in detail, a predetermined number of test trays 30 are transferred from the bottom of the test trays 30 positioned in the tray loading area 112 to the tray loading area 114. For example, four test trays 30 from the bottom of the test trays 30 are lowered by the elevator, and the rest are supported by a stocker (not shown). The lowered test trays 30 are moved to the tray input area 114, and are lifted by the elevator in the tray input area 114. The four test trays 30 are switched from the horizontal state to the vertical state by the first rotator 132 and then introduced into the test site 120.

On the other hand, the quantity of the test tray 30 to the test site 120 may be determined according to the capacity of the tester 20. That is, when the tester 20 can perform a test process on four test trays at the same time, four test trays 30 may be supplied to the test chamber 124 at the same time. However, the scope of the present invention will not be limited by the number of test trays 30 that are introduced into the test site 120.

The test site 120 may include a preheating chamber 122, a test chamber 124, and a heat removal chamber 126. The preheating chamber 122 may be provided to create an environment for testing semiconductor devices. For example, the preheating chamber 122 may form a low temperature environment of −40 ° C. or less using liquefied nitrogen or a high temperature environment of 125 ° C. or more by using a heat sink. The test chamber 124 may be formed in the same environment as the preheating chamber 122. The heat removal chamber 126 may heat or cool the semiconductor devices on which the test is performed to restore the temperatures of the semiconductor devices to room temperature.

The four test trays 30 may be arranged in a vertical direction, and may be arranged from the preheating chamber 122 to the test chamber 124 by the tray transfer unit 140 extending in the test site 120. It may be transferred to the heat removal chamber 126.

Test heads to which semiconductor devices are connected may be disposed in the test chamber 124. The test heads are electrically connected to the tester 20 and may function as an interfacing device for transmitting an electrical signal with the tester 20.

The test trays 30 in which the test process is completed in the test chamber 124 are transferred to the heat removal chamber 126, and are transferred from the vertical state to the horizontal state by the second rotator 134 and then the tray discharge area 116. Are stacked by stockers.

On the other hand, the configuration of the first and second rotator (132, 134) is disclosed in the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 2007-77323, 2007-74262, etc., so that description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the loading unit shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, each loading unit 200 includes stockers on which customer trays 40 containing semiconductor devices to be tested are stored, empty test trays 30a, and test trays in which semiconductor devices are stored. And a tray buffer space 210 in which the fields 30b are disposed, and a loading picker system 220 for transporting semiconductor devices between the customer trays 40 and the test tray 30.

Although not shown in detail, the customer tray 40 loaded on the stockers may be moved upward by horizontal and vertical conveying devices, and the semiconductor devices stored in the customer tray 40 may be loaded in the loading picker system 220. May be loaded into the test tray 30. An example of a horizontal and vertical conveying apparatus for conveying the customer tray is sufficiently disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-105127, and further description thereof will be omitted.

The loading picker system 220 may include a plurality of pickers (not shown) arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, and the pickers may pick up semiconductor devices using vacuum pressure. In addition, the pickers may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction by a separate driving device. The loading picker system 220 may be configured to be movable in a horizontal direction by adopting a driving method of a Cartesian coordinate robot, and may transport semiconductor devices from the customer trays 40 to the test tray 30.

The pitch between the pickers is between the sockets of the test tray 30 and the pitch between the sockets of the customer tray 40 to pick up semiconductor devices from the customer tray 40 and load them into the test tray 30. It can be adjusted to equal the pitch of. Specifically, after the pitch of the pickers is adjusted to be equal to the pitch of the customer tray 40, the semiconductor devices are picked up from the customer tray 40, and the pickers are moved while the pickers are moved above the test tray 30. The pitch of the pickers may be adjusted to be equal to the pitch of the test tray 30. After the pickers are moved to the top of the test tray 30, the semiconductor devices adsorbed to the pickers are loaded into the sockets of the test tray 30. Examples of the loading picker system 220 are variously disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 2005-55685, 2006-62796, 2003-13935, and the like, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The tray buffer space 210 may include a tray loading area 212 into which empty test trays 30a are loaded and a tray carrying area 214 on which test trays 30b loaded with semiconductor devices are stacked. The empty test trays 30a may be transported to the tray loading area 212 by the transfer unit 400 in a lot unit. The empty test trays 30a may be moved one by one in order to load the semiconductor devices. Although not shown, one empty test tray 30a is transported between the tray loading area 212 and the tray unloading area 214 by a tray transfer part (not shown), and then another tray transfer part (not shown). May be carried into the working area of the loading picker system 220.

The test tray 30b after the loading of the semiconductor devices is completed may be loaded in the tray transport area 214 by the tray transfer parts. For example, 40 test trays 30b may be loaded in the tray unloading area 214, and the test trays 30b may be transferred to the chamber unit 100 by the transfer unit 400. Can be.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the unloading unit shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 4, each of the unloading units 300 may include stockers on which customer trays 40 containing semiconductor devices after the test process is stored, test trays 30a in which semiconductor devices are stored, Tray buffer space 310 in which empty test trays 30d are disposed, and first and second unloading picker systems 320 for transporting semiconductor devices between the customer trays 40 and the test tray 30. , 322).

Each of the first and second unloading picker systems 320 and 322 may include a plurality of pickers arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, and the pickers may pick up semiconductor devices using vacuum pressure.

In the tray buffer space 310, a tray loading area 312 into which the test trays 30c containing the semiconductor devices after the test process is received, and empty test trays 30d on which unloading of the semiconductor devices are completed are stacked. The tray unloading area 314 may be provided. The tray buffer space 310 may be configured similarly to the case of the loading unit 200.

The first unloading picker system 320 may be provided for transporting semiconductor devices from the test tray 30 to the buffer tray 50, and the second unloading picker system 322 may be provided in the buffer tray 50. ) May be provided to transport the semiconductor devices from the customer trays to the customer trays 40. The buffer tray 50 may be used to classify semiconductor devices according to test results, and may be disposed to be movable within working areas of the first and second unloading picker systems 320 and 322. In detail, the first unloading picker system 320 may classify semiconductor devices according to a test result and store the semiconductor devices in the buffer tray 50, and the second unloading picker system 322 may be classified according to grades. The devices can each be transported to different customer trays 40.

Meanwhile, although one buffer tray 50 is provided to be movable as illustrated, a plurality of buffer trays may be provided to be movable in some cases.

In particular, the first unloading picker system 320 may be adjusted to be equal to the pitch of the test tray 30 and the pitch of the buffer tray 50. At this time, the pitch of the buffer tray 50 may be configured to be the same as the pitch of the customer tray 40, so that the pitch variation for the pickers of the second unloading picker system 322 may be unnecessary. have.

The empty test tray 30d after the unloading of the semiconductor devices is completed may be loaded in the tray transport area 314 by the tray transfer parts. For example, 40 empty test trays 30d may be loaded in the tray unloading area 314, and the empty test trays 30d may be loaded by the transfer unit 400. Can be transferred to.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a tray storage unit 500 in which empty test trays 30d are temporarily stored may be disposed in a space in which the transfer unit 400 is disposed. This is to prevent the loading operation from being delayed because the supply of the test tray 30 is delayed in the loading unit 200. That is, to prepare the extra test trays 30 to smoothly supply the empty test trays to the loading unit 200. The loading operation of the semiconductor devices can be prevented from being delayed. The transfer unit 400 may transfer the empty test trays 30d from the unloading unit 300 to the tray storage unit 500, or may directly transfer the empty test trays 30d to the loading unit 200. In addition, the transfer unit 400 may transfer the test trays 30 stored in the tray storage unit 500 to the loading unit 200 where the loading operation is completed.

In addition, the test handler 10 may further include a controller 600 that controls the operation of the chamber units 100, the loading units 200, and the unloading units 300. Specifically, the time required for the test process performed in the chamber unit 100 may vary depending on the type of semiconductor devices to be tested, and accordingly, the loading units 200 and the unloading units 300 may be applied. The degree of load may vary. The controller 600 may control the operation of the loading units 200 and the unloading units 300 according to the time required for the test process, that is, the load degree of the chamber units 100. have. In particular, when the time required for the test process is long, the operation of some of the loading units 200 and the unloading units 300 may be stopped to extend the operational efficiency of the entire facility and the life of the facility.

According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, since the loading units and the unloading units are provided as separate units, no process delay occurs due to the supply delay of the empty test tray, and thus the throughput per unit time of the test handler. This can be increased.

As a result, the throughput reduction according to the wait time of the sorter unit in the conventional test handler can be sufficiently solved by the embodiments of the present invention as described above, so that the productivity of the semiconductor device can be greatly improved.

Although described above with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be variously modified and changed within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a test handler according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the chamber unit shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the loading unit shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the unloading unit shown in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: test handler 20: tester

30: test tray 40: customer tray

50: buffer tray 100: chamber unit

110, 210, 310: tray buffer space 120: test site

122: preheat chamber 124: test chamber

126: heat removal chamber 200: loading unit

220: loading picker system 300: unloading unit

320, 322: unloading picker system 400: transfer unit

500: tray storage

Claims (4)

A chamber unit connected to a tester for testing semiconductor devices, the chamber including a tray buffer space into which the test trays containing the semiconductor devices are loaded and taken out, and a test site at which a test process of the semiconductor devices stored in the test trays is performed; A loading unit accommodating the semiconductor devices for the test from test trays to test trays; An unloading unit which receives the semiconductor devices subjected to the test from the test trays to the customer trays; And And a transfer unit for transferring test trays between the chamber unit and the loading and unloading units. The test handler of claim 1, further comprising a tray storage unit that temporarily stores empty test trays after the semiconductor devices are unloaded by the unloading unit. The test handler of claim 1, wherein empty test trays are provided to the loading unit by the transfer unit after the semiconductor devices are unloaded by the unloading unit. A tray buffer space connected to a tester for testing the semiconductor devices, the tray tray space in which the test trays in which the semiconductor devices are stored are brought in and out in units of lots, and a test site in which a test process of the semiconductor devices stored in the test trays is performed. A plurality of chamber units; A plurality of loading units for receiving the semiconductor devices for the test from the customer trays to the test trays; A plurality of unloading units for receiving the tested semiconductor devices from the test trays to the customer trays; A transfer unit for transferring test trays between the chamber units and the loading and unloading units; And And a controller configured to control whether the loading units and the unloading units are operated according to a time required for a test process performed in the chamber units.

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