Method and apparatus for testing a semiconductor device

• US 10,520,545 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2016
• Issued: 12/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Huang, Szu-Chia, Shao, Jhih Jie, Chung, Tang-Hsuan, Tseng, Huan Chi
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Paresh
• Application Number:
  US15/283,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20170023644A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/30 Marginal testing, e.g. by varying supply voltage testing computers during standby operation or idle time G06F11/22
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3004 Current or voltage test

Abstract

The present disclosure provides methods for testing and evaluating electrical parameters of electronic circuits. An exemplary method includes providing a device-under-test electrically coupled to a testing apparatus; and determining an optimum value of a first electrical parameter and an optimum value of a second parameter by testing the device-under-test according to a set of first electrical parameter values and a set of second electrical parameter values. The optimum value of the first electrical parameter and the optimum value of the second parameter are determined based on an electrical noise response of the device-under-test.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a device-under-test electrically coupled to a testing apparatus;

applying a set of first electrical parameter values to the testing apparatus;

applying a set of second electrical parameter values to the device-under-test;

monitoring an electrical noise response of the testing apparatus during the applying the set of the first electrical parameter values and the set of the second electrical parameter values;

determining a selected first electrical parameter value from the set of the first electrical parameter values corresponding to each of the set of the second electrical parameter values that minimize the electrical noise response of the testing apparatus when applying the corresponding each of the set of second electrical parameter value;

comparing the minimum electrical noise response for each of the selected first electrical parameter values corresponding to each of the set of the second electrical parameter values to determine an optimum first electrical parameter value from the selected first electrical parameter values that generate a least electrical noise response of the testing apparatus;

determining the second electrical parameter value corresponding to the optimum first electrical parameter as an optimum second electrical parameter value from the set of the second electrical parameter values; and

evaluating performance of the device-under-test using the optimum first electrical parameter value and the optimum second electrical parameter value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the optimum first electrical parameter value is a supply voltage and the optimum second electrical parameter value is a device terminal voltage.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the optimum first electrical parameter value and the optimum second electrical parameter value are determined using a first set of contacts of the device-under-test, and

the device-under-test is evaluated using a second set of contacts of the device-under-test according to at least one of the optimum first electrical parameter value or the optimum second electrical parameter value.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the values of the set of first electrical parameter values are at a coarser interval than the values of the set of second electrical parameter values.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the selected first electrical parameter value from the set of the first electrical parameter values corresponding to each of the set of the second electrical parameter values includes:

applying a fixed second electrical parameter value to the device-under-test while applying each of the set of first electrical parameter values to the testing apparatus.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the selected first electrical parameter value corresponding to the fixed second electrical parameter values includes:

measuring the electrical noise response of the testing apparatus when applying the fixed second electrical parameter values to the device-under-test while applying each of the set of first electrical parameter values to the testing apparatus.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein wherein the determining the selected first electrical parameter value corresponding to the fixed second electrical parameter values includes:

comparing the electrical noise response of the testing apparatus when applying the fixed second electrical parameter values to the device-under-test while applying each of the set of first electrical parameter values to the testing apparatus to decide the minimum electrical noise response; and

determine the selected first electrical parameter value from the set of first electrical parameter values that generate the minimum electrical noise response corresponding to the fixed second electrical parameter value of the set of the second electrical parameter values.