Automatic test system with easily modified software

• US 20040215361A1
• Filed: 06/12/2003
• Published: 10/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teradyne Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Teradyne Incorporated
• Inventors: Blitz, Alan L., Stimson, Randall B., Hlotyak, Stephen J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,171,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/121
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/31907 Modular tester, e.g. controlling and coordinating instruments in a bus based architecture
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/31912 Tester/user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/31917 Stimuli generation or application of test patterns to the device under test [DUT]

Abstract

An automatic test system, such as might be used to test semiconductor devices as part of their manufacture. The test system uses instruments to generate and measure test signals. The automatic test system has a hardware and software architecture that allows instruments to be added to the test system after it is manufactured. The software is segregated into instrument specific and instrument independent software. Predefined interfaces to the software components allow for easy integration of instruments into the test system and also easy reuse of the software as the physical implementation of the test system or the instruments changes from tester to tester in a product family.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device that includes operating an automatic test system according to a method comprising:

a) using an automatic test system containing instrument independent software;

b) receiving, at a later time, an instrument with an instrument specific software component; and

c) installing the instrument and the instrument specific software component in the automatic test system;

d) using the automatic test system, including the instrument, through an interface between the instrument independent software and the instrument specific software.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the instrument independent software and the instrument specific software component contain packages that have defined interfaces.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the packages are implemented with COM technology.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein an interface of the instrument specific software component exposes language that can be included in a test program run on the automatic test system and controls functioning of the instrument.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the instrument specific software component contains documentation about the instrument that is displayed to a user of the automatic test system using tools within the instrument independent software.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the instrument specific software component contains a display package that presents displays related to the instrument to a user of the automatic test system.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the display package presents programming and debug displays in response to being accessed through an interface by programming and tools within the instrument independent software.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein the instrument specific software component contains self test software that tests the instrument in response to being accessed through an interface.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein the instrument specific software component contains test elements for incorporation into test jobs run by the automatic test system to create tests utilizing the instrument.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the instrument specific software component contains software that controls the instrument and software that presents displays related to control of the instrument to a user of the automatic test system.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the automatic test system comprises additional instruments each with instrument specific software components that contain interfaces through which the instruments are accessed, each interface exposing methods to cause the instrument to perform actions, and each interface exposes common methods.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the common methods include a method to place the instrument in a state in which it does not alter the signal levels on outputs of the automatic test system.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the common methods include a method to reset the instrument.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the common methods include a method to cause the instrument to report its status.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein using the automatic test system includes running a startup program that creates an inventory of the instruments installed in the tester.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the instrument is on a board installed in the automatic test system and the board includes an identification mechanism and the startup program accesses the identification mechanism.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the instrument is provided on a board and the instrument specific software component includes a description of the instruments on the board.

18. A process of manufacturing semiconductor devices using the method of claim 1 wherein using the automatic test system, including the instrument, is used to test semiconductor devices during their manufacture and subsequent processing steps in the manufacturing process are selected based on the results of the test.

19. The process of manufacturing semiconductor devices of claim 18 wherein subsequent processing steps include segregating semiconductor devices into performance categories based on the results of the testing.

20. The process of manufacturing semiconductor devices of claim 18 wherein subsequent processing steps include selecting for packaging those semiconductor devices that pass testing.

21. A method of providing automatic test equipment, comprising:

a) providing at a first time an automatic test system containing instrument independent software;

b) providing, at a later time, an instrument with an instrument specific software component;

whereby

c) the instrument and the instrument specific software component can be installed in the automatic test system; and

d) the instrument can be used as part of the automatic test system, through an interface between the instrument independent software and the instrument specific software.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the instrument independent software and the instrument specific software component contain packages that have defined interfaces.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the packages are implemented with COM technology.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein an interface of the instrument specific software component exposes language that can be included in a test program run on the automatic test system and controls functioning of the instrument.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein the instrument specific software component contains documentation about the instrument that is displayed to a user of the automatic test system using tools within the instrument independent software.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein the instrument specific software component contains a display package that presents displays related to the instrument to a user of the automatic test system.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the display package presents programming and debug displays in response to being accessed through an interface by programming and tools within the instrument independent software.

28. The method of claim 21 wherein providing instrument independent software comprises providing platform dependent software that performs operations that depend on the hardware of the tester model and platform independent software that performs operations independent of hardware that varies from tester model to tester model in a product line and providing predefined interfaces between the platform dependent and platform independent software.

29. The method of claim 22 wherein the instrument specific software includes an identification of the physical implementation of the instrument on a printed circuit board and predetermined ones of the packages are used to create instrument specific software for the same instrument implemented on different types of printed circuit boards.