Power sink for IC temperature control
First Claim
1. A method of heating a circuit, comprising:
- determining a current temperature of the circuit in one of a test mode or an operational mode;
determining a desired temperature of the circuit;
enabling a power dissipation portion of the circuit at a predetermined operating rate and voltage if the desired temperature of the circuit is greater than the current temperature of the circuit; and
redetermining a new current temperature of the circuit after a predetermined time period.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The use of a power sink function in IC testing results in a simple and rapid method for testing ICs, and assembled modules, at elevated temperature profiles without the use of environmental ovens. Testing IC devices at elevated temperatures may be useful for ‘burn-in’, for ‘hot sort’ performance testing that may be used in electronic devices such as DRAM memory, logic, communication devices, and microprocessors. The power sink function may be implemented as an additional isolated area of active devices, or as a section of the circuit that is not involved in the testing procedure. Alternately, the power dissipation circuit may consist of a resistive path between two external pins that are not used for IC operation, where the resistor may be on the IC or on the package. This allows for control of the temperature level and profile by simple adjustment of the voltage between the two external pins.
65 Citations
50 Claims
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1. A method of heating a circuit, comprising:
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determining a current temperature of the circuit in one of a test mode or an operational mode;
determining a desired temperature of the circuit;
enabling a power dissipation portion of the circuit at a predetermined operating rate and voltage if the desired temperature of the circuit is greater than the current temperature of the circuit; and
redetermining a new current temperature of the circuit after a predetermined time period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 49, 50)
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11. A method of preheating an IC circuit, comprising:
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connecting the circuit to an IC tester;
determining a current temperature of the circuit in one of a test mode and an operational mode;
determining a desired temperature of the circuit;
enabling a power dissipation portion of the circuit at a predetermined operating rate and voltage if the desired temperature of the circuit is greater than the current temperature of the circuit; and
electrically testing the circuit. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of testing an electronic circuit, comprising:
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connecting an assembled printed circuit board including a plurality of integrated circuits to an electronic tester;
determining a current temperature of selected individual ones of the plurality of integrated circuits in one of a test mode and an operational mode;
determining a desired temperature of each one of the selected individual ones of the plurality of integrated circuits;
enabling a power dissipation portion of each one of the selected individual ones of the plurality of integrated circuits if the desired temperature of the selected individual one of the plurality of integrated circuits is greater than the current temperature of the selected individual one of the plurality of integrated circuits; and
electrically testing the electronic circuit. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of operating an electronic device, comprising:
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determining a current temperature of a preselected circuit in the electronic device in one of a test mode and an operational mode;
determining a desired temperature of the preselected circuit;
enabling a power dissipation portion of the preselected circuit for a fixed time period if the desired temperature of the circuit is greater than the current temperature of the circuit; and
redetermining a new current temperature of the circuit at the end of the fixed time period. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37-40. -40. (canceled)
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41. A method of operating an electronic device, comprising:
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determining a current temperature of the electronic device in one of a test mode and an operational mode;
enabling a power dissipation circuit for a fixed time period if a desired temperature of the circuit is greater than the current temperature of the circuit; and
redetermining a new current temperature at the end of the fixed time period. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification