Test head for integrated circuit tester arranging tester component circuit boards on three dimensions
First Claim
1. A test head for an electronic circuit tester of the type having a plurality of tester nodes, each tester node communicating with a device under test (DUT) during a test via a separate test signal, the test head comprising:
- a plurality of node cards, each having a first planar surface holding at least one of said tester nodes;
a plurality of daughterboards, each having connectors on a second planar surface holding a plurality of said node cards;
a DUT interface board for holding said DUT, said DUT interface board having a third planar surface containing a plurality of contact pads and having means for conveying test signals between said DUT and said contact pads; and
means for holding said daughterboards such that each daughterboard contacts a separate subset of said contact pads and such that their second planar surfaces lie in separate planes intersecting at a single common axis perpendicular to said third planar surface of said DUT interface board.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A test head for an integrated circuit tester includes a horizontal base holding a motherboard. The motherboard distributes test instructions to an array of daughterboards mounted thereon, the daughterboards being radially distributed about a central vertical axis of the motherboard. Each daughterboard holds a set of node cards and includes data paths for forwarding the test instructions from the motherboard to the node cards. Each node card contains circuits for transmitting test signals to and receiving response signals from a separate terminal of a device under test (DUT) in response to the test instructions forwarded thereto. Edges of the daughterboards extend downward through apertures in the base to contact pads on an interface board holding the DUT. The daughterboards provide conductive paths for the test and response signals extending between the node cards and pads on the DUT interface board. The interface board extends those conductive paths from the pads to terminals of the DUT.
75 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A test head for an electronic circuit tester of the type having a plurality of tester nodes, each tester node communicating with a device under test (DUT) during a test via a separate test signal, the test head comprising:
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a plurality of node cards, each having a first planar surface holding at least one of said tester nodes; a plurality of daughterboards, each having connectors on a second planar surface holding a plurality of said node cards; a DUT interface board for holding said DUT, said DUT interface board having a third planar surface containing a plurality of contact pads and having means for conveying test signals between said DUT and said contact pads; and means for holding said daughterboards such that each daughterboard contacts a separate subset of said contact pads and such that their second planar surfaces lie in separate planes intersecting at a single common axis perpendicular to said third planar surface of said DUT interface board. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A test head for an electronic circuit tester of the type having a plurality of tester nodes, each tester node communicating with a device under test (DUT) during a test via a separate test signal in response to an input set of instructions, the test head comprising:
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a plurality of node cards, each having a first planar surface holding at least one of said tester nodes; a plurality of daughterboards, each having a second planar surface holding a plurality of said node cards; a DUT interface board for holding said DUT, said DUT interface board having a third planar surface containing a plurality of contact pads and having means for conveying test signals between said DUT and said contact pads; and a base plate having parallel fourth and fifth planar surfaces, said third planar surface of said DUT interface board being adjacent to said fourth planar surface, said base plate having at least one aperture extending through said fourth and fifth planar surfaces; and a motherboard mounted on said fifth planar surface of said base plate, said motherboard holding said daughterboards, wherein a portion of each daughterboard extends through said at least one aperture in said base plate and contacts ones of said contact pads, and wherein said motherboard includes means for receiving said input instructions and distributing them to said daughterboards, and wherein each daughterboard includes means for receiving said input instructions from said motherboard and for distributing them to the node cards it holds. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A test head for an integrated circuit tester, for responding to input instructions by testing an integrated circuit device under test (DUT) having a plurality of terminals, the apparatus comprising:
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a horizontal base plate having a plurality of apertures distributed about a vertical axis; an interface board positioned below said base plate for holding said DUT and having a plurality of conductors below said apertures for contacting said terminals of said DUT; a plurality of node cards each containing a tester node for transmitting and receiving test signals in response to the test instructions supplied as input thereto; a substantially planar motherboard mounted above said base plate; and a plurality of substantially planar daughterboards mounted on said motherboard in vertical planes radially arrayed about said central vertical axis, each daughterboard holding a separate subset of said node cards, each daughterboard having an edge extending downward through one of said apertures in said base and contacting one of said conductors on said interface, the daughterboards including conductive paths for the test signals extending between the node cards and said conductors on the DUT interface board. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A test head for an integrated circuit tester, the integrated circuit tester being of the type having a plurality of tester nodes, each tester node comprising an electronic circuit for communicating with a separate terminal of an integrated circuit device under test (DUT) while the tester is testing the DUT, the test head comprising:
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a motherboard disposed in a horizontal plane and having a plurality of apertures therein; a DUT interface board for holding said DUT, the DUT interface having a surface held in a horizontal plane below said motherboard, a plurality of contact pads distributed on said surface below said apertures, and means for conveying signals between said contact pads and terminals of said DUT, a plurality of node cards, each containing at least one of said tester nodes; a plurality of daughterboards, held on said motherboard in vertical planes radially disposed about a vertical axis passing through the motherboard, each daughterboard holding a plurality of said node cards, each daughterboard including conductive means, each extending through one of said apertures in said motherboard and contacting a separate contact pad of said DUT interface board for conveying a signal from said contact pad to one of said node cards. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification