Integrated circuit burn-in systems
First Claim
1. An integrated circuit (IC) burn-in system comprising:
- a computer system comprising a processor operating under the control of a computer program; and
at least one IC comprising;
interface circuitry to interface the at least one IC to the computer system; and
a thermal sense circuit, coupled to the interface circuitry, to provide a temperature indication that is proportional to a junction temperature of the at least one IC;
wherein the computer system is to compare the temperature indication with a temperature value determined by the computer program;
wherein if the temperature indication substantially matches the temperature value, the computer system is to bin the at least one IC at that temperature value; and
wherein if the temperature indication is less than the temperature value, the computer system is to decrement the temperature value and compare the temperature indication with the decremented temperature value.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Improved methods for performing burn-in of electronic components, such as integrated circuits (ICs) with on-board thermal sense circuits, are used to obtain a higher bin split. According to one embodiment, a thermal set-point is loaded into each IC. While the ICs are maintained at a constant elevated temperature, the burn-in system checks each IC to determine whether the set-point has been exceeded. If so, it characterizes the IC by that set-point; if not, it decrements the set-point and checks again. The method continues until all ICs have been characterized to a specific set-point. As a result of the method, a junction temperature is obtained for each IC. In addition, a real-time estimate of the burn-in time for each IC is obtained, so that burn-in time can be adjusted to maximize burn-in throughput. Apparatus for implementing improved IC burn-in is also described.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. An integrated circuit (IC) burn-in system comprising:
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a computer system comprising a processor operating under the control of a computer program; and
at least one IC comprising;
interface circuitry to interface the at least one IC to the computer system; and
a thermal sense circuit, coupled to the interface circuitry, to provide a temperature indication that is proportional to a junction temperature of the at least one IC;
wherein the computer system is to compare the temperature indication with a temperature value determined by the computer program;
wherein if the temperature indication substantially matches the temperature value, the computer system is to bin the at least one IC at that temperature value; and
wherein if the temperature indication is less than the temperature value, the computer system is to decrement the temperature value and compare the temperature indication with the decremented temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An integrated circuit (IC) burn-in system comprising:
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a computer system comprising a processor; and
an IC comprising;
interface circuitry to interface the IC to the computer system; and
a thermal sense circuit, coupled to the interface circuitry, to provide a temperature indication that is proportional to a junction temperature of the IC;
wherein the computer system is to compare the temperature indication with a temperature value;
wherein if the temperature indication substantially matches the temperature value, the computer system is to bin the IC at that temperature value; and
wherein if the temperature indication is less than the temperature value, the computer system is to decrement the temperature value and compare the temperature indication with the decremented temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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Specification