Integrated circuit burn-in methods and apparatus
First Claim
1. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
- interface circuitry to interface the IC to a burn-in system, the interface circuitry to receive at least one temperature value from the burn-in system and to send at least one temperature indication to the burn-in system;
a storage circuit coupled to the interface circuitry to store the at least one temperature value; and
a thermal sense circuit coupled to the interface circuitry to provide the at least one temperature indication.
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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 an 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
29 Claims
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1. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:
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interface circuitry to interface the IC to a burn-in system, the interface circuitry to receive at least one temperature value from the burn-in system and to send at least one temperature indication to the burn-in system; a storage circuit coupled to the interface circuitry to store the at least one temperature value; and a thermal sense circuit coupled to the interface circuitry to provide the at least one temperature indication. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A burn-in system for an integrated circuit (IC), the IC comprising a thermal sense circuit, the burn-in system comprising:
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a fixture to electrically couple to the IC; a temperature-altering mechanism to alter the ambient temperature of the IC; and a data processing system coupled to the fixture, the data processing system executing a computer program, the computer program operating the burn-in system to characterize the IC and comprising the operations of; storing a temperature value for the IC; controlling the temperature-altering mechanism to thermally stress the IC; determining whether a temperature indication from the thermal sense circuit substantially matches the temperature value; if so, recording the temperature value and binning the IC at that temperature value; and if not, changing the temperature value to a new temperature value and determining whether the temperature indication matches the new temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of testing an integrated circuit (IC) comprising a plurality of electronic devices, one of which is to provide a temperature indication, the method comprising:
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storing a temperature value for the IC; thermally stressing the IC; the one electronic device providing a temperature indication; determining whether the temperature indication matches the temperature value; if so, recording the temperature value and binning the IC at that temperature value; and if not, changing the temperature value to a new temperature value and determining whether the temperature indication matches the new temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of testing a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs), each comprising a thermal sense circuit, the method comprising:
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storing a temperature value; thermally stressing the ICs; each thermal sense circuit providing a temperature indication for its respective IC; determining whether the temperature indication matches the temperature value; if so, recording the temperature value for the corresponding IC and binning the IC at that temperature value; and if not, changing the temperature value to a new temperature value and determining whether the temperature indication matches the new temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of testing a plurality of electronic components, each comprising a thermal sense circuit, the method comprising:
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storing a temperature value for each electronic component; thermally stressing the electronic components; each thermal sense circuit providing a temperature indication for its respective electronic component; determining whether the temperature indication matches the temperature value; if so, recording the temperature value for the corresponding electronic component and binning the electronic component at that temperature value; and if not, changing the temperature value to a new temperature value and determining whether the temperature indication matches the new temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A computer-readable medium containing computer instructions for instructing a processor to perform a method of binning a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs) each having a thermal sense circuit, the processor forming an element in a system comprising a temperature-altering mechanism to thermally stress the ICs and a comparison mechanism, wherein the instructions comprise:
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storing a temperature value; obtaining a temperature indication from the thermal sense circuit of each IC; for each IC not yet binned, comparing the stored temperature value with the temperature indication; and if the temperature indication substantially matches the stored temperature value, recording the temperature value and binning the IC at that temperature value; otherwise, changing the temperature value to a new temperature value and comparing the new temperature value with the temperature indication. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification