Electronic apparatus having IC temperature control
First Claim
1. An electronic apparatus comprising:
- a memory array on a substrate, the substrate structured as an integrated circuit (IC) chip;
a heat generating circuit on the substrate;
a heater controller disposed on the substrate, the heater controller arranged to control the heat generating circuit; and
a mode register on the substrate, the mode register structured to provide input to the heater controller.
8 Assignments
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.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. An electronic apparatus comprising:
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a memory array on a substrate, the substrate structured as an integrated circuit (IC) chip; a heat generating circuit on the substrate; a heater controller disposed on the substrate, the heater controller arranged to control the heat generating circuit; and a mode register on the substrate, the mode register structured to provide input to the heater controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An electronic apparatus comprising:
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a memory array on a substrate, the substrate structured as an integrated circuit (IC) chip; a heat generating circuit on the substrate; a heater controller disposed on the substrate, the heater controller arranged to control the heat generating circuit; a mode register on the substrate, the mode register structured to provide input to the heater controller; and a timer circuit on the substrate, the timer circuit operable to control a time of operation of the heat generating circuit, the time correlated to a sensed temperature being lower than a stored temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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determining a current temperature of a region on a substrate of an electronic apparatus, the substrate structured as an integrated circuit (IC) chip, the substrate having a memory array and a mode register disposed on the substrate; controlling a heat generating circuit on the substrate from a heater controller, the heater controller disposed on the substrate and arranged to control the heat generating circuit based on input provided to the heater controller from the mode register; and re-determining a new current temperature of the circuit. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification