JP2000098000A - Semiconductor testing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a semiconductor testing device with a diagnosing means capable of accurately specifying and detecting degraded relays on a prior stage to defective relays among a large number of relays which the semiconductor testing device comprises. SOLUTION: The semiconductor testing device to diagnose the degradation of contact type relays used for the semiconductor testing device is provided with a breaking characteristics measuring means to measure switching characteristics immediately after driving a relay to be tested in an OFF direction till the switch contact of the relay is electrically turned off at the time when the contact of the relay to be tested is driven from an ON state in an OFF direction. Furthermore, the semiconductor testing device is provided with a degradation determining means to obtain a break time value till the contact is electrically turned off from the switching characteristics obtained by the break characteristics measuring means and to determine the degradation of the relay and on the basis of the break time value and the deviation from the reference break time value of the variety of the relay.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to deterioration diagnosis for a large number of contact type relays provided in a semiconductor test apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to deterioration diagnosis of contact type relays related to pin electronics circuits.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor test apparatus is provided with a diagnostic program for maintaining the reliability of a system, and the diagnostic program is periodically executed to check whether there is a circuit which malfunctions. Among the diagnosis items, there is a deterioration diagnosis for contact type relays related to pin electronics circuits.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a typical pin electronics circuit. OUT relay S1 and DC relay S are provided as contact type relays on a normal I / O tester pin.
2. Terminator relay S3, programmable load relay S4, and CAL relay S5. In the case of the tester pin dedicated to the driver shown in FIG.
1, DC relay S2 and CAL relay S5.

[0004] The number of relays used in the pin electronics circuit system is, for example, 500 tester channels.
As for channels, a large number of about 500 × 5 = 2500 channels are used. Many relays are of the contact type in order to satisfy the conditions required for device testing. The switching frequency of the relay controlled by the circuit part used, the type of the device test program, the type of the device under test, and the like is greatly different, and the switching current is also different.

[0005] The conventional deterioration diagnosis of a contact type relay is a deterioration diagnosis for turning on and turning off a relay to be diagnosed.

[0006] On the other hand, depending on the board on which the relay is mounted, a relay whose life has passed a predetermined time is unconditionally replaced or inspected. With these, the quality of the relay, which is a limited life component, is maintained.

[0007] A contact-type relay has a mechanically movable part. The practical limit of the life of this movable part is up to about tens of millions of times even for a reed relay or a mercury relay. On the other hand, depending on the circuit conditions to be mounted,
Since there is a great difference depending on the operating conditions such as the contact switching energy condition and the rush current, the degree of wear of the contact portion differs.
Under these conditions, even before the initial life of the relay component, the contact surface becomes rough due to the deterioration of the elastic properties of the movable part and the local melting or deformation of the contact part, and the relay is turned ON / OFF.
Some of the operation becomes defective, unstable, or intermittent. If the relay has an intermittent malfunction, it may not be detected by the diagnostic program. With the practical use of the intermittent defective relay, a non-defective device may be determined as a defective device as a result of the device test. It is desired to eliminate such defects as much as possible from the viewpoint of test quality in device testing of a semiconductor test device.

[0008] On the other hand, even if the diagnostic board is pulled up and the diagnostic program is executed many times by pulling up the relay mounting board which has been detected as defective by the conventional diagnostic program, the cause of the failure may not be reproduced and the defective portion may not be specified. is there. Among the causes of the failure not to be reproduced, there is a cause resulting from the normal operation of the intermittently defective relay. Such a defect is not preferable from the viewpoint of performing an accurate defective board repair, and is a practical difficulty.

[0009]

As described above, in the prior art, there is a case where diagnosis of deterioration of a contact type relay is not accurate, and there is a practical problem in this point. That is, when the diagnostic program is executed, the relay O
When the actual device under test is tested despite the normal operation of the N / OFF operation, a non-defective device may be determined to be a defective device due to an intermittent failure in which the contact rarely turns off. . From these viewpoints, there is a practical difficulty in the deterioration diagnosis of the conventional relay.

By the way, among the deteriorated relays which are in a deteriorated stage that may cause intermittent failure, there are many cases where there is a difference from the initial normal switching operation time (make time or break time) of the relay contacts. Is generally known. For example, as shown in the example of the break time characteristic of the degraded relay in FIG. 4, in the operation time immediately after the drive of the relay coil is turned off and the relay contact is electrically turned off, the break time Toff of the normal relay is obtained.
For 1, the break time Toff2 of the relay at the limit of deterioration
Many of them show an increasing tendency by more than several tens of percent. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a semiconductor test device including a relay having a large number of semiconductor test devices and having a deteriorated relay diagnosis means capable of accurately specifying and detecting a deteriorated relay at a stage before the relay is defective. It is to be.

[0011]

First, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the configuration of the present invention, in a semiconductor test device for performing deterioration diagnosis of a contact type relay used in a semiconductor test device, a test is performed. Turn ON the target relay contact from ON state
F, and a break characteristic measuring means for measuring a switching characteristic from immediately after the OFF direction driving until the switch contact of the relay is electrically turned OFF. The OF characteristic is obtained from the switching characteristic obtained by the break characteristic measuring means.
A break time value from immediately after the F-direction drive to when the contact is electrically turned OFF (when the OFF is completed or when the OFF is started) is obtained, and the deterioration of the relay is determined by a deviation between the break time value and the reference break time value of the relay type. A semiconductor test apparatus comprising: a deterioration determination unit for determining. According to the present invention, in the contact type relay provided in a large number of semiconductor test devices, a semiconductor test device including a deterioration relay diagnosis unit capable of accurately specifying and detecting a deteriorated relay at a stage before the relay becomes defective can be realized.

Second, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the configuration of the present invention, the above-mentioned break characteristic measuring means is provided with a plurality of N
A plurality of N times of switching characteristics to obtain a predetermined plurality of N switching characteristics, a break time value is obtained from each of the switching characteristics obtained by the plurality of N times of measurement devices, and a time axis is calculated for the N break time values. Is determined, and the frequency distribution and a predetermined distribution determination condition (for example, distribution width,
There is a semiconductor test apparatus including a statistical deterioration determination unit for determining the deterioration of the relay from a reference comparison with a normal distribution envelope.

Third, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the configuration of the present invention, a break time value is obtained from the above-mentioned break characteristic measuring means, and the break time value is acquired every predetermined elapsed day (for example, every week). A time-lapse data acquisition means for storing the time-lapse data of the obtained break time value over a predetermined M number or more, and the time-dependent change of the time-series data of the break time value is a predetermined ratio from the initial value. There is a semiconductor test apparatus including a deterioration determination unit that determines a relay having the above-described upward trend or a downward upward trend or a relay having a variance of a predetermined ratio or more as a deteriorated relay.

Fourth, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, according to the configuration of the present invention, in a semiconductor test apparatus for performing deterioration diagnosis of a contact type relay used in a semiconductor test apparatus, a contact of a relay to be tested is turned off. It is provided with make characteristic measuring means for driving in a direction from the state to ON and measuring a switching characteristic from immediately after driving in the ON direction until the switch contact of the relay is electrically turned on. From the switching characteristic obtained by the make characteristic measuring means, The make time value from immediately after the ON direction driving until the switch contact is electrically turned ON (at the completion of ON or at the start of ON) is obtained, and the deviation of the make time value from the reference make time value of the relay type is determined by the deviation of the make time value. There is a semiconductor test device including a deterioration determination unit for determining deterioration.

Fifth, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, according to the configuration of the present invention, in a semiconductor test apparatus for performing deterioration diagnosis of a contact type relay used in a semiconductor test apparatus, a contact of a relay to be tested is turned off. It is provided with make characteristic measuring means for driving in a direction from the state to ON and measuring a switching characteristic from immediately after driving in the ON direction until the switch contact of the relay is electrically turned on. From the switching characteristic obtained by the make characteristic measuring means, Find the chattering time width,
There is a semiconductor test apparatus characterized in that it comprises a deterioration determining means for determining deterioration of the relay based on a deviation of a chattering time width from a reference chattering time width for the relay type.

Sixth, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the configuration of the present invention includes a plurality of N-times measuring means for performing the above-mentioned make-characteristic measuring means a plurality of N times to obtain a predetermined plurality of N switching characteristics. Then, make time values are respectively obtained by the switching characteristics obtained by a plurality of N times of measurement means, and a frequency distribution with a time axis as a class is obtained for the N make time values, and the frequency distribution and a predetermined distribution determination condition (for example, distribution width,
There is a semiconductor test apparatus including a frequency-distribution-type deterioration determination unit that determines deterioration of the relay from reference comparison with a normal distribution envelope.

Seventh, in order to solve the above problem, the configuration of the present invention includes a plurality of N-times measuring means for performing the above-mentioned make-characteristic measuring means a plurality of N times to obtain a predetermined plurality of N switching characteristics. Then, the chattering time width Tw is respectively obtained from the switching characteristics obtained by the plurality of N measurement means,
For N chattering time widths Tw, a frequency distribution with the time axis as a class is obtained, and the deterioration of the relay is determined from a reference comparison between the frequency distribution and a predetermined distribution determination condition (eg, distribution width, normal distribution envelope). There is a semiconductor test apparatus characterized in that it comprises means for judging deterioration in a frequency distribution form.

Eighth, in order to solve the above problem, in the configuration of the present invention, a make time value is obtained from the make characteristic measuring means, and the make time value is obtained every predetermined elapsed day (for example, every week). And a time-lapse data acquisition means for storing the time-lapse data of the makeup time value in a predetermined ratio from the initial value after the acquisition of the number of time-lapse data of the obtained makeup time value is equal to or more than a predetermined M number. There is provided a semiconductor test apparatus including a deterioration determining unit of a time-varying mode for determining a relay exhibiting the above-described upward or downward tendency or a relay exhibiting a variance of a predetermined ratio or more as a deteriorated relay.

Ninth, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the configuration of the present invention, the chattering time width Tw is obtained from the above-mentioned makeup characteristic measuring means, and the acquisition of the chattering time width Tw is performed every predetermined elapsed day (for example, every week). ) Is provided, and the time-lapse data of the time-series data of the make time value is initially changed after the number of obtained time-lapse data of the make time value is equal to or more than a predetermined number M. A semiconductor test apparatus characterized by comprising a deterioration determining means of a time-varying mode for determining a relay showing a rising tendency or a downward rising tendency at a predetermined ratio or more from a value or a relay showing a dispersion at a predetermined ratio or more as a deteriorated relay. is there.

In addition, there is provided a comprehensive judgment means for performing measurement by at least two kinds of relay deterioration diagnosis means in the above-mentioned kind of relay deterioration diagnosis means and more accurately specifying the deterioration relay from the judgment frequency determined as the deterioration relay. There is a semiconductor test apparatus that is a feature.

Further, at least two types of relay deterioration diagnosis means of the above-described type are used for measurement, and a predetermined weight is given to the obtained measurement result value for each type of relay deterioration diagnosis means. Judgment is made based on a stepwise deterioration judgment criterion, the obtained weighting values from the respective relay deterioration diagnosis means are added, and the deterioration relays are classified and judged according to the deterioration rank based on the number of added values (for example, immediate replacement, periodic replacement,
There is a semiconductor test apparatus characterized in that it comprises a classification determining means for performing classification determination as a monitoring target.

Further, the ON time, the OF time,
A means for measuring the F time or the chattering time, and detecting and judging as a deteriorated relay from a variation distribution state of the obtained measurement data (break time, make time, or chattering time width) at a plurality of points. There is the semiconductor test device described above.

The relays to be diagnosed include OUT relays, DC relays, terminator relays, programmable load relays, CAs provided for each channel of each tester pin.
The semiconductor test apparatus described above is an L relay or a load relay provided on a performance board. In addition, there is the above-described semiconductor test apparatus for a reed relay or a mercury relay as a relay to be diagnosed.

Further, the deterioration diagnosis function of the relay used in the semiconductor test apparatus is incorporated into a diagnostic program (DIAG) for periodically diagnosing whether the system of the semiconductor test apparatus is functioning normally. There is the above-described semiconductor test apparatus characterized by being provided.

The reference break time value, the reference make time value, or the reference chattering time width, which is a reference value to be determined and compared, is characterized in that an average measurement value of a large number of samples of the relay type is used as the reference value. There is a semiconductor test apparatus described above. Further, the reference break time value, the reference make time value, or the reference chattering time width, which is the reference value to be determined and compared, is the initial break time characteristic of the relay, the initial make time characteristic,
Alternatively, there is the above-described semiconductor test apparatus characterized in that a measured value of the chattering time width characteristic at the beginning is used as a reference value. The reference break time value, the reference make time value, or the reference chattering time width, which is a reference value for determination comparison, is a reference for determining and arithmetically averaging the measurement time values of a large number of relays to be measured. There is the semiconductor test apparatus described above, which is used as a value.

Also, the measurement data or the data of the judgment result obtained by periodically executing the relay deterioration diagnosis means are transmitted to an upper workstation or a management center via a communication line (LAN or telephone line), and the deteriorated relay is transmitted. There is the above-described semiconductor test apparatus that performs remote management.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings together with embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the measurement of the OUT relay S1 in the main part pin electronics circuit according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a time chart of a break time measurement using an FM (fail memory), and FIG. FM
This will be described below with reference to a time chart of the chattering time measurement in the make time measurement using the graph, and an explanatory diagram of the break time characteristic in the relay with the deterioration shown in FIG. Since the semiconductor test apparatus is well-known and well-known in the art, the description of the configuration of the entire system is omitted.

According to the present invention, a deterioration diagnosis function of a relay capable of accurately and simply specifying a deteriorated relay in a state before deterioration from among contact-type relays in actual use is realized by using existing tester resources. Is what you do. Here, the term “deterioration relay” refers to a relay that is in a degradation stage in which a contact is ON / OFF-operated, but rarely malfunctions, or in a stage before degradation.

There are seven types of deterioration diagnosis means for specifying the deterioration of the relay in the present invention. That is, the first deterioration diagnosis means is a means for diagnosing from the break time characteristic when switching from the ON state to the OFF state, and the second deterioration diagnosis means is a deterioration diagnosis from the variation distribution of the break time characteristic measured a plurality of times. The third deterioration diagnosis means is a deterioration diagnosis based on a transition characteristic of a change with time of the break time. Further, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh deterioration diagnosis means may include a fourth make time characteristic, a fifth ON variation distribution characteristic, a sixth make time, and a fourth make time characteristic when switching from the OFF state to the ON state. This is a deterioration diagnosis based on the transition characteristic of the temporal change of the ON chattering characteristic at the time of the seventh makeup.

Among the seven types of deterioration diagnosis means, a diagnosis means for specifying the deterioration of the relay from the break time characteristic, which is the first deterioration diagnosis means, will be described. The relay to be tested is a specific example of the OUT relay S1 in the pin electronics circuit of FIG.

The relay deterioration diagnosis means based on the break time characteristic includes a break characteristic measurement means and a deterioration judgment means.

Next, the break characteristic measuring means will be described.
This measuring means is common to the first, second and third deterioration diagnosing means.

The break characteristic measuring means includes an OUT relay S
1 is driven from the ON state to the OFF direction, and the switching characteristics from immediately after the OFF direction driving until the switch contact of the relay is completely turned OFF are measured. For this purpose, the DCTU provided in the semiconductor test device and the DCTU
And FM. Here, the DCTU is a unit for measuring the DC characteristics of the DUT, such as an MDC (Multiple DC Test Unit) for supplying a DC voltage, and a VSI for measurement.
M (voltage applied current measurement) and ISVM (current applied voltage measurement). In addition, for example, Shmoo
For the measurement of a plot (shmoo plot) and the like, a sampling function capable of continuously storing a predetermined number of sampling results in the comparator CP2 as it is in the memory of the FM is provided. .

First, prior to the measurement, the OUT relay S1 to be measured shown in FIG. 1 is driven to an ON state. Also, the DC relay S2 is turned on, and the DCTU is connected to the line L2.
Is applied in advance. Further, in order to allow an appropriate current to flow, either the terminator relay S3 or the programmable load relay S4 is turned on, and the VT power supply supplies a predetermined voltage. As a result of the above setting conditions, the line L1, which is the input terminal of the comparator CP2, is in the state of the DC voltage V1. The comparator CP2 includes two comparators on the high side and the low side. Sampling is performed using one of the comparators on the VOH side, for example. still,
The threshold level voltage applied to VOH is, for example, an intermediate value (V1-VT) / 2 between the DC voltage V1 and the VT power supply.
Set to.

Next, the execution of sampling measurement under the above measurement conditions will be described with reference to FIG. Here, in the measurement of the switching characteristics, in the statement description method using a normal main program and a pattern program,
Because it is a processing form that executes sequentially like an interpreter,
In some cases, the delay time from the start of the relay ON / OFF control to the actual driving of the test target relay takes several tens of microseconds. Along with this, there may be a case where there is an error factor or a difficulty in correlation of measurement data between the types of the test apparatus. Therefore,
Dedicated application for measuring switching characteristics
It is desirable to use a program to measure the shortest drive delay time of less than several microseconds. In addition, ON / OFF of relay
In the case of a semiconductor test apparatus having a pattern burst function capable of performing control at high speed in synchronization with pattern generation, the use of this function enables the shortest drive delay time of less than several microseconds. By the way, the temperature of the drive coil of the relay gradually rises by about 20 ° C. due to energization. For this reason, a measurement error may occur in the measurement result of the break time. Therefore, it is preferable to perform the measurement under the measurement condition that the coil temperature is almost the same. In addition, since the power supply for driving the relay, such as 5V or 12V, directly affects the operation time, it is necessary to confirm in advance whether the semiconductor device is in a predetermined set voltage state by using a power supply voltage measuring means or a voltage measuring device provided in the semiconductor test apparatus itself. Is desirable.

In the time chart of FIG.
The T relay S1 is driven from ON to OFF (see FIG. 2A). In synchronization with this, the sampling by the comparator CP2 is started (see FIG. 2G). Eventually, the switch contacts are electrically separated, and the detected voltage on the line L1 changes accordingly (see FIG. 2B). When the switch contact is electrically turned off, the comparison output data D of the comparator CP2
h changes from “H” to “L” (see FIG. 2F). The time-series change is sequentially stored in a memory in the FM for each sampling cycle (see FIG. 2H). Here, the sampling period can be set arbitrarily. For example, assuming that the break time of the type of the used reed relay is an operation time of about 100 μs, the sampling resolution is set to, for example, a 2 μs period, 300μ continuously
The sampling is performed up to the second (2 μsec × 150 points). As a result, the data of 150 words immediately after the driving in the OFF direction is continuously stored in the predetermined address area in the FM.

In the measurement of the switching characteristics of the OUT relay S1, the pin electronics circuit having the same circuit configuration is provided with n channels. Is also good. In this case, the measurement time can be reduced.

Next, the deterioration determining means will be described with reference to FIGS. Normally, as shown in the example of FIG. 4, the break time Toff for the deteriorated relay is such that the operation time shows an operation delay of about several tens%. Focusing on this point, the deterioration determination is performed. The control CPU reads out the sample data string continuously stored in a predetermined address area in the FM by the above-mentioned break characteristic measuring means, and a break time Toff until the switch contact is completely turned off.
(See FIG. 2J).

In response to the break time Toff obtained above, a standard reference break time Tref of the relay type is obtained.
The deviation | Toff-Tref | is determined, and a deviation indicating a deviation equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio, for example, a deviation equal to or greater than 30%, is determined as a deterioration relay. Here, for the reference break time Tref, an average value of, for example, 100 samples of the relay type is obtained in advance as the reference break time Tref. As a result, there is obtained a great advantage that many deteriorated relays can be accurately specified from the break time Toff.

Next, among the seven types of deterioration diagnosis means, the second deterioration diagnosis means, which is a deterioration diagnosis means for specifying deterioration from a variation distribution of break time characteristics measured continuously plural times, is shown in FIG. I will explain. Normally, when a result of measuring the break characteristic of the same relay a plurality of times is represented as a frequency distribution, a good relay shows a distribution characteristic close to a normal distribution as shown in FIG. 9A. On the other hand, some deteriorated relays show a random distribution due to local melting, wear, contact surface roughness, etc. of the contact portion. Focusing on this point, the deterioration determination is performed.

The break characteristic measuring means measures the above-mentioned break characteristic measuring means a predetermined number of times N, for example, N = 100 times, and reads a sample data string for each time from the FM and stores it in a storage medium. Since the FM memory has a large capacity, a method of changing the setting of the storage address area in the FM to be stored for each measurement may be used.

The deterioration judging means is realized by the following method. That is, the break characteristic measuring means receives the sample data string stored in the storage medium and executed a plurality of times 100 times, and calculates each break time Toff. From the obtained data, as shown in FIG. The frequency distribution with class as is obtained. In the distribution state of the frequency distribution, the first deterioration determination means determines a distribution width (see FIG. 9B) that is discrete by a predetermined ratio or more, for example, 30% or more with respect to the reference distribution width Dref (see FIG. 9A). Judge as a deteriorated relay. Here, the reference distribution width Dref to be compared is obtained in advance, as described above, as the reference distribution width Dref by averaging the distribution width of, for example, 100 samples of the relay type. The second deterioration judging means judges from the fact that the obtained frequency distribution is a random discrete distribution. For example, FIG.
From the reference comparison with the envelope of the normal distribution (see FIG. 9D), it can be easily detected that the frequency at the C position indicates a value that is significantly different, and it can be determined as a deteriorated relay from now on. As a result, it is possible to obtain a great advantage that a large number of deteriorated relays can be accurately specified from the variation distribution of the break time characteristic.

Next, of the seven types of deterioration diagnosis means, a third deterioration diagnosis means, which is a deterioration diagnosis means for specifying deterioration from the transition characteristic of the change with time of the break time, will be described with reference to FIG. Normally, when observing characteristics over a long period of several months to several years, some deteriorated relays in a wear period or a transition period of deterioration show larger fluctuations than normal relays. Some relays are more unstable than normal relays and show large fluctuations. Focusing on this point, the deterioration determination is performed.

The relay deterioration diagnosing means based on the transition characteristic of the change over time of the break time includes a break characteristic measuring means and a deterioration judging means. The break characteristic measuring means measures the break time Toff every predetermined elapsed day, for example, every week by the above-mentioned break characteristic measuring means, and accumulates and stores it in the storage medium as time-series data. Note that, if desired, a method may be used in which the average value measured a plurality of times to remove measurement variations is used as the break time Toff and used as the measurement data of the day. However, it goes without saying that the number of time-series data acquired in the past is reset to zero for a relay replaced for repair or the like.

The deterioration judging means is realized by the following method. The number of time-series data acquired in the past by the above measurement is a predetermined number,
For example, when 50 or more points are obtained, the time-series data is read from the storage medium, and the deterioration relay is determined and identified based on a change in the transition of the data sequence. That is, as shown in the three types of typical transitions in FIG. 10, in the case of the transition in FIG. 10A, there is no fluctuation transition from the beginning and there is no excessive dispersion, so that it is easy to determine the classification as a normal relay. it can. On the other hand, in the case of the transition shown in FIG. 10B, the transition of the average value shows a substantially constant value, but shows a large fluctuation width in the break time (see FIG. 10D). It is considered that such a fluctuation factor indicating a variance of not less than a predetermined ratio, for example, not less than 5%, is caused by an unstable factor of a contact portion such as welding of a contact. Accordingly, it is possible to easily judge the relay as a deteriorated relay. On the other hand, in the case of the transition shown in FIG. 10C, the deviation gradually increases with respect to the initial break time (see FIG. 10E). It is conceivable that such a bias factor of not less than a predetermined ratio, for example, not less than 5% is caused by, for example, deterioration such as elastic fatigue of a lead piece that returns to excitation.
Therefore, also in this case, it is possible to easily judge the relay as a deteriorated relay. As a result, there is obtained an advantage that a large number of deteriorated relays can be accurately specified from the transition curve of the break time Toff over several months to several years.

Next, among the seven types of deterioration diagnosis means, the fourth make time characteristic, the fifth ON variation distribution characteristic, and the sixth make time deterioration diagnosis means Is the only difference in the makeup time characteristic in the direction in which makeup is performed, and the other can be easily understood from the same as described above. Therefore, description of the fourth, fifth, and sixth deterioration diagnosis means will be omitted.

Next, of the seven types of deterioration diagnosis means, a deterioration diagnosis means for specifying deterioration from ON chattering characteristics during ON operation, which is a seventh deterioration diagnosis means, will be described with reference to FIG. Normally, the chattering time width Tw with respect to the deteriorated relay shows a tendency that the chattering time width Tw tends to increase with elastic fatigue of a movable portion (lead piece), wear of a contact portion, contact surface roughness, and the like. Focusing on this point, the deterioration determination is performed.

The relay deterioration diagnosis means based on the ON chattering characteristic includes a make characteristic measurement means and a deterioration judgment means. Here, the makeup characteristic measuring means is the same as the above-described break characteristic measuring means, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

The deterioration judging means is realized by the following method. That is, a sample data string continuously stored in a predetermined address area in the FM, which is obtained by the above-described make characteristic measuring means, is read out, and the time from when the switch contact is first turned ON to when the switch contact is completed is completed. The section is determined as the chattering time width Tw (see FIG. 3K).

In response to the chattering time width Tw obtained as described above, those having an increase of a predetermined rate or more with respect to the standard reference chattering time width Twref of the relay type, for example, those having an increase of 30% or more are degraded. Judge as a relay. Here, the reference chattering time width Twref is
As described above, an average value of, for example, 100 samples of the relay type is obtained in advance as the reference chattering time width Twref. As a result, the chattering time width T
From w, a great advantage is obtained that many degraded relays can be accurately specified.

In the above description, the relay to be tested is a specific example of the OUT relay S1 in the pin electronics circuit of FIG. 1, but other relays can be similarly implemented. That is, when the deterioration of the DC relay S2 is diagnosed, the measurement can be performed by turning the OUT relay S1 ON. When the terminator relay S3 is to be diagnosed for deterioration, measurement can be performed by turning on the OUT relay S1 and the DC relay S2 and passing an appropriate current through the programmable load relay S4. Further, when the deterioration of the programmable load relay S4 is diagnosed, the measurement can be performed by turning on the OUT relay S1 and the DC relay S2 and supplying an appropriate current with the terminator relay S3 and the VT power supply. When the deterioration diagnosis of the CAL relay S5 is performed, the OUT relay S1 and the DC relay S2 are turned on.
In this state, the terminating resistor R10 is connected to the CAL relay S5 together with the reference comparator CP10, so that the current can be measured by passing a current through the terminating resistor. On the other hand, the performance board (PB) shown in FIG.
A plurality of LOAD relays S7 mounted on the upper side and provided near a DUT output pin to provide a predetermined load resistance + load capacitance
Can be diagnosed as a fault, in which case the OUT relay S
1. The measurement can be performed by turning on the DC relay S2. The terminator relay S3, programmable load relay S4, CAL relay S5, LOAD on PB
For relay S7, driver D instead of DCTU
The present invention can also be implemented by applying a DC voltage from R1.

Of the seven types of deterioration diagnosis means described above, a desired one may be used to perform deterioration diagnosis. However, a combination of a plurality of kinds of deterioration diagnosis means may be used to determine a deterioration relay based on the frequency of deterioration judgment. May be determined more accurately.
Further, it becomes possible to more accurately determine whether the replacement should be performed immediately by using the plurality of types of deterioration diagnosis means. As a result, it is possible to perform an accurate repair and replacement before the deterioration occurs, and it is possible to obtain an advantage that the measurement reliability of the deterioration relay of the semiconductor test apparatus can be improved. In addition, in addition to specifying a deteriorated relay in a normal wear period, a relay that causes an initial failure leading to a failure in an initial stage, or a relay that causes an accidental failure may be detected and specified by the above-described deterioration determination. It is valid.

Next, a description will be given of the deterioration diagnosis in the case of the tester channel dedicated to the driver shown in FIG. OUT relay S1, DC relay S2, CA
Although there is an L relay S5, it does not have a comparator circuit for measurement. However, the calibration system circuit 40 connected ahead of the CAL relay S5 includes the reference comparator CP10 and the terminating resistor R10, and by using these, the same measurement as described above can be performed. Accordingly, the deterioration of the relay can be similarly diagnosed in the driver-dedicated channel.

Next, the deterioration diagnosis of the relay in the PPS 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, a programmable power supply (PP
S) 50 has a plurality of channels, for example, 64 channels. FIG. 7 shows a connection configuration diagram of a relay and peripheral circuits in a one-channel PPS 50. This component includes a mercury relay S11, S12, S13, a voltage source 55, and a measuring unit 60 and a load device 62 outside. The relay used here is a mercury relay having a large contact capacity capable of flowing several amps to the DUT, and is a two-circuit simultaneous switching relay. Simultaneous switching is performed on lines L22, L24, L2
This is because it is necessary to provide dedicated feedback lines L21, L23 and L25 in order to eliminate the effects of the voltage drop of the wiring line 6 and the wiring system.

The mercury relay S11 is for connecting to a voltage source 55 capable of supplying a predetermined current capacity at an arbitrary voltage, the mercury relay S12 is for opening and closing the supply to the DUT, and the mercury relay S13 is for connecting to the calibration system. For connection. The measurement unit 60 includes an AD converter therein and calibrates the PPS 50 of each channel. The load device 62 is a plurality of reference load circuits used when performing the calibration. The measuring unit 6
The AD converter provided in 0 can continuously perform AD conversion at a sampling period of 100 μsec. On the other hand, the break time of the mercury relay is a relatively slow operation time, for example, about 1.5 milliseconds. Therefore, although the sampling resolution is as coarse as 100 μs, the same degradation diagnosis as described above can be practically used using this. However, the continuous sampling data is stored in the provided buffer memory. From this measurement result,
For example, the calculation of the break time is based on the fact that the code data value of the continuous sampling result is, for example, 90% of the value reaching the steady voltage.
% Code data is obtained as a break time.
The chattering time is excluded because it is practically difficult to measure.

The means for diagnosing deterioration of the relay of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, there is a deterioration diagnosis unit based on a contact switching energy condition. This is because if the contact part is rough or welded, the ON time, OFF time,
Some show significant fluctuations in chattering time. Therefore, paying attention to this point, for example, the DC voltage V
1. The applied voltage between the contacts and the switching current are sequentially changed by the VT power supply and the programmable load function, and the measurement is sequentially performed under different contact switching energy conditions. From the obtained measurement data, the ON time is set with the contact switching energy condition as the horizontal axis,
This is a deterioration diagnosis unit that detects and specifies, as a deterioration relay, one that exhibits unstable variation characteristics from the distribution of the OFF time and the chattering time.

There is also a classification judging means based on stepwise weighting. This is a comprehensive deterioration diagnosis using a plurality of desired types among the above-described plurality of types of deterioration diagnosis means.
This is a weighted deterioration diagnosis method based on a plurality of stepwise determination criteria. That is, for example, in the above description, the deviation from the reference break time Tref in the determination of the deterioration of the break time is determined based on the reference value of only 30% in the above description, but this is provided in three stages of, for example, 20%, 30%, and 40%. For example, 1, 2, and 5 are assigned as weighting values corresponding to each stage.
Similarly, for example, in the above description, the increase ratio with respect to the reference chattering time width Twref in the deterioration determination of the chattering time is determined based on the reference value of only 30%, but this is determined, for example, by 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% of 4
Steps are provided, and for example, 2, 4, 7, and 10 are assigned as weighting values corresponding to the respective steps. Similarly, appropriate stepwise weighting is performed for other types of deterioration diagnosis means, and weighting determination is performed for each. As a result, a value weighted for each deterioration diagnosis unit is obtained. Then, add the weight value,
From the quantity of the added value, classification judgment is made for each deterioration rank. For example, those with an added value of 15 or more are discriminated as deteriorated relays to be replaced immediately, those with a value of 10 or more are discriminated as deterioration relays to be periodically replaced, and those with a value of 6 or more are degraded relays that need to be monitored. Judge differently. As a result, there is an advantage that more appropriate measures and countermeasures can be performed according to the deterioration stage.

If any of the break time, the chattering time, and the make time can be measured with respect to the contact type relay provided in another circuit of the semiconductor test apparatus, the same operation as described above is performed. Deterioration diagnosis may be performed.

In the above description, the measurement of the makeup time is shown in FIG.
In the case where the makeup time is included including the chattering time width Tw shown in the above, the makeup time is not included in the chattering time width Tw until the time when it is first turned on, and the deterioration is determined based on the makeup time. is there. As a first measuring means in this case, there is a measuring method using a fail stop function as shown in FIG. That is, fail-stop is performed at the first ON timing, and the elapsed time is obtained from the count value of the index register (IDX) provided in the PG. This is obtained as the makeup time. As a second measuring means, there is a method using a matching function. That is, similarly to the above-described fail stop function, the counting operation of the index register shown in FIG. 8 is performed, and the pattern program is branched at the time of match detection or the time of non-match detection. As a result, the elapsed time is similarly obtained from the count value of the index register. These measurement methods have an advantage that measurement can be performed in a short time. Incidentally, if desired, the above-mentioned measuring method may be applied to the measurement of the break time.

Also, in the judgment reference value for determining the break time, make time or reference chattering time width of a large number of relays, attention is paid to the fact that the ratio of deteriorated relays among a large number of relays is, for example, less than 1%. A reference break time value, a reference make time value, or a reference chattering time width, which is a reference value for judging and comparing the arithmetic average values of the measurement time values of a large number of relays, is used as a reference value. It may be used as deterioration diagnosis means for specifying the deterioration relay from the deviation. In this case, since measurement error factors such as temperature and power supply voltage at the time of measurement can be substantially excluded, an advantage that a more accurate deterioration determination can be obtained particularly with respect to the break time and the makeup time can be obtained.

[0062]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained from the above description. As described above, according to the present invention, a break time, a chattering time, a make time, a variation distribution, and a change with time for a contact-type relay are provided in a state where the relay is mounted. From the difference from the relay, there is obtained a great advantage that the deteriorated relay in the state before the deterioration can be separated and determined accurately and simply. In addition, a great advantage is obtained in that the relay in the mounted state can be measured and determined. As a result, there is obtained an advantage that it is possible to accurately determine the deterioration of the relay, which is a life component. Also, when repairing a defective board equipped with a deteriorated relay, the deterioration of the intermittently defective relay, which is difficult to repeat, should be diagnosed, or the deterioration should be diagnosed in the actual use condition by mounting it in the corresponding board slot of the semiconductor test equipment. As a result, the cause of the failure and the defective relay can be quickly and accurately specified, so that accurate replacement and repair can be performed, and the advantage that the repair cost can be reduced and the repair quality can be improved can be obtained. Furthermore, since the switching current and the switching frequency are different by two digits or three digits depending on the relay, it is not practical to replace all the switches uniformly assuming the life depending on the operation time. According to the present invention, it is possible to more accurately determine whether a relay is a deteriorated relay, and as a result, an advantage is obtained in that appropriate and appropriate relay replacement is possible. Therefore, the technical effect of the present invention is great, and the industrial economic effect in maintaining and managing the measurement reliability of the semiconductor test equipment is great.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining measurement of an OUT relay S1 in a main part pin electronics circuit of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a time chart of a break time measurement using a fail memory according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a time chart of chattering time measurement in make time measurement using FM according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a break time characteristic in a relay that is almost degraded.

FIG. 5 is a connection configuration diagram of a relay used in a pin electronics circuit and a peripheral circuit.

FIG. 6 is a connection configuration diagram of a relay used in a pin electronics circuit dedicated to a driver.

FIG. 7 is a connection configuration diagram of a relay used in the PPS and a peripheral circuit.

FIG. 8 is a time chart of measurement using a PG fail-stop function and an index counter according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a distribution example of break times of a normal relay and a deteriorated relay.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a relationship between a break time transition curve and a deteriorated relay.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DR1 Driver S1 OUT relay CP2 Comparator S2 DC relay S3 Terminator relay S4 Programmable load relay S5 CAL relay S7 LOAD relay CP10 Reference comparator R10 Terminating resistor S11, S12, S13 Mercury relay 40 Calibration circuit 50 Programmable power supply for power supply (PPS) ) 55 Voltage source 60 Measuring unit 62 Load device

Claims (19)

[Claims] In a semiconductor test apparatus for performing deterioration diagnosis of a contact type relay used in a semiconductor test apparatus, a contact of a relay to be tested is driven from an ON state to an OFF state, and immediately after the OFF direction drive, the contact of the relay is reset. Break characteristic measuring means for measuring a switching characteristic until a switch contact of the relay is electrically turned off, and switching characteristic obtained by the break characteristic measuring means,
Deterioration determination means for determining a break time value until a contact is electrically turned off, and determining deterioration of the relay based on a deviation from the break time value and a reference break time value of the relay type. A semiconductor test apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. A plurality of N-times measuring means for performing a plurality of N times of the switching characteristics by executing the plurality of N-times of the breaking characteristic measuring means according to claim 1; Each of the break time values is obtained, a frequency distribution with the time axis as a class is obtained at the N break time values, and a statistical comparison for determining the deterioration of the relay based on a reference comparison between the frequency distribution and a predetermined distribution determination condition is performed. A semiconductor test apparatus, comprising: a deterioration determining unit. 3. A time-lapse data acquisition means for obtaining a break time value from the break characteristic measurement means according to claim 1, performing the acquisition of the break time value for each predetermined elapsed day, and storing the data in a storage medium; After the acquisition of the number of data is equal to or more than the predetermined number M, the relay in which the time-dependent transition of the time-series data of the break time value shows a rising tendency or a downward rising tendency more than a predetermined ratio from the initial value, or a relay showing the dispersion more than a predetermined ratio And a deterioration judging means for judging as a deterioration relay. 4. A semiconductor test apparatus for diagnosing deterioration of a contact type relay used in a semiconductor test apparatus, wherein a contact of a relay to be tested is driven from an OFF state to an ON state and immediately after the ON direction driving, Make characteristic measuring means for measuring a switching characteristic until the switch contact of the relay is electrically turned on, and a make time value until the switch contact is electrically turned on is obtained from the switching characteristic obtained by the make characteristic measuring means. And a deterioration determining means for determining deterioration of the relay based on a deviation between the make time value and a reference make time value of the relay type. 5. A semiconductor test apparatus for diagnosing deterioration of a contact type relay used in a semiconductor test apparatus, wherein a contact of a relay to be tested is driven from an OFF state to an ON state, and immediately after the ON direction driving, Make characteristic measuring means for measuring a switching characteristic until a switch contact of the relay is electrically turned on; and a chattering time width is obtained from the switching characteristic obtained by the make characteristic measuring means. And a deterioration determining means for determining deterioration of the relay based on a deviation from a reference chattering time width for a product type. 6. A plurality of N-times measuring means for performing a predetermined plurality of N times of the make-characteristic measuring means according to claim 4 to obtain a predetermined plurality of N switching characteristics, and a switching characteristic obtained by said plurality of N-times measuring means. A frequency distribution for determining the deterioration of the relay from the reference comparison between the frequency distribution and a predetermined distribution determination condition is determined for each of the N make time values, and for the N number of make time values, A semiconductor test apparatus, comprising: a form deterioration determining unit. 7. A plurality of N-times measuring means for performing a predetermined plurality of N switching characteristics by executing the make-characteristic measuring means according to claim 5 a plurality of N times, and a switching characteristic obtained by the plurality of N-times measuring means. Each of the chattering time widths is obtained, a frequency distribution with the time axis as a class is obtained in the N chattering time widths, and the deterioration of the relay is determined from a reference comparison between the frequency distribution and a predetermined distribution determination condition. A semiconductor test apparatus, comprising: a frequency distribution mode deterioration determination unit. 8. A time-lapse data obtaining means for obtaining a make-up time value from the make-up characteristic measuring means according to claim 4, obtaining the make-up time value for each predetermined elapsed day, and storing it in a storage medium; After the acquisition of the number of data is equal to or more than the predetermined number M, the relay in which the chronological change of the time-series data of the make time value shows a rising tendency or a downward rising tendency more than a predetermined ratio from the initial value, or a relay showing the dispersion more than a predetermined ratio And a deterioration determining means of a time-varying form for determining that the deterioration is a deterioration relay. 9. A time-lapse data obtaining means for obtaining a chattering time width from the makeup characteristic measuring means according to claim 5, obtaining said chattering time width for each predetermined elapsed day, and storing the data in a storage medium. After the acquisition of the number of time-lapse data is equal to or more than a predetermined number M, the time-dependent transition of the time-series data of the make time value indicates a rising trend or a downward trend of a predetermined rate or more from the initial value, or a variance of a predetermined rate or more. And a deterioration judging means of a time-varying form for judging a relay to be indicated as a deteriorated relay. 10. A comprehensive judgment means for performing measurement by at least two kinds of relay deterioration diagnosis means in the kinds of relay deterioration diagnosis means according to claim 1 and specifying a deteriorated relay from a judgment frequency determined as a deterioration relay. A semiconductor test apparatus, comprising: 11. A relay deterioration diagnosing means of the type according to claim 1, wherein at least two kinds of relay deterioration diagnosing means perform measurement, and the obtained measurement result value is applied to each type of relay deterioration diagnosing means. Judgment is made based on a stepwise deterioration judgment criterion to which a predetermined weight is given, a weighting value obtained from each relay deterioration diagnosis means is added, and a classification judgment means for judging deterioration relays according to deterioration ranks from the number of the added values is provided. A semiconductor test apparatus, comprising: 12. A means for measuring under different contact opening / closing energy conditions of a plurality of points with respect to a contact of a relay to be diagnosed, and detecting and judging as a deteriorated relay from a variation distribution state of the measured data at the plurality of points. The semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 13. A relay to be diagnosed includes an OUT relay, a DC relay, a terminator relay, a programmable load relay, and a CAL provided for each channel of each tester pin.
13. The semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor test apparatus is a relay or a load relay provided on a performance board. 14. The semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relay to be diagnosed is a reed relay or a mercury relay. 15. A diagnostic program (DIAG) for periodically diagnosing whether or not a system of a semiconductor test apparatus is functioning normally, for use in a function of diagnosing deterioration of a relay used in the semiconductor test apparatus. The semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor test apparatus is provided. 16. The reference break time value, the reference make time value, or the reference chattering time width, which is a reference value to be determined and compared, uses an average measured value of the relay type as a reference value. 1, 2, 4
Or the semiconductor test apparatus according to 5. 17. A reference break time value, a reference make time value, or a reference chattering time width, which is a reference value for determination and comparison, is determined based on an initial break time characteristic, an initial make time characteristic, or an initial chattering characteristic. 6. The semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a measured value of a time width characteristic is used as a reference value. 18. A reference break time value, a reference make time value, or a reference chattering time width, which is a reference value to be compared, is determined by arithmetically averaging measurement time values of a large number of relays to be measured. 6. The semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor test apparatus is used as a reference value for comparison. 19. Remote management means for periodically transmitting measurement data or judgment result data obtained by executing the relay deterioration diagnosis means to an upper workstation or a management center via a communication line. The semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1.