JP2008166319A - Aging treatment method and aging treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sharply decrease failure incidence, after mounting of a chip, by obtaining progress of aging and applying appropriate treatment. <P>SOLUTION: The aging treatment equipment comprises a heater 2, a probe 4 conducting to a chip 1 and constant-current sources 5a, 5b, a change-over switch 7 for switching the current to the chip 1, in the order of an aging current Ie, feeble current Im, heating current Ih, and the feeble current Im, an amplifier 8, an S/H circuit section 9 and an A/D converter 10 for detecting the inter-electrode voltage of the chip 1, and a control section 11 that executes calculations. The chip 1 is heated by means of the heater 2 and after the aging current Ie is fed to the chip 1 under this state, the feeble current Im is fed to the chip 1 and the inter-electrode voltage Vm1 of the chip 1 is detected. Subsequently, the heating current Ih is fed to the chip 1, and the current to the chip 1 is returned to the feeble current Im, before the inter-electrode voltage Vm2 of the chip 1 is detected. The control section 11 executes operation, based on the Vm1 and Vm2 and determines the quality of the chip 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an aging treatment technique applied when manufacturing an optical semiconductor device such as a semiconductor laser, and in particular, immediately after flowing an aging current for stabilizing the current-light output characteristic of an optical semiconductor chip, The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus capable of grasping the progress of aging and detecting a defective chip at an early stage.

  In general, in an AlGaInP material-based semiconductor laser, Zn is frequently used as a dopant (impurity) diffused in a semiconductor crystal. However, according to such a semiconductor laser, the property of the semiconductor crystal is physically changed by energization. Due to this, the current-light output characteristics fluctuate in the initial stage of energization. Specifically, in the initial energization stage, a current for obtaining a predetermined light output (hereinafter referred to as a rated drive current) varies greatly. For this reason, when manufacturing the semiconductor laser, an aging process is performed in order to eliminate the initial fluctuation and stabilize the characteristics.

  Such aging treatment is to stabilize the crystal structure by energizing the chip, and this usually takes several hours to several hundred hours depending on the amount of energization. The progress of the aging process is generally performed by flowing a rated drive current through the chip and monitoring the change.

  Here, the effect of the aging treatment is higher as the environmental temperature (aging temperature) is higher and the current flowing through the chip (aging current) is larger. Generally, in order to promote the property change of the semiconductor crystal and increase the processing efficiency, This is called accelerated aging, in which a semiconductor laser is placed in a thermostatic chamber called a burn-in chamber, and the chip is energized in a high-temperature environment in the bath.

  However, in accelerated aging, the aging current that flows through the chip is usually limited to a rated drive current or less so that components such as semiconductor lasers are not thermally damaged.

  In particular, when aging processing is performed with the chip mounted on a substrate (submount, lead frame, etc.), the aging temperature should be set high because the bonding portion will be thermally degraded if the aging temperature is high. For this reason, there is a problem that the processing takes time and the processing efficiency is lowered.

  In addition, the aging process after chip mounting requires a large processing device such as a burn-in chamber, and if the current-light output characteristics of the chip are not improved and are recognized as defective products, not only the chip. All other mounted parts are wasted.

  Thus, a method has been proposed in which the semiconductor laser is kept in a chip state and an accelerated aging process is performed on the chip (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-135245 A

  However, in accelerated aging performed at a high temperature as in Patent Document 1, since the aging current is limited to a value smaller than the threshold current as described above, it is not possible to grasp the aging progress status by the normally performed rated drive current. . For this reason, the processing time (energization time) must be set based on experimental data and empirical rules, and many defective products may be found in the inspection after chip mounting.

  In addition, when current-light output characteristics are inspected with a rated drive current flowing, it takes time because the temperature of the chip must be lowered by lowering the environmental temperature, which in turn leads to deterioration of the production efficiency of semiconductor devices. There is.

  Furthermore, in accelerating aging, the progress of aging is fast, and the variation in the degree of aging increases due to slight differences in chip characteristics variation, processing time, aging current, etc., resulting in large variations in current-light output characteristics. . Therefore, by managing the processing time alone, the deterioration of the chip proceeds due to excessive processing and the product life is shortened.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and its purpose is to grasp the progress of aging even in accelerated aging performed at high temperatures, and to generate defects after chip mounting by performing appropriate processing. The goal is to be able to significantly reduce the rate.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention
An accelerating aging process in which a predetermined aging current Ie is supplied to an optical semiconductor chip 1 that has two electrodes (anode / cathode) and emits light by passing a current between the two electrodes while being heated to a predetermined temperature; ,
After the accelerated aging process, a weak current Im smaller than the aging current Ie is passed through the optical semiconductor chip 1 while the optical semiconductor chip 1 is kept heated to the predetermined temperature. A first voltage detection step of detecting an interelectrode voltage as a first measurement voltage Vm1;
Subsequent to the first voltage detection step, a heating current Ih larger than the weak current Im is passed through the optical semiconductor chip 1, and then the current passed through the optical semiconductor chip 1 is returned to the weak current Im. A second voltage detecting step of detecting the inter-electrode voltage as the second measured voltage Vm2,
An aging processing method is provided.

In addition, the aging processing method according to the present invention includes:
Including a pass / fail determination step for executing a calculation for determining pass / fail of the optical semiconductor chip 1 based on the first and second measurement voltages Vm1 and Vm2 detected by the first and second voltage detection steps;
The acceleration aging step and the first and second voltage detection steps are repeated until the calculation result of the pass / fail determination step falls within a specified range,
The optical semiconductor chip 1 in which the calculation result in the pass / fail judgment process does not fall within a specified range even if the accelerated aging process is performed a specified number of times is excluded as a defective chip.

  Further, the current-light output characteristic of the optical semiconductor chip 1 is inspected at room temperature for the optical semiconductor chip 1 whose calculation result in the pass / fail judgment step is within a specified range.

On the other hand, the present invention
An external heating means (heater 2) for heating the optical semiconductor chip 1 which has two electrodes (anode / cathode) and emits light by passing a current between the two electrodes;
Energization means (probe 4 and constant current sources 5a and 5b) for supplying a predetermined aging current Ie, a weak current Im smaller than the aging current, and a heating current Ih larger than the weak current to the optical semiconductor chip 1; ,
Energization amount conversion means (switch 7) for switching the current flowing from the energizing means 4, 5a, 5b to the optical semiconductor chip 1 in the order of the aging current Ie, the weak current Im, the heating current Ih, and the weak current Im. When,
The inter-electrode voltage of the optical semiconductor chip 1 when the weak current Im flows before the heating current Ih is supplied to the optical semiconductor chip 1 is detected as the first measurement voltage Vm1, and the optical semiconductor chip 1 On the other hand, voltage detection means (amplifier 8, S / H circuit section 9, A) detects the interelectrode voltage of the optical semiconductor chip 1 when the weak current Im flows after the heating current Ih is applied as the second measurement voltage Vm2. / D converter 10),
Pass / fail judgment means (control unit 11) for executing a calculation for judging pass / fail of the optical semiconductor chip 1 based on the first and second measured voltages Vm1, Vm2 detected by the voltage detection means 8, 9, 10; ,
An aging processing apparatus is provided.

  The energizing means has a plurality of probes 4 corresponding to the plurality of optical semiconductor chips 1,..., And each of the optical semiconductor chips 1,. It is characterized in that it can be energized.

  According to the method and apparatus of the present invention, even in accelerated aging performed at high temperatures, the chip's interelectrode voltage change after aging current application without causing thermal damage to the chip while keeping the chip in a high temperature heating state. Can understand the progress of aging.

  Therefore, it is possible to detect the defective chip early by applying the optimal aging process to the chip, to reduce the defect occurrence rate after mounting the chip and to improve the yield, and to prevent the deterioration of the chip due to excessive aging The product life of the chip can be made as long as possible.

  Also, according to the method of repeatedly performing the accelerated aging process for chips that did not fall within the specified range in the pass / fail judgment process, as many chips as possible while preventing excessive aging by performing the accelerated aging process in small increments Can be selected as good products.

  Furthermore, according to the device having a plurality of probes capable of individually energizing a plurality of optical semiconductor chips as energization means, the processing efficiency can be increased, and even if there is a variation in characteristics between the chips, a chip unit Thus, the optimum aging process can be performed, so that it is possible to detect defective chips at an early stage and improve the yield while preventing deterioration of the chips due to excessive aging.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention can be applied to a semiconductor laser or a light emitting diode belonging to a light emitting device as an optical semiconductor to be aged, but in the present example, this will be described as a semiconductor laser.

  FIG. 1 is a graph showing the change over time in the thermal resistance value when an aging current of 20 mA is applied to a semiconductor laser chip at an ambient temperature of 65 ° C. According to this, after the thermal resistance value Rth of the semiconductor laser chip greatly increases at the initial stage of aging, a phenomenon is observed in which it gradually decreases and stabilizes as aging progresses.

  The thermal resistance value is a value indicating the heat radiation path characteristic of how much heat generated by the semiconductor laser chip can be emitted to the outside. In other words, when a predetermined power is applied to the semiconductor laser chip, the semiconductor junction portion This is an important parameter indicating how many times the temperature of the junction (hereinafter referred to as a junction) rises with respect to the ambient environmental temperature.

Here, when the thermal resistance value is Rth, the junction temperature is Tj, the temperature rise of the junction due to energization is ΔTj, the environmental temperature (aging temperature) is Ta, and the applied power is W,
Rth = (Tj−Ta) / W = ΔTj / W [° C./W] Formula 1
It can be expressed as

  Here, since the current-voltage characteristic of the semiconductor laser chip changes in correlation with the junction temperature Tj, ΔTj can be estimated from the amount of change in the voltage applied to the chip.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a weak current Im sufficiently small to suppress heat generation is applied to the semiconductor laser chip in the forward direction, and the inter-electrode voltage Vm1 (anode / cathode) of the semiconductor laser chip at this time is supplied. And a heating current Ih that causes the semiconductor laser to generate heat is subsequently supplied, and the voltage Vh between the electrodes of the semiconductor laser chip at this time is detected. If the voltage Vm2 between the electrodes of the semiconductor laser chip is detected after returning to the weak current Im and a small waiting time Td, the temperature rise ΔTj of the junction of the semiconductor laser chip due to energization is:
ΔTj = (Vm1−Vm2) / Tm = ΔV / Tm [° C.] Equation 2
Can be obtained as However, Tm [V / ° C.] is a temperature coefficient of the semiconductor laser indicating voltage fluctuation ΔV = (Vm1−Vm2) when the weak current Im is applied.

Therefore, from the above formulas 1 and 2,
Rth = ΔV / (Tm · W) = ΔV / (Tm · Ih · Vh) [° C./W] Equation 3
Can be obtained as

  Note that the heating current Ih in FIG. 2 is preferably a short pulse with a current passing time Tm of several milliseconds or less so that only the vicinity of the junction of the semiconductor laser is heated.

  Here, the thermal resistance value Rth measured under the above conditions is called a transient thermal resistance. When detecting the change in the thermal resistance value Rth, if Tm, Ih, and Vh are constant, ΔV (Vm1 , Vm2), the change in Rth can be easily obtained.

  Therefore, even in accelerated aging performed under high temperature heating, by detecting Vm1 and Vm2, the aging progress of the chip is grasped and appropriate aging processing is performed, and a large number of defective chips are detected from the mounted chips. This can be prevented in advance.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of an apparatus for performing the aging process as described above on the semiconductor laser chip.

  In FIG. 3, 1 is a semiconductor laser chip, 2 is a heat source (heater) constituting external heating means for heating the semiconductor laser chip 1, and the semiconductor laser chip 1 is mounted on the heat source 2 via an electrode 3. . Then, the semiconductor laser chip 1 is energized from the probe 4 while heating the semiconductor laser chip 1 at a high temperature by solid heat transfer from the heat source 2 to the electrode 3. In the semiconductor laser chip 1, either one of the anode and the cathode is in contact with the electrode 3, and the tip of the probe 4 is in contact with the other.

  The probe 4 is electrically connected to the two constant current sources 5a and 5b to form a current-carrying means. A diode 6 and a current-carrying amount conversion means are connected to the electric circuit connecting one constant-current source 5b and the probe 4. A changeover switch 7 is provided.

  According to this example, the energization amount to the semiconductor laser chip 1 can be switched instantaneously while suppressing the transient effect by controlling the changeover switch 7 on and off. Specifically, when the changeover switch 7 is closed, a weak current Im is supplied from one constant current source 5a to the semiconductor laser chip 1 through the probe 4, and when the changeover switch 7 is opened, the other constant current source 5b sends the probe 4 to the probe 4. Through this, an aging current Ie and a heating current Ih larger than the weak current Im are supplied to the semiconductor laser chip 1.

  Further, in order to detect the interelectrode voltage (voltage between the anode and cathode) of the semiconductor laser chip 1 when the semiconductor laser chip 1 is energized from the constant current sources 5a and 5b, an amplifier 8 is electrically connected to the probe 4 and the electrode 3. An A / D (analog / digital) converter 10 is conductively connected to the output side of the amplifier 8 via an S / H (sample hold) circuit unit 9. The voltage between the electrodes of the semiconductor laser chip 1 is amplified by the amplifier 8, and the output of the amplifier 8 is sampled and held by the S / H circuit unit 9, and the output is converted into numerical data (digital signal) by the A / D converter 10. ), Which is input to the control unit 11 for signal processing.

  The control unit 11 performs a calculation for determining the quality of the semiconductor laser chip 1 based on the voltage between the electrodes of the semiconductor laser chip 1 input as numerical data from the A / D converter 10 (not shown). An arithmetic circuit (good / bad determining means) is included, and the aging progress status of the semiconductor laser chip 1 can be grasped from the calculation result. The control unit 11 is electrically connected to the heat source 2, the constant current sources 5 a and 5 b, the changeover switch 7, and the S / H circuit unit 9, and these are driven and controlled by the control unit 11.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control mode of the aging processing apparatus configured as described above. Here, the aging processing method by the apparatus will be described. First, as the heating step S1, the heat source 2 is heated by turning on the power to the heat source 2, and is placed on the electrode 3 while controlling the heat generation amount by the control unit 11. The semiconductor laser chip 1 thus heated is heated to a high temperature (a temperature at which the chip 1 can be prevented from being damaged by heat, which is set within a range of 100 to 300 ° C., but 150 ° C. in this example).

  When the semiconductor laser chip 1 reaches a predetermined temperature, the changeover switch 7 is opened and the probe 4 is brought into contact with the semiconductor laser chip 1 as an accelerated aging step S2, and the semiconductor laser chip heated from the constant current source 5b is heated. A constant aging current Ie is supplied for 1 for a predetermined time. The aging current Ie is limited to a current value that does not cause the semiconductor laser chip 1 to emit light, that is, a current smaller than a threshold current, and is 30 mA in this example. The energization time of the aging current Ie is set to 2 minutes, for example.

  Next, after waiting (about 10 seconds) until the junction temperature of the semiconductor laser chip 1 that has been raised by the energization of the aging current Ie is lowered to the heating temperature (150 ° C.) by the heat source 2, the heat of the semiconductor laser chip 1 is changed as described above. In order to calculate the resistance value Rth, the voltage Vm1, Vm2, and Vh between the electrodes of the semiconductor laser chip 1 are measured as a voltage detection step S3.

  Specifically, the changeover switch 7 is closed, and the weak current Im smaller than the previous aging current Ie from the constant current source 5a through the probe 4 to the semiconductor laser chip 1 (the temperature of the semiconductor laser chip 1 is not raised above the heating temperature by the heat source 2). For example, 1 mA) flows in the forward direction, and the voltage between the electrodes of the semiconductor laser chip 1 at this time is detected as the first measurement voltage Vm1 (first voltage detection step). Next, the changeover switch 7 is opened, and the output current of the constant current source 5b is set as a heating current Ih to a value larger than the weak current Im and smaller than the rated drive current (for example, 20 mA). A heating current Ih of 20 mA is passed through the chip 1 for a very short time (for example, 1 ms), and the voltage between the electrodes of the semiconductor laser chip 1 at this time is detected as Vh (heating voltage detection step). Thereafter, the changeover switch 7 is closed, and the same weak current Im as that at the time of detection of the first measurement voltage Vm1 is supplied from the constant current source 5a to the semiconductor laser chip 1 through the probe 4, and at this time (about 1 μs from the start of energization of the weak current Im). The voltage between the electrodes of the later semiconductor laser chip 1 is detected as the second measurement voltage Vm2 (second voltage detection step). The detected voltages Vm1, Vh, Vm2 are temporarily stored in the storage area of the control unit 11 from the A / D converter 10 shown in FIG.

  Then, in the control unit 11, as a pass / fail determination step S <b> 4, a calculation for determining pass / fail of the semiconductor laser chip 1 is executed based on Vm <b> 1, Vm <b> 2, and Vh. Specifically, based on Vm1, Vm2, and Vh, the thermal resistance value Rth of the semiconductor laser chip 1 that has undergone the acceleration aging process S2 is calculated from the above equation 3, and the calculation result is within a specified range (smaller than the reference level Rthm). If the value falls within the range (value), the semiconductor laser chip 1 is transferred to the inspection process (screening process) as a non-defective product, and a rated drive current is supplied to the semiconductor laser chip 1 at room temperature to check whether predetermined light is output. Do the inspection. The inspection item in the inspection process includes a current-light output characteristic and the like. The inspection process may be performed in a package state by mounting the semiconductor laser chip 1 on a substrate or in a chip state.

  On the other hand, when the calculation result in the pass / fail judgment step S4 does not fall within the specified range, the maximum allowable number of times Nmax is set as an upper limit, and the acceleration aging step S2 to pass / fail judgment is performed until the calculation result in the pass / fail determination step S4 falls within the specified range. The process S4 is repeated, the number N of times is counted by the control unit 11 each time, and even if the acceleration aging process S2 is performed a prescribed number of times (N = Nmax), the calculation result in the pass / fail judgment process S4 is within the prescribed range. If not, the process is terminated and the semiconductor laser chip 1 is excluded as a defective chip.

  In the above example, Vh is detected in addition to Vm1 and Vm2 in the voltage detection process, and a thermal resistance value serving as an index for determining the quality of the chip 1 is calculated based on them, but Vm1, Vm2 In this case, the thermal resistance value sufficient for determining the quality of the chip 1 can be estimated.

  Next, FIG. 5 shows a modification of the apparatus according to the present invention. The apparatus of this example includes a plurality of probes 4,... Corresponding to a plurality of semiconductor lasers 1,... The semiconductor laser chip 1 to be energized can be individually energized, and the rest of the configuration is the same as in the above example.

  Here, the semiconductor laser chip 1 has, for example, a bar-like shape cut out in a state in which a plurality of the semiconductor laser chips 1 are connected in series, and the plurality of probes 4 correspond to the semiconductor laser chips 1 with a predetermined interval. Arranged.

  The multi-switch 12 is conductively connected to the control unit 11, and the control unit 11 can open and close the multi-switch 12 for each probe 4,.

  Hereinafter, the aging treatment method by the apparatus according to FIGS. 5 and 6 will be described. First, as the heating step S1, the heat source 2 is heated by turning on the power to the heat source 2, and the heat generation amount is controlled by the control unit 11. The plurality of semiconductor laser chips 1 placed on the electrode 3 are simultaneously heated at a high temperature (for example, 150 ° C.).

  When the semiconductor laser chips 1 reach a predetermined temperature, as the acceleration aging process S2, the change-over switch 7 is opened, all the contacts of the multi-switch 12 are closed, and each probe 4 is brought into contact with the semiconductor laser chip 1, respectively. A constant aging current Ie is caused to flow from the current source 5b to the semiconductor laser chip 1 heated at a high temperature for a predetermined time. The aging current Ie is limited to a current value that does not cause the semiconductor laser chip 1 to emit light, that is, a current smaller than a threshold current, and in this example, this is 30 mA. However, the output current of the constant current source 5b is set to the number of the semiconductor laser chips 1 × 30 mA so that an aging current Ie of 30 mA flows in all the semiconductor laser chips 1, and the energization time is set to 2 minutes, for example.

  Next, after waiting for the junction temperature of the semiconductor laser chip 1 raised by the aging current Ie to drop to the heating temperature (150 ° C.) by the heat source 2 (about 10 seconds), the semiconductor laser chip 1 is heated as described above. In order to calculate the thermal resistance value Rth, as the voltage detection step S3, the multi-switch 12 is closed one by one in order, and the inter-electrode voltages Vm1, Vm2, Vh of each semiconductor laser chip 1 are set in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Measure in order.

  Thereafter, the semiconductor laser chip 1 that has undergone the voltage detection step S3 is subjected to the same calculation as in the first embodiment as the pass / fail determination step S4, and the calculation result falls within a specified range (a value smaller than the reference level Rthm). If it is, the flag indicating that the semiconductor laser chip 1 is a non-defective chip is stored in the storage area of the control unit 11, and if the calculation result by the pass / fail judgment step S4 does not fall within the specified range, A flag indicating that the semiconductor chip 1 is a non-standard chip is stored in the storage area of the control unit 11.

  Then, after the processing as described above is performed for all the semiconductor laser chips 1, when there is a semiconductor laser chip 1 that is determined to be a non-standard chip, only for the semiconductor laser chip 1 corresponding to this, With the maximum allowable number Nmax as an upper limit, the acceleration aging step S2 to the quality determination step S4 are repeated until the calculation result in the quality determination step S4 falls within the specified range, and the number N of times is counted by the control unit 11 each time, and the acceleration aging is performed. Even if the process S2 is performed a prescribed number of times (N = Nmax), if the calculation result in the pass / fail judgment process S4 does not fall within the prescribed range, the process is terminated, and the semiconductor laser chip 1 is excluded as a defective chip.

  Thereafter, for the optical semiconductor chip 1 (non-defective chip) in which the calculation result in the pass / fail judgment step S4 falls within the specified range, as in the first embodiment, a rated drive current is passed to the optical semiconductor chip 1 at normal temperature as an inspection step. Check and inspect whether light is output.

  In this example, when the heating aging process S2 and the voltage detection process S3 are repeated, the controller 11 controls the multi-switch 12 so that only the semiconductor laser chip 1 determined to be out of regulation is energized, and the heating aging process. In S2, the output current of the constant current source 5b is adjusted according to the number of non-standard chips.

  Also in this example, Vh is detected in addition to Vm1 and Vm2 in the voltage detection process, and based on these, the thermal resistance value which is an index for judging the quality of the chip 1 is calculated, but Vm1, Vm2 In this case, the thermal resistance value sufficient for determining the quality of the chip 1 can be estimated.

Graph showing the time-dependent change in thermal resistance value due to energization of the chip Illustration of the principle of measuring the voltage between the electrodes of the chip Explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the aging processing apparatus which concerns on this invention Flowchart of aging processing according to the present invention Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a change of the aging processing apparatus which concerns on this invention Flowchart of aging processing according to the present invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Optical semiconductor chip (semiconductor laser chip)
2 Heater (external heating means)
3 electrodes 4 probes (energization means)
5a, 5b Constant current source (energization means)
7 Changeover switch (energization amount conversion means)
8 Amplifier (voltage detection means)
9 S / H circuit (voltage detection means)
10 A / D converter (voltage detection means)
11 Control unit (good / bad determination means)

Claims (5)

An accelerating aging step of flowing a predetermined aging current in a state heated to a predetermined temperature with respect to an optical semiconductor chip that has two electrodes and emits light by flowing a current between the two electrodes;
After the accelerated aging step, a weak current smaller than the aging current is passed through the optical semiconductor chip while maintaining the optical semiconductor chip heated to the predetermined temperature. A first voltage detection step of detecting as one measurement voltage;
Subsequent to the first voltage detection step, after a heating current larger than the weak current is passed through the optical semiconductor chip, the current passed through the optical semiconductor chip is returned to the weak current, and the voltage between the electrodes of the optical semiconductor chip at this time is changed. A second voltage detection step of detecting as a second measurement voltage;
An aging processing method comprising: Including a pass / fail judgment step for performing an operation for judging pass / fail of the optical semiconductor chip based on the first and second measured voltages detected by the first and second voltage detection steps;
The acceleration aging step and the first and second voltage detection steps are repeated until the calculation result of the pass / fail determination step falls within a specified range,
The aging processing method according to claim 1, wherein an optical semiconductor chip whose calculation result of the pass / fail judgment step does not fall within a specified range even after the accelerated aging step is performed a specified number of times is excluded as a defective chip.   3. The aging processing method according to claim 2, wherein a current-light output characteristic of the optical semiconductor chip is inspected at room temperature for an optical semiconductor chip whose calculation result in the pass / fail judgment step is within a specified range. . An external heating means for heating an optical semiconductor chip that has two electrodes and emits light by passing a current between the two electrodes;
Energizing means for flowing a predetermined aging current, a weak current smaller than the aging current, and a heating current larger than the weak current to the optical semiconductor chip;
Energization amount conversion means for switching the current flowing from the energization means to the optical semiconductor chip in the order of the aging current, the weak current, the heating current, and the weak current;
The inter-electrode voltage of the optical semiconductor chip when the weak current is applied to the optical semiconductor chip before the heating current is supplied is detected as a first measurement voltage, and the heating current is detected with respect to the optical semiconductor chip. Voltage detecting means for detecting, as a second measurement voltage, the voltage between the electrodes of the optical semiconductor chip when the weak current is passed after energization;
On the basis of the first and second measurement voltages detected by the voltage detection means, the quality determination means for executing a calculation for determining the quality of the optical semiconductor chip;
An aging processing apparatus comprising:   5. The aging according to claim 4, wherein the energization means has a plurality of probes corresponding to the plurality of optical semiconductor chips, and each of the optical semiconductor chips can be individually energized from each of the probes. Processing equipment.

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