JP2963706B2 - IC handler - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC (semiconductor integrated circuit device) handler, and is effective, for example, for use in an IC handler having a function of making an IC a high temperature state and performing measurement. Technology.

[Conventional technology]

The IC handler (HANDLER) is used for the measurement test of the completed IC. The IC handler supplies the ICs arranged and stored in the plastic tray to the IC socket connected to the test head, performs a room temperature or high temperature test, and automatically sorts, arranges, and stores the ICs according to the test results of the tester. Has functions. For such an IC handler, see, for example, Buyer's Guide 86 SEMICON NWE
S) There is a separate volume “IC / LSI Tisting Equipment”, pages 368 to 381.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In a conventional IC handler, an IC heated to a high temperature is transported to a test head by a suction chuck. In the suction chuck, the vacuum head is in direct contact with the surface of the IC to perform vacuum suction. For this reason, it has been clarified by the research of the present inventor that the temperature of the high-temperature IC suddenly drops. If the set temperature of the IC is lowered in this way, there arises a problem that the temperature of the IC cannot be compensated or that an acceleration test such as aging desired by a user cannot be sufficiently performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an IC handler which realizes high reliability in a high temperature test with a simple configuration.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[Means for solving the problem]

The outline of a typical invention disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows. That is,
In an IC handler having an IC tray for storing an IC to be measured and an IC suction chuck for vacuum-sucking and transporting the IC from the IC tray to the measuring head, the IC suction chuck transfers heat to the IC to be suction-held. Heat supply means for supplying is provided.

(Operation)

According to the above means, when the IC is sucked for transporting the IC, a high temperature is given to the IC by the heat supply means, so that it is possible to prevent the temperature of the IC from dropping during the transport.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a main part of an IC suction chuck according to the present invention. FIG. 2 also shows an IC in a suction state in order to explain functions of the IC suction chuck according to the present invention.

A vacuum pad is provided for adsorbing an IC to be conveyed to the package surface. The vacuum pad is provided with a suction hole on the lower surface that comes into contact with the package surface of the IC, and has a cylindrical shape that performs vacuum suction of the IC by suction by a vacuum pump.

A chamber to which high-temperature air is supplied is provided around the vacuum pad. In this chamber, a portion corresponding to the surface of the IC package is provided with a heat conducting plate made of metal or the like. Radiant heat is applied to the IC via the heat conductive plate heated by the high-temperature air. Also,
A step is provided between the lower side of the heat conductive plate and the surface of the IC package to ensure that the vacuum pad contacts the surface of the IC package. Are provided with gaps corresponding to the steps. Therefore, it is discharged through the gap through the supplied high-temperature air chamber. When the high-temperature air is discharged, the heat of the high-temperature air is directly applied to the IC package. As a result, heat from the high-temperature air is efficiently transmitted to the IC. In this embodiment, since the high-temperature air in the chamber is discharged, the pressure in the chamber can be made almost the same as the atmospheric pressure in addition to the function of directly heating the IC as described above. The vacuum suction force of the IC by the pad does not decrease.

In addition, the portion in contact with the lead of the IC is not particularly limited, but is made of an insulating material.

The suction chuck is provided with a stroke mechanism for moving it vertically in FIG. 1 and a mechanism for inverting (rotating) it by 90 °, but is omitted in FIG. 1 because it is not directly related to the present invention. ing. The vacuum pad and the high-temperature air are not particularly limited, but are connected to a vacuum pump and a high-temperature air supply source by a flexible tube so as not to hinder the above-described movement of the suction chuck.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the IC handler according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram for clarifying portions not shown in FIG. I have.

In FIG. 2, the IC handler is divided into two, right and left, as a whole according to its function. On the left side, a storage section for unmeasured ICs and various functional blocks for transporting ICs to be measured from there to the measurement head are provided.

The loader section is provided with a tray in which unmeasured ICs are stored. Although not particularly limited, a plurality of trays can be stacked on the tray. When a plurality of trays are stacked and set as described above, and the operation unit is set to the auto load mode, when the unmeasured IC disappears in the uppermost tray, the tray is automatically moved by the empty tray transport unit in FIG. The tray is then removed and stored in the empty tray storage section, and the tray located below it is instead pushed up by the pitch of one tray by the elevator mechanism. In this way, unmeasured ICs stored in multiple trays
Can be measured sequentially and continuously.

The heating part consists of a heat plate, and the heater inside the plate heats from the lower surface of the IC placed there. The heating range is not particularly limited, but is from room temperature to +125.
Setting is possible up to ° C. The temperature of the heat plate can be set with high accuracy by the temperature sensor.

The load alignment plate is used to increase the accuracy of the IC lead position. The IC that has been vacuum-sucked from the IC package surface by the suction chuck attached to the IC transfer arm A is dropped into this load alignment plate, and the measuring head Alignment of the IC lead corresponding to the socket etc. It should be noted that a heating means is also provided in this alignment plate for an IC which is measured at a high temperature.

The IC transfer arm A vacuum-sucks the unmeasured IC in the loader section, and transfers the IC to the heating section during a high-temperature test. In FIG. 2, the IC transfer arm A runs vertically.
The drive unit and the X drive unit running left and right on the Y drive unit are provided with suction heads. Although the Y and X driving units are not particularly limited, the movement of the suction chuck in the Y and X directions can be controlled with high precision by a stepping motor and a belt drive. The IC heated to a high temperature in the heating unit is transported to the load alignment plate, where the vacuum suction is released, and positioning is performed by a positioning jig using leads. At this time, the heating means is always operating to prevent the temperature of the IC from lowering. Then, positioning is performed, and the IC is transported to the suction chuck by moving the load alignment plate. Thereafter, the suction chuck is turned (rotated) by 90 °, and the IC is loaded into the IC socket or the like of the measuring head.

In this embodiment, although not particularly limited, the suction chuck uses a stepping (pulse) motor as a driving source. In other words, the stroke of the IC when sucking the IC or loading the sucked IC into the measuring head moves with high precision according to the rotation speed and rotation angle of the stepping motor and the screw pitch of the shaft composed of the lead screw. To be. As a result, the stroke when the IC is adsorbed from the surface and the stroke when the IC is loaded on the measuring head can be set with high accuracy.
Can be reliably transported.

On the right side of the IC handler, a storage section of the IC for which the measurement has been completed and an IC transfer arm B for transfer are provided.

The NG / RT storage unit is not particularly limited, but is a two-stage upper and lower storage unit, and the IC transfer arm B stores the IC according to the instruction of the measurement result. Prior to this, IC
The transfer arm B sucks the IC from the unload alignment plate using a vacuum pad. Bad IC is NG
Stored in the (bad) tray and needs to be retested
The IC is housed in the RT section. The movement of the IC transfer arm B is also controlled with high accuracy by the Y drive unit and the X drive unit similar to the above.

A good IC is stored in the unloader section. Although not particularly limited, the unloader section can stack trays similarly to the load section. When the auto-unload mode is set, when the IC is full on the tray, the elevator mechanism of the unload section shifts one pitch of the tray. The empty tray is set by the empty tray conveying means shown in FIG. The empty trays that have become empty trays in the loading section are pooled in the empty tray storage section, and are used again in the unload section.

The device controller, shown in FIG. 3, controls the operation of various functional blocks of the handler, receives the measurement results from the IC tester, and classifies the ICs whose measurement has been completed. That is, the elevator mechanism is controlled for the loader section and the unloader section, and the X, Y, and Z driving of the suction chucks are controlled for the IC transfer arms A and B. The temperature control is performed for the heating part, and the temperature control, 90 ° reversal operation, and stroke control are performed for the measurement part.

The operation unit and the maintenance panel are shown in FIG. 3, and the operation unit includes control switches required by the user and a status display, and is provided on the main body panel. The operation of the maintenance panel can be confirmed by key operation of each part, motor, and actuator.

If the IC to be measured does not need to be set at a high temperature, the IC in the loader section is directly transported to the load alignment plate. In such a test mode, it goes without saying that the operation of the heating section and the supply of high-temperature air to the suction chuck are stopped.

The operational effects obtained from the above embodiment are as follows. That is, (1) The IC suction chuck used for transporting the IC to be measured is provided with a heat supply means for supplying heat to the IC to be sucked and held, thereby preventing the temperature of the IC from dropping during the transportation. it can. As a result, an effect is obtained that high reliability of the high temperature test of the IC can be obtained.

(2) By using high-temperature air as a heating means provided in the suction chuck, it is possible to obtain an effect that the suction chuck can be reduced in size and weight and its structure can be simplified.

(3) As a heating means provided in the suction chuck, high-temperature air is supplied to a chamber, and
By providing a heat conductive plate in a portion corresponding to the IC package and exhausting high-temperature air through a gap between the surface of the IC and the chamber, the effect of being able to heat the IC with high efficiency is obtained.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Nor. For example, the configuration of the heat supply means provided on the suction chuck may be such that the IC is heated simply by blowing high-temperature air. In this case, although the heating efficiency of the IC decreases, the size and weight of the suction chuck and the cost can be reduced accordingly. In addition, various embodiments can be adopted as a heating means, for example, a heater using a gas such as high-temperature air, and a heater incorporated around the vacuum head.

The other configuration of the IC handler may be any specific configuration as long as it has the same function as the above embodiment. Further, as for the functions provided in the IC handler, some of the functions shown in the above embodiments may be omitted or other functions may be added as necessary. For example,
The measuring head may be configured on the same surface as the tray and the alignment plate. At this time, set the suction chuck to 90
機能 The function of reversing (rotating) can be omitted. In the measurement head, the electric contact of the IC with the lead is performed by using an IC socket, by fixing the IC to the measurement table and bringing the probe needle into contact with the lead, or by using an electrode consisting of a bogo pin or the like. Means for obtaining an electrical connection with the IC can employ various embodiments as described above.

The present invention can be widely used as an IC handler.

〔The invention's effect〕

The effects of the invention disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows. In other words, the IC that holds the IC to be measured by the IC suction chuck used to transport the IC to be measured
By providing the heat supply means for supplying heat to the IC, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the IC from lowering during the transportation, so that a high temperature test of the IC can be performed with high reliability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of an IC suction chuck according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of an IC handler to which the present invention is applied. The figure is a functional block diagram corresponding thereto.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01R 31/26 H01L 21/66

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An IC tray for storing an IC to be measured,
Vacuum suction and transfer of IC from IC tray to measuring head
In an IC handler equipped with an IC suction chuck, the IC
An IC handler, wherein the suction chuck includes heat supply means for supplying heat to the IC to be suction-held. 2. The IC handler according to claim 1, wherein the IC suction chuck includes a vacuum pad for vacuum-sucking a surface of an IC package, and a chamber surrounding the vacuum pad. Means for supplying a high-temperature gas into the interior of the chamber,
An IC handler comprising: a heat conductive plate disposed inside the chamber, the heat conductive plate being opposed to a package of an IC to be held by suction through a gap. 3. The IC handler according to claim 1, wherein an IC tray containing ICs to be measured and a IC tray to be measured are provided.
A preheating plate for setting the IC at a predetermined high temperature, and an alignment plate for aligning the IC to be measured and heating as necessary, and the IC suction chuck is provided with the preheating plate from the IC tray. Wherein the IC is used for transporting the IC from the preheating plate to the alignment plate, and from the alignment plate to the measuring head.
handler.