KR20050009066A - Carrier Module for Semiconductor Test Handler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A carrier module of a semiconductor test handler is provided to exchange only a device loading shuttle according to a test target by forming the device loading shuttle with an individual independent of a carrier module body. CONSTITUTION: A carrier module body(210) is installed in a test tray. A device loading shuttle(220) is composed as an individual independent of the carrier module body. A semiconductor device is loaded on the device loading shuttle. A plurality of balls of the semiconductor device are exposed to the outside by through-holes formed at the device loading shuttle. An external unit fixes or releases the device loading shuttle to or from one side of the carrier module. An attaching/detaching unit attaches or detaches temporarily the device loading shuttle to or from one side of the carrier module body.

Description

Carrier module for semiconductor device test handler

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carrier module mounted on a test tray in a handler device for testing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a carrier module mounted on a test tray of a handler to detachably fix an individual semiconductor device. The present invention relates to a carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler which can improve the general purpose by allowing a part of the carrier module to be easily replaced without being replaced when the carrier module is changed.

In general, memory ICs or non-memory semiconductor devices and module ICs, which are properly configured on a single substrate, are shipped after various tests after production. The handler is a semiconductor device manufactured at a production site. This equipment is used to test the module ram automatically.

In such a handler, a tray containing a semiconductor device to be tested by a worker is loaded into the loading stacker of the handler, and then the semiconductor devices of the loading stacker are remounted in a separate test tray, and the test tray equipped with the semiconductor devices is tested. The test site is sent to the test site by electrically connecting the lead or ball part of the semiconductor devices to the connector of the test socket to perform a predetermined test, and then again removing the semiconductor devices from the test tray and testing the customer tray of the unloading stacker. The test is performed by sorting according to the result.

1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings is a test tray for transferring a semiconductor device in a test process as described above, and a conventional BGA type semiconductor device test mounted on the test tray to detachably hold individual semiconductor devices. The structure of the carrier module is shown. The test tray 1 includes a plurality of carrier modules 2 for detachably mounting semiconductor elements to a rectangular metal frame 11 of metal material at regular intervals.

The carrier module 2 includes a device seating portion 2b on which a semiconductor device D is mounted on a rectangular body 2a, and the semiconductor device D is disposed on both sides of the device seating portion 2b. A pair of holding latches 2c are provided and configured.

Here, the latch 2c is opened and closed while pivoting up and down about a hinge axis (not shown) installed inside the body 2a, and the latch 2c of the semiconductor device D seated on the device seat 2b. The ball Db at both edges thereof is held.

The conventional carrier module 2 is to hold the semiconductor device (D) so that the ball forming surface is facing outward, the test tray (1) equipped with the semiconductor device (D) is transferred to the test site of the handler When the index unit installed at the test site pushes the carrier module 2 toward the test socket, the ball Db of the semiconductor device D is connected to the terminal pin (not shown) of the socket. Perform

By the way, the carrier modules holding the conventional ball gray ray (BGA) type semiconductor device as described above are composed of the main components for holding the semiconductor device are integrally integrated into one body, Whenever the type and size is changed, the carrier module needs to be replaced with a type suitable for the corresponding device type, thereby increasing the cost and effort of the replacement.

In particular, when a semiconductor device to be tested is to be tested in a semiconductor device having a very small area such as a chip size package (CSP) and a small area to be held by the latch 2c, the semiconductor device has a structure similar to that of a conventional carrier module. It was very difficult to hold the device.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-33519 (published on Feb. 2001) can easily detach and detach a guide core on which an BGA or CSP IC chip is seated in an insert depending on the type of IC chip. An insert for electronic component test equipment has been developed, which has been designed to improve accuracy and versatility.

However, the insert for the electronic component test apparatus described above should be used by assembling the guide core to the insert. Therefore, whenever the type of device is changed, the existing guide core must be separated and the corresponding guide core must be assembled to the insert. It takes a relatively long time to assemble the guide core, and when assembling error occurs when assembling the insert and the guide core, separate parts, it is very difficult to correct the error, there was a problem that the precision is reduced.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, so that when the type of semiconductor device to be tested is changed, only the part where the semiconductor device is seated can be easily used without replacing the entire carrier module of the test tray. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler with improved versatility.

Further, another object of the present invention is to improve the precision by allowing the semiconductor element to be positioned in the designated position of the carrier module when the semiconductor element is seated on the carrier module.

1 is a front view showing the structure of a test tray provided with a carrier module for a conventional semiconductor device test handler

2 is a perspective view of the carrier module of FIG.

3 is a plan view schematically illustrating an example of a configuration of a semiconductor device test handler to which a carrier module according to the present invention is applied;

4 is a sectional view showing main parts of a carrier module according to the present invention;

5 is a plan view of a device seating shuttle of the carrier module of FIG.

6 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the element seating shuttle of the carrier module of FIG.

7 to 9 are main cross-sectional views each showing an example of the operation of the carrier module of FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

51: aligner 51a: device seating groove

200: carrier module 210: carrier module body

211: Latch 215: Guide rib

220, 230: Shuttle for mounting elements 221, 231: Seating groove

222, 232: through hole 223: guide groove

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carrier module for detachably mounting a semiconductor device having a plurality of balls formed on the lower surface thereof, the carrier module body being installed in a test tray; An element seating shuttle configured as a separate body from the carrier module body, the element seating shuttle having a seating portion formed therein so that a semiconductor element is seated and a ball of the semiconductor element is exposed to the outside; The semiconductor device test handler, characterized in that configured to include a detachable unit for attaching and detaching the device seating shuttle to one side of the carrier module body is installed to fix and release the device seating shuttle on one surface of the carrier module body. Provide a carrier module.

According to the present invention as described above, the element seating shuttle on which the element is seated is configured as a separate body from the carrier module body, and detachable to one surface of the carrier module body by a detachable unit as necessary during the test process.

Therefore, if the type of semiconductor device is different, the device mounting shuttle for the type is placed in the loading position of the semiconductor device to be tested without removing and assembling it from the carrier module body. The test can be performed while attaching the wear shuttle to the carrier module body.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of a carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, an example of the configuration of a semiconductor device test handler to which the carrier module of the present invention is applied will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings for clarity.

As shown in FIG. 3, the front side of the handler is provided with a loading stacker 10 in which customer trays containing a plurality of semiconductor elements to be tested are loaded, and one side of the loading stacker 10 is installed. The unloading stacker 20 is installed in which the tested semiconductor devices are classified according to the test result and stored in the customer tray.

In addition, buffer portions 40 for temporarily mounting the semiconductor elements transferred from the loading stacker 10 are provided on both sides of the middle portion of the handler so as to be able to move forward and backward. The exchange unit which transfers the semiconductor elements to be tested in the buffer unit 40 and remounts them in the test tray T and mounts the tested semiconductor elements of the test tray T in the buffer unit 40. 50 is provided.

The semiconductor is linearly moved in the XY axis between the handler front part in which the loading stacker 10 and the unloading stacker 20 are disposed, and the middle part of the handler in which the exchange part 50 and the buffer part 40 are disposed. A first picker 31 and a second picker 32 for picking up and transporting elements are provided, respectively, so that the first picker 31 includes a loading stacker 10 and an unloading stacker 20. It moves between the buffer unit 40 and picks up and transfers the semiconductor elements, and the second picker 32 moves between the buffer unit 40 and the exchange unit 50 and picks up and transfers the semiconductor elements. Play a role.

In the rear portion of the handler, a test tray in which a semiconductor element is mounted after a high temperature or low temperature environment is formed in a plurality of sealed chambers divided into a preheating chamber 71, a test chamber 72, and a defrosting chamber 73. A test site 70 is placed which sequentially transfers T) between the chambers and tests the performance of the semiconductor device under predetermined temperature conditions.

A test board 85 electrically connected to an external tester is installed at the rear of the test chamber 73, and the test board 85 has the same number of test sockets as the number of semiconductor devices mounted on the test tray. As shown in FIG. 2, the semiconductor elements of the test tray returned to the test chamber 73 are electrically connected to the test socket in a one-to-one manner, and the test is performed.

Meanwhile, FIG. 4 illustrates a structure of a carrier module for holding and testing a ball grid array (BGA) type semiconductor device as a carrier module according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 illustrates a structure of an embodiment of a device seating shuttle of the carrier module. As shown, the carrier module 200 has a carrier module body 210 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, an element seating shuttle 220 for mounting a semiconductor device as an individual body with the carrier module body 210, and the carrier. Is installed in the lower portion of the module body 210 is composed of a pair of latches 211 for detachably fixing both side portions of the element mounting shuttle 220.

The device seating shuttle 220 has a seating groove 221 having a size corresponding to the size of the semiconductor device D to be tested, and the lower surface of the seating groove 221 has a ball ( The through hole 222 is formed such that Db) is exposed to the outside of the element mounting shuttle 220.

In addition, the latch 211 may be configured by adopting any known configuration that can hold both side portions of the semiconductor device while being opened and closed on the lower surface of the carrier module body 210.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the latch 211 is rotatably installed around the hinge shaft 214 installed inside the carrier module body 210, and the latch (211) is opposite to the carrier module body 210. The pressing member 212 connected to the inner end of the 211 is installed to be movable inside the body, and the pressing member 212 is elastically provided by the compression coil spring 213 installed inside the carrier module body 210. It is configured to be supported by.

In the carrier module 200 configured as described above, when the pressing member 212 is pressed from the outside of the carrier module body 210, the latch 211 connected to the pressing member 212 pivots about the hinge shaft 214. The outer end of 211 is opened, and the device mounting shuttle 220 can be caught.

In this state, when the external force applied to the pressing member 212 is removed, the pressing member 212 is restored to its original position by the elastic force of the compression coil spring 213, and the latches 211 are closed, and both side portions of the semiconductor element It will be fixed.

Of course, it may alternatively be configured by employing a latch structure applied to the carrier module of the registered patent application No. 10-0316807 (registered November 24, 2001) filed by the present applicant.

On the other hand, four guide ribs 215 for guiding the attachment position when the element mounting shuttle 220 is attached to the carrier module body 210 by the latch 211 in the lower portion of the carrier module body 210. Are formed to protrude, and a guide groove 223 into which the guide rib 215 is correspondingly inserted is formed at four edge portions of the element seating shuttle 220.

Therefore, when the latch 211 secures the element seating shuttle 220 to the carrier module body 210, the guide rib 215 is inserted into the guide groove 223 of the element seating shuttle 220, and the inside of the device is inserted. The wear shuttle 220 may be guided to the correct position of the carrier module body 210, resulting in an advantage that the positional accuracy of the semiconductor device relative to the carrier module is improved.

The guide rib 215 and the guide groove 223 are to improve the accuracy by guiding the position of the element seating shuttle 220 relative to the carrier module body 210, but, alternatively, the carrier module body ( A plurality of device guide protrusions (not shown) are formed at a lower portion of the device mounting shuttle 220 to be in contact with the outside of each edge of the semiconductor elements D on the device mounting shuttle 220, so that the device guide protrusions (not shown) may be formed as carriers. Accuracy may be improved by guiding the position of the semiconductor device D with respect to the module body 210. In this case, the positional accuracy of the semiconductor element relative to the carrier module body is improved, but the versatility is reduced.

On the other hand, Figure 6 shows the structure of another embodiment of the device seating shuttle, in this embodiment, the entire lower surface of the seating groove 231 of the device seating shuttle 230 is not formed as a through hole, the seating groove 231 A plurality of through holes 232 are formed on the bottom surface of the bottom surface 1 to correspond one-to-one with each ball Db of the semiconductor device.

Referring to Figures 7 to 9 the operation of the carrier module of the present invention configured as described above in detail as follows.

First, before the handler is operated, the worker places the device seating shuttle 220 corresponding to the type of semiconductor device under test on each device seating groove 51a of the aligner 51. Even if this precedence is much easier than assembling the element seating shuttle to the carrier module body will save work time and effort than before.

When the handler is operated while the device mounting shuttle 220 is placed on the aligner 51 as described above, the first picker 31 may buffer the semiconductor device to be tested on the loading stacker 10. Transfer it to

Subsequently, the second picker 32 picks up the semiconductor element on the buffer unit 40 and transfers it onto the aligner 51 of the exchanger 50. In this case, the aligner 51 Since the element seating shuttle 220 is placed on each device seating groove 51a, the semiconductor device is placed in the seating recess 221 of each device seating shuttle 220.

When the semiconductor elements D are placed on all the element seating shuttles 220 on the aligner 51, the aligner 51 moves backwards so that the carrier module of each carrier module 200 of the test tray T is located. Aligned to the underside of the body 210.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the upper pushing unit 55 descends from the upper side of the test tray T to press the pressing members 212 of the carrier module body 210 of the test tray T to latch 211. Open). In addition, a lower pushing unit (not shown) raises the aligner 51 by a predetermined amount so that the element seating shuttle 220 of the aligner 51 is substantially connected to the carrier module body 210.

In this state, when the upper pushing unit 55 is raised and the external force holding the pressing member 212 is removed, the latch 211 is retracted as shown in FIG. 8 while the element is seated on the aligner 51. The shuttle 220 is fixed and attached to the carrier module body 210, wherein the element seating shuttle 220 is inserted into the guide rib 215 of the carrier module body 210 in its guide groove 223. While being accurately guided to the designated position of the lower surface of the carrier module body (210).

When the device seating shuttle 220 is mounted on each carrier module body 210 of the test tray T as described above, the test tray T is conveyed to the rear to preheat the chamber 71 and the test chamber 72. 9, the balls Db of the respective semiconductor elements D of the test tray T in the test chamber 72 are connected to the test socket terminal pins 86 of the test board 85. Is electrically connected to and tested.

When the test is completed, the test tray T passes through the defrosting chamber 73 and is then returned to the exchange unit 50, and the latches 211 of each carrier module 200 are opened to open the device seating shuttle 220. Are placed on the aligner 51 again. Since the process of unloading the element seating shuttle 220 of each of the carrier modules 200 of the test tray T on each element seating groove 51a of the aligner 51 may be reversed, Detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When all the element mounting shuttles 220 are placed on the aligner 51, the aligner 51 moves forward again, and the second picker 32 adsorbs the semiconductor elements on the aligner 51 to buffer the portion. Place at 40. The first picker 31 classifies and mounts the semiconductor devices on the buffer unit 40 in each tray of the unloading stacker 20 for each test result.

Carrier module 200 of the present invention configured and operated as described above is a device seating shuttle 220 constrained to each latch 211 of the carrier module 200 when the user wants to test a semiconductor device of a different type or size ) To release and separate, and the device seating shuttle 220 suitable for the type and size of the semiconductor device is placed on each device seating groove 51a of the aligner 51 and tested.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the type of semiconductor device to be tested is changed, the device for mounting a semiconductor device is mounted, without having to replace the whole carrier module or separate and assemble a portion for mounting the semiconductor device on the carrier module. Since the shuttle is configured separately from the carrier module and only needs to be attached to and detached from the carrier module as needed during the test process, only a device seating shuttle suitable for the device can be replaced and used when the semiconductor device under test is replaced.

Thus, the time, effort, and cost of replacing the carrier module can be greatly reduced.

In addition, the carrier module of the present invention detaches the element seating shuttle on which the semiconductor element is seated to the body by means such as a latch, and precisely positions the semiconductor element to be attached by the guide means such as the guide pin and the guide groove. Since it can be determined, the accuracy can be further improved.

Claims (11)

A carrier module for detachably mounting a semiconductor element having a plurality of balls for energization on a lower surface thereof, A carrier module body installed in the test tray; A device seating shuttle configured as a separate body from the carrier module body, the device seating shuttle having a mounting hole formed therein so that the semiconductor device is seated and the balls of the semiconductor device are exposed to the outside; A detachable unit is installed to temporarily fix and release the device seating shuttle on one surface of the carrier module body by an external device during a test process, and attach and detach the device seating shuttle to one surface of the carrier module body. Carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler, characterized in that it comprises a. The carrier module of claim 1, further comprising guide means for guiding the attachment position when the device seating shuttle is attached to the carrier module body by a detachable latch. According to claim 2, The guide means, is formed to protrude on one surface of the carrier module body is composed of at least one guide protrusion to be in contact with the outer surface of the edge of the element seating shuttle attached to the carrier module body Carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler, characterized in that. The carrier module of claim 3, wherein four guide protrusions of the carrier module body are formed at predetermined intervals so as to contact the outer surface of the four edges of the device seating shuttle. The guide groove according to claim 2, wherein the guide means includes at least one guide pin formed to protrude on one surface of the carrier module body, and a guide groove formed to correspond to the guide pin in the element seating shuttle. Carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler, characterized in that consisting of. The carrier module of claim 5, wherein the guide grooves are formed at each edge portion of the device seating shuttle, and four guide pins are formed at positions corresponding to the guide grooves. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the device seating portion of the device seating shuttle is formed in a concave groove shape to have a size and shape corresponding to the size and shape of the device, and the through hole is an edge of the semiconductor device seated on the device seating portion. Carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler, characterized in that formed over the entire area except the portion and the corresponding portion. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the device seating portion of the device seating shuttle is formed in a concave groove shape to have a size and shape corresponding to the size and shape of the device, and the through hole is formed in each of the semiconductor devices seated on the device seating portion. A carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler, characterized in that a plurality is formed to correspond to the ball. The semiconductor device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an element position guide means for guiding the position of the semiconductor element seated on the element seat shuttle when the element seat shuttle is attached to the carrier module body. Carrier module for device test handlers. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the device position guide means is formed to protrude on one surface of the carrier module body, characterized in that composed of at least one guide projection for guiding and contacting the outer surface of the edge of the semiconductor element on the device seating shuttle A carrier module for semiconductor device test handlers. The pair of latches of claim 1, wherein the detachable unit is rotatably installed on one surface of the carrier module body in a position spaced apart by a predetermined interval to fix both lower ends of the device seating shuttle, and the opposite side of the latch. An actuating member installed to engage the latch and pivotally actuating the latch by an external device, and installed to elastically support the actuating member within the carrier module body so that the actuating member is returned to its original position when the external force of the external device is removed. Carrier module for a semiconductor device test handler, characterized in that it comprises a resilient member for returning to the latch to the original state.