TW201902644A - Method for transferring a component to be tested and robot for carrying out this method - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention concerns, among other things, a method for transferring a component (4) to be tested between a storage device (3) and a testing device (6) for carrying out a functional test with respect to this component (4) by means of a robot (R) which is designed to be compliant and/or sensitive.

Description

Method of transferring a component to be tested and a robot performing the same

The present invention relates to a method of transferring an element to be tested for performing a functional test on an element to be tested between a storage or setting device and a test device. Furthermore, the invention relates to a robot design for performing the above method.

Various components, such as electronic components, may have to undergo one or more functional tests before being manufactured or installed after manufacture. The above functional tests are usually done automatically, semi-automatically or manually.

Especially in the field of general small electronic components and semiconductor components (for example, for computers, mobile phones, all designed control devices, etc.), functional testing of these components is necessary because once the components are installed in the device, Manufacturing defects in these components will result in rejections for the entire assembly device.

For functional testing of, for example, wafer components, electrical contacts are formed by inserting the wafer components into a test device such that a functional test suitable for the electronic component can be automatically performed by the controller.

It must be considered that the surface of such a wafer must not be damaged. In addition, the size of such wafers can be very small (sometimes a few centimeters in length), especially since automated processes must be performed in high cleanliness environments, so automated processes are not currently possible. Therefore, this test method has been and still almost completely takes one person manually to take out the electronic component to be tested from the storage device and insert the above-mentioned electronic component into the precise position of the housing of the specially designed test device, thus The test device may still have to be closed by a field-shielding cover. After the functional test is completed, the casing is opened again and the electronic components are taken out, and the electronic components are manually placed in the storage device provided for this purpose according to the test results.

A disadvantage of this manual procedure is that the speed at which the test device is loaded is limited because the tester must be particularly careful in handling the wafer to avoid the risk of surface contact and scratching, and must accurately insert the wafer into the test device or storage device. The socket must therefore avoid tilting during insertion. In addition, it has proven to be very laborious to manage very small components. Therefore, the person performing the test procedure may also have to wear appropriate protective clothing, so more attention must be paid.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for transferring an element to be tested between a storage device and a test device, preferably but not limited to an electronic component or an element of a semiconductor component (e.g., a wafer). The above storage device includes the above components and is used for transportation and/or storage purposes. The above test apparatus is used to perform any type of functional test with respect to the above-described elements, which can be performed completely automatically and without error.

This object is solved by a method of transferring an element to be tested (for example, a semiconductor element, such as a wafer of any shape and size) between a storage device and a test device, the test device being used to perform the application according to the scope of the patent application. Functional test of such an element as described in item 1.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is directed to a method of transferring an element to be tested between a storage device and a test device for performing a functional test on the above-described component and having a socket (or clamp, bracket or tray) into which the component can be inserted. The above method comprises the steps of: - taking out the component from the storage device by means of a robotic actuator; - transferring the component to the test device by means of a robot; and - inserting the component into the fixture or socket of the test device by means of a robotic actuator The above robots are designed reasonably and / or sensitively.

Preferably, the storage device is stationary with respect to the robot and the test device, and the test device is also fixedly arranged, for example, including a sequential structure for the above-described components or wafer components or a plurality of rows of separate sockets. The test device also has at least one socket for these wafer components. In other words, each of these sockets defines a strictly defined three-dimensional position in space. The robot must at least transfer the component to be tested with high precision between the two positions of the storage device and the test device.

Further, when the wafer component is taken out from the socket of the test device or the test device, or when the wafer component is released into the mounting device or the mounting member of the storage device, the robot cannot apply and cause damage to the wafer component. Its own force to hold the wafer components.

In order to meet these requirements in the automation of these test procedures, a key element of the invention is the implementation of all previously mentioned method steps and the method steps to be explained later by the robot designed to be rationally and/or sensitively designed according to the invention. .

Robots with position control axes are generally not suitable for these steps of the above method because the forces acting on the robot from the outside must be measured for position control. These forces form the basis of the desired dynamic behavior and are then passed to the robot by inverse kinematics (also known as admittance control).

In this case, since the above-described operations which would naturally change must be performed at a number of different locations, for example - accurate and non-destructive removal of the wafer components at the removal locations assigned to the wafer components in the storage device, respectively - will be clamped or The received wafer component is transferred to a precise location of at least one clamp or socket of the test device; - accurately and non-destructively inserted into the socket; - then the wafer component that is subsequently tested is removed from the fixture again; - the removed wafer component is transferred to the original The precise location of the storage device or another storage device; and - precise and non-destructive insertion or placement; and the programmed workload is too high for robots that require tight control of the position.

Since the required position control must be very precise to fully implement the above steps, from an economic point of view, this will prevent the programming of position control, not to mention the susceptibility of the error and the associated risk of increasing the defect rate.

Such position-controlled robots are also unable to detect errors or deviations due to the control principle used. For example, if for some reason the actuator picks up the component to be inspected from the storage device in order to react accordingly, the actual position of the component to be inspected is slightly deviated from the nominal or purpose provided for this purpose. position. The wafer component can be perfectly inserted into the socket of the test device only when the wafer component for this purpose is accurately placed at the position specified by the program in the fixedly arranged storage device in the robot working area.

In order to implement the above method, the core of the invention is that at least one of the robots used has such integrated compliance control or is equipped with a combination of intrinsic compliance or active and passive compliance. Therefore, the above method should also be preferably, but not limited to, performed by such a lightweight and programmable multi-axis robot.

In this case, it should be mentioned that compliance control (for example based on so-called impedance control) is contrary to the already mentioned admittance control, which is based on joint level torque control. Determining the force or moment based on the desired dynamic behavior and considering the deviation of the actual position from the defined target position and/or the deviation of the actual speed from the target speed and/or the deviation of the actual acceleration from the target acceleration (subsequently by the robot's The mechanism is mapped, which is caused by the number and arrangement of the manipulator joints and shafts, as well as the degree of freedom, and the corresponding joint torque is set by the torque control. A torque sensor element integrated in the joint detects a one-dimensional moment prevailing at the output of the gear of the drive unit located in the joint, the torque sensor element taking the elasticity of the joint within the control range as a measurement variable Inside. In particular, the use of a corresponding torque sensor device (as opposed to using only one force moment sensor on the actuator as in admittance control) also allows measurement not to be applied to the actuator but to the link , or the force on the arm of the robot, or the object held by the robot or processed by the robot (such as the electronic component to be tested). Torque can also be measured by the structure of the robotic system and/or the force sensor in the base. In particular, a joint mechanism between the various shafts of the manipulator can also be used to allow multi-axis torque detection. Also conceivable is a translational joint equipped with a corresponding force sensor.

The compliance control and sensitivity achieved in this manner proves to be advantageous in the present invention in many respects.

In principle, this compliance control allows the robots used for the intended method or the robots used for the various method steps described above to perform controlled internal motions, so that these internal motions thus correspond to the various steps of the above method. In this case, if desired, such a robot can also "search" and non-destructively "feel" different locations of the storage device and the test device, plus the moving mechanism of such a test device as described below, Proven to be advantageous for fragile electronic components.

The present invention also provides a socket having a mechanism that must be operated to place the above-described components in a test mode in a test device to perform a functional test, whereby the method according to the present invention further comprises the following steps: - Actuation by an actuator of the robot The mechanism of the socket.

The mechanism of the test device can be, for example, a contact switch that is only pressed by the actuator by the robot to initiate a functional test. Preferably, however, the elements are arranged such that the elements are movable relative to the housing (e.g., a rotating cover).

Thus, the above method may comprise an actuating step: - transferring the mechanism from the receiving position of the element to the test position of the element by means of an actuator of the robot.

If this is a cover, the robot is designed in accordance with the present invention such that the robot can flip and close the cover by an actuator and, if necessary, transfer the cover to a latched position relative to the socket for the wafer to be tested. The part is fixed in the socket. The robot is also designed such that the cover can be opened again by the actuator, and if necessary, the cover is opened again by releasing the lock position, and the cover is rotated in the opposite direction.

After the completion of the functional test, the method according to the invention shows a further step of: - actuating the socket mechanism again by means of an actuator of the robot; - taking the test element out of the socket of the test device by means of an actuator of the robot; Passing the functional test, the robot transfers the tested component to the original storage device, or if the functional test is not passed, the robot transfers the tested component to another storage device; and - by the robot The device inserts the tested components into their respective storage devices.

Another advantage of compliance control is that it essentially allows for inaccurate or inaccurate positioning of the components to be tested, thereby allowing for higher tolerances when manufacturing the sockets of the storage device and test device. The resulting inaccuracy can be compensated in a corresponding manner by corresponding flexible control by reducing the associated contact force when picking up or clamping the wafer component.

The same applies to the insertion of the wafer components, which is why the insertion step of the method according to the invention may comprise: - releasing the components by the robot actuator shortly before reaching the final position of the component in the storage device.

In other words, the actuator releases the wafer component just before the final position in the socket of the test device or just before the final position in the storage device, such that the wafer component "falls into" the fixture or socket even at very low heights. in. Desirably, the socket described above forms a guide for guiding the released wafer component during insertion.

In an embodiment, it is also contemplated that the storage device for the component moves continuously or discontinuously along the robot.

The fixed position, (or if necessary) the changed position of the storage device, the changed position of the relevant component to be tested in the storage device, the fixed position of the test device on which the socket is disposed, respectively occupy different positions, and the cover, etc. In terms of the position of the mechanism in which the socket is mated, each case is related to the position of the robot, and the posture that the robot will take during the respective method steps determines the sequence of motions performed by the robot and the accuracy of the robot. All of these parameters must be taken into account in the coordinate system assigned to the robot, so the coordinate system type (eg, rectangular coordinates, cylindrical coordinates, ball coordinates) is selected by the desired behavior of the robot in the task space provided for this purpose, so Different method steps are assigned to different task spaces. The behavior of the robot is based on corresponding compliance control, which is why robots (especially light robots) with such integrated compliance control are particularly suitable for use in the method of the present invention.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the actuator of the robot is designed such that it can interact pneumatically with the components and/or mechanisms of the test device.

For example, the actuator described above can be designed as a suction tube which is placed on the surface of the element to be tested with a minimum force by means of a sealing rubber sleeve. The above-mentioned device to be tested can be lifted when a vacuum is generated, and the element to be tested is firmly held between several positions during the transfer, and the element to be tested is released from the sleeve when the vacuum is released.

Therefore, it is preferable that the actuator of the present invention according to the above method can process the wafer component without damaging the surface of the electronic component.

The above method enables full-automatic testing of wafer components and electronic semiconductor components for the first time while significantly reducing cycle time. The risk of failure due to incorrect handling that cannot be ruled out by manual processing has been almost eliminated. In addition, robots designed for this method (preferably light robots) can be used in clean rooms without any problems. The economic efficiency of the necessary functional tests of semiconductor elements and the like is substantially improved by the method according to the present invention.

Figures 1 to 8b show several steps of the inventive method of a robot having a lightweight construction type in accordance with the present invention.

As particularly shown in Fig. 1, a robot R having a multi-unit or multi-axis manipulator M carrying the actuator E at the end joint is provided.

The actuator E has a straw 1 (device 1) with a sealing ring 2 at its end (device 2, see Figure 6a).

The first storage device 3 is arranged in the region of the robot R, in which several wafer components 4 are freely stored in corresponding sockets. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the first storage device 3 (i.e., container) can be moved along the robot R by, for example, a conveyor belt or the like.

Furthermore, another storage device 5 is provided in the vicinity for accommodating the wafer component 4 whose function test is negative.

With the aid of the test device 6 provided for this purpose, a functional test of the wafer component 4 is carried out, the test device 6 having a number of sockets or clamps 7 for the wafer component 4.

The socket 7 is provided with a cover 8 (mechanism 8) which must be closed for functional testing.

In a first step of the method of the invention, the robot R and the actuator E are moved to the storage device 3 and the first wafer component 4 to be tested is selected. The actuator E having the straw 1 and the seal 2 is placed on the surface of the wafer member 4 with a slight, almost forceless contact (Figs. 1 and 2). A vacuum is then created in the straw 1 so that the wafer member 4 can be raised (Fig. 3).

The robot R then moves to the test device 6 and the socket 7 selected there, and the wafer member 4 is inserted into the socket 7 by the actuator E, releasing the negative pressure shortly before reaching the final position in the socket 7, so there is no suction; the wafer member 4 "falls into" the socket 7 (Figs. 4 and 5). Of course, the robot R can also completely place the wafer component 4 in the desired position of the socket 7.

In a further step of the method according to the invention, for example in Figures 6a to 6f and 7a to 7d, wherein the robot R is transferred from the open position by the suction pipe 1 with its actuator E The cover 8 reaches the closed position, wherein the sealing ring 2 simply snaps the cover 8 at the rear and pivots the cover 8 about the axis of the sealing ring 2 to the closed position. If the cover 8 is closed, the test device 6 can perform a functional test.

After the functional test is completed, if the functional test has failed negatively, the actuator E lifts the cover 8 and can rotate it by engaging the straw 1 with the sealing ring 2 on the cover 8 and generating a negative pressure. Open the position to open the cover 8 again.

This means that the wafer component 4 can then be lifted by means of vacuum and taken out of the socket 7 and transferred to the storage device 5 for defective products and placed in the storage device 5 (Figs. 8a and 8b).

The above steps can be repeated for each wafer component 4 of the storage device 3, whereby the corresponding position within the storage device 3 is correspondingly considered by the control system of the robot R implementing this method.

1‧‧‧Sipper

2‧‧‧ sealing ring

3, 5‧‧‧ storage devices

4‧‧‧ wafer parts

6‧‧‧Testing device

7‧‧‧ socket

8‧‧‧ Cover

E‧‧‧ actuator

M‧‧‧Multi-unit or multi-axis manipulator

R‧‧‧Robot

Further features and advantages of the present invention are obtained from the following description of the embodiments shown in the drawings, wherein FIG. 1 shows an example of the first step of the method of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of this step; This is an enlarged view of this step when the wafer component is removed from the storage device. Figure 4 shows an example of another step of the method of the invention; Figure 5 is an enlarged view of this step; Figures 6a through 6f exemplarily show several stages of another step of the method of the invention; Figures to Figure 7d exemplarily show several stages of this step of the method of the invention in another view; and Figures 8a and 8b show examples of further steps of the method of the invention.

Claims (9)

A method for transferring an element to be tested (4) for performing a functional test on the component (4) to be tested between a storage device (3) and a test device (6), the test device (6) having a function In the socket (7) of the component (4), the component (4) can be inserted into the socket (7), the method comprising: using the actuator (E) of the robot (R) from the storage device ( 3) taking out the component (4); transferring the component (4) to the test device (6) by the robot (R); and using the actuator (E) of the robot (R), the component (4) Inserting the socket (7) of the test device (6); the robot (R) is designed rationally and/or sensitively. A method of transferring an element (4) to be tested as described in claim 1, wherein the socket (7) has a mechanism (8) that must be actuated to cause the element (4) to enter One of the test devices (6) tests the mode to perform the functional test, the method comprising: actuating the mechanism (8) of the socket (7) by the actuator (E) of the robot (R). The method for transferring the device under test (4) as described in claim 2, further comprising: after completing the functional test, actuating the socket again by the actuator (E) of the robot (R) ( 7) the mechanism (8); by the actuator (E) of the robot (R), the component (4) after the test is taken out from the socket (7) of the testing device (6); Functional test, the component (4) after the test is transferred to the original storage device (3) by the robot (R); if the function test is not passed, the robot (R) will be tested after The component (4) is transferred to another storage device (5); and the component (4) after the test is inserted into the corresponding storage device (3, 5) by the actuator (E) of the robot (R) )in. The method of transferring the device under test (4) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the mechanism (8) is movable relative to the socket (7), and the actuating step comprises: using the robot ( The actuator (E) of R) transfers the mechanism (8) between a receiving position of the element (4) and a test position of the element (4). The method of transferring the device under test (4) according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the inserting step comprises: reaching the storage device by the actuator (E) of the robot (R) One of the elements (4) in the final position releases the element (4) shortly before. The method of transferring the device under test (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the actuator (E) of the robot (R) is configured to be used with the component (4) And/or the mechanism (8) is pneumatically matched. A method of transferring an element under test (4) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the storage device (3) for the element (4) is continuous or not along the robot (R) Move continuously. A robot (R) comprising a multi-axis manipulator (M) and an actuator (E) of the multi-axis manipulator (M), the robot (R) being adapted to perform in items 1 to 7 of the patent application scope At least one of the methods of transferring the element (4) to be tested. The robot of claim 8, wherein the actuator (E) has a device (1, 2) designed to hold the component (4) by vacuum when needed.