KR20150092503A - Test handler - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a test handler used in testing semiconductor devices produced.
The test handler according to the present invention is characterized in that when the latch provided in the insert of the test tray is operated by the rise of the opener and the semiconductor element is supplied or retrieved by the pick and place apparatus, And a protection member capable of protecting the support member from the losing pressing force.
Therefore, there is an effect that the damage of the support member can be prevented.

Description

Test handler {TEST HANDLER}

The present invention relates to a test handler used in testing semiconductor devices produced.

The test handler moves semiconductor devices manufactured through a predetermined manufacturing process from a customer tray to a test tray and then tests the semiconductor devices loaded on the test tray by a tester at the same time TEST), and it is a device that moves test trays from the test tray to the customer tray by classifying the semiconductor devices according to the test result, and is already disclosed through a plurality of public documents.

In the test tray, as shown in Korean Patent No. 10-0801927, inserts (INSERT) having a seating space capable of being seated in the form of inserting semiconductor elements are provided. And the semiconductor element seated in the seating space of the insert is supported by a support portion injection molded integrally with the body of the insert.

On the other hand, the size of the semiconductor device is reduced due to the development of integration technology, and the number of terminals is increased. As a result, the gap between the terminals of the ball type and the size of the terminals are reduced, and the electrical connection between the terminals of the semiconductor device and the tester is required to be more precise and stable.

Therefore, a technique according to Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2010-0081131 (name of invention: insert for handler, hereinafter referred to as "Prior Art 1") has been proposed.

Prior Art 1 discloses a technique of forming a thin film made of a support member (referred to as reference numeral 120, corresponding to the IC accommodating portion of the prior art 1) for supporting semiconductor elements separately from the insert body . Of course, the supporting member is formed with connecting holes for electrically connecting the terminals of the semiconductor device to the tester.

Such inserts should include a latch for preventing and maintaining the separation of the semiconductor device.

The test handler also has a pick-and-place device for feeding or retrieving the semiconductor device with the insert of the test tray. Generally, in the industry, a pick-and-place apparatus for supplying a semiconductor element to a test tray is called a loader, and a pick-and-place apparatus for retrieving a semiconductor element from a test tray is called an unloader. Such a pick and place apparatus includes a plurality of pickers having a soft adsorption portion for holding or releasing a semiconductor element by adsorption (see Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2010-0079945).

In order to enable the pick and place apparatus to supply or retrieve the semiconductor elements from the test tray, the test handler is provided with an opening for releasing the holding state of the latch by operating the latch of the insert. Open No. 10-2009-0102167 (entitled " insert opening unit for a test tray and mounting method of a semiconductor device using the same, hereinafter referred to as " Prior Art 2 ") or 10 -2011-121063 (the name of the invention: an opening device for a test handler, hereinafter referred to as "Prior Art 3").

By the way, the semiconductor element can be pressed by the picker at the time of work by the pick-and-place apparatus (especially at the time of collecting work). For example, a plurality of picker (P _1, P _2, etc.), even if in contact with the picker (P ₁₎ a semiconductor element (D) in the one side picker of the other side (P ₂₎ as shown in (a) of Fig. 1 May not contact the semiconductor element (D). Therefore, the pick-and-place apparatus is further lowered in consideration of the fact that the adsorption portion (a) of the picker (P ₁ , P _2, etc.) is soft and all the pickers (P ₁ , P ₂ , (A) of the semiconductor element D is brought into contact with the semiconductor element D. In this case, the semiconductor element D corresponding to the picker P ₁ on one side receives a strong pressing force downward.

Such a pressing force need not be taken into consideration when the supporting member (denoted by the supporting portion of the numeral 517) is rigid injection-molded integrally with the body (denoted by the housing of the numeral 510) as in the prior art 2. [ However, as in the prior art 1, the supporting member in the form of a film, which is relatively weak in rigidity and deformed more than the injection molded product, is bent or stuck by the pressure as in Fig. 1 (c) Such a phenomenon repeatedly and repeatedly causes a problem that the connection hole formed in the support member 111b is damaged or the support member 111b itself is damaged.

Furthermore, the above problem is more serious when the gap between the insert and the open plate is widely opened by using the contact prevention protrusion as in the prior art 3.

The present invention provides a technique capable of preventing breakage of a support member by an opener.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a test handler comprising: a test tray having a plurality of inserts each having a latch for holding a mounted semiconductor device; A pick and place apparatus for feeding or retrieving a semiconductor element with an insert of the test tray; Wherein the semiconductor element supplied to the insert of the test tray is before the test and the semiconductor element recovered from the insert of the test tray is after the test. An opener to enable; Wherein the insert comprises: a body having an insertion hole into which a semiconductor device to be inserted can be inserted; A connection hole corresponding to a position of the terminals of the semiconductor element is formed on the lower surface of the insertion hole so as to support the semiconductor element inserted in the insertion hole and to allow the terminals of the semiconductor element to be electrically connected to the tester side A support member formed; And the latch holding the semiconductor element supported by the support member; Wherein the opener includes an open plate located below the test tray and having operating pins for operating the latch; A drive source for operating the latch so as to allow the operation pins to supply or recover the semiconductor element to the insert or to lift the operation state of the latch; And a protection member for protecting the support member from a pressing force applied to the support member during operation of the pick and place apparatus; .

The protective member has a support protrusion for supporting the support member in surface contact with at least a part of the bottom surface of the support member when the open plate is lifted, and the support protrusion is located at a position corresponding to the insertion hole on a vertical line.

The thickness of the support member may be thicker than the length of the terminal of the semiconductor element in the up and down direction.

The thickness of the support member may be thinner than the length of the terminal of the semiconductor device in the vertical direction, and the upper surface of the support protrusion may be in surface contact with the support member at a portion other than where the connection holes are formed.

Wherein the protective member has a support protrusion for supporting the support member in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the support member when the open plate is lifted and the gap between the bottom surface of the support member and the upper surface of the support protrusion is twice Lt; / RTI >

The protective member is detachably coupled to the open plate.

The present invention has the following effects.

First, since the support member is protected from the pressing force of the picker by the protective member and the support protrusion provided in the opener, the lifetime of the support member and the life of the insert become long without changing the configuration of the support member.

Secondly, since the protection member can be detached from the opening plate, it is possible to easily cope with various products even by exchanging only the protection member.

1 is a reference diagram for explaining a conventional technique.
2 is a conceptual top view of a test handler according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic side view of an insert applied to the test handler of Figure 2;
4 is a reference diagram for comparing a support member applied to the insert of Fig. 3 to a semiconductor device.
Figs. 5 and 6 show the latch operated in the insert of Fig.
Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of a second opener applied to the test handler of Figure 2;
8 is an enlarged view of a portion A in Fig.
Figure 9 is a schematic perspective view of the protective member applied to the second opener of Figure 7;
Fig. 10 shows a state in which the insert of Fig. 3 is operated by the second opener of Fig.
11 is a comparative view of another modification of the support protrusion.
Fig. 12 shows various forms that the upper surface of the support protrusion in the protective member of Fig. 9 can have.
13 is a reference view for explaining the relationship between the terminal of the semiconductor element and the supporting member.
Fig. 14 is a reference diagram for explaining the action of the support protrusion in the protection member of Fig. 9;
FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relationship between the distance from the center of the test handler to the main part of the test handler according to the second embodiment of the present invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For simplicity of description, redundant description is omitted or compressed as much as possible.

≪ Embodiment 1 >

2 is a conceptual top view of a test handler 200 according to the present invention.

2, the test handler 200 according to the present invention includes a test tray 210, a loader 220, a first opener 230, a soak chamber 240, A chamber 250, a pushing apparatus 260, a desock chamber 270, an unloader 280, and a second opener 290.

The test tray 210 is provided with a plurality of inserts on which semiconductor elements can be placed, and circulates along a closed path C defined by a plurality of transfer devices (not shown).

3, an insert 211 installed in the test tray 210 includes a body 211a, a support member 211b, and a latch 211c. As shown in FIG.

The body 211a has an insertion hole IH through which the semiconductor element supplied by the loader 220 can be inserted or the semiconductor element which is withdrawn by the unloader 290 can be removed. A pair of guide holes GH are formed in the body 211a.

The support member 211b is in the form of a thin film and is coupled to the body 211a at the lower surface of the insertion hole IH. Therefore, the semiconductor element inserted into the insertion hole IH is supported by the support member 211b to prevent the downward departure. 4, the terminals t of the semiconductor element D are electrically connected to the tester TESTER side at positions corresponding to the terminals t of the semiconductor element D, And are formed with connection holes LH for connection.

The latches 211c are provided in pairs to hold or release the semiconductor element inserted into the insertion hole IH while the lever L rotates in the normal and reverse directions in the direction of the arrow. Such a latch 211c prevents the semiconductor element from being separated from the insertion hole IH when the semiconductor element is upwardly displaced by an external impact or when the test tray 210 is vertically erected.

The loader 220 is a pick-and-place device that supplies the semiconductor elements before the test loaded in the customer tray CT on the left side to the test tray 210 in the loading position (LP).

The first opener 230 operates the latch 211c to bring the insert 211 into the state shown in FIG. 5 when the operation of supplying the semiconductor element to the test tray 210 is required by the loader 220. FIG.

The soak chamber 240 is provided to preheat or precool the semiconductor devices loaded on the test tray 210 transferred from the loading position LP according to test environment conditions.

The test chamber 250 is provided to test the semiconductor devices loaded in the test tray 210 that have been preheated / pre-cooled in the soak chamber 240 and then transferred to a test position (TP).

The pushing device 260 pushes the semiconductor devices loaded in the test tray 210 at the test position TP in the test chamber 250 toward the tester TESTER coupled to the test chamber 250 side, As shown in Fig.

The desolator chamber 270 is provided to return the heated or cooled semiconductor elements loaded on the test tray 210 transferred from the test chamber 250 to normal temperature.

The unloader 280 collects the semiconductor devices after the test loaded in the on-test tray 210 from the desock chamber 270 at the unloading position (UP: UNLOADING POSITION), classifies them according to the test grade, It is a pick and place device that loads into an empty customer tray (CT). As is well known in the art, semiconductor devices may be retrieved from a test tray and primarily loaded on a sorting table, and then moved to a customer tray from a sorting table. In this case, And a pick-and-place apparatus for performing the work of the second stage, respectively.

The second opener 290 operates the latch 211c when the unloader 280 needs to recover the semiconductor element from the test tray 210 to bring the insert 211 into the state shown in FIG. This second opener 290 includes an open plate 291, a drive source 292 and a protective member 293 as in the schematic perspective view of FIG.

The open plate 291 has the guide pins 291a and the operation pins 291b as shown in Fig. 8 in which the portion A of Fig. 7 is enlarged.

The guide pins 291a are first inserted into the guide holes GH of the insert 211 when the open plate 291 rises to induce the matching of the test tray 210 and the open plate 291. Therefore, the guide pins 291a are located at positions corresponding to the guide holes GH, and two holes are provided per one insert 211.

The operating pins 291b push up one side of the lever L provided in the latch 211c as the open plate 291 rises. For this purpose, two operation pins 291b are provided for one insert 211. [

The opening plate 291 is formed with a coupling groove DS.

The drive source 292 can move the release plate 291 up and down so that the latch 211c can be operated to allow the unloader 280 to recover the semiconductor element from the insert 211 or to release the operation state of the latch 211c do. That is, when the open plate 291 rises, the operation pin 291b of the open plate 291 pushes up the one side of the lever L so that the semiconductor element can escape from the insertion hole IH of the insert 211 . When the opening plate 291 is lowered, one side of the lever L is lowered again. If the lever L is lowered on one side of the loading position, the lever L is inserted into the insertion hole IH of the insert 211 So that the semiconductor device is prevented from being separated.

The protection member 293 protects the support member 211b from the pressing force applied to the support member 211b when the unloader 280 is in operation. To this end, the protection member 293 includes a base 293a and a support protrusion 293b as shown in Fig.

The base 293a is detachably coupled to the open plate 291 by a bolt or the like while being inserted into the engagement groove DS. Since the protective member 293 is detachably coupled to the opening plate 291 through the base 293a, if the shape or specification of the support protrusion is changed due to a change in the semiconductor element to be tested, a change in insert, or the like, It is sufficient to replace the protective member having the support protrusion conforming to the shape or the standard. Of course, depending on the implementation, the protective member may be integrally formed on the opening plate.

The support protrusion 293b protrudes upward from the base 293a and supports the bottom surface of the support member 211b. 10, the upper surface of the support protrusion 293b comes into surface contact with the bottom surface of the support member 211b, so that the support member 211b is brought into contact with the support protrusion 293b . Therefore, the support protrusion 293b should be located on the vertical line P at a position corresponding to the insertion hole IH (a middle point between the pair of operation pins). One such supporting protrusion 293b is provided for each pair of the operation pins 291b as shown in Fig. 11 (a). Of course, there may be a plurality of supporting protrusions 293b 'per pair of operating pins as shown in FIG. 11 (b). In this case, the supporting protrusions 293b' correspond to the inserting holes IH on the vertical line It may be out of place.

12 shows various forms that the upper surface of the support protrusion 293b, which is in surface contact with the bottom surface of the support member 211b, can have.

12A to 12C show a state in which the upper surfaces of the support protrusions 293b ₁ , 293b ₂ and 293b ₃ are in surface contact with the support member 211b at portions other than where the connection holes LH are formed and, (d) of Figure 12 shows the form of the upper surface of the support projection (293b ₄₎ for supporting to the connecting hole (LH) portion formed on the supporting member (211b).

12 (a), 12 (b) and 12 (c), the thickness S in the vertical direction of the support member 211b is smaller than the thickness S of the semiconductor element D (t) of the semiconductor element D protrudes downward from the connection hole LH because the length t _{1 of the} semiconductor element D is thinner than the length L _{1 in} the up-and-down direction.

13 (b), the thickness S in the vertical direction of the support member 211b is thicker than the length L _{2 in} the vertical direction of the terminal t of the semiconductor element D When the terminal t of the semiconductor element D does not protrude downward from the connection hole LH, the embodiment of FIG. 12 (d) is also possible.

The operation of the characteristic parts of the present invention will now be described.

When the unloader 280 needs to recover the semiconductor element D from the insert 211, the open plate 291 rises and the operation pin 211b pushes up the lever L of the latch 211c The state shown in FIG. 10 is obtained. Referring to FIG. 10, it can be seen that the bottom surface of the support member 211b is strongly supported while being in surface contact with the upper surface of the support protrusion 293b. 14, even if the attracting portion a of the picker P strongly presses the semiconductor element D and the support member 211b downward with a constant pressing force F, the upper surface of the support protrusion 293b Since the bottom surface of the support member 211b is pressed upward by the same pressing force (-F) due to the reaction, the support member 211b is not damaged by bending or the like.

≪ Embodiment 2 >

15 is a sectional view of a main portion of a test handler according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the test handler according to the present embodiment, when the open plate 791 is fully raised as shown in FIG. 15, the upper surface of the support protrusion 793b comes close to the bottom surface of the support member 211b with a slight gap G therebetween. In such an embodiment, it is difficult to make the bottom surface of the support member 211b and the upper surface of the support protrusion 793b come into contact with each other due to tolerance or the like, or the support members 211b of all the inserts 211 and the support protrusions 793b are in contact with each other with difficulty. At this time, it is preferable that the interval G has a range such that the support member 211b is not damaged even if the support member 211b is pressed by the picker of the pick-and-place apparatus (loader or unloader). Therefore, it is preferable that the gap G is determined within a range that is larger than 0 micrometer and less than twice (100 micrometers) of the thickness (50 micrometers) of the support member 211b. Of course, the gap G can be appropriately adjusted depending on the material of the support member 211b, the area of the upper surface of the support projection 793b, and the like.

Meanwhile, the embodiments described above are examples in which the characteristic structure of the present invention is applied to the second opener 290 on the unloader 280 side.

In general, when a semiconductor element is supplied, a method of dropping the semiconductor element is used. However, there may be a case where the bottom surface of the semiconductor element touches the upper surface of the support member 211c and then the attraction force of the picker is released for accurate positioning of the semiconductor element. In this case, since the support member 211c is pressed downward, it is natural that the characteristic feature of the present invention can be applied to the first opener 230 on the loader 220 side.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. It is to be understood that the scope of the invention is to be construed as being limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.

200: Test handler
210: Test tray
211: Insert
211a: body 211b: support member
211c: latch IH: insertion hole
LH: Connection hole
220: Loader
230: first opener
280: Unloader
290: second opener
291: Open plate
292:
293: Protection member
293b: support projection

Claims (6)

A test tray having a plurality of inserts each having a latch for holding a seated semiconductor element;
A pick and place apparatus for feeding or retrieving a semiconductor element with an insert of the test tray; Wherein the semiconductor element supplied to the insert of the test tray is before the test and the semiconductor element recovered from the insert of the test tray is after the test,
An opener operable to manipulate the latch to enable supply or recovery of semiconductor devices for operation of the pick and place apparatus; Lt; / RTI >
The insert
A body having an insertion hole into which a semiconductor device to be inserted can be inserted;
A connection hole corresponding to a position of the terminals of the semiconductor element is formed on the lower surface of the insertion hole so as to support the semiconductor element inserted in the insertion hole and to allow the terminals of the semiconductor element to be electrically connected to the tester side A support member formed; And
The latch holding the semiconductor element supported by the support member; / RTI >
The open-
An open plate located below the test tray and having operating pins for operating the latch;
A drive source for operating the latch so as to allow the operation pins to supply or recover the semiconductor element to the insert or to lift the operation state of the latch; And
A protection member for protecting the support member from a pressing force applied to the support member during operation of the pick and place apparatus; ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 >
Test handler. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the protective member has a support protrusion for supporting the support member in surface contact with at least a part of the bottom surface of the support member when the open plate is raised,
And the supporting protrusions are located at positions corresponding to the insertion holes on a vertical line
Test handler. 3. The method of claim 2,
And the thickness of the supporting member is thicker than the length of the terminal of the semiconductor element in the vertical direction
Test handler. 3. The method of claim 2,
The thickness of the support member is thinner than the length of the terminal of the semiconductor element in the vertical direction,
And the upper surface of the support protrusion is in surface contact with the support member at a portion other than where the connection holes are formed
Test handler. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the protective member has a support protrusion for supporting the support member near the bottom surface of the support member when the open plate is raised,
Wherein a distance between a bottom surface of the support member and an upper surface of the support projection is smaller than twice the thickness of the support member
Test handler. The method according to claim 1,
Characterized in that the protective member is detachably coupled to the open plate
Test handler.

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