Semiconductor Magazine

Semiconductor Magazine
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Indice
FlexyLAB: un sistema flessibile per testare laffidabilit dei circuiti integrati
M. Salvi, EuroInstruments p.3
Applicazione della visione artificiale nellindustria dei semiconduttori

G. Fazio, ST MICROELECTRONICS p.5
Analog Devices Reduces MEMS Test Costs with PXI and LabVIEW
Woody Beckford, Analog Devices Inc. p.8
Adopting NI PXI for Semiconductor Validation to Achieve Performance Improvements and Three-Times Cost Savings
Ray Morgan, ON Semiconductor p.10
ST-Ericsson Automates RFIC Validation Using NI LabVIEW and NI TestStand

Sylvain Bertrand, ST-Ericsson p.12
NI TestStand Provides the Framework to Texas Instruments $4 Billion Division

Marvin Landrum, Texas Instruments, Inc. p.14
Credence Systems Uses NI Modular Instruments to Extend Semiconductor Test Flexibility

David Pinto, Credence Systems Corp. p.16
PXI-Based Automated Wafer Probe Tester

Andrew Kahn, G Systems, LP p.17
Automated Semiconductor Wafer Sorting Using NI LabVIEW with Synchronized Motion, Vision, and DAQ
Jeff Long, Automation Works, Inc. p.18
PXI-Based Embedded System Controls Semiconductor Metrology Tool

Craig Moore, EUV Technology p.20
Using NI LabVIEW and PXI to Reduce Video DAC Testing Time by 97 Percent
Sam Yang, Sunplus Technology Co. p.22
Creating a High-Speed Control System to Test MEMS Microshutters Using NI LabVIEW FPGA
Eric Lyness, Mink Hollow Systems p.23
Sub-surface defect detection in Si-wafer for semiconductor industries by a LabVIEW based real time digital shearography
Ganesha Udupa, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore BKA Ngoi, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore p.25
Research Group Creates Flexible, High-Speed, Mixed-Signal System for On-Wafer Function and Performance Testing
Axel Nackaerts, Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre p.27
A Low-Cost, Expandable PXI-Based Solution for Mixed-Signal ASIC Test

M. Cem Karahan, Cal. Bay Systems, Inc. p.28
TriQuint Semiconductor Uses NI PXI and LabVIEW to Reduce Characterization Time of RF Power Amplifiers
Gary Shipley - TriQuint Semiconductor p.30
FlexyLAB: un sistema flessibile per testare laffidabilit dei circuiti integrati

M. Salvi, EuroInstruments LA SFIDA Realizzare un sistema che renda agevole e flessibile lattivit di test e debug dei circuiti integrati, consentendo di condurre la maggior parte delle prove di affidabilit previste sui semiconduttori tra cui OLT, HTRB oltre a prove di continuit elettrica delle schede di interfaccia su cui montato il circuito integrato. LA SOLUZIONE Larchitettura del sistema FlexyLAB basata sulla piattaforma PXI di National Instruments con controller integrato ed include schede DAQ, digitali, industriali e multimetri. Lapplicazione stata sviluppata sfruttando la potenzialit e la modularit degli ambienti di sviluppo NI LabVIEW e NI LabWindows/CVI, garantendo un ridotto time-to-market. Il sistema ha unelevata flessibilit, consente allutente di eseguire molteplici prove di affidabilit connettendo lopportuna interfaccia HW che fa da ponte tra il sistema ed il dispositivo sotto test ed pronto ad eventuali customizzazioni e/o evoluzioni richieste dal mercato dei semiconduttori.
Prodotti utilizzati LabVIEW, DAQ, Modular Instruments, PXI
Breve Riassunto I circuiti integrati, di seguito IC (Integrated Circuits), che trovano impiego nelle pi svariate apparecchiature ed applicazioni elettroniche, prima dellimmissione sul mercato devono sostenere determinate prove di affidabilit e robustezza stabilite dalla casa produttrice. A tale scopo, il mercato dei sistemi di test per semiconduttori annovera diversi produttori di macchine per il debug e laffidabilit degli IC, ma tipicamente tali sistemi sono specifici di una singola tipologia di prova, quindi poco flessibili e, laccesso alle risorse del dispositivo, per analizzarne il comportamento a prova in corso, non sempre agevole. In questo ambito FlexyLAB rappresenta unidea innovativa che consente di sottoporre gli IC alle pi note ed utilizzate prove di affidabilit, tra cui OLT (Operating Life Test) ed HTRB (High Temperature Reverse BIAS), mediante un semplice cambio dellinterfaccia HW. Grazie ad un SW applicativo user-friendly lutente in grado di impostare i parametri di prova in modo rapido ed intuitivo, cos come di monitorare comodamente i segnali critici e loggare i risultati di test consultandoli successivamente in un comodo formato HTML. La struttura del sistema permette allutente di avere un facile accesso alle risorse dell IC e le dimensioni ridotte lo rendono utilizzabile in qualsiasi ambiente lavorativo. Articolo Ai giorni nostri lelettronica trova spazio in molteplici settori ed il ritmo di crescita delle prestazioni e della complessit delle apparecchiature e delle applicazioni rende necessario sviluppare ed immettere sul mercato nuovi IC, in tempi sempre pi stringenti, a patto per di
garantirne un continuo e corretto funzionamento per svariati anni. Le case produttrici di semiconduttori hanno via via definito alcune prove per la valutazione della robustezza ed affidabilit degli IC, che possono essere di tipo elettrico, ambientale e meccanico, le quali simulano lintero ciclo vita del dispositivo in varie condizioni e permettono in tal modo al costruttore di garantirne il corretto funzionamento in campo applicativo. A tale proposito oggi sul mercato si trovano aziende produttrici di sistemi di test per laffidabilit dei semiconduttori, ma tipicamente tali sistemi sono specifici per una singola tipologia di test e pensati per la prova di un intero lotto di dispositivi. In questo contesto Euro Instruments ha ideato e realizzato un sistema di test flessibile e compatto, che consente di effettuare molteplici tipologie di prove di affidabilit elettrica anche su singolo dispositivo, in modo semplice ed intuitivo. FlexyLAB un sistema sviluppato per rendere il debug ed il test degli IC, per quel che concerne le prove di affidabilit elettriche, il pi flessibile e user-friendly possibile. A tale scopo il SW applicativo stato sviluppato in NI LabVIEW e NI LabWindows CVI, mentre lHW basato su un rack PXI National Instruments che alloggia diverse schede gestite da un controller integrato, sono inoltre presenti degli alimentatori programmabili comandati tramite seriale, un gruppo di continuit e le interfacce che connesse al backplane permettono
allutente di passare da una tipologia di test allaltra in modo agevole. Grazie allesperienza maturata nel campo della microelettronica Euro Instruments ha provveduto alla progettazione e realizzazione dellintera elettronica del sistema, che comprende il backplane, le interfacce per le prove di OLT, HTRB, ed il test di continuit elettrica (Figura 1). Il test di continuit si differenzia dagli altri e permette di verificare la continuit elettrica delladapter su cui tipicamente saldato o zoccolato il dispositivo da testare, prima e dopo lesecuzione di una prova OLT o HTRB, che in talune condizioni potrebbe avere portato alla rottura dell IC. In tal caso lutente mediante linterfaccia dellapplicazione SW in grado di sviluppare il test di continuit per un dato dispositivo impostando delle opportune soglie di tensione e corrente per ciascun pin e successivamente richiamarlo in modo agevole. Prima dellesecuzione di uneventuale test di affidabilit la prova di continuit dovrebbe dare esito positivo, mentre se effettuata a seguito di un OLT o HTRB, potrebbe riportare dei fallimenti e lutente dovrebbe essere cos in grado di individuare i pin affetti da rottura. Per quanto riguarda le prove OLT ed HTRB lutente una volta connessa linterfaccia opportuna, tramite lapplicazione SW dovr andare ad impostare diversi parametri, come il numero di dispositivi sotto test,tensione e corrente massima delle alimentazioni, i monitoraggi dei segnali critici, gli stimoli digitali ed analogici precedentemente realizzati utilizzando i tools NI Digital e Analog Waveform Editor. Durante i test OLT e HTRB le schede PXI gestiscono la configurazione dei rel, la programmazione via seriale degli alimentatori, la generazione degli stimoli digitali ad alta velocit e quella delle forme donda analogiche ed infine il monitoraggio dei segnali impostati dallutente. Per potere effettuare una qualsiasi prova necessario che lutente abbia collegato linterfaccia corretta, in quanto il SW effettua un controllo della scheda prima di consentire lesecuzione del test.
A prova in corso, lutente in grado di verificare il corretto funzionamento del dispositivo mediante la definizione di opportuni monitoraggi SW il cui andamento viene visualizzato in un tab dedicato e qualora questi non dovessero bastare, visto che la struttura del FlexyLAB permette di avere pieno accesso a tutte le risorse del dispositivo sotto test, pu collegarsi con un oscilloscopio ai segnali di interesse ed effettuarne unanalisi pi accurata. Inoltre il sistema provvisto anche di strumentazione integrata, disponibile allutente per effettuare misure sulla board durante il debug in qualunque fase della prova. FlexyLAB rappresenta una soluzione flessibile, compatta ed economica nel campo delle prove di affidabilit dei semiconduttori, e visto il know-how che vanta Euro Instruments nella progettazione e realizzazione di schede elettroniche e la flessibilit del sistema basato su un rack PXI a 18 posizioni, nulla vieta in futuro di sviluppare applicazioni per prove di affidabilit custom, da affiancare a quelle attualmente implementate. Nella realizzazione del sistema lutilizzo di schede High Speed Digital I/O ha permesso di gestire in modo agevole molteplici segnali e di tipo differente, mentre lutilizzo di LabVIEW e LabWindows CVI in fase di implementazione dellapplicazione ha ridotto significativamente i tempi di sviluppo.
Figura 1.
Applicazione della Visione Artificiale nellindustria dei Semiconduttori

G. Fazio, ST MICROELECTRONICS
LA SFIDA I due problemi affrontati sono: controllo del caricamento dei wafers in una macchina di produzione e il controllo di processo di attacco retro wafers. Nel primo caso il caricamento dei wafers in posizione errate nelle cassette provoca danni importanti. Nel secondo caso un processo errato intacca irrimediabilmente i lotti di produzione. In tutte e due i casi, nella macchina produzione dinteresse non sono previsti controlli automatici.
LA SOLUZIONE I due problemi sono stati affrontati introducendo un controllo automatico utilizzanto la stessa tecnica: la visione artificiale. La soluzione adottata prevede linspezione dei wafers nelle cassette prima dellavvio del processo e blocco del caricamento in caso di anomali; e controllo del reatro wafer subito dopo lattacco e blocco del processo in caso di anomalia.
Prodotti utilizzati Vision
Breve riassunto Recentemente abbiamo dovuto affrontare due problemi di controllo di processo: controllo del caricamento dei wafers in una macchina di produzione e il controllo di processo di attacco retro wafers. Nel primo caso il caricamento dei wafers in posizione errate nelle cassette provoca danni importanti. Nel secondo caso un processo errato intacca irrimediabilmente i lotti di produzione. In tutti e due i casi sulla macchina di produzione dinteresse non sono previsti controlli. Da qui la necessita di introdurre un controllo automatico. I due problemi sono stati affrontati utilizzando la tecnica della Visione Artificiale. Il nostro sistema e composto da Hardware (Videocamera e PC) e Software della Natiolal Instruments e sviluppato (algoritmi, illuminatori, assemblaggio etc.) da ImagingLab (IL).
In alcuni casi pur essendo fattibile non risulta conveniente, in altri la fattibilita' e' praticamente impossibile. In ogni caso, volta per volta il problema va valutato attentamente cosi come la soluzione tecnica da adottare. In questo lavoro saranno presentati due applicazioni che prevedono l'utilizzo della visione artificiale come sistema di controllo automatico nellindustria dei semiconduttori. La visione artificiale ha enormi potenzialit che al momento non sono ancora del tutto sfruttate. In alcuni ambienti industriali lapplicazione di queste tecniche e ampiamente consolidata, ma in altri casi non ancora cos diffusa. Le ragioni potrebbero essere varie tra le quali i costi e la reale fattibilit. Prendiamo per esempio la produzione di parti meccaniche (viti, ingranaggi etc.). Questi sono pezzi con una certa forma, tolleranza di lavorazione e ben visibili rispetto allambiente circostante (il nastro trasportatore etc.). Prendendo limmagine di un pezzo meccanico lavorato, risulta relativamente semplice catturarla con una videocamera, fornire le regole di controllo (spessore, forma etc.) e applicare cosi il controllo automatico sulla produzione standard. Di esempi simili ce ne sono tanti altri: controllare un colore particolare, la posizione di un foro etc.. Nella nostra realt industriale le cose sono un po piu complicate. Infatti, le lavorazioni (spessori deposti, parti rimosse etc.) effettuate sono nanometriche (non visibili a occhio nudo) e sono eseguite su materiali che per loro natura sono molto riflettenti (e difficile distinguerli dallambiente esterno). Questa situazione richiede una progettazione del sistema molto particolare.
6
Articolo Introduzione I processi per la lavorazione dei semiconduttori hanno un buon livello di automazione, ma per la complessita' dell'ambiente molti aspetti possono essere ulteriormente migliorati. L'automazione della fabbrica decisa e progettata in fase di avvio della fabbrica stessa. Alcuni controlli, pero', sono introdotti in seguito (quando la fabbrica e la produzione sono avviati) a fronte di eventi che sono evidenziati durante la produzione e non possono essere valutati a priori. In genere, tali controlli sono ispezioni visive o procedure per gli operatori. Chiaramente il passo successivo sarebbe quello di cercare di automatizzarli per ridurre gli errori umani ed aumentare la produttivita', ma la cosa non sempre e' cosi' semplice.
In questi ultimi anni i costi per lapplicazione di tecniche VA sono notevolmente ridotti e nello stesso tempo la tecnologia ha raggiunto dei livelli altissimi. Questi fatti ci hanno spinto a prendere in considerazione tale tecnologia per i due progetti di seguito descritti. Applicazione della VA Un controllo automatico e' un sistema piu' o meno complesso composto da un "sensore", un "elaboratore" e una "interfaccia". Il nostro sistema e composto da Hardware (Videocamera e PC) e Software della Natiolal Instruments e sviluppato (algoritmi, illuminatori, assemblaggio etc.) da ImagingLab (IL). Abbiamo scelto questo tipo di HW e di SW per la flessibilita del sistema, ma da solo non e bastato: un ruolo molto importante lo ha giocato la parte di sviluppo. Come gia detto limplementazione di tale tecnologia non e risultata cosi banale. Si e dovuta prestare, infatti, particolare attenzione agli illuminatori (con design dedicato), agli algoritmi (non standard) e anche allinterfacciamento con la macchina. Questultimo aspetto risulta fondamentale per implementare il controllo in automatico e consiste nel sincronizzare lacquisizione dellimmagine al momento opportuno e bloccare il processo in caso di problemi. La flessibilita dellHW e del SW sono risultati importanti anche in fase di sviluppo: ci ha consentito di eseguire delle prove preliminare e scremare molte situazioni non valide. Lalternativa sarebbe stata quella di scrivere il sw e testarne lapplicazione. Questapproccio avrebbe portato via parecchio tempo. Inoltre, la flessibilita del sistema ci consentira in futuro di ampliare lutilizzo attuale. Potremo cioe introdurre controlli aggiuntivi. Abbiamo ritenuto, infine, importante sviluppare il sistema appoggiandosi ad esperti, invece di affidarsi ad un acquisto a catalogo, per le ragioni indicate in precedenza: essendo le applicazioni particolari in termini di materiali, dimensioni e ambiente e risultato importante eseguire il fine tuning della misura (adattamento degli algoritmi) in fase sperimentale. Controllo wafers su stazione di caricamento Il problema e' legato alla presenza di wafers in cross slot o appaiati che sono caricati sulla macchina di produzione. In questa macchina di produzione, le cassette contenente i wafers sono spostate su un piano, un robot li solleva e sono bloccati su un altro robot. A questo punto sono caricate altre 25 fette in mezzo a quelle esistenti e trasportate nei bagni di chimico. Se ci sono wafers storti questi entrano forzando nelle guide del robot danneggiandole in quanto sono fatte di materiale plastico morbido con conseguenti gravi danni: costo manutenzione, costo wafers e fermo macchina.
In questo caso si tratta di analizzare la posizione assunta dal singolo wafer allinterno dei 25 slot del carrier in fase di merge di due lotti da 25 wafers ciascuno. Lobiettivo del progetto e, quindi, lindividuazione della posizione assunta dal singolo wafer al fine di individuare le circostanze di pi wafer inseriti nello stesso slot (sia su un solo lato che su entrambi). Il sistema stato realizzato basandosi su hardware (CVS1455) e librerie National Instruments per la parte di acquisizione. invece stato necessario sviluppare ad hoc la componentistica di illuminazione e ottica di ripresa. Il tipo di illuminazione utilizzata prevede limpiego di illuminatori lineari a LED. Si volutamente evitato luso di luce strutturata con sorgente laser per evitare qualsiasi restrizione e la necessit di certificazioni legate alla normativa macchine. stata utilizzata una camera con sensore CCD ad alta risoluzione (1392 x 1040) e ottica Schneider con focale 4.8 mm. Leffettiva focale, il posizionamento della videocamera e il FOV (field of view) andranno rivisti in base ai criteri di integrazione sullapparecchiatura presente in produzione nelle due differenti posizioni di test. Controllo di processo rimozione retro wafer Il processo in questione prevede lattacco del retro del wafer. Tale processo serve per rimuovere gli strati indesiderati che creerebbero problemi alle operazioni successive (diffusione, litho, rtp) In questo caso il problema riscontrato e' quello relativo al sovrattacco del silicio che puo' portare problemi per le operazioni successive. Le possibili cause del soprattacco sono: - Strati inaspettati sul retro - Ricetta associata/selezionata in modo errato - Problemi hardware (leak valvola, temperatura errata, etc.). Per tale verifica sulla macchina di produzione non e previsto nessun controllo e di conseguenza il problema si ripete per tutti i Wafers. Per cercare di sopperire a questa mancanza e stato introdotto una procedura manuale (controllo visivo) e si basa esclusivamente su un controllo a campione dopo il processo: il wafer processato correttamente presenta uniformita in lucidita e colore; mentre se il wafer non e processato correttamente presenta delle striature radiali visibili. Inoltre, per altri processi (quelli in cui non si arriva al silicio) il controllo retro non esiste in quanto l'operatore non e' in gado di stabilire se il wafer e' stato processato o no: se e alonato non e' corretto e se e uniforme e' ok.
Si tratta, quindi, di analizzare il risultato di un attacco chimico sulla superficie posteriore di un wafer da 8: - Una superfice uniforme indica un attacco corretto; - Una striatura radiale indica invece una condizione di fault. Lobiettivo del progetto e di introdurre lispezione automatica di ogni singolo wafer e leliminazione dellintervento / errore umano. La superfice del wafer ha richiesto qualche accorgimento per la ripresa di immagini uniformemente illuminate e prive di riflessi. Inoltre, il tipo di illuminazione (fluorescente ad alta frequenza o LED) e langolo di incidenza sono stati scelti con molta cura. E stata utilizzata una CCD ad alta risoluzione (1280 x 960) e ottica con focale di 12 mm, ad una distanza variabile tra 300 e 800 mm. Leffettiva focale, il posizionamento della videocamera e il FOV (field of view) andranno rivisti in base ai criteri di integrazione sullapparecchiatura di etching presente in produzione. Per lidentificazione delle striature, fermo restando il requisito di una illuminazione uniforme e priva di riflessi, abbiamo adottato la seguente soluzione:
Analisi morfologica delle striature con compensazione automatica delle variazioni del background. La morfologia delle striature permette una robusta discriminazione mediante filtri morfologici. Lanalisi e stata applicata a una regione di interesse (ROI) del wafer.
Conclusioni In questo lavoro sono state descritte due applicazioni della Visione Artificiale (VA) nellindustria dei semiconduttori. Forse per alcuni ambienti industriali lapplicazione di queste tecniche risulta abbastanza semplice, ma non e cosi nel nostro caso. Le due applicazioni sono stare realizzate utilizzando componenti della National Instruments e sono state sviluppate da ImagingLab e consistono nellintroduzione di due controlli automatici: controllo posizione wafers nella cassetta di carico e controllo attacco retro wafers. In tutte e due le applicazioni si e dovuta prestare molta attenzione allo sviluppo del sistema e la flessibilita dei componenti scelti ci ha permesso di raggiungere degli ottimi risultati in tempi relativamente brevi.
Figura 1.
Analog Devices Reduces MEMS Test Costs with PXI and LabVIEW
Woody Beckford, Analog Devices Inc.
THE CHALLENGE Developing an efficient, cost-effective, and compact system for MEMS testing in characterization and production.
THE SOLUTION Using NI LabVIEW software with PXI modular instrumentation to create a MEMS test system that can be used in both characterization and production testing and delivers 11X reduction in capital equipment costs, 15X reduction in footprint, 66X reduction in weight, and 16X reduction in power consumption over the previous automated test equipment (ATE) used in production.
Products used LabVIEW, PXI About Analog Devices Inc. Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) provides analog, mixedsignal, and digital signal processing (DSP) integrated circuits (ICs) that convert, condition, or otherwise process light, sound, temperature, motion, or pressure into electrical signals for use in electronic equipment. Our ICs are found almost everywhere, including automobiles, cameras, televisions, cellular handsets, medical imaging devices, and industrial automation equipment. Over the past two decades, our company has made a significant investment in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) inertial sensing technology. As a leading MEMS innovator and a pioneer in micromachine technology, we produced the industrys first fully integrated iMEMS (integrated Micro Electrical Mechanical System) accelerometers and gyroscopes, helping electronic designers incorporate acceleration, tilt, shock, vibration, rotation, and multiple degrees-offreedom (DoF) motion into their designs. We offer a full range of inertial sensing solutions, including our awardwinning iMEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes, iSensor intelligent sensors, inertial measurement units (IMUs), and iMEMS digital microphones. Requirements for a New MEMS Test System MEMS testing poses a number of challenges for the production test process. We needed an ATE system that met the demands of our product test plan with the lowest possible cost while ensuring product quality. For our needs, our traditional big iron ATE solution was far too costly, too highly featured, and physically too large to efficiently meet our requirements of a dedicated MEMS tester. We needed an application-specific test system for our MEMS products with a subset of the measurement capability of a big-iron ATE system.
NI PXI and LabVIEW Deliver a COTS Alternative We began evaluating a number of options as an alternative to our traditional production ATE platform. We wanted to leverage as much commercial off-theshelf (COTS) technology as possible to reduce the overhead required for a custom test solution. We also needed a test platform that was flexible enough to accommodate custom MEMS test requirements while not sacrificing instrumentation speed or performance. The PXI platform from National Instruments offered the test instrumentation capability we needed to meet our challenge. PXI is a widely adopted, open standard that has existed for more than 10 years and been implemented across a variety of industries. PXI gives us a high level of flexibility and modularity to develop a targeted MEMS test system, which is reconfigurable for various test needs. For multisite testing, we can duplicate test resources by plugging in additional modules without changing any of our software, allowing us to scale our test equipment as needed based on our throughput demands. We also needed our software environment to be inherently easy to use with the ability to create operator, program, and data interfaces to existing tools to ease the process of integrating a new ATE system into our production floor. We chose LabVIEW software, which was already widely used in our characterization and design labs, to meet these challenges. We had considered using ANSI C or C++ for our test software, but after performing a number of benchmarks with LabVIEW, we were impressed with its performance and ability to take advantage of multicore technology. We developed our new production test solution solely
with PXI and LabVIEW. We chose National Instruments as our ATE supplier for this project for their support, product offering, and global footprint. NI offered the majority of the test equipment we needed from a single source. National Instruments local field engineers and system engineering teams worldwide provided support for our development teams throughout this project. The flexibility of the PXI system combined with the ease of use of LabVIEW made it possible for our engineers to quickly design and prototype our solution. Test times were comparable or better with our new test system based on PXI and LabVIEW versus our previous production ATE test system. We felt confident in deploying a PXI-based production test solution based on NI technology for our MEMS devices. Major Benefits of Using NI COTS Technology Our new system offers a dramatic reduction in capital equipment expenditures, footprint, weight, and power requirements for MEMS production test using PXI and LabVIEW. Cost Savings: Our previous ATE system cost more for its basic configuration than our new PXI systems total all-inclusive cost. The PXI system also takes up very little space. In fact, our entire system is now physically small enough to wheel around on a cart. Reduced Footprint on Production Floor: Our new PXI-based ATE system truly offers a zero-footprint tester. The system is small enough that we can physically move it around on a cart, saving valuable space on our production floor. Smaller, Easier-to-Use System: The weight comparison between the two systems offers a major reduction in shipping cost. Now, if any problems arise, we can simply switch out PXI instruments on-site using local spares, or even ship the entire test system back to our development labs from the production line with very little overhead. The shipping container for the previous ATE system alone would cost as much as our entire new PXI test system. Decreased Power Usage: We previously had to get our facilities department involved months in advance to modify power grids and cooling systems to accommodate additional testers. Now, our new PXI system is capable of running off of a standard power plug with absolutely no modifications required. Increased Test Quality: The new system improved the overall quality of our testing. Because we designed the tester, we can ensure that every tester we ship to our branch facilities features the exact same hardware and runs the exact same programming and code sequences. Furthermore, with LabVIEW controlling the system, our programmed test code is modular and reusable for future test programs or in our development labs.
Same Test System for Characterization and Production: The added flexibility and ease of use for test development has led to our teams using the same system in other phases outside of production, including design, characterization, and metrology. We now can use the same ATE equipment in all environments without incurring an impact on cost. This helps reduce our time to market and increase our product quality. Using PXI and LabVIEW, we were able to develop an application-specific MEMS test platform that could scale from production to lab characterization, dramatically allowing us to reduce our total cost of MEMS testing.
Figure 1: Using LabVIEW with our PXI instrumentation, we created a dual-site production test system to test two MEMS devices in parallel in less time than on our previous ATE system.
ni.com/solutions/i
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Adopting NI PXI for Semiconductor Validation to Achieve Performance Improvements and Three-Times Cost Savings
Ray Morgan, ON Semiconductor
THE CHALLENGE Increasing validation throughput for new semiconductor product introductions as well as legacy products with a low-cost solution that is accurate, precise, and easily upgradable with software and hardware.
THE SOLUTION Replacing costly, standalone test equipment with a modular PXI-based platform that uses the latest processor technologies to achieve semiconductor validation at 10 times the speed and at a fraction of the space and price.
Products used LabVIEW, PXI
Updating Our Test System to Meet Business Needs At ON Semiconductor, we needed a low-cost solution to increase validation throughput for our new product introductions. Along with the shortened evaluation cycle time and reduced cost, we wanted to develop an accurate and precise system that was easily upgradable with software and hardware for future use. The new system needed to handle the channel count of our older high-speed and metal gate products as well as our newer high-speed voltage-level translators. Advancements in semiconductor technology often resulted in costly standalone test equipment that quickly became obsolete for the applications. Because our next-generation test platform had to be flexible enough to grow with our technological advancements, we needed to achieve upgradeable performance that we could easily integrate into the system with minimal cost and apply to future applications. A hidden cost with the previous platform was the time for test because the measurement throughput was often hindered by standalone instruments with varying processor speeds as well as complicated test set ups. Even though we used a common software platform to automate the tests, the execution speed was limited by the slowest standalone instrument in the system. In addition, instrumentation cost became an issue because reducing the cost of test scrutinized every component of the test system. The investment in standalone instrumentation resulted in extra costs for redundant components that could be shared between instruments such as the instrument chassis, processor, and power supply. After conducting some research, we discovered that we would overpay by three to five times for standalone instruments versus comparable performance in a modular instrument platform. The New PXI Test System Design Our test platform addresses both AC and DC parametric testing of semiconductor devices. In the past, we performed AC parametric validation across 16
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channels using multiple standalone high-bandwidth oscilloscopes. By adopting the PXI platform, we were able to spend $20,000 USD for one NI PXI-5154 1 GHz digitizer, two NI PXI-2547 8x1 multiplexers, and active probes instead of invest more than $60,000 USD for four 1 GHz oscilloscopes. We realized three times the cost savings while maintaining both measurement performance and integrity. In addition to the cost savings, our new platform performs tests 10 times faster than previous tests. We also considered two main variables when using standalone instruments in an automated test system: the varying processor speeds between the instruments in the test system and the speed of the bus used to connect all the instruments. Many systems are based on a GPIB interface, which is a common bus for communication. The modular approach, based on the PCI backplane, provides throughput increases for our current system and offers a method to achieve more improvements in the future by upgrading the PXI controller as new processors become available. Meeting PXI Migration Challenges Migrating to PXI presented many challenges including connecting to the device under test. With four standalone oscilloscopes, we were able to connect to and terminate all of the channels on a device under test simultaneously. A digitizer, like most standalone oscilloscopes, offers both a 50 and a high-impedance (1 M) termination. The challenge with a two-channel digitizer was that only two signals on the device under test are high impedance or 50 ohm terminated at a time, leaving the other signals on the board un-terminated. The platform needed a connectivity solution that would allow highbandwidth measurements with low-capacitive loading characteristics typically associated with active probes, which are commonly offered with standalone oscilloscopes, but not readily available with digitizers.
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By integrating high-impedance active probes along with probe power supplies into the system, we sampled and properly terminated all channels on the device under test without loading down the input or output. Most semiconductor products in the industry can be validated using this approach for AC timing characteristics. A modularized, PXI-based approach allowed us to quickly adapt the test platform to ever-changing measurement requirements as the industry performance and speed of semiconductor devices continues to increase. In addition, we had to create a software interface to the instruments that is immediately familiar and usable by our test engineers and technicians. We met this challenge by enlisting the services of Systems Integration Plus Inc. (SPI Inc.), a National Instruments Alliance Partner and Certified LabVIEW Developer based in Scottsdale, Arizona. They branched subroutines, or LabVIEW VIs, into a friendly user interface for testing. Most test and product engineers expect to be able to turn knobs and press buttons on their oscilloscope. The difference with a digitizer in a virtual instrumentation platform is that these knobs and buttons are now accessible with a single mouse click. Most PXI instrument vendors offer soft front panels that attempt to reproduce the hardware front panel found on standalone instruments. Instead, we used the LabVIEW VIs, which allowed us to customize the user interface and measurement routines to our application. With this approach, our next-generation test platform eliminated the overhead, resulting in longer learning curves found in the more complex user interfaces of traditional standalone instruments.
in semiconductor validation time. We also reduced the test system footprint to just a fraction of the space consumed by the former test solution. Because modular, PXI-based instruments now deliver higher performance that is also available with standalone instruments, PXI offers high-precision, accurate measurements for AC performance parameters that are commonly tested in semiconductor validation labs.
Figure 1: Due to the modularity of PXI, we can quickly adapt to
Setting the New Standard of Validation Test Design The PXI platform set a new standard for semiconductor design validation and broke many of the paradigms and constraints of previous testing methodologies. With our new platform based on NI PXI technologies and the processing speed of a PC, we maintained measurement and performance integrity while achieving a three times cost reduction and 10 times improvement
changing measurement requirements as the performance and speed of semiconductor devices continues to increase.
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ST-Ericsson Automates RFIC Validation Using NI LabVIEW and NI TestStand

Sylvain Bertrand, ST-Ericsson THE CHALLENGE Automating the characterization of complex RFICs in a global design environment that consists of multiple teams with varying levels of test automation.
THE SOLUTION Deploying an RFIC characterization software platform based on NI LabVIEW, NI TestStand, and software developed by National Instruments Alliance Partners.
Products used LabVIEW, NI TestStand Drawing the Boundary between NI TestStand and LabVIEW The overlapping features offered by LabVIEW and NI TestStand led to a debate among project development team members about how to use these tools together. With LabVIEW and NI TestStand, we could develop some functionality such as report generation, instrument device control, and loops on different parameters. Our seven years of experience using LabVIEW combined with the experience of the two Alliance Partners made it possible to take advantage of these two software tools and develop an environment for validation and characterization that is flexible, reliable, and scalable. In the RFTS, we chose to use LabVIEW for instrument control, specifically to communicate with devices using NI-VISA and NI-DAQ driver software. We use NI TestStand for sequencing the LabVIEW code, managing test parameters, reporting, and database logging. It would have added unnecessary project development time and maintenance if we had tried to develop the functionality provided by NI TestStand using LabVIEW. We also used LabVIEW to write a custom operator interface for controlling the NI TestStand system. With the RFTS platform, we reduced test development time and facilitated code sharing across groups. Instead of each group developing its own instrument control and test management software, the RFTS provides a complete set of software tools for automating tests. Sharing and Deployment Are the Keys to a Successful Solution Because the use of this new software environment is not mandatory in the company laboratories, the RFTS development team created an installation CD for the tools to facilitate its adoption. With the CD, the
ST-Ericsson is one of the leading wireless IC providers. Our complex IC designs require significant validation and characterization to guarantee quality. To increase productivity in our laboratories, we developed software automation tools on RF test benches using software based on the NI LabVIEW Test Executive and several custom tools to facilitate measurements. To improve code reuse and reduce test development time, we needed to implement a new standard test automation framework built on common software tools in the industry. The new test automation platform built on NI TestStand and LabVIEW helped us reduce the time necessary to validate an RFIC from two months to three weeks. Innovative Development Framework We sought the help of two Alliance Partners, MESULOG and SAPHIR, to implement our new development framework called the Robust and Fast Testing Solution (RFTS). We chose NI TestStand, LabVIEW, and Mesulog TS+ characterization tools to implement the solution because the industry has widely adopted these tools and several groups within our company are familiar with these products. Using this new standard platform, the test application and validation teams can now more easily meet the requirements of the design and engineering teams and their customers through increased code reuse. With the UNiversal Layer (UNL) developed using LabVIEW, the RFTS framework provides different levels of abstraction for instrument control development. This layer consists of the features necessary to control interfaces and instruments, an order interpreter to help test engineers program measurement modules, and the management of the electrical configurations. Using the RFTS, we can easily share the development software for various types of measurements and instrument driver libraries throughout projects and sites.
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engineers can share the different components, such as instrument drivers or sample projects provided by the RFTS platform. Moreover, we can use this installation CD to install deployment stations. The RFTS offers additional benefits to our engineers including a common set of tools that we can share across projects and groups. The code comes with example projects as well as detailed documentation to help users get started quickly. Additionally, Alliance Partners maintain the RFTS, guaranteeing that issues are resolved quickly and that help is available outside our organization.
Figure 1: The NI TestStand Interface Operator.
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NI TestStand Provides the Framework to Texas Instruments $4 Billion Division

Marvin Landrum, Texas Instruments, Inc
THE CHALLENGE Characterizing Texas Instruments (TI) increasingly complex wireless and RF devices in a global design environment.
THE SOLUTION Streamlining TI characterization process with test development, management, and automation software powered by National Instruments LabVIEW and NI TestStand.
Products used LabVIEW, NI TestStand
Eliminating the Design Bottleneck TI has been producing a significant portion of the worlds semiconductor chips for more than 45 years. With close to $4 billion in revenue, TI is one of the leading wireless IC providers. However, as design growth increases linearly with new product introductions, characterization of dozens of tests has increased exponentially, creating a design bottleneck. With the increasing demand fueling the design of more wireless ICs, our characterization groups have been struggling to keep up. Todays wireless designs encompass a greater number of complicated characterization tests, and our process for handling the load became inadequate. These characterization tests range from the highly integrated to system-level power management, analog baseband, RF, and custom system-on-a-chip tests as examples. The evolution of our current device characterization began with highly manual tests dependent on operator intervention and control. This was the first step, however, of an eventual semiautomated NI LabVIEW-based characterization process. Following this was the need to automate and sequence individual characterization tests, which we solved by developing an in-house sequencer using LabVIEW. However, with the growth in demand of these devices and the fact that our RF and wireless IC design centers spanned four worldwide sites in three continents, the need for a maintainable, modular, and reusable process was needed. We developed the fourth-generation characterization process to handle just that. It now features NI TestStand as the characterization test management and automation framework with LabVIEW device characterization modules and instrument libraries. By
developing a common test management and automation framework that is deployed worldwide, it not only provides a common interface but sets the stage and provides a template for developing modular, reusable device tests that engineers can use at any site worldwide. The benefits include complete characterization automation, direct integration with enterprise-level database logging, and automated report generation and data mining using our custom DATAMINER client. NI TestStand Provides Backbone for ACE We developed the software architecture that includes several systems. The overall architecture is called the automated characterization environment (ACE), and, the team developed the main software component, a software framework for plug-in modules and tests, from NI TestStand. NI TestStand is the backbone of the device characterization tests and the software platform that our engineers reuse at all sites worldwide. We customized the NI TestStand process model to include integration with its distributed change management (DCM) system and the local databases.
Figure 1: NI TestStand assits in design verification process of TI semiconductor chips.
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The DCM system uses Perforce file management and is integrated with our global sites. We globally manage all characterization tests and ACE libraries. The ACE libraries include an instrument library for access to many of the common instruments of the ACE hardware platform, a measurement library for many of the functions needed by each of the characterization groups, and an analysis library. ACE supports more than 50 instruments and can be integrated into the hardware platform. Characterization groups use the NI TestStand system and download the necessary libraries to develop the necessary characterization for new devices. They create tests as needed, but much of the test uses the architecture and the pre-existing ACE libraries. ACE also includes a data miner, which is a configurable automated report generation system that can create 700-page reports in four clicks. It supports multiple outputs --including text (ASCII), PDF, XML, and Microsoft Word -- and can mine data locally or on the central server, which is accessible anywhere in the world. There is an enormous amount of commonality between the tests, and this reuse, with a maintainable software platform, is helping our characterization to keep up with our design.
Our device characterization stations are typically built with a high-end Dell desktop using a 3.0 GHz single processor system with typically 2 GB of RAM. The operating system on most of these systems is Windows XP Professional. We chose high-end desktops because of the nature of the tests. The PLL characterization test, for example, could run for multiple days and capture more than 100,000 data points to measure jitter. For wireless and RF characterization, we typically use GPIB and benchtop instruments. NI TestStand and LabVIEW Provide Efficient Platform By leveraging commercial off-the-shelf software technologies such as NI TestStand and LabVIEW, we achieved the level of commonality, maintainability, and reuse with our characterization platform to keep up with the design of new components. Using virtual instrumentation has helped us expand our $4 billion wireless and RF business without sacrificing quality and doubling the number of test engineers.
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Credence Systems Uses NI Modular Instruments to Extend Semiconductor Test Flexibility

David Pinto, Credence Systems Corp. THE CHALLENGE Creating a test solution that performs specialized highfrequency measurements to meet diverse semiconductor application needs. THE SOLUTION Using NI modular instruments inside the Credence ASL 1000 linear test platform to offer an integrated means of increasing flexibility.
Products used NI PCI-5122, NI SCOPE The semiconductor industry has widely adopted the Credence ASL 1000 linear and mixed-signal IC test platform to perform many traditional and complex tests; however, an increasing number of users need specialized measurement capabilities such as the ability to perform high-frequency measurements. Cost-Effective IC Test System The popular ASL 1000 is a low-cost mixed-signal and analog semiconductor test solution that supports up to 21 instruments in a fully configured system. It has the smallest footprint in its class, is air-cooled, and uses a standard 110 or 220 V outlet. With a small test head that makes docking easy, the ASL 1000 is extremely adaptable and easily shared between engineering labs where it is a cost-effective desktop test system and in full production multisite test environments where it proves its low total cost of ownership on a daily basis. The ASL 1000 is most commonly used to test power management, analog, sensor, and discrete IC devices, which can often require specialized and diverse mixedsignal capabilities. To accommodate these diverse needs, the ASL 1000 implements a modular architecture so users can integrate a variety of specialized measurement modules into the same system. NI Digitizer Integration for High-Frequency Measurements For high-frequency measurement capability, the ASL 1000 incorporates the NI PCI-5122 14-bit, 100MS/s digitizer. This combination also provides users the ability to acquire audio and video signals. For these measurements, the PCI-5122 high-speed digitizer offers two independent inputs, a large dynamic range, a software-selectable 50 or 1 M input, ranges from 200 mVpp to 20 Vpp, and the ability to acquire more than 1 million waveforms in onboard memory. two independent inputs, a large dynamic range, a software-selectable 50 or 1 M input, ranges from 200 mVpp to 20 Vpp, and the ability to acquire more than 1 million waveforms in onboard memory. By integrating the PCI-5122 digitizer into the ASL 1000 platform, we were able to offer users the ability to make world-class, high-frequency measurements without needing to communicate with external measurement devices. To integrate this functionality, we chose the internal PCI backplane of the ASL 1000, which controls the ASL instrumentation, to communicate with the NI PCI digitizer. For synchronization, we used an external clock that was generated by internal ASL circuitry and routed that to a PFI line on the PCI-5122 digitizer. Then we routed the analog signals from the test head through buffering circuitry before sending them to the inputs of the PCI-5122. For programming, users can access the NI-SCOPE C API, provided by National Instruments, from within the ASLs visual ATE software environment. They can debug NI-SCOPE using Microsoft Visual Studio in the same way they debug the code that controls other ASL instruments. Using NI modular instruments hardware, we were able to provide our users with more highperformance measurement options and expand the flexibility of our platform. The combination of the ASL 1000 and the NI PCI-5122 can cost-effectively test highperformance audio amplifiers and other analog devices that would normally require a more-expensive ATE system.
Figure 1: The ASL 1000 is a low-cost mixed-signal and analog semiconductor test solution that supports up to 21 instruments in a fully configured system. ni.com/solutions/i 17
PXI-Based Automated Wafer Probe Tester

Andrew Kahn, G Systems, LP THE CHALLENGE Increasing wafer probe test throughput and improving tester flexibility for use with various semiconductor sensors. THE SOLUTION Designing and building an automated production test system with high-speed switching that is configurable for multiple specification limits using NI LabVIEW software and NI Switch Executive.
Products used LabVIEW, PXI G Systems developed an automatic test system to test pressure transducers at the wafer level. The tester is fully expandable and features complete DC parametric analysis including functional tests. The new system replaces an expensive 20-year-old Teradyne tester and has reduced test time by 50 percent. The system tests voltage, current, resistance, and pressure for individual sensor die on a silicon substrate. There are currently five separate test points per sensor, and the tester is configured for up to 20 test points per sensor. Currently, 15 parameters are being tested per die. Increasing production throughput is a common challenge for any wafer probe operation. Using old equipment that is not readily expandable and configurable only complicates the problem. To expand probe capacity and have a dynamic and configurable test system, a silicon sensor manufacturer contracted G Systems to design an automated wafer probe tester that increased test flexibility and reduced total test time by more than 50 percent. A System based on NI Hardware The G Systems wafer probe tester uses NI hardware to interface between a vintage Electroglas prober and four high-speed, high-sensitivity source measure units (SMUs). The signals are routed through the highdensity NI PXI-2532 512-crosspoint matrix switch module configured in an 8 x 32 two-wire array. The NI PXI-4070 FlexDMM measures voltage and sensor leakage. LabVIEW for Control and Operator Interface LabVIEW controls the system, sequences parametric tests, and updates results in a database. Each sensor type has an executable test program and a unique configuration file. This software architecture made it simple to modify test parameters and adjust test limits making changes in the code. The test software and files are downloaded on demand from a remote, secure file server. With NI Switch Executive, we could easily route all signals between the SMUs and the wafer through the prober. We developed the test software with an operating mode for production testing and an engineering mode. In engineering mode, the software provides access to additional controls and test data, and a technician can step through the individual tests one at a time and pause on request. A configurable, high-speed PXI-based automated wafer probe tester was developed, which reduced test time by more than 50 percent. A LabVIEW software program provided a simple, operator-friendly test solution that is configurable for multiple test limits and multiple sensor types. Overall, test times were reduced at significant cost savings.
Figure 1: The above images shows G Systems automated wafer probe tester that was enhanced by NI LabVIEW.
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Automated Semiconductor Wafer Sorting Using NI LabVIEW with Synchronized Motion, Vision, and DAQ
Jeff Long, Automation Works, Inc.
THE CHALLENGE Sorting semiconductor wafers automatically into categories based on physical and electrical characteristics such as thickness, bow, warp, total thickness variation (TTV), and type (N-type or P-type) in addition to matching the precision and repeatability of industry-standard equipment with greater throughput, flexibility, and user friendliness at much lower cost.
THE SOLUTION Taking advantage of NI LabVIEW software, toolkits, and advanced analysis capabilities with tightly synchronized motion, vision, and data acquisition hardware to create a PC-based system that sets a new standard for semiconductor wafer sorting.
Products used LabVIEW, DAQmx, PCI
In semiconductor manufacturing, the push for greater efficiency and higher yield of silicon semiconductor material is never ending. As circuit features shrink in size and global price competition intensifies, wafer processes push the physical and operational limits of equipment manufacturers. One result is increasingly narrow tolerances for incoming wafer physical and electrical parameters in delicate process steps, such as mask and etch. To accommodate tight process step tolerances, wafers must be pre-sorted into narrow categories based on electrical and mechanical parametric values such as thickness, bow, warp, TTV, and type after semiconductor wafers are sawn from an ingot and before processing. Gigamat Technologies, Inc., a Milpitas, CA, manufacturer of sorting, polishing, and edge grinding equipment undertook the task of developing the model 200TRT, a new generation of automated, high-accuracy, high-throughput, full-scan wafer sorting machines with the help of Jeff Long of AutomationWorks, Inc. System Requirements Measuring the bow, warp, and TTV of a wafer requires performing a full dimensional measurement scan of the wafer top and bottom surfaces. This is not only technically challenging, but represents a significant increase in process time compared to simple, singlepoint measurements that were previously sufficient. For these measurements to be useful, they must match industry-standard benchtop instruments, which have the luxury of taking a great deal of time to ensure measurements are precise. Gigamats challenge was to automatically sort wafers from cassettes using full-scan measurements at high throughput rates, with industrystandard accuracy and repeatability.
LabVIEW with Synchronized DAQ, Motion, and Vision on a single PC LabVIEW running on a PC was the key to integrating all of the high-performance technologies required to make this project a success. Combining the hardware synchronization of PCI boards controlling eight NI motion axes with two NI data acquisition boards and one vision board, the inherent multi-tasking and reentrant execution capabilities and DAQmx task, timing, and triggering programming simplicity in LabVIEW gave engineers an ideal platform to rapidly implement, test, and validate multiple iterations of process code. The measurement process is comprised of two steps, wafer alignment and wafer measurement. Wafer alignment identifies the location and orientation of the wafer relative to a vacuum chuck on which it is held and repositions the wafer exactly on the chuck center and with its primary fiducial precisely oriented. The second functional step in the measurement process is the performance of the full wafer scan. This step involves acquiring top and bottom distance measurements from many points across the surface of the wafer and performing analysis on them to derive results. Wafer Alignment Wafer alignment is performed using three axes of motion and a linescan camera. A wafer is aligned by rotating it in the field of view of the camera. By synchronizing camera scans with chuck rotation, a 6 Megapixel image of the wafer edge is composed in a single revolution , which takes about one second. Because camera scans are synchronized with chuck position, they are independent of chuck velocity and may be acquired during chuck acceleration and deceleration ramps to save time. The wafer center, flat and other features are identified from image data using
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LabVIEW vision, math, and advanced analysis tools. The wafer is then rotated and indexed in two short moves to bring it into perfect alignment for the measurement station. Wafer Measurement A full measurement scan is performed by gripping a wafer from beneath with a rotational chuck and spinning it between top and bottom probes which measure the distance to the wafer surface with a resolution of <0.0001mm. Accurate and repeatable wafer measurements require high measurement density, and throughput requires high data acquisition rates. Measurements must be associated with the position on the wafer from which they were acquired. The solution was to synchronize the NI PCI-6115 four-channel simultaneous acquisition board with the measurement chuck position to acquire many sets of position-related measurements per chuck revolution. Controlling the position of a servo translational carriage on which the chuck was mounted as data was acquired allowed for full surface scanning. We used NI Motion-based contoured moves to create seamless combinations of circular and spiral trajectories employing sometimes one and at other times two axes of motion for optimal throughput and measurement integrity. We then used LabVIEW advanced analysis and math tools extensively to calculate measurement results from the more than many thousands of measurement sets acquired from each wafer. Process Control In addition to wafer alignment and measurement, we developed a complete application executive using LabVIEW that integrates: - Graphical touchscreen user interface (via front panel events) - Control of 12 wafer elevators via RS-485 - Independent control of 62 servo and stepper motors - Digital I/O control of vacuum, light tower, machine power, etc. Powerful recipe management tools that allow the sorter to operate in many different modes on wafers of varying diameters and shapes.
Data Management The Gigamat wafer sorter makes extensive use of the LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit to interface with Microsoft Access for storage and recall of all machine configuration parameters, process recipes, and measurement results. Customers can easily search and sort resulting database files using Access, Excel, or text-based tools as required in this highly flexible and customizable data management architecture. This project wouldnt have been economically viable without LabVIEW and NI synchronized motion, vision, and DAQ products. said Edmond Abrahamians, president and CEO of Gigamat, The amount of time and money saved by choosing to integrate off-the-shelf National Instruments products versus developing custom-engineered solutions of satisfactory performance made the difference between success and failure. The timeline of this project was minimized with the extensive use of built-in LabVIEW tools that provided our engineers with the ability to rapidly implement and visualize solutions to problems, and to use measurement data as a closed-loop feedback tool for machine and process development. The result is a wafer sorter that matches accuracy and repeatability of standalone systems, but with full automation and high throughput rates."
Figure 1: Block diagram of the main sorter application VI displaying the use of a state-based queued message handler architecture with front panel events and modular, multi-tasking subsystem control.
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PXI-Based Embedded System Controls Semiconductor Metrology Tool

Craig Moore, EUV Technology
THE CHALLENGE Developing a networked embedded control and measurement system for a semiconductor metrology tool to measure extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) mask blanks.
Products used
THE SOLUTION Using NI LabVIEW Real-Time and PXI for embedded hardware control and LabVIEW for Linux to host the networked operator and supervisory graphical user interfaces on multiple touch-screen displays.
LabVIEW, PXI, DAQmx The Latest in Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology The semiconductor manufacturing industry is actively evaluating new technologies to further reduce chip size and increase circuit density. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is a new technology utilizing a shorter wavelength of light than traditional optical lithography to achieve the goal of smaller circuit traces. One critical component of the EUVL process is a mirror called a mask blank, which is coated with a nonreflective image (a mask) of the circuit to be projected and burned onto the chip. For the image to be projected evenly, the mask blanks must have a uniform and high reflectivity of EUV light across their entire surface. Because high-energy EUV light does not travel through air, this process must be performed, and any measurements taken, inside a high-vacuum chamber. A reflectometer measures the reflectivity, and, thus, the quality, of the blanks by reflecting monochromatic EUV light off the blank and measuring the corresponding loss of intensity. The reflectometer varies the wavelength of light, sweeps through an entire target spectrum, and produces a reflectivity versus wavelength curve. EUV Technology, a short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation utilization and analysis instrumentation manufacturer, asked James Kring, Inc. to partner in designing an embedded control and measurement system for an EUV reflectometer metrology tool used on a semiconductor factory floor. Touch-screen user interfaces would enable common tasks such as editing and running measurement recipes, viewing results, monitoring status, and servicing. The tool control system manages the robotics responsible for transferring the mask blank from a standard mechanical interface (SMIF) pod into a highvacuum measurement chamber, and the environmental control system of pumps, valves, and pressure gauges responsible for maintaining the high-vacuum environment. The reflectometers measurement system encompasses a laser, a laser-powered meter, EUV optical sensors, and a custom four-axis servo motor driver system that generates and monochromates the EUV light. Responsible for maintaining the high-vacuum environment. The reflectometers measurement system encompasses a laser, a laser-powered meter, EUV optical sensors, and a custom four-axis servo motor driver system that generates and monochromates the EUV light. The hardware system consists of approximately 10 RS232 serial devices, 40 digital I/O lines, two analog input signals, and four servo motion control axes. Integrated PXI and LabVIEW Real-Time Provide a Powerful and Cost-Effective Solution We chose the PXI-8145 RT embedded controller as the LabVIEW Real-Time control and measurement application execution target. It provided ample processing capabilities and integrated easily with a wide array of plug-in PXI modules. We selected the PXI-6527 digital I/O module for its isolated input/output capabilities and its ability to switch and monitor non-TTL level signals found inside the tool. We chose the PXI8420 16-port asynchronous RS232 interface module for its LabVIEW Real-Time compatibility and ease of programming via NI-VISA driver software. Each measurement iteration required synchronizing the EUV light source generation with the corresponding EUV detector measurement. With the PXI platform Real-Time System Integration (RTSI) bus, we tightly synchronized the laser firing with the analog input acquisition by sharing high-speed digital trigger signals directly on the PXI backplane. We used the PXI-6070E multifunction data acquisition module for its aforementioned digital triggering capability, its ability to easily meet the customers 1 MHz sampling rate requirement, and the ease of programming via NIDAQmx driver software. We chose the PXI-7344 motion control module to control the custom servo motor drivers which generated and monochromatted the EUV light source. We took advantage of the PXI-7344 for its ability to embed custom motion control programs written using NI FlexMotion VIs and run them directly on its
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own onboard processor. This feature was instrumental in controlling the reflectometers reel-to-reel constanttension tape drive, a critical component in the EUV source-generation process. LabVIEW Real-Time Shortens Development Time with Remote Development and Debugging Traditional embedded system development requires many tedious, manual steps. For example, after developing the source code, the user must be compile it and transfer it onto the embedded system. Then the user must test and debug the application, often requiring special debugger cables to be hooked up between the embedded system and the debugging PC. If software changes are required, the user must repeat the process until achieving the desired result. However, with LabVIEW Real-Time targeting our embedded PXI controller over the network, these steps were completely transparent, dramatically reducing testing and debugging time. We used LabVIEW for Windows to rapidly develop our control and measurement application, and we used the LabVIEW Real-Time Module to upload, execute, and debug our application on the PXI-8145 controller real-time operating system. LabVIEW also provided a powerful suite of TCP/IP VIs for developing the communications portion of this distributed control and measurement system. The embedded PXI application managed low-level hardware and measurement control, while the LabVIEW for Linux applications running on the touch-screen terminals performed high-level operator control and measurement analysis. We customized existing NI TCP/IP client/server software to develop a truly distributed system with three networked subsystems messaging control, status, and response data via Ethernet. Cost-Effective Solution Affords Increase in Productivity James Kring, Inc., and EUV Technology produced an affordable system in less time by using PXI and LabVIEW Real-Time. We realized a significant increase in software productivity by utilizing the advanced
embedded system debugging tools of LabVIEW RealTime and the ready-to-use data acquisition, motion, networking, and analysis VIs that ship with the LabVIEW development environment. Using the PXI hardware platform meant we could focus on customer performance requirements and simply choose the appropriate plug-in modules to get the job done. Should the system evolve, we can easily add hardware and enhance the software using the flexible and scalable PXI and LabVIEW Real-Time platforms.
Figure 1: Extreme Ultraviolet Reflectometer System Layout.
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Using NI LabVIEW and PXI to Reduce Video DAC Testing Time by 97 Percent
Sam Yang, Sunplus Technology Co.
THE CHALLENGE Developing a system to quickly and efficiently validate video digital-to-analog converters (DAC).
THE SOLUTION Using the NI LabVIEW development environment and PXI hardware to create a test platform that reduces test time by 97 percent.
Products used
LabVIEW, PXI Previously, validation testing for a video DAC took more than 10 working days. This inefficient hardware test model took too much time, and it was difficult for the engineer to quickly identify problems on the electric circuit, and in the time-constrained semiconductor industry, this became a serious problem. To help resolve this issue, we used the LabVIEW graphical development environment with a combination of digital multimeters, digital I/O devices, and switches to rapidly extract data and reduce test time by 97 percent. By switching the testing approach, we also reduced errors caused by the manual configuration of plugs, which further improves testing efficiency. The Introduction of Software-Defined Hardware The objectives of this project included: - Developing an automated testing system for video DAC systems used in digital electronic household appliances - Improving the performance of product testing - Reducing the frequency of repetitive human manipulation by implementing a standardized automated platform - The entire testing infrastructure was separated into hardware and software elements. Developing a High-Speed Hardware Architecture We achieved a significant reduction of test time by replacing the original test environment with NI PXI hardware. In the past, due to the speed limitation of GPIB and digital multimeters it took one second to finish testing voltage. To finish testing an entire channel, it took about 10.5 hrs. With its exceptional efficiency, the NI PXI-4071 digital multimeter reduces the test time of per step voltage to 33 ms. Thus, it now takes less than 20 minutes to finish testing the entire item, resulting in tremendous time savings. Using the NI PXI-4110 power supply to replace the traditional power supply provides a stable source of voltage for the DAC that can be controlled and minimizes the testing space. Due to the testing requirements, each channel can be switched to two different load resistances for different current value modes: full current (37.5 ) and 1/4 current (150 ). Previously, we had to switch the electronic current by manually soldering the resistor. For example, to test a chip with four channels we had to change four resistances in one electric current. It was time consuming, and it increased the risk of the pad falling off the printed circuit board. Building an Intuitive Front Panel Using LabVIEW We used LabVIEW graphical programming software as the development environment to construct an intuitive front panel interface. The front panel displays the realtime testing status and each block functions according to the following: - Initial DAC voltage and the reference voltage value to show the level being measured - Real-time voltage measure taken by the NI PXI-4071 multimeter - X-Y plots to show the voltage change per digital code - Ability to automatically change the test mode to show the current pin configuration status of the NI PXI-6542 high-speed digital I/O device - Manual configuration block testing - Choice of the files directory and format (.txt or .xml) - Single status measurements with real-time reporting. We developed the new testing platform successfully using NI PXI modules to reduce the testing time from 4,756 s to 138 s. In the competitive electronic industry, time is of the essence and it is imperative to minimize the time frame from R&D to mass production. Therefore, the testing time is heavily weighted in the success of the whole process. The highly efficient automated testing platform generated from the combination of National Instruments software and hardware has greatly reduced the testing time. Our department is now able to produce the most accurate testing numbers within the shortest possible timeframe.
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Creating a High-Speed Control System to Test MEMS Microshutters Using NI LabVIEW FPGA
Eric Lyness, Mink Hollow Systems THE CHALLENGE Synchronizing the motion of a magnet moving more than 1 m/s with the opening and closing of tens of thousands of hair-sized microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microshutters. THE SOLUTION Using the NI LabVIEW FPGA Module and the NI PXI7813R reconfigurable I/O module to precisely and deterministically pinpoint the position of the magnet and the proper outputs to control the MEMS microshutters in perfect synchronization.
Products used LabVIEW, PXI The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the next big telescope at NASA. More ambitious than its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA will place the JWST at a stable Lagrange point approximately 1 million miles from the earth. This telescope is the next stepping stone toward understanding the universe and studying the Big Bang theory at NASA. The near infrared spectrometer (NIRSpec), developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with major NASA contributions, is the primary instrument on the telescope. It observes thousands of distant galaxies to probe the epoch of initial galaxy formations in the universe. To measure numerous faint objects, the instrument must simultaneously observe a large number of objects in previously unknown positions. To observe objects at these positions, NASA developed the microshutter array, a 171 by 365 matrix of 100 by 200 m shutters that can open under random access control. Four microshutter arrays in a 2 by 2 matrix create a programmable transmission mask of about 250,000 shutters so that the NIRSpec can simultaneously target more than 100 faint objects, proportionally improving the efficiency of this major scientific facility. This system is essential to the development of the microshutter array, and it will be critical for the arrays flight qualification in this major international mission. What is a Microshutter? A microshutter is a 100 by 200 m rectangular door that opens and closes to block light or let it pass through. The shutters pivot on a silicon nitride flexure, actuate magnetically with the help of magnetic coating, and latch electrostatically through electrical connections. When we began working on this project, manufacturing shutter arrays was a new and complex process that was still under development. NASA manufactures the shutters in arrays with 365 columns and 171 rows for a total of more than 62,000 shutters per array. When we began working on this project, manufacturing shutter arrays was a new and complex process that was still under development. NASA manufactures the shutters in arrays with 365 columns and 171 rows for a total of more than 62,000 shutters per array. We mounted the shutters on a substrate and wired the array in a grid so that we can assert its rows and columns to address each shutter. To open a shutter, we passed a magnet across the front of the array while applying high voltage to the row and column of each shutter. The magnetic field opened the shutter, and the static charge at the intersection of the row and column held it open. We fabricated each shutter array to test some aspect of the overall design. Tests in this facility inform the further definition of the fabrication process. Using the NI PCI-7344 four-axis stepper motor controllers and the NI MID-7604 power motor drivers, we developed the software that controls the vacuum chamber, shutter control instrumentation, cameras, and other apparatuses to evaluate array performance. Testing with this system revealed that uncontrolled shutter release limits shutter performance. In this uncontrolled approach, one closed a shutter by turning off the power to the row and column of the shutter. With each approach, the shutter impacts its light baffle in a way that significantly limits its lifetime. The development team decided that we should release the shutters in synchronization with a passing magnet so that the magnetic field cushions the impact as the shutter closes. A test chamber completed in 2005 includes this new synchronized latching-and-release capability. Microshutter Control System The microshutters must function reliably for up to 100,000 cycles on different shutter designs. Instead of testing for years, the new test chamber must cycle the shutters rapidly. The motor rotates at up to 240 rpm; thus, the sled, connected to the motor with off-center cables, crosses back and forth in front of the shutter
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array four times per second. The control system needs to latch or release each of the 365 columns of the shutter array exactly as the magnet passes. To get an idea of the precision and speed required, imagine that each column of the shutter array is a slat 1 in. wide in a picket fence that is 30 ft long. The magnet would be like a jet plane moving past it at more than 700 mph and only 3 ft away.To control the shutters, we have to communicate with the control electronics and custom high-voltage shift registers. The new system also needs to rapidly communicate and provide utilities to test and verify many operations of the 584 chips. The system must meet all of these control requirements and be failsafe. The tests run for days at a time, opening and closing all 62,000 shutters 240 times per minute. If the system loses synchronization, the loss can damage the shutters in just a few minutes. In order to meet these requirements, we had to either design and manufacture a custom chip or use the LabVIEW FPGA Module. We selected a PXI chassis and controller containing a PXI7813R reconfigurable I/O module and used the LabVIEW FPGA Module to perform shutter control. The Control Design The entire system contains a host computer that controls the test chamber, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) host program that runs on the PXI controller, and FPGA software that runs on the PXI7813R. With the FPGA host interface, engineers can calibrate the system and perform manual control functions, create and download bitmaps to write to the arrays, and run self-test diagnostics on the other functions of the 584 chips. The FPGA software reads the position of the magnet from a quadrature encoder or an absolute encoder. We placed the encoder-decoding algorithm in a single-cycle loop running at 40 MHz to ensure it does not miss any steps. After some filtering to remove jitter, we placed the position value in a first-in-first-out memory buffer (FIFO). Another loop on the FPGA reads the FIFO and determines what to do with the shutters based on the current location of the magnet. This state machine communicates with the 584 chips using the protocol to turn the appropriate rows and columns on or off. If the FIFO overflows, the state machine controlling the shutters is not going fast enough. The software indicates a synchronization error to the host computer
so the system can shut down. This algorithm works very well and has become the foundation for control experimentation on the shutter arrays. As engineers develop new ideas to improve shutter operation, we can easily add or change algorithms in the state machine block. The LabVIEW FPGA Module and PXI-7813R saved us hundreds of man-hours and thousands of dollars over developing a custom chip. In addition to saving costs, the control algorithm is also inexpensively modified to improve testing, explore shutter issues, and further the development of the NASA microshutter arrays.
Figure 1: Fully Functional, 1/6th Scale Model of the JWST Mirror in an Optics Test Bed.
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Sub-surface defect detection in Si-wafer for semiconductor industries by a LabVIEW based real time digital shearography
Ganesha Udupa, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore BKA Ngoi, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
THE CHALLENGE The sub-surface defects in Si-wafer, which cannot be detected before the wafer reclamation process or wafer fabrication process caused high wafer rejection rate at the end of the finishing stage of the processes. There is no instrument currently available to inspect the wafers at sub-surface level before wafer fabrication/reclamation processes. Products used LabVIEW, PCI, Vision Abstract Silicon wafers are widely used in semiconductor and microelectronics industries. The current practice in semiconductor industry is to inspect the wafers for any surface defects only at the end of final polishing stage. At this stage, the sub-surface defects are visible (as they have been exposed by polishing) as minute spots forming spiral rings or swirl. The present work relates to subsurface defects inspection system for semiconductor industries and particularly to an inspection system for a defect such as swirl defects and group of particles in an unpolished silicon wafer before the wafer reclamation and/or the wafer fabrication process by digital shearography technique. Introduction Defects in silicon wafers have been of great scientific and technological interest since before the earliest days of the silicon transistor. It has been reported that millions of dollars were lost each year owing to the failure of detecting these defects in silicon wafers prior to the wafer fabrication/reclamation processes. Recently much attention has been focused on crystal originated pits (COPs) on the polished surface of the wafer. The Semiconductor Industry Associations (SIA) International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors /1/ identifies the inspection and characterization of defects and particles on wafers to be a potentially show-stopping barrier to device miniaturization. With the need to detect smaller defects, the costs of inspecting wafers are skyrocketing. In order for new advances to be implemented in production environments, improvements in sensitivity must be achieved. In order to increase the yield in the manufacturing process, the defects are to be detected
THE SOLUTION The subsurface defects are detected and evaluated by thermally stressing the silicon wafer while looking for defect induced anomalies in a fringe pattern, generated by the interference of two speckle patterns in the CCD camera and digital image processing. The technique is based on Laser digital Shearography.
at the early stage of the process as well as to control the defects during the production process. The KLAs Tencor instrument, a commercial wafer defect inspection system currently available to surface inspect the defects at the end of the manufacturing process in semiconductor industries. Unfortunately there is no instrument available to detect the subsurface defects in the wafer before polishing. As a result sub-surface defects comprise 65% of all the reasons for yield loss /2/. Optical Interferometric techniques have been known for non-destructive testing (NDT) of objects /3/. The technique is called speckle shearing interferometry, also known as Shearography applied here for the first time to detect sub-surface defects in semiconductor wafer /4/. Figure 1 shows the flowchart for in-line metrology of subsurface defect detection proposed to benefit the semiconductor wafer manufacturing/reclamation industries. Principles of Digital Shearography Digital shearography is an optical interferometric technique that measures surface strain concentrations caused by surface and subsurface flaws or defects due to some sort of load, usually either thermal, vacuum or vibration excitation. In Shearography one object point splits into two in the image plane by a shearing device, thus two laterally sheared images are observed using CCD camera. The two laterally sheared images interfere with each other producing a random interference pattern commonly known as a speckle pattern. The pattern is random, and depends on the characteristics of the surface of the object. When the object is deformed, by temperature, pressure, or other means, the random interference pattern will change. A comparison of the random speckle patterns for the
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deformed and undeformed states, and their respective fringe patterns, gives information about the structural integrity of the object. A flaw or defect in the object usually induces a strain concentration, which is translated into an anomaly in the fringe pattern. The method is called shearography because one image of the object is laterally displaced, or sheared, relative to the other image. Digital speckle shearing interferometry or digital shearography uses a CCD camera and computer image processing to produce the fringe anomaly patterns indicative of the defects in objects. Wafer Defect Detection System The major parts are the illumination source, shearographic head and the image acquisition. The source of light is a 35-mW He-Ne laser at a wavelength of 632.8nm. The shearographic head consists of a CCD camera and the shearing element. The shearing element is an interferometer in Michelson arrangement. A beam splitter and two adjustable mirrors (M3 and M4) followed by a zoom lens, which image the wafer onto the CCD camera. The direction and amount of shear are altered by tilting the mirror M4 through the required angle. A macro video zoom lens (18-108 mm, F/2.5) having the working distance variable between a maximum of infinity (without close up lens) and a minimum of 140 mm (with close up lens) is fixed to the CCD camera. The zoom lens can be manually adjusted for focus and aperture control. With the working distance of about 600 mm, the zoom lens and the camera was capable of recording a field of view that ranged from 198 264 mm at the low magnification to 33 44 mm at the high magnification. To view 200-mm diameter wafer, the camerato-object distance was about 600 mm. The camera is connected to the Pentium 4 computer for image acquisition and analysis. The LabVIEW Express 7 software along with image processing card IMAQ PCI-1409 is installed in a Pentium 4 computer and a programme is written to perform the real time subtraction. Results and Discussion Experiments were conducted using an IR lamp as a choice for thermal stressing method. However, the other thermal sources such as Halogen etc can also be used. An infrared lamp is placed at the center of the wafer mount. The results are obtained in real time as shown in Fig. 3 and it shows subsurface defects in the form of anomaly in the fringe pattern. The software is written using LabVIEW Express 7, either to save the fringe patterns directly into the hard disc at each 100 ms duration or an operator can click on the save button to capture the desired pattern for future analysis. The program subtracts the successive frame from the initial (reference) frame and display on the monitor in real time which can be saved as a file in a suitable format.
The pattern may vary depending on the distribution of COPs inside the wafer. Even though the stressing is not steady state, the real time shearography helps in observing transient thermal deformation, revealing internal defects in the form of anomaly in the fringe pattern. The swirl defects or voids inside the Si-wafer may consists of little air trappings. The heat will cause the trapped air to expand or the defect to deform its shape. This defect deformation reflects on the surface of the wafer producing strain anomaly on the surface and hence the defects are detected. The defects or flaws are normally manifest in the fringe pattern as fringe anomalies such as bulls eye, butterflies, fringe discontinuities, abrupt curvature or curling changes or sudden fringe density changes. Fringe anomalies can generally be seen between 30 C and 60 C after which speckles decorrelate resulting in degradation of fringe quality. The experiments are continued with the other wafers of the batch to sort good and defective wafers. Figure 4 shows the fringe pattern of one of the good wafer which clearly shows uniform and smooth fringe distribution without any fringe anomaly in it. The fringes represent the derivatives of deformation due to loading. The results are repetitive, and it shows that the technique is capable of differentiating the good wafers from defective wafers before the wafer reclamation or fabrication processes. Experiments were also conducted with vacuum stressing method, but failed to register any underlying defects in the wafer.. This shows that the thermal stressing method is a suitable technique to detect defects in Si-wafer. Conclusion A wafer defect detection system for detecting subsurface defects in an unpolished silicon wafer has been investigated based on real time digital shearography for in-line inspection of wafer in semiconductor industries. In the present work, swirl defects (cluster defects) and group of particles can be detected qualitatively in real time by whole field measurement of the wafer surface in few seconds using powerful LabVIEW Express 7 software. The method of stressing the wafer is investigated and the thermal method is the best choice compared to the vacuum stressing method. The Fringe anomalies representing the sub-surface defects can be seen within the range of 30 C to 60 C. The tests show that the system could able to sort good and defective wafers. The defective wafers tested by the system are in agreement with the surface results obtained after polishing by the KLA Tencor instrument in terms of detecting cluster swirl defects or group of particles. The results obtained are repetitive and hence useful to sort defective swirls and nondefective unpolished wafers. Further work is being carried out to determine quantitatively the location and size of the defects using phase shifting technique.
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Research Group Creates Flexible, High-Speed, Mixed-Signal System for On-Wafer Function and Performance Testing
Axel Nackaerts, Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre
THE CHALLENGE Developing a custom mixed-signal measurement platform that can accommodate multiple power supplies and high-speed digital and analog signals for on-wafer measurement of devices and prototype circuits.
THE SOLUTION Creating a flexible test system using National Instruments PXI hardware and a custom interface to a wafer prober system.
Products used LabVIEW, PXI In a research consortium such as the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), a large number of projects are running in parallel with a wide variety of devices under test (DUTs). DUTs can be simple passive components, transistors, memory cells, or sizeable memories and microprocessor cores. Large automated batch tools handle device parametric testing and testing of simple circuits (such as static RAM cells or ring oscillators). However, it is not costeffective to implement different test procedures for more complex circuits on these systems. We required a flexible platform that would help researchers set up and execute their own test procedures quickly. Furthermore, the platform had to replace an aging industrial ASIC test system while maintaining the same functionality. Key system requirements included: - A logic analyzer with 80-channel high-speed digital I/O, hardware result comparison, and selectable voltage levels - Generation and acquisition of analog signals in the 100 kHz range - Digital oscilloscope functionality - Precision current, voltage, and capacitance measurements - Multiple independently programmable power sources. The ability to interface with a probe card mounted on a semiautomatic wafer probe system. We selected an NI PXI-1044 14-slot chassis with four NI PXI-6551 high-speed 20-channel digital I/O modules, an NI PXI-5124 2-channel 200 MS/s high-speed digitizer, an NI PXI-6259 multipurpose data acquisition module, two NI PXI-4110 power supplies, and an NI PXI-4072 6-digit LCR meter. Future expansion of the system is possible by adding more PXI modules or another chassis. The interface between the probe card (300 pins) and the data acquisition and generation system had to be flexible enough to accommodate the different circuit pinouts but also reconfigurable in a few minutes. Any probe card pin had to be connectable to any I/O pin. The large number of pins and the high-frequency signal content excluded the use of a large switch matrix, so we designed an impedance-matched interface board with two backplane buses and a plug-in interconnection daughterboard. One backplane bus connects to every possible probe card pin, while the other bus connects to every digital or analog I/O of the measurement system. The daughterboard contains the probe-to-I/O mapping. Two variants of the daughterboard were designed: a development board where the two backplane buses are expanded into connectors, so researchers can wire wrap manual connections, and a second variant with hardwired interconnections for production testing. Direct connections to the probe card pins are also possible. All data generation and acquisition is controlled with virtual instruments created in the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment. With this system installed, researchers can now develop a measurement application at their desk and prewire a development daughterboard for their specific circuit. Running the measurements on a wafer now requires only loading and aligning the wafer, plugging in the prewired interconnection daughterboard, and loading the LabVIEW application. Researchers can perform these (on-tool) operations in less than 30 minutes, compared to several hours with the previously used system. By using National Instruments PXI modular instruments and LabVIEW as the programming interface, the measurement throughput has increased by a factor of four, while the total cost of ownership was reduced by 60 percent. Additionally, we can easily modify the system for additional functionality.
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A Low-Cost, Expandable PXI-Based Solution for Mixed-Signal ASIC Test

M. Cem Karahan, Cal. Bay Systems, Inc. THE SOLUTION Building a PXI-based system complete with software written with NI LabVIEW software that enables easy channel-count expansion by using the NI Synchronization and Memory Core (SMC) architecture.
THE CHALLENGE Developing a flexible test system for characterizing new application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).
Products used Pxi, LabVIEW Timely characterization and debuging data is critical to quickly getting new ASIC designs to market. With PXI instruments and LabVIEW, it is easy to create custom characterization systems that would previously have been difficult to build. We used several NI PXI-6552 digital waveform generator/analyzers to put together a custom scan-chain test system, facilitating rapid debuging of an ASIC design. A fabless semiconductor startup company challenged National Instruments and Cal-Bay Systems to develop a verification platform to test their mixed-signal ASICs. Debugging a new ASIC is an iterative process; test results may determine the requirements of the next test. Delays associated with running custom test protocols on traditional automated test equipment (ATE) at the foundry resulted in unacceptable delays in time to market. Placing the design validation test system in the hands of the design engineers reduced ASIC debuging time by a factor of five. After the initial test system was deployed, test data showed that more channels were needed to debug the ASIC design. The LabVIEW and PXI platforms allow channel expansion by adding modular instruments configured to work together as one instrument through the NI SMC device. Deep On-Board Memory, Hardware Comparison, and Low-Level Control via Bidirectionality Scan-chain testing of ASICs allows designers to access many registers inside an ASIC via the scan-chain interface, which typically has only a few I/O pins. Scanchain testing requires the generation of millions of digital waveforms (stimuli) to the ASIC while simultaneously acquiring and comparing the actual response of the ASIC to the expected response. The NI PXI-6552 module can be used for both generation and acquisition in scan-chain tests. Each digital line of a PXI-6552 module has tristate capability that allows for dual-mode operation. With tristate operation, the possible states associated with a digital line are not limited to the traditional 1 (drive high) and 0 (drive low). For lines configured as inputs, a comparison engine measures the ASICs response to the given stimuli and compares this response to the expected value in the hardware. These capabilities make it possible to tightly control the individual registers
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in the ASIC on a per-cycle basis. With the PXI-6552, the programmer can compensate for transmission line delays by applying a fixed delay to a selected list of channels. Finally, the ASIC test design is not limited to a single logic family, as programmable logic levels are allowed. All of these features make it possible to design a flexible and customized test for an ASIC. Efficient and Effective Software Development with NI LabVIEW The key requirement in this application was giving test engineers the tools to quickly define digital waveforms to generate and compare. The customer wanted to use text files to accomplish this task. Thus, the system software used native LabVIEW file I/O libraries to read millions of vectors from text files. Next, NI-HSDIO driver libraries were used to implement the digital waveform generation and hardware compare features. Hardware compare functionality reduces the overhead associated with the comparison task allowing comparisons to be made spontaneously with no coding and little post-processing. Design engineers can review test results via intuitive waveform graph controls, textbased reports, and mismatched vector displays. Displays of mismatched vectors permit design engineers to quickly drill down into the large data sets. Easy Expandability with NI SMC A main cost factor in automated test hardware is channel count. Generally speaking, more channels increase the cost of a data acquisition system. Adding more channels after the initial design may be expensive or impossible. The NI T-Clock Technology for Timing and Synchronization solves this problem by synchronizing multiple devices with minimal modifications to existing hardware and software, giving test design engineers the ability to add more channels seamlessly. Cal-Bay engineers were also challenged to put this technology to use during this project. After the initial development phase was completed for 20 digital I/O channels, the customer expressed a desire to use the same software architecture with a total of 40 channels. This upgrade was completed seamlessly and in short order thanks to NI SMC technology on the hardware front. On the software side, as the original software design employed principles of a
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modular architecture, addition of extra channels to the system was a relatively minor task. Per-cycle bidirectional control of individual digital I/O lines coupled with features such as tristate operation, hardware comparison, programmable voltage level support, and channel time delay make the NI PXI-655x modular instruments formidable alternatives to traditional high-cost ATEs. LabVIEW native software libraries and free drivers that ship with NI modular instruments reduce the time and risk associated with the usual software development process. NIs SMC technology allows for easy introduction of additional digital I/O channels, seamlessly expanding the existing system in short order.
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TriQuint Semiconductor Uses NI PXI and LabVIEW to Reduce Characterization Time of RF Power Amplifiers
Gary Shipley, TriQuint Semiconductor
THE CHALLENGE Reducing the characterization time of increasingly complex cellular power amplifiers (PAs) without sacrificing measurement accuracy or incurring higher capital equipment costs.
THE SOLUTION Using NI LabVIEW software with NI PXI modular instrumentation to develop a PA characterization system that helped us improve test throughput by 10 times while still reducing capital equipment cost, power consumption, and physical space.
Products used RF, PXI, LabVIEW, TestStand
About TriQuint Semiconductor TriQuint is a leader in high-performance RF solutions for sophisticated mobile devices, defense and aerospace applications, and network infrastructure. Today, TriQuint delivers innovative solutions using GaAs, GaN, SAW, and BAW technologies to organizations around the world. Engineers and scientists rely on TriQuint's innovation to improve the performance and lower the overall cost of their applications. Challenges With Existing PA Characterization Techniques While cellular RF PAs were primarily designed to be single band and single mode, todays PAs are required to meet a much more diverse set of requirements. In fact, modern PAs are designed to operate in eight or more frequency bands, as well as to handle multiple modulation types including GSM, EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA+, LTE, and more. At TriQuint Semiconductor, we needed to test these increasingly complex parts across a wide range of frequencies, voltage supply levels, temperatures, and power ranges. The complete characterization process for a typical part requires 30,00040,000 lines of data to completely test the design. Using traditional rack-andstack RF test equipment, it took us roughly 10 seconds to collect each line of data, which required more than 110 hours of testing for each individual part. Designing a Replacement PXI Test System To address the growing challenge of reducing test time in RF part characterization, we developed a PA characterization test system based on NI PXI, LabVIEW, and NI TestStand. Our PA test bench included the following instruments:
- NI PXIe-5673 6.6 GHz vector signal generator - NI PXIe-5663 6.6 GHz vector signal analyzer - NI PXI-5691 8 GHz programmable RF amplifier - NI PXIe-5122 100 MS/s high-speed digitizer - NI PXI-4110 programmable power supply - NI PXI-4130 precision source measure unit - NI PXI-2596 dual 6x1 26 GHz multiplexer - 100 Mbit/s digital I/O module - Traditional rack-and-stack spectrum analyzer - External power meter, power supplies - LabVIEW - NI TestStand - NI GSM/EDGE Measurement Suite - NI Measurement Suite for WCDMA/HSPA+
Using LabVIEW software, we updated our existing test plans to perform the same sequence of measurements on the NI PXI test bench. Because measurement speeds were faster on the PXI test system, we configured our characterization sequences to use the PXI bench whenever possible, augmenting it with traditional rack-and-stack instruments only as necessary.
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Advantages of NI PXI One of the primary drivers behind the decision to use PXI was our ability to achieve faster measurement speed without sacrificing measurement accuracy. In general, the time required for RF measurements on our previous PA test benches dominated the overall characterization time. By using NI PXI, we took advantage of several key technologies that allow PXI systems to achieve faster measurement times. PXI takes advantage of a high-speed data bus, highperformance multicore CPUs, and parallel measurement algorithms to achieve the fastest test times possible. In addition, the NI GSM/EDGE Measurement Suite and the NI Measurement Suite for WCDMA/HSPA+ use composite measurements so that all measurements can be taken on a single set of I/Q data. Using these toolkits, we were able to measure PA characteristics such as gain, efficiency, flatness, ACP, ACLR, EVM, and PVT.
Results From Using PXI By using PXI to perform the bulk of the measurements on our PA test bench, we shortened the characterization time of our PAs from two weeks to about 24 hours. Also, we observed significant improvements in measurement time for each of our GSM, EDGE, and WCDMA measurement tests. Table 1 compares the measurement times and speedup of both the traditional and the PXI test benches. The PXI test bench performed six to 11 times faster for individual measurement sequences. The times are based on measurements of 100 frames. Conclusions As a result of using NI PXI modular instruments, we significantly reduced the characterization time of our RF PAs without sacrificing measurement accuracy. We built the new PXI test systems at the same or lower cost than the original traditional instrument solution. We anticipate using NI PXI for future test systems.
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Applicazione della visione artificiale nellindustria dei semiconduttori

ST-Ericsson Automates RFIC Validation Using NI LabVIEW and NI TestStand

NI TestStand Provides the Framework to Texas Instruments $4 Billion Division

Credence Systems Uses NI Modular Instruments to Extend Semiconductor Test Flexibility

PXI-Based Automated Wafer Probe Tester

PXI-Based Embedded System Controls Semiconductor Metrology Tool

A Low-Cost, Expandable PXI-Based Solution for Mixed-Signal ASIC Test

FlexyLAB: un sistema flessibile per testare laffidabilit dei circuiti integrati

Prodotti utilizzati LabVIEW, DAQ, Modular Instruments, PXI

Applicazione della Visione Artificiale nellindustria dei Semiconduttori

Prodotti utilizzati Vision

Products used LabVIEW, PXI

Figure 1: Due to the modularity of PXI, we can quickly adapt to

ST-Ericsson Automates RFIC Validation Using NI LabVIEW and NI TestStand

Figure 1: The NI TestStand Interface Operator.

NI TestStand Provides the Framework to Texas Instruments $4 Billion Division

Products used LabVIEW, NI TestStand

Figure 1: NI TestStand assits in design verification process of TI semiconductor chips.

Credence Systems Uses NI Modular Instruments to Extend Semiconductor Test Flexibility

PXI-Based Automated Wafer Probe Tester

Products used LabVIEW, DAQmx, PCI

PXI-Based Embedded System Controls Semiconductor Metrology Tool

Figure 1: Extreme Ultraviolet Reflectometer System Layout.

A Low-Cost, Expandable PXI-Based Solution for Mixed-Signal ASIC Test

Products used RF, PXI, LabVIEW, TestStand

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