Texas Instruments Corporation

Semiconductor Technologies & Instruments Pte. Ltd.

August Technology Corp.

Charles K Harris

Rajiv Roy

Clyde Maxwell Guest

Sreenivasan Kalyani Koduri

Lance Cole Wright

Weerakiat Wahawisan

Thomas Casey Carrington

Joe Douglas Woodall

Charles H Anderson

Robert Henry Clunn

Thomas J Doty

Hak Chuah Sim

Dennis Lee Doane

Sanjeev Mathur

Paul Harris Hasten

Michael C Zemek

Michael D Glucksman

Joe D Woodall

John Mark Thornell

Joseph F Borchard

George Charles Epp

Ramiro Castellanos-Nolasco

Younes Chtioui

Walter E Marrable

James R Maunder

A system for inspecting components is provided. The system includes an axial lighting system that illuminates the component with axial lighting to allow one or more features of the component to be located, such as by causing protruding features to be brighter than the background and recessed features to be darker than the background. An off-axis lighting system illuminates the component with off-axis lighting in the absence of the axial lighting to allow the component to be inspected to locate one or more features, such as a bump contact.

System and method for inspection using off-angle lighting

A system for inspecting a component, such as a die formed on a silicon wafer, is provided. The system includes a two dimensional inspection system that can locate one or more features, such as bump contacts on the die, and which can also generate feature coordinate data. The system also includes a three dimensional inspection system that is connected to the two dimensional inspection system, such as through an operating system of a processor. The three dimensional inspection system receives the feature coordinate data and generates inspection control data.

System and method for inspecting bumped wafers

An illumination system for wire bonding at wire bonding locations which includes a first light source for directing light to the location to be illuminated along a predetermined axis, preferably normal to the wire bonding location, and a second light source having an aperture therethrough extending along the predetermined axis directing light in a pattern from around the aperture to the location to be illuminated. A portion of the light is reflectable back from the location to be illuminated through the aperture. The first light source directs light therefrom through the aperture. The light from the second light source for viewing of the lead frame comes from around the object and is diffused so that it scatters in all directions and at all angles. The amount of scattering depends upon the surface roughness at the edge of the light conductor from which the light exits the light conductor. A beam splitter is disposed between the first light source and the aperture, the light from the first light source passing through the beam splitter. The system also receives and stores a digital representation of the reflected light which is reflected from the beam splitter. The system optionally includes a third light source for directing light to the location to be illuminated. The light sources are individually controllable.

Efficient illumination system for wire bonders

A system for selecting reference die images, such as for use with a visual die inspection system, is provided. The system includes a die image comparator, which compares a first die image to a second die image in order to create a difference image that contains only the differences between the two die images. The system also includes a difference image analysis system that receives data from the die image comparator. The difference image analysis system analyzes the difference image and determines whether there are any features of the difference image that indicate that either the first die image or the second die image should not be used as a reference die image.

System and method for selection of a reference die

An inspection system determines if leads of a semiconductor device are in proper positions. Images from at least two sides of the semiconductor device are captured along with calibration marks formed in the side of a track upon which the semiconductor device is mounted. All leads and calibration marks are captured in a single video image, the images from one side of the semiconductor device being off set from the image from the other side.

High speed lead inspection system

An illumination system for wire bonding at wire bonding locations which includes an illuminator having a highly light transmissive portion with an end surface and an axial bore extending therethrough and terminating at the end surface. The illuminator includes a first light source for directing light substantially axially through the bore to the end surface and a second light source for directing light substantially axially through the highly light transmissive portion to the end surface. The end surface is preferably a light diffusing surface. The bore is preferably tapered with the taper widening in a direction toward the end surface. The surface of the bore is preferably a light diffusing surface. The bore can alternately include a layer of highly light reflecting material disposed on its surface. The highly light transmissive portion has an outer surface which can include a layer of highly light reflecting material disposed thereon. The system further includes a mirror spaced from the bore in a direction opposed to the end surface and coaxial with the bore for reflecting light passing through the bore and circuitry to digitally store a representation of the reflected light.

Efficient hybrid illuminator

A device (10) identifies a defective object (12) from an image of the object (12) stored as pixel data in a pixel-data memory (52, 54, 56, 58). An inspection-point memory (72, 74, 76, 78) stores inspection-point data for the object (12). The inspection-point data represents inspection points (122, 124, . . . ) that are arranged in circuital (112, 136) and transverse (110) groups, where member inspection points of the circuital groups (112, 136) are also members of different ones of the transverse groups (110). A program memory (84) stores a program, which is executed by a processor (64, 66, 68, 70). The processor (64, 66, 68, 70) identifies which of the pixel data correspond to the inspection-point data, calculates differences between values of the corresponding pixel data within the circuital groups (112, 136), identifies a deviant pixel (116) if one of the differences exceeds a first threshold, calculates gradients of values of the corresponding pixel data within the transverse group (110a) including the deviant pixel and within at least one other transverse group (110b, 110c), and determines whether the gradients of the transverse group (110a) differs by more than a second threshold from the gradient of the other transverse group (10b, 10c).

Apparatus and method for identifying defective objects

A system for transporting and inspecting, seriatim, semiconductor devices with plural prong type or solder ball type leads includes a head for transporting the semiconductor devices from one support structure, such as a tray or tube, to a second support structure, such as a tray or tape, and wherein two dimensional and three dimensional measurements of the positional accuracy of the leads is carried out during the transport process. The inspection apparatus is interposed in the transport path and includes a first optical sensor such as a CCD camera oriented to capture a two dimensional image of the semiconductor device package and compare the image with a predetermined two dimensional image store in a central processing unit (CPU). A high intensity light source, such as a laser, generates a plane of light which is reflected off of the semiconductor device leads to a second optical sensor, also comprising a CCD camera, wherein a so-called three dimensional image is generated to be compared by the CPU with predetermined or calculated positional relationships of the leads to establish coplanarity of the lead tips, or lack thereof. The system includes a sensor located such that the semiconductor device is centered in a field of view of the cameras to capture the respective images. The transport head may be rotated to correct for improper positioning of the device prior to generation of the three dimensional image. The system may interchangeably inspect semiconductor device packages with prong leads extending from one or all sides of a rectangular substrate as well an array of solder ball leads supported on a substrate. A modified arrangement of the inspection system is adapted for inspecting multiple semiconductor devices with solder ball leads and supported on wafer type substrates.

Inspection system and method for leads of semiconductor devices

An inspection system utilizes an image doubler design that includes a plurality of mirrors that effectively folds the object distance by reflecting the image along a folded path. Strobed illumination is used in conjunction with a shutterless camera. Increased image resolution results from an optional anamorphic lens with vertical magnification. The lens assembly includes concentric toroidal lens that are produced from a single piece of machineable optical material.

Semiconductor device lead inspection system

The invention is to a system and apparatus for determining the planarity of leads on a semiconductor device. An image system is used to locate the leads with reference to a reference plate on which the device is mounted, and a real-time reference which is used to provide a known correlation between image pixels and linear measurement such as mils.

A single camera container inspection system that views the entire interior surface of a container during one pass, producing a single image of the interior surfaces to detect defects and contaminants in the interior surfaces of the container.

Growing community of inventors

Dallas, TX, United States of America

Charles K Harris