Adv Antest Corporation

Yukio Kanno

Toshio Goto

Toshiyuki Kiyokawa

Hisao Hayama

An IC tester is provided which is capable of preventing the temperature of an IC heated to a predetermined temperature from falling during the test. A box-like housing 70 constructed of a thermally insulating material is mounted on a performance board PB. An IC socket SK and a socket guide 35 are accommodated in a space bounded by the box-like housing 70 and the performance board PB. A through-aperture 71 is formed in the top wall of the housing 70 for passing an IC under test carried by a movable rod 60R of a Z-axis driver into and out of the interior of the housing 70. An opening/closing plate 72 is disposed over the housing 70 for movement in a horizontal direction. This plate 72 is adapted to close the through-aperture 71 of the housing 70 when the movable rod 60R is outside of the housing to thereby maintain the interior of the box-like 70 in an almost thermally insulated condition. In addition, a cover member 64 is disposed for closing the through-aperture 72A in the plate 72 when the IC under test is in contact with the IC socket to aid in maintaining the interior of the housing in a thermally insulated condition.

Semiconductor device testing apparatus

In an IC tester of the type in which ICs to be tested are heated by a planar heater plate 50 prior to being tested, a plate-like shutter 70 having windows 71 formed therethrough to expose IC receiving recesses 51 formed in the heater plate 50 is disposed movably over the top face of the heater plate. The arrangement is such that the shutter 70 is shifted by a linear drive source 74 between a position in which the shutter closes the top of the IC receiving recesses 51 and a position in which the shutter exposes the recesses. A controller is provided for actuating the drive source to move the shutter so as to open the IC receiving recesses, whenever a Z-axis drive unit 60 enters into either the operation of dropping off an IC grasped thereby into one of the IC receiving recesses or the operation of picking up an IC from one of the IC receiving recesses.

A pick and place apparatus for picking, transferring and placing an object which is capable of performing picking and placing operations with high stability and high speed without causing a jamming. The pick and place apparatus has a negative pressure source therein and includes a first pressure detector for detecting suction condition in a process for picking up an object by applying a negative pressure from the negative pressure source, a second pressure detector for detecting suction-release condition in a process for placing the object on a predetermined position by releasing the negative pressure, and a controller for controlling an overall operation of the pick and place apparatus to proceed to the next procedure upon receiving a suction detection signal from the first pressure detector or a suction-release detection signal from the second pressure detector.

Pick and place apparatus for transferring objects

A semiconductor device transporting and handling apparatus is provided which provides for positively grasping and transporting an IC out of a tray loaded with ICs, even if the tray is tilted due to deformations an/or distortions, by the use of a carrier head which is vertically movable through constant strokes. The tilt of the tray is measured by attitude gauging means comprising four sets of optical sensors, the altitude differences of the top surfaces of ICs accommodated in the tray with respect to a reference level are calculated by altitude difference calculating means, and the calculated altitude differences are stored in altitude difference storage means. Once an IC being picked up has been identified, the altitude difference of the identified IC with respect to the reference level is read out, and the position of the tray is moved vertically to conform with the reference level by altitude difference correcting means to insure that the carrier head can pick up the IC.

Growing community of inventors

Ohra-gun, Japan

Yukio Kanno