Electrically tested and burned-in semiconductor die and method for

Abstract

A semiconductor die is temporarily enclosed in a package. The packaged die is then electrically tested and burned in. The tested die is then removed from the package. If the die performed acceptably during test and burn-in, the die is retained and either used in a production integrated circuit or sold as an unpackaged individual die. The method is simple, inexpensive, and provides semiconductor dice of high reliability (packaged die yields approach 100%). Existing test and production facilities, equipment and process flows may be used with, at most, minor changes to process a semiconductor die for any application. Semiconductor dice processed by the method are particularly useful for complex and/or costly packaging options, e.g., multichip modules, hybrid circuits or chip-on-board.