IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,332,298
Granted Patent B2
US 12,332,298 · App. 18/240,957 · Granted Jun 17, 2025

Semiconductor test device and system and test method using the same

Inventors: Meehyun Lim (Seoul, KR); Sungyeol Kim (Yongin-si, KR); Hyungjung Yong (Seongnam-si, KR); Jinyeong Yun (Yongin-si, KR)
Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
G01R31/2803G01R31/2815H01L24/14H01L25/0657
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,332,298
App. No.
18/240,957
Granted
Jun 17, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A test method for a semiconductor device includes determining a contact failure between a first semiconductor chip and a second semiconductor chip during assembly of a semiconductor package including the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip, using a test circuit embedded in the first semiconductor chip, and after the assembly of the semiconductor package, determining whether the semiconductor package is defective by using the test circuit.

Claims (38)

1. A method for testing a semiconductor package including a first semiconductor chip and a second semiconductor chip stacked on the first semiconductor chip, the method comprising:

controlling a test circuit included in the first semiconductor chip of the semiconductor package to cause emission of an electric field from at least a set of first upper pads among first upper pads of the second semiconductor chip;

detecting an electric field emitted from the set of first upper pads using a sensor disposed above upper surfaces of the first upper pads and spaced apart therefrom by a predetermined interval;

outputting a signal from the sensor, the signal including information about an electrical field waveform; and

determining a contact failure between the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip in a signal processing device using the signal output from the sensor.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising stacking a third semiconductor chip on the second semiconductor chip controlling the test circuit to cause emission of an electric field from at least a set of second upper pads among second upper pads of the third semiconductor chip.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the sensor is disposed above upper surfaces of the second upper pads to be spaced apart therefrom by a predetermined interval, detects an electric field emitted from the set of second upper pads, and outputs an additional signal including information about an additional electric field waveform.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the signal processing device determines a contact failure between the second semiconductor chip and the third semiconductor chip using the additional signal output from the sensor.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal processing device determines at least one contact failure between upper pads of the first semiconductor chip and microbumps of the second semiconductor chip.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein whether the semiconductor package is defective is determined by the signal processing device, based on electric field distribution and the electric field waveform serving as a criterion for determining whether the semiconductor package is defective.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first semiconductor chip is a base die, and the second semiconductor chip is a memory die.

8. A method for testing a semiconductor package, the method comprising:

determining a contact failure between a first semiconductor chip and a second semiconductor chip during assembly of the semiconductor package including the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip, using a test circuit embedded in the first semiconductor chip; and

determining whether the semiconductor package is defective by using the test circuit after the assembly of the semiconductor package,

wherein the test circuit is configured to cause emission of an electric field from at least some first upper pads among first upper pads of the second semiconductor chip,

wherein the contact failure is determined by detecting the electric field by a sensor.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the sensor is disposed above upper surfaces of the first upper pads and spaced apart therefrom by a predetermined interval.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the determining whether the semiconductor package is defective comprises detecting the electric field by the sensor, outputting, by the sensor, a signal including information about an electric field waveform received by the sensor, and determining the contact failure in a signal processing device using the signal output from the sensor.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising determining a contact failure between the semiconductor package and a wiring circuit board during assembly of a semiconductor device including the semiconductor package and the wiring circuit board, using the test circuit.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the determining a contact failure between the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip is performed by determining a contact failure between pads of the first semiconductor chip and microbumps of the second semiconductor chip without physical contact with any pads of either the first semiconductor chip or the second semiconductor chip.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the determining whether the semiconductor package is defective is performed after forming microbumps by stacking respective pillars and solder layers on pads of the first semiconductor chip, by determining whether there are any contact failures among the pillars, the solder layers, and the pads.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the determining whether the semiconductor package is defective further comprises, after forming microbumps on pads of the first semiconductor chip, determining at least one contact failure between the microbumps and the pads of the first semiconductor chip.

15. A method for testing a semiconductor package in a semiconductor test system, the method comprising:

generating an electric field from the semiconductor package; and

determining a contact failure of the semiconductor package by sensing the electric field,

wherein the semiconductor test system comprises:

at least one semiconductor package;

a wiring circuit board including first upper pads and second upper pads;

a circuit control device configured to control a test circuit embedded in a first semiconductor package among the at least one semiconductor package to emit the electric field from at least a set of the second upper pads of the wiring circuit board, for testing a semiconductor device in which the first semiconductor package is stacked on the first upper pads;

a sensor configured to be disposed above upper surfaces of the second upper pads to be spaced apart therefrom by a predetermined interval, to detect an electric field emitted from the set of second upper pads and to output a signal including information on an electric field waveform; and

a signal processing device configured to determine whether the semiconductor device is defective, using the signal output from the sensor.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the signal processing device is configured to determine whether the semiconductor device is defective, based on electric field distribution and an electric field waveform serving as a criterion for determining whether the semiconductor device is defective.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the semiconductor test system is configured to determine at least one contact failure between microbumps of the first semiconductor package and the first upper pads of the wiring circuit board.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the semiconductor test system is configured to determine a defect of a wiring circuit inside the wiring circuit board.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the wiring circuit board comprises third upper pads, and further comprising stacking a second semiconductor package on the second upper pads of the wiring circuit board.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the circuit control device is configured to control a test circuit included in the second semiconductor package to emit an electric field from third upper pads of at least some of the third upper pads of the wiring circuit board,

the sensor is disposed above upper surfaces of the third upper pads to be spaced apart by a predetermined interval, detects an electric field emitted from the third upper pads, and outputs a signal including information on an electric field waveform, and

the signal processing device is configured to determine whether the semiconductor device is defective, using the signal output from the sensor.

Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2019-0153606 · Nov 26, 2019 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation 16924971 · Jul 9, 2020
Related Publication 20230408574A1 · Dec 21, 2023
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