Thermal Regulator for IC Temperature Characterization Using a Microprobe Station

A compact low-cost test equipment for thermal and electrical characterization of integrated circuits

“…The GPB controls the data acquisition by means of dedicated measurement channels and, through the USB interface, transfers the acquired data to the system controller. The GPB also controls the thermal regulator [6] which is interfaced with the DUT as shown in Fig. 4.…”

“…Finally, the GPB is equipped with the circuits (sensor and actuator) needed for the thermal regulation of the DUT [6]. These circuits sense the DUT temperature (through a T-type thermocouple) and supply the Peltier cell with the DC current (obtained with a feedback control loop) which is required to keep the DUT at the target temperature chosen by the user.…”

“…The availability of on-board programmable logic makes the system flexible and fully customizable allowing also the characterization of memory devices including only arrays of memory cells. A further advantage of the proposed equipment is the integration of a thermal unit (which is based on Peltier cell [6]) which allows a fast characterization of the DUT over a temperature range from À50 to 160°C. Finally the proposed testing board is programmed by means of very popular visual programming languages (C++ and Visual Basic) thus allowing its use also for educational purposes.…”