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Addressing Test Challenges in Leading IC Markets Such as 5G, AI, and Automotive Products

商业模式在当今竞争激烈的世界commerce has shifted over recent years to “services.” Companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google are prime success stories that have advanced the industry with business-enabling services. These economic productivity improvement services allow their customers to focus on product architecture, design and quick time to market. The service provider companies in turn have showcased sizable economic benefits and are largely profitable.

The analogy of such service providers in the integrated device manufacturer (IDM) world has benefited the industry for decades. Amkor Technology is an established company that has offered innovative assembly and test services to all IDMs, both established and start-ups, for more than fifty years.

Fig. 1:测试位于制造过程的后端。

为满足世界级半导体制造商的多样化需求，Amkor提供3000多种不同的套餐格式和尺寸bob软件。封装范围从传统的引线框架IC用于通孔和表面安装，到高引脚数和高密度应用所需的那些，如堆叠芯片，晶片级，MEMS，光学，倒装芯片，通过硅通孔（TSV）和3D包装。¹In addition, IC test services have been offered for all assembled products and other ICs for decades. As a result, billions of units are tested for customers each year.

产品寿命

Typically, there are two product application categories. The first category is not in the critical path of ever-increasing bandwidths. These products have a longer life cycle and find themselves in multiple applications. Examples include converters (digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital), FETs, sensors and slower speed small serial memories. The second category includes technology drivers like microprocessors or CPUs, graphics processing units (GPUs), artificial intelligence (AI) processors, applications processors (APUs), memory controllers, and modems. These products have a shorter application life and are subject to Moore’s Law.²While product volumes are relatively high depending on the application (e.g., cell phone attach rate), these products typically see a re-architecture and re-design per a customer’s business case and demand.

测试步骤

典型和最小的制造测试流程如图2所示。

Fig. 2:Overall (typical) manufacturing test flow.

Each of these test steps has a unique purpose and is an integral part of the manufacturing test process. In recent years, System Level Test (SLT) has gained increased popularity because of higher, block-level integration of functional blocks into a System in Package (SiP). As an innovative leader in advanced SiP, customized SLT technologies allow the product to be tested in its end-use application environment. While testing of fabricated ICs is primarily a business decision, lack of or inadequate testing can result in a loss of business due to the degraded product being delivered to the end customer in the marketplace.

OSAT优势和考验es

Amkor和Osat行业依赖于自动或自动测试设备（ATE）制造商，用于测试仪，探测器，处理程序和工具。制造商喜欢Advantest，Teradyne，Cohu，National Instruments，TechWing，Chroma等许多其他提供解决方案。不幸的是，测试和测量仪表开发人员延迟了开发产品的IDM。卓越设计（DFX）这些产品的测试方法通常也在产品成熟期循环中提供多大。Amkor与客户和ATE供应商密切合作，以确保生产测试能力已准备好进行新产品介绍和制造。

Many IDMs have realized the benefit of outsourcing manufacturing steps detailed in figure 1. With time to market pressures, customers have demanded quick turnkey test flows without compromising test content coverage and quality.

A reasonable fraction of Amkor’s test activity addresses industry-leading IC business trends, including 5G, artificial intelligence and advanced automotive markets. Each market has its own unique product test requirements. For example, 5G typically refers to the wireless standard that promises to increase the data throughput beyond 4G limits. Higher bandwidths and lower latency for cellphone applications in the FR1 and FR2 carrier frequency bands of the spectrum have driven the need to develop new test instrumentation that scales above the traditional RF subsystem carrier frequencies. RF subsystem testers with carrier frequencies limited to 6 GHz and 160 MHz of bandwidth and increasing levels of power have served the test industry well for over two decades.

人工智能（AI）和机器学习（ML）应用程序被预测以主导新指令集的引入，该处理器内需要增加处理能力和IC的数字数据速率更高和更高的数字数据速率。这些高速数字接口包括但不限于显示，内存，芯片组I / O和以太网技术。在汽车市场，产品卷和测试复杂性增加了。驾驶室内容如信息娱乐控制器和高级驾驶员辅助系统（ADAS）是在宽工作温度范围内具有严格关键任务测试要求的示例。

5G Test

Amkor客户正在开发5G兼容的产品，适用于两个不同的应用，5G基站和5G用户设备。每个测试要求都有不同的。随着小电池的5G规格的实施，预计相对5G基站产品体积将增加几个数量级。5G基站和用户设备的产品测试挑战包括更高的功率范围，更高的下载数据速率，降低延迟和多个输入，多输出（MIMO）和信道聚合的I / O通道数量增加支持。美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）批准了24 GHz和52 GHz之间的FR2载波频率范围，其在空气中衰减比Sub 6 GHz频率范围更快地衰减。这些高级测试要求对RF测试行业相对较新。

ATE suppliers have continued to meet existing and projected technical expectations for developing competitive test solutions for its customers. An example is IC packaging that integrates antenna structures. Testing Antenna in Package or Antenna on Package (AiP/AoP) products³requires Amkor to work with handler manufactures to implement electromechanical solutions that will enable the required number of transmit and receive (Tx and Rx) channels to source or capture RF energy over-the-air (OTA) and convert it to conductive energy to allow the tester to effectively test the part to its required specification accuracies.

图3：5G test applications. (Source: IEEE)

AI测试

AI和ML处理器与其他高性能处理器没有什么不同及其相关的测试要求。但是，数据速率和逻辑电平越来越具有挑战性。这些处理器上最受欢迎的测试接口包括PCIe，以太网（IEEE 802.3），显示和内存。其他高速接口包括MIPI DIGRF变体，JESD204B / C，USB 3.x，Thunderbolt和专有实施。如今，大多数这些接口都是针对满足高达32 Gbps的有效数据速率。最近，使用PIN电子卡（PEC）仪器的ATE具有高达2.5 Gbps的数据速率，以及在该功能内。典型的DFX和测试方法用TX到RX环回的生产测试来测试物理层（PHY）并扫描以测试制造缺陷的I / O逻辑。

图4：Typical (AI) processors and their digital high-speed test interfaces.

汽车测试

汽车电子产品具有大量的逻辑控制和信息娱乐，模拟和传感器产品的数字内容，用于系统状态报告和5G RF内容，用于高级驾驶员辅助系统（ADA），包括自主驾驶。由于77GHz至81GHz频率范围内的宽工作温度范围，高带宽和低延迟RF载波频率，产品测试要求正在进行和具有挑战性。

Summary

As a leading OSAT supplier, Amkor’s test capabilities and capacities offer advantages to customers for outsourcing test development and test production services for a wide variety of products. These services address test challenges, especially for 5G, AI and automotive ADAS products. As a result, test services continue to grow as a turnkey service strengthening supply chain management for customers.

References

1. amkor设备包
2. Moore’s Law
3. Antenna in Package/Antenna on Package

关于作者

vineet pancholi., Sr Director Test Technology at Amkor Technology, Inc. in Tempe, AZ. Vineet joined Amkor in January 2019 and currently leads test technology development for 5G RF and high-speed digital production test methodologies. Before joining Amkor, Vineet worked in test development at Microchip Technology. Prior, he spent 19 years at Intel in a variety of test roles, including tester supplier management, test technology development (burn-in, final and system level test) and RF tester architect. Vineet holds a patent on semiconductor device testers and has earned master’s degrees in physics and electrical engineering from Arizona State University.