Abstract: A holder for holding an integrated circuit device to be tested in contact with a contact set on a circuit board has a support base that supports a contact set circuit board, and a hinged cover that will move between an open and a closed position. The hinged cover is pivotally mounted on a vertically slidable frame. The frame is cam actuated to move the frame and cover toward and away from the base. When the cam operator is moved to move the cams, to in turn move the frame and cover away from the base, a portion of the cam operator engages an arm on the cover and pivots the cover to an open position. The cover can easily be moved to its closed position manually and then the cam operator becomes accessible for operating the cams to clamp the integrated circuit to be tested against a contact set printed circuit board on the support base.

Abstract: A test and burn-in socket assembly designed to hold an integrated circuit module during testing or burn-in has a base that mounts a printed circuit connection board. The base has a central opening in which the integrated circuit module can be inserted. A pair of locking arms that will engage and clamp the integrated circuit module onto the printed circuit board are supported on a movable frame that is movable toward and away from the base. The arms are moved between clamping and release positions as the movable frame is moved. The movable frame is actuate by cams that are simultaneously moved by a handle or bail. The clamping arms are controlled so that they will move perpendicular to the integrated circuit when they are close to the board and move laterally to provide a space for installing and removing a board from its installed position. The board that has been tested to be removed and a new board to be inserted.

Abstract: A heat sink is used for thermally controlling a chip on a burn-in board which is being tested in a burn-in oven. The heat sink includes a resiliently mounted block that will engage a chip under resilient pressure and which is housed in a separate cup that permits accommodating misalignments or shifting of the heat sink when it contacts the chip. Additionally, the block carries a temperature sensor that is resiliently loaded against a chip which the heat sink engages. A bore mounts the temperature sensor and is also connected to a source of helium to provide a layer of helium between a surface of the heat sink and the adjacent surface of the chip for modifying the thermal coupling between the heat sink and the chip.

Abstract: A rack for supporting a plurality of burn-in boards and thermal boards which carry heat sinks to be associated with circuit chips mounted on the burn-in boards, has a first side frames that support the burn-in boards in a fixed position. Movable frames adjacent each of the side frame have a plurality of supports for thermal boards which include heat sinks, temperature sensors and other components. The movable frames are slidably mountable in a direction perpendicular to the burn-in board. Cams control the movement of the movable frames so that the thermal boards and components carried thereby can be moved from a position clearing the burn-in boards to permit insertion of the burn-in boards, onto the rack to a position wherein the components contact chips on the burn-in boards for good thermal control of the circuits on the burn-in boards.

Abstract: An automatic loading and unloading support for use on the interior of a burn-in oven includes a frame that supports a rack of printed circuit burn-in boards connected to connectors along edges of the burn-in boards at one end of the rack. The frame has a track for supporting the rack for movement from an open end toward a closed end of the oven. Driver/receiver boards are mounted at the closed end and have connectors aligning with the connectors on the burn-in boards on a rack. When the rack is moved to a position closely adjacent to the driver/receiver board connectors, alignment pins will align the rack properly and then actuators are used for moving inserter bars that press against the back side of the rack and push the connectors on the burn-in boards into the connectors on the driver/receiver boards.

Abstract: A batch test or burn-in board system has a driver/receiver board having a plurality of driver/receiver circuits that are used for burning in individual circuits on a second board in a desired environment. The driver/receiver board sends timed pulses to each of the circuits on the second board. Calibration values for insuring appropriate timing of the pulses from the driver/receiver circuits are stored in a memory that is mounted directly on the driver/receiver board. The calibration values are retrieved from memory under computer control for operating the driver/receiver board for the batch test or burn-in sequence.

Abstract: A temperature control system for high power burn-in of integrated circuit chips which includes an individual heat sink at each of the integrated circuit chips to dissipate heat generated by the integrated circuit. A heater for each chip is provided and is temperature controlled so that heat may be added by the heater as a function of the heat generated by the integrated circuit chip. A temperature sensor is provided in close thermal contact with the integrated circuit chip to sense the temperature of the integrated circuit chip. A closed loop temperature controller is used to vary the amount of current provided to the heater to maintain a desired range of temperature. Thermal contact between the temperature sensor and the integrated circuit chips is insured by utilizing a spring to urge the sensor toward the integrated circuit chip.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to an apparatus suitable for regulating, with an impinging flow of gas, the temperature of an electronic component under thermal stress testing at selected temperatures. The apparatus comprises a sensor which senses the temperature of the electronic component and provides an electrical signal representative of sensed temperature to a controller. A gas flow regulator is used to control flow directed to impinge the flow of gas upon the electronic component as necessary to adjust the temperature. The gas flow regulator ms controlled by the controller which operates the regulator so as to adjust the temperature of the electronic components.

Abstract: A thermal control system for use with a burn-in system, the thermal control system capable of delivering a thermally preconditioned liquid to a plurality of semiconductor devices during burn-in. The thermal control system comprises a liquid reservoir containing a liquid, a pump, and a plurality of spray nozzle arrays. The liquid contained in the liquid reservoir is thermally preconditioned through the use of a heating element and a cooling element and the temperature of the liquid provided to each spray nozzle array is individually controlled through the use of a pipe heating element. The liquid is collected and returned to the liquid reservoir after being sprayed on the semiconductor devices.

Abstract: A thermal control system for use with a burn-in system, the thermal control system capable of delivering a thermally preconditioned liquid to a plurality of semiconductor devices during burn-in. The thermal control system comprises a liquid reservoir containing a liquid, a pump, and a plurality of spray nozzle arrays. The liquid contained in the liquid reservoir is thermally preconditioned through the use of a heating element and a cooling element and the temperature of the liquid provided to each spray nozzle array is individually controlled through the use of a pipe heating element. The liquid is collected and returned to the liquid reservoir after being sprayed on the semiconductor devices.

Abstract: An interconnection system for electrically connecting a burn-in board with one or more driver/receiver boards in a burn-in system. The interconnection system comprises a burn-in board located in an environmental test chamber, a first driver/receiver board having a first edge connector at a first end and a second driver/receiver board having a second edge connector at a first end. The first and second edge connectors are double density edge connectors having a slot into which the burn-in board can be inserted. A plurality of control components are mounted on the first driver/receiver board and the second driver/receiver board to provide test signals or stimuli for exercising electronic circuit components on the burn-in board. The burn-in board has a plurality of sockets thereon for insertion of the electronic circuit components.

Abstract: A test signal generating system for providing test signals to electronic circuit components under test in a burn-in system, the test signal generating system having a timing arrangement for eliminating glitches from the test signals, The test signal generating system comprises a data generator, a timing generator and a format selector, each of which provides an input signal to a test signal selector, A first, second and third flip-flop are electrically connected to the data generator, timing generator and format selector, respectively. A fourth flip-flop is electrically connected to an output of the test signal selection means, Each of the flip-flops is triggered by the same clock.

Abstract: A bipolar power supply capable of selectably supplying either a positive or a negative voltage at an output terminal. The power supply comprises a first operational amplifier, a second operational amplifier, a first transistor electrically connected to a positive voltage source and a second transistor electrically connected to a negative voltage source. The first transistor is electrically connected to the first operational amplifier and the second transistor is electrically connected to the second operational amplifier so that the first and second amplifiers control the operation of the first and second transistors respectively. The inputs of the first and second operational amplifiers are electrically connected in a manner that prevents them from simultaneously providing large positive voltages at their outputs.

Abstract: A method for the construction of a high density electrical connector for connecting a printed circuit board with a burn-in board in a burn-in system. The method comprises the steps of attaching a standard edge connector to a printed circuit board to form a first set of contacts, attaching two outer contact strips to the printed circuit board to form a second set of contacts, and enclosing the outer contact strips and the edge connector in an outer housing. The edge connector and the outer contact strips are secured to the printed circuit board through soldering. A burn-in board having a plurality of contact pads thereon can be inserted into the electrical connector such that the contact pads come into contact with the first and second set of contacts.

Abstract: A pair of mother burn-in boards are placed back to back, and are adequately supported with respect to each other to form an assembly. Each of the boards supports a nose board or connector board so that two sets of connectors are available for conductors and sockets on the exposed sides of the mother boards. The conductors on the two burn-in boards are connected in parallel to permit using test signals from each connector on the nose board for a socket on each of the mother burn-in boards. The assembly is made to be rigid, reliable, and to provide a wide ability to adapt components for mounting on available standard burn-in socket packages to increase the number of components that can be simultaneously tested.

Abstract: Method for optically measuring submicron dimensions of an object or covering between two objects, and device implementing such method, wherein a light beam (23) is emitted by means of an arc lamp (22) into a system (21) with an optical monofibre (8) having a diameter larger than 500 .mu.m and a length longer than 3 m, the beam (23) is focussed to the object to be measured through the lens (32) of a microscope, the reflected beam passing through the microscope lens is separated from the incident beam in order to direct it towards the sensors of the matrix cameras (41, 42) of the charge coupling type and the spatial signals thus obtained are processed in order to reconstitute the contours of the object or to measure the covering between the two objects.

Abstract: The width of a line projecting out of or recessed on a medium such as an integrated circuit is measured. A device for that purpose includes a confocal optical assembly having a monomode light source delivering a beam having a flat wave front. An optical deflector scans the surface of the medium transversely to the line width of the beam. A separator separates the light beam directed towards the medium carrying the line from the beam reflected by the medium. A detector includes a blade placed at a position conjugate with the focal point of the optical assembly and orthogonal to the line whose width is to be measured and a differential sensor placed at a position conjugate with the pupil of the optical assembly and delivering a signal responsive to the difference of lighting on each side of the blade for comparison with a threshold.

Abstract: A rear module wall before a burn-in system that provides burn-in boards for electronic components to permit passing connections through slots while maintaining a good heat seal. The module rear wall is a sandwich type construction of a plurality of layers with insulating silicon rubber sandwiched between slotted backing sheets to provide for double insulation for the boards as then are slid through the slots from the interior of the oven into a tempered zone or to the exterior where they are connected to driver receiver boards and other connections.

Abstract: Disclosed is a microcontroller based Resolver-to-Digital converter in which synchronous sample-and-hold type demodulation is used with an optimum time of the sample-and-hold established by control of the phase and the magnitude of the reference voltage supplied to the resolver as a function of the resolver's electrical characteristics, thus minimizing the quadrature and the even harmonics effects which are a byproduct of the resolver. The demodulated resolver outputs are filtered and are converted to digital form with the use of an A/D converter integral or external to the microcontroller. The magnitude of the reference voltage is set to an optimum value in order to utilize the full range of the A/D converter. Using digital signal processing techniques and known trigonometric identities the shaft angle of the resolver is extracted from the A/D outputs and supplied to the output latches in continuous or bus controlled fashion.

Abstract: A laser apparatus comprising a resonant cavity, which comprises an assembly of two different reflectors and inside which is disposed an active medium capable of generating a radiation under the action of excitation means connected to said active medium. In addition, the apparatus comprises at least one supplementary resonant cavity of structure, similar to the preceding one, comprising an assembly of two different reflectors, and means for controlling the displacement of said resonant cavities making it possible to bring one or the other of said cavities coaxially into alingment with said active medium.