Patents Examined by Jermele Hollington
  • Patent number: 7088091
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes routing first test data from a first channel of a device to a second channel of the device, and outputting the first test data from the second channel. The device, in one embodiment, may be a mixed signal device and the test data may be alternating current test data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventor: Salem Abdennadher
  • Patent number: 7084661
    Abstract: A scanning Kelvin microprobe (SKM) system capable of measuring and analyzing surface characteristics of samples is provided. Also provided is a process of measuring and analyzing surface characteristics of samples. Further, there are provided uses of the SKM system in measuring and analyzing surface characteristics of conductors, semiconductors, insulators, chemicals, biochemicals, photochemicals, chemical sensors, biosensors, biochemical microarrays, microelectronic devices, electronic imaged devices, micromachined devices, nano-devices, corroded materials, stressed materials, coatings, adsorbed materials, contaminated materials, oxides, thin films, and self assembling monolayers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Sensorchem International Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Thompson, Larisa-Emilia Cheran
  • Patent number: 7084653
    Abstract: A contact-type film probe including a plastic substrate. Multiple signal transmission lines are arranged on one face of the substrate. Each signal transmission line penetrates through a section of the substrate near one end thereof. Each signal transmission line is coated with an insulating layer. A conductive layer is disposed on the other face of the substrate corresponding to each signal transmission line. The conductive layer is electrically connected with the signal transmission line. A contact conductive layer is further overlaid on each conductive layer. The contact conductive layers serve to directly electrically contact with the wires of the liquid crystal display to be tested.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Wintek Corporation
    Inventor: Chih-Yuan Wang
  • Patent number: 7084618
    Abstract: A system and method for testing the signals on a parallel communication bus uses a single printed circuit board that connects to the bus. The signals from the bus may be passively and actively filtered prior to a multiplexer. The multiplexer may be controlled by a variety of inputs, including communications over a second bus by a remote device. The output of the multiplexer is one or more probe points that may be connected to a measurement device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: LSI Logic Corporation
    Inventors: William Voorhees, William Schmitz, Mark Slutz
  • Patent number: 7084651
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for testing, the apparatus including: a probe array mounted on an inner portion of a gimbaled bearing, the inner portion of the gimbaled bearing having a spherical surface defined by a surface of a first sphere between two parallel small circles of the first sphere, a radius of the first sphere centered on a point on a top surface of the probe array; and an outer portion of the gimbaled bearing, the outer portion of the gimbaled bearing having a spherical surface defined by the surface of a second sphere between two parallel small circles of the second sphere, a radius of the second sphere centered on the point on the top surface of the probe array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David M. Audette, David L. Gardell, John F. Hagios, Christopher L. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 7084617
    Abstract: An electric current sensor includes: a core having a ring shape and including a plurality of core pieces, which are laminated and integrated to provide the core; a magnetic gap disposed on a predetermined part of the core; a Hall element disposed in the magnetic gap; a body for accommodating the core and the Hall element; and a seal member for sealing the core and the Hall element into the body. Each core piece has a thin plate shape, and the core includes deformation preventing means for preventing a deformation of the magnetic gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Shinji Ozaki, Takashige Saitou
  • Patent number: 7078924
    Abstract: A method for populating and depopulating components of negligible impedance facilitates the testing of circuit boards. The test circuitry may be formed upon the circuit board under test. Testing may be performed with great accuracy for the time between the triggering edge of a clock pulse and a resulting valid signal change. Slew rates of bus signals may be more easily measured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: LSI Logic Corporation
    Inventors: Keith Grimes, Raymond S. Rowhuff, William Schmitz
  • Patent number: 7078926
    Abstract: Techniques for performing wafer-level burn-in and test of semiconductor devices include a test substrate having active electronic components such as ASICs mounted to an interconnection substrate or incorporated therein, metallic spring contact elements effecting interconnections between the ASICs and a plurality of devices-under-test (DUTs) on a wafer-under-test (WUT), all disposed in a vacuum vessel so that the ASICs can be operated at temperatures independent from and significantly lower than the burn-in temperature of the DUTs. The spring contact elements may be mounted to either the DUTs or to the ASICs, and may fan out to relax tolerance constraints on aligning and interconnecting the ASICs and the DUTs. Physical alignment techniques are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: FormFactor, Inc.
    Inventors: Igor Y. Khandros, David V. Pedersen
  • Patent number: 7078927
    Abstract: A semiconductor-device characteristic measurement apparatus includes first measuring means for measuring a first electrical characteristic of a device under test, second measuring means, switching means for switching between the first measuring means and the second measuring means such that one of the measuring means is connected to the device under test, and controlling means for controlling the switching means. The switching means includes switches that switch between a first wiring configuration for electrically connecting the first measuring means to the device under test and a second wiring configuration for electrically connecting the second measuring means to the device under test. The switching means is electrically connected to the device under test at a position closer to the device under test than the first measuring means and the second measuring means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Shinichi Tanida, Hiroyuki Shimizu
  • Patent number: 7078922
    Abstract: An interconnect for testing a semiconductor component includes a substrate, and interconnect contacts on the substrate configured to electrically engage component contacts on the component. The interconnect contacts include flexible spring segments defined by grooves in the substrate, shaped openings in the substrate, or shaped portions of the substrate. The spring segments are configured to flex to exert spring forces on the component contacts, and to compensate for variations in the size or planarity of the component contacts. The interconnect can be configured to test wafer sized components, or to test die sized components. A test method includes the steps of providing the interconnect with the interconnect contacts, and electrically engaging the component contacts under a biasing force from the spring segments. A wafer level test system includes the interconnect mounted to a testing apparatus such as a wafer probe handler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Inventor: Kyle K. Kirby
  • Patent number: 7075289
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a wireless remote control measuring multipurpose meter, which comprises a signal transmitter, a signal receiver, and a signal converter for converting a measured signal into a readable digital signal. The digital signal is transmitted to the signal receiver by a wireless transmission method and then the digital signal is displayed to improve the convenience for the practical utility of the product and enhance the safety of the measuring operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: DER EE Electrical Instrument Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Chieh-Te Chen
  • Patent number: 7075319
    Abstract: A probe card including a substrate body, a contactor unit provided below the substrate body for establishing an electrical contact with the subject to be tested as well as for establishing an electrical contact with the substrate body, a supporting device for supporting the contactor unit from below with elastic force and parallelism adjusting screws that come in contact with the contactor unit from above in a vertical direction for adjusting a degree of parallelism of the contactor unit. In particular, the supporting device is configured to include a coil spring interposed toward a vertical direction between a flange section provided at the inside section of the support member arranged below the substrate body and a flange section provided at the outside section of the contactor unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Nihon Denshizairyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Chikaomi Mori
  • Patent number: 7075320
    Abstract: A direct current and a modulation signal are simultaneously applied to contact pads on a device under test, such as a laser diode. A probe and method of probing reduces signal distortion and power dissipation by transmitting a modulated signal to the device-under-test through an impedance matching resistor and transmitting of a direct current to the device-under-test over a second signal path that avoids the impedance matching resistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Cascade Microtech, Inc.
    Inventors: Leonard Hayden, Scott Rumbaugh, Mike Andrews
  • Patent number: 7071678
    Abstract: This invention propose a way of controlling the flux density in a current transformer to keep the transformer core saturated between two consecutive measurements in a sampling measurement system. Saturation disables transformation of primary to secondary current, and thereby disables losses in the secondary circuit during this time. Both AC and DC currents are possible to measure. The use of saturation of the transformer core also permits the core to be designed physically very small. In order to get effective and accurate low power consuming measurements, both the magnetic fields originating from primary current flowing in the primary winding and external magnetic fields must be symmetrically physically spread in the transformer core. This greatly limits the possible physical arrangement of the primary winding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Danaher Motion Stockholm AB
    Inventors: Ulf Bengt Ingemar Karlsson, Erik Anders Lindgren, Thord Agne Gustaf Nilson
  • Patent number: 7071719
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes at least three circuit substrates laid one upon another. The device further includes first circuit elements mounted, respectively, on at least two of the three circuit substrates. It also includes a second circuit element mounted on one of the three circuit substrates and configured to change connection between the first circuit elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tsunehiro Sato, Kiyotaka Hayashi
  • Patent number: 7071720
    Abstract: An apparatus adapted for use in a field replacement unit that is to be coupled to an electronic module. Included in the apparatus are a cover assembly; a biasing assembly disposed within the cover assembly; and, an aligning and coupling mechanism retained in the cover assembly in juxtaposed relation with the biasing assembly for mounting an interposer assembly in a manner, whereby the interposer assembly is generally self-aligned along in-plane axes with respect to the cover assembly for subsequent coupling to an electronic module. A method for use of the apparatus is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: John Lee Colbert, Roger Duane Hamilton, Arvind Kumar Sinha
  • Patent number: 7071716
    Abstract: A scan test apparatus having at least an upper layer of conductive and compliant material and may include a lower layer of conductive and compliant material sized to cover the upper and lower surfaces of the printed circuit board to be tested. Electrical current is introduced into the conductive layers which shorts out the circuits on the printed circuit board. An electrical contactor is positioned on either side of the conductive layers on both sides of the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board is passed through the upper and lower conductive layers and the contactors by rollers positioned on each end of the scan test machine. The contactor sends a test signal from the circuit board to measurement electronics. Other embodiments include the shorting matrix to be movable and the printed circuit board being fixed and include non-contact sensors or arrays of electrical contactors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Delaware Capital Formation, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark A. Swart
  • Patent number: 7071721
    Abstract: A test device tests acceptability of a plurality of electronic devices formed on a wafer. The test device includes: a pattern supply part for supplying test patterns to each of the plurality of electronic devices; a power supply for applying power supply voltage to each of the plurality of electronic devices; a measurement part for measuring the data indicating the operations of each of the electronic devices generated by the test patterns; a calculation part for calculating the reference values for judging the acceptability of each of the electronic devices; and a judgment part for judging the acceptability of each of the electronic devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2006
    Assignee: Advantest Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuo Furukawa
  • Patent number: 7068061
    Abstract: A semiconductor-device characteristic measurement apparatus includes first measuring unit for measuring a first electrical characteristic of a device under test, second measuring unit, switch for switching between the first measuring unit and the second measuring means such that one of the measuring unit is connected to the device under test, and controller for controlling the switching means. The switch includes switches that switch between a first wiring configuration for electrically connecting the first measuring unit to the device under test and a second wiring configuration for electrically connecting the second measuring unit to the device under test. The switch is electrically connected to the device under test at a position closer to the device under test than the first measuring unit and the second measuring unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Shinichi Tanida, Hiroyuki Shimizu
  • Patent number: 7068026
    Abstract: A sensor signal circuit of the present invention includes a tacho generator (42) for detecting revolution speed of a motor and outing a detection result as a sensor signal converted to a voltage, and a controller (5) for driving and controlling the motor (41) based on the sensor signal from the tacho generator (42). The sensor signal circuit further includes a voltage to current converter (43) for outputting a current in proportion to the voltage output from the tacho generator (42) as a sensor signal current, a cable (6) connecting the voltage to current converter (43) and the controller (5), and a resistor (511) for converting the current to a voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Assignee: Mitutoyo Corporation
    Inventor: Toshihiro Kanematsu