Teradyne, Inc.
Method and test system for providing accurate analog signals

Abstract:

Automatic test equipment with multiple components to generate highly accurate and stable analog test signals and method for operating the test system in semiconductor manufacturing process are disclosed. Output analog signals from existing test systems often fail the stability and accuracy requirement with less than 10 mV variations for testing certain electronic devices, due in part to environmental condition variations such as temperature fluctuations. Traditional compensation mechanisms for temperature variations involve time consuming and disruptive calibration procedures. Disclosed here is a system and method that provides near real-time monitoring and compensation for temperature-induced variations via a digital control mechanism that compensates for environmental variations in a time scale of less than 10 milliseconds and maintains the AC output analog signal with 10 milliVolt accuracy.