# US 7,609,053 B2 · Wafer testing system integrated with RFID techniques and thesting method thereof

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- Number: US 7,609,053 B2
- Document ID: US7609053B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 12/061,781
- Filed: 2008-04-03
- Published: 2009-09-24
- Granted: 2009-10-27
- Earliest claimed: 2008-02-14
- Assignees: ChipMOS Technologies Inc.
- Inventors: Wen Cheng Hsu; Min Ming Lo; Chao Chien Wang; Yi Fang Cho
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7609053B2

## CPC

- G01R 31/01: Subjecting similar articles in turn to test, e.g. "go/no-go" tests in mass production; Testing objects at points as they pass through a testing station (testing of cables continuously passing the testing apparatus G01R31/59; testing dielectric strength or breakdown voltage G01R31/12)
- G01R 31/2893: {Handling, conveying or loading, e.g. belts, boats, vacuum fingers (G01R31/2867 takes precedence; handling semiconductor devices or wafers during manufacture or treatment H10P72/00)}
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)

## Abstract

This invention provides a wafer testing system and testing method thereof. The wafer testing system comprises a wafer storage section, a prober, a tester, an RFID middleware unit, an EDA system and an MES system. The wafer storage section stores a multiplicity of carriers, each of which is provided with at least a RFID tag. The prober comprises a RFID reader to read a tag information. The tester sends a test signal to the prober for implementing the wafer test so as to generate a test result and calls an interface program to convert the test result into a file conformed with a specific data format. The RFID middleware unit receives the tag information and calls related applications to process the tag information so as to generate a wafer information. The EDA system receives the file of the specific data format converted from the interface program and calculates thereof to generate a wafer yield information after wafer test. The MES system integrates the wafer information from the RFID middleware unit with the yield information from the EDA system so as to allow monitoring the wafer manufacturing process and testing yield rate in a real-time manner.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A wafer testing system integrated with radio frequency identification (RFID) techniques, comprising:
a wafer storage section, for storing at least a carrier loaded with a plurality of wafers;
a prober, comprising a movable stage, a probe card clamping mechanism and a probe card, wherein the movable stage is used to support a wafer to be tested and move the wafer along X, Y and Z axes while the probe card is clamped by the probe card clamping mechanism; and
a tester, for sending a test signal to the prober so as to conduct a testing process on said wafer and, when the testing process is completed, calling an interface program to convert a test result of said wafer into a file conforming to a specific data format;
wherein the wafer testing system is characterized in:
the carrier being provided with at least one RFID tag;
the prober being provided with an RFID reader for reading a tag info stored in the RFID tag;
an RFID middleware unit being provided to receive the tag info read by the RFID reader and calling related applications so as to generate a corresponding wafer info;
an engineering data analysis (EDA) system being provided to receive and process the file in the specific data format converted by the interface program so as to generate a yield info of said wafer; and
a manufacturing execution system (MES system) being provided to integrate the wafer info from the RFID middleware unit with the yield info from the EDA system to allow a real-time wafer-based monitoring process.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tag info comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a tag ID, a carrier ID, a customer ID, a wafer ID and a probe card ID, and a combination thereof.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tag info further comprises a number of good dies on each of the wafers.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is passive or active.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the RFID middleware unit further comprises a middleware database for storing data related to the tag info.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the EDA system further comprises an EDA database for storing data related to a wafer test yield.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the MES system further comprises an MES database for storing data related to the wafer testing process.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a file server for storing at least a setup file related to wafer test parameters.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the setup file is generated by integrating the data stored in the middleware database and in the MES database, and is inputted to the tester so as to conduct the wafer test.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 8, further comprising an application program server for storing application programs related to the middleware database, the MES database or the file server.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an output device for a real-time monitoring process.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carrier is selected from the group consisting of a cassette, a front-opening unified pod (FOUP) and a front-opening shipping box (FOSB).

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the file in the specific data format conforms to an extensible markup language (XML) format.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The wafer testing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the output device is a browser-based PC workstation.

### Claim 15

A wafer testing method integrated with RFID techniques, comprising steps of:
providing a wafer storage section for storing a carrier loaded with a plurality of wafers;
providing a prober which comprises a movable stage, a probe card clamping mechanism and a probe card, wherein the movable stage is used to support a wafer to be tested and move the wafer along X, Y and Z axes while the probe card is clamped by the probe card clamping mechanism; and
providing a tester for sending a test signal to the prober so as to conduct a test on said wafer and, when the test is completed, calling an interface program to convert a test result of said wafer into a file conforming to a specific data format;
wherein the method is characterized in further comprising steps of:
providing the carrier with at least one RFID tag;
providing the prober with an RFID reader for reading a tag info stored in the RFID tag;
providing an RFID middleware unit for receiving the tag info read by the RFID reader and calling related applications so as to generate a corresponding wafer info;
providing an EDA system for receiving and processing the file in the specific data format converted by the interface program so as to generate a yield info of said wafer; and
providing an MES system for integrating the wafer info from the RFID middleware unit with the yield info from the EDA system to allow a real-time wafer-based monitoring process.