Enabling Smart Manufacturing

By Tan Cheak Hong, Technical Pre-sales Manager, Advantest

Widely considered the next industrial revolution, smart manufacturing is quickly becoming an important aspect of semiconductor production and test. Combining the physical and virtual worlds, a smart plant can operate at higher levels of productivity and energy efficiency and turn out higher-quality products.

Today’s typical manufacturing site, however, incorporates a number of inefficiencies that can interrupt the manufacturing flow and impact the test process, potentially affecting test times and costs. The typical production test flow shown in Figure 1 illustrates some of these factors.

Figure 1. A typical test flow can be impacted by several factors that create operational inefficiencies.

The first factor is the test program itself. If the program is developed upstream on an engineering-level tester, it may not be optimized for downstream implementation, as the OSAT provider may have more limited resources for production. Next, human error can be introduced when an operator or engineer manually inputs the production lot information to set up the tester and handler. 

Further challenges can arise if there are errors in the position settings on the handler, so that it’s not optimized for production, which may cause it to jam. Physical problems are created when parts are loaded into handlers and waiting to be tested because of limited valuable space currently available on the test floor, or equipment breakdowns cause unscheduled downtime. Another issue is when a tester is localized with no connection to the back-end system; all data is stored in the local tester, filling up the hard disk and causing a slowdown and system crash if it is not monitored. Data that is collected but never utilized is a waste of resources.

Finally, additional opportunities for human error are introduced when lack of automation means that an operator just clear a jam or, at the end of a lot, perform a manual count and then reload the system for retest. Having to pause the flow so an operator to come and take care of these problems is highly inefficient. 

In a smart test site, these problems are eliminated. No human error occurs because the entire process is automated, from the start of the lot to execution of the test program. Everything is connected all the way through to ensure smooth operation and efficient use of resources.

Getting to automation

Advantest has developed a concept for through-factory solution to aid in automating the flow, from test cell to production (Figure 2). The manufacturing execution system connects an automated guided vehicle (AGV), used to move material efficiently through the line, to the integrated test cell “Virtual Gem,” or VGEM, Advantest’s patented SECS/GEM Interface Solution for factory automation. VGEM can be easily customized to meet a customer’s specific SECS/GEM requirements, and enables full factory automation with Advantest tester platforms. 

Figure 2. Advantest’s automated test flow solution resolves inefficiencies to enable optimized operation.

The Easy and convenient Operation ToolS (ECOTS) enables evolutionary factory automation. The smart test cell collects and integrates data from the handler and tester and then feeds it via data interface to the cloud, where AI techniques are used to analyze the data based on learned test conditions and provide actionable results. For example, AI can be applied to the measurement data to analyze prober pin cleaning, probe card lifecycle, probe quality, and other parameters. The tester incorporates a sensor to handle all the data moving through it so that the data collection and analysis can be performed quickly and seamlessly.

The ATE is also equipped with Advantest’s TP360 software toolset designed to enhance productivity. This value-added software performs test program debug/optimization and correction, helping speed up the test program release process. From there, the results are fed out to the EM360 equipment-management toolset. This smart toolset helps improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), system utilization, time to quality and time to market.

Figure 3 summarizes all the capabilities and efficiencies enabled by ECOTS. The solution was initially developed for the T2000 SoC/mixed-signal platform, and has now been ported to the V93000, T6391 and, soon, the Memory platform, allowing smart manufacturing techniques to be implemented for virtually any type of device.  Key benefits include automated recipe and equipment setup, wafer-map display, efficient resource management, improved uptime, real-time bin monitoring and equipment control, and statistical process control (SPC) capabilities, which use real-time data mining to adapt and evolve the flow to eliminate low yield, continuous fail/stop and other problems that can bring production to a halt.

Figure 3. Advantest’s ECOTS test cell solution is highly customizable and delivers a range of ease-of-use benefits to the user.

As automation becomes more widely integrated into the test flow, smart manufacturing techniques will become essential to ensuring the process is efficiently managed. Advantest has developed a unique solution, combining its proven ATE and handler technology with new proprietary software and interfaces, to enable customers to optimize their test flow, streamline test times and costs, and bring the new products to market more quickly

Solving 5G Wireless Test Challenges

By Adrian Kwan, Senior Business Development Manager, Advantest America

Many companies, especially fabless chipmakers, are looking at how the 5G network will be formulated, as their products will need to change in order to meet the criteria for connecting to the network. Makers of sub-6GHz, millimeter-wave (mmWave), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, WiGig and other types of chips are all looking at how they will need to adapt their future devices to this purpose. This is a broad challenge for the industry because the 5G network will be very different from the current 4G networks. Not only will network deployment need to change, but also the infrastructure, topology, base station deployment, and other parameters. It will require huge investment – everyone from semiconductor makers to mobile service providers to those building base stations will need to align to enable successful 5G deployment.

Today, we’re at a point where the infrastructure is beginning to be in place. Some countries have chosen to adopt sub-6Ghz for 5G and not pursue mmWave deployment, while more developed countries, e.g., the U.S., Japan and Korea, want to move immediately to mmWave so that they can begin deploying it in major cities. Of course, with the world currently in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply chain is being impacted. There was already going to be a delay of a quarter or two getting products to market for those components which are manufactured in China, and while things are improving there, the rest of the world has yet to hit the top of the outbreak curve, so things are still very fluid to date. Opinions differ as to whether 5G deployment will be delayed, or if, in fact, the pandemic may actually accelerate 5G adoption.

Regardless, we are at the beginning of the 5G rollout. Few mobile products are currently being sold into the market to tap into the 5G network, mainly because mobile network providers haven’t fully deployed their 5G networks. From now through 2021, deploying the infrastructure will be critical so that it’s in place before 5G-enabled mobile devices begin to hit the mainstream market – which, we believe, will still happen sometime in 2022 timeframe.

As an ATE company, we deal with many customers in the fabless space, and these companies make devices that are challenging to test. ATE must therefore be at the forefront of what customers are doing and develop innovative solutions to help them address their test challenges. The 5G realm introduces a variety of new technology considerations, as shown in Figure 1, and these new areas translate into test challenges. To stay on top of these challenges, we have solutions that can be deployed to test almost any type of 5G device, whether FR1 (sub-6GHz LTE) or FR2 (mmWave). Moreover, we are already looking ahead to the newer Wi-Fi 6E frequency band, which will integrate into the 5G network when that convergence takes place.

Figure 1. Deploying 5G involves a number of key attributes, all of which pose new challenges for test.

Tech considerations, test solutions

As we know, 4G has deficiencies that 5G can overcome. With these improvements comes the need to deal with higher frequency bands, wider bandwidth, shorter coverage distances, signal penetration issues, and other aspects that impact how 5G is deployed in a city. While the next generation of mobile phones will have much more complexity and capability built into them than 2G, 3G and 4G models (Figure 2), most consumers won’t pay double or triple for a new phone, so phone makers will need a cost-effective test solution that can accommodate the added complexity. Fabless chipmakers and ATE providers are always looking into ways to reduce costs by implementing newer test methodologies, and customers are embracing new ways of performing RF and mobile wireless testing with these new test strategies.

Figure 2. Next-generation consumer devices will feature multiple antennas and other devices, further complicating the test process.

Test also depends on packaging. Packaging has evolved significantly over the past two years, impacting the way we handle and test devices, and 5G devices will necessitate changes in packaging. As an ATE company, Advantest collaborates with packaging companies to understand why and how they’re implementing new approaches to ensure that our systems will be able to handle these packaged devices. In addition to our core ATE business, we have expanded our device-handling business unit, acquiring companies to help us address requirements of higher-gigabit devices such as high-speed sockets and new load-board designs.

A key emerging driver for test is the growing trend of antenna-in-package (AiP) devices. We are moving toward higher-frequency bands in the mmWave space, and this is creating demand for components to be more compressed and consolidated into a single package. AiP technology is driving the trend toward FR2-type devices, in which the antenna module can be integrated with other pieces, such as the front-end module, in a single package or die that then has to be tested. This type of device will be required in multiple quantities in products such as advanced mobile phones or tablets, creating a huge explosion in volume when fully deployed. To help address this coming demand, we have developed new, contactless technology, currently in beta test, that will further advance our ability to handle AiP testing.

Currently, we have a proven platform solution in place, pairing our flagship V93000 tester with our Wave Scale test cards. The V93000 Wave Scale Millimeter targets next-generation 5G-NR RF devices and modules, and can address high-volume manufacturing requirements (Figure 3). The system is scalable and can deliver up to 64 bi-directional mmWave ports, allowing different 5G and Wi-Gig frequency modules to be used, as well as new modules to be added when new frequency bands being rolled out.

Figure 3. The Advantest V93000 Wave Scale Millimeter addresses customer requirements for wideband 5G-NR testing.

The V3000 Wave Scale architecture has extended its wideband testing functionality, so it can handle ultra-wideband (UWB), 5G-NR mmWave up to 1 GHz, WiGig (802.11ad/ay) up to 2 GHz, and AiP devices, in addition to beamforming and OTA testing. It also provides a pathway for customers to lower the cost of test for their current and upcoming 5G-NR devices while still making use of their existing investment in Wave Scale RF instrument. Like our other Wave Scale solutions, Wave Scale Millimeter is fully integrated with our SmarTest 8 programming architecture. Customers can use the software to generate a test program in just a few weeks with our latest mmWave library, further shortening time to development and eventually time to market for their 5G devices.

Conclusion

The requirements for 5G communications have become a key challenge for the ATE industry due to a jump in frequency range and bandwidths and the larger number of RF ports per device. The 5G standards are not yet final, and the industry is still learning how to test these devices, with efforts evolving as new devices are developed. As we’ve discussed here, Advantest has developed an ideal solution – the V93000 Wave Scale Millimeter – that is scalar, modular and can easily adapt to new technology requirements.

Our product portfolio, together with our consulting capabilities, enables Advantest to offer customers a one-stop service that meets all of their test needs. This is particularly desirable in the face of ongoing technology evolution and consolidation – not only for 5G, but also high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and other advanced technologies. Our exacting global customers want to have one place they can go to obtain a solution based on a whole architecture. This expansion of our offerings puts us in the forefront of addressing next-generation devices and new testing methodologies.