Abstract:
As the semiconductor content in automotive and industrial applications continues to grow, higher voltages are required at test. High voltage is being redefined for the semiconductor test engineer. Kilovolt level tests in production are no-longer unusual. Traditional automated test equipment (ATE) does not easily support this growing need. Most high voltage test equipment is of bench style and test methods and fixtures are highly customized to the specific application. Cost effective production testing needs integration into normal and pre-existing factory systems. Incorporating kilovolts into production testing requires knowledge not standard to semiconductor test engineers. This knowledge is commonly found with power engineers, utility companies and college text books that are gathering dust in an office. This papers aims to do two things. First, provide insights into what types of products are driving the need for higher voltage. Second, provide a starting point for others to get started in high voltage integration. That starting point consists of information that will increase awareness among safety, facilities organizations and ATE professionals with regards to the hazards faced by ATE operators, ATE maintenance technicians, and ATE engineers. Included topics are: equipment operator safety; high voltage isolation techniques; relevant industry standards; high voltage cable concerns; and corona.