Thomas P Jones

A test site thermal control system for at-speed manufacturing testing

As microprocessor speeds and power increase, so too does the need for better thermal control. Todays high performance processors generate enormous amounts of heat at the transistor level due to self heating effects within the die. Higher die temperatures reduce performance and increase failure rates. As a result, better thermal control of the microprocessors during testing has become more important. This paper reports on an analysis of this problem, and the superior thermal control obtained using direct, conductive cooling as opposed to forced convective cooling.