In semiconductor industry, Test and Measurement (T&M) instruments are essential for validating the quality, reliability, and performance of semiconductor devices throughout their lifecycle. Extensive testing methodologies are used to identify and address defects, manufacturing variations, and other issues that potentially impact the chip’s performance. Test engineers conduct reliability tests, such as High Temperature Operating Life, Electro Static Discharge, Latch-Up, Temperature Cycling, Thermal aging, and accelerated life testing, to assess how semiconductors perform under extreme conditions and over time.GW Instek test solutions include:

• Semiconductor Devices - Stimulus /Power Delivery /Biasing Applications and I-V Characterisation
• Semiconductor Reliability & Compliance
• RF signal Characterisation and Analysis
• Semiconductor – Burn in Tests
• Arbitrary signal generation for Testing Mixed signal ICs

Semiconductor Devices - Stimulus /power delivery /Biasing Applications and I-V Characterisation

DC Power Supply

• Power supplies are often classified as stimulus equipment because they apply electrical stimulus (voltage or current) to the device under test (DUT). The power supply Provide operating voltage to ICs (VDD, VSS, VCORE),
• In semiconductor labs, power supplies can also be grouped under power delivery or power infrastructure equipment to deliver clean and stable power to test boards, Supply multiple voltage rails for modern chips
• Device Biasing- During transistor(BJT, MOSFET, IGBT) , analog IC, or RF IC testing, power supplies act as bias sources.

Typical use case example: In MOSFET characterization, a DC power supply biases the gate source and drain source junctions, while measuring the current response.

Semiconductor Reliability & Compliance

High Potential (Hi-Pot) Testers

A Hi-Pot (High Potential) Tester is widely used in semiconductor R&D applications to ensure the electrical safety and reliability of devices by testing insulation and dielectric strength. In semiconductor research and development, applications include:

• Dielectric Breakdown Testing - Measures the voltage at which a semiconductor material or device (like MOSFETs, IGBTs, diodes) fails electrically.
• Leakage Current Measurement- Checks for unintended current flow through insulating layers (e.g., gate oxide in MOSFETs or passivation layers in ICs). Is crucial for evaluating the reliability of ultra-thin dielectric layers in advanced semiconductor devices.
  • Insulation Resistance Verification- Ensures that the semiconductor package or device has adequate insulation between high-voltage regions and ground. Important for high-voltage devices used in power electronics and electric vehicles.
  • Gate Oxide Integrity Testing- Hi-Pot testing is used to stress the gate oxide of MOS devices to detect weak spots or defects before failure occurs in operation.
• Package and PCB Testing in Prototypes- During R&D, Hi-Pot testers validate the insulation of semiconductor packages, interconnects, and substrate materials under high voltage stress GPT-9800 Electrical Safety Tester

RF signal Characterisation and Analysis

Spectrum Analysers

In the semiconductor industry, spectrum analysers are essential for testing RF, analog, and mixed-signal semiconductor devices such as RF transceivers, amplifiers, PLLs, and wireless chips.

Key Applications of Spectrum Analysers in Semiconductor Testing

• RF Signal Characterization
• Harmonic and Spurious Signal Detection
• Compliance with Communication Standards.
• Noise and Signal Purity Measurement
• Modulation Analysis

Semiconductor – Burn in Tests

Burn-in testing in the semiconductor industry is used to detect early-life failures in chips before they reach the market. The idea is to stress devices under high temperature, voltage, and continuous operation, so that weak or defective units fail in the factory rather than in the field

Digital Storage Oscilloscopes

In semiconductor burn-in testing oscilloscopes have critical role for monitoring, debugging, and verifying the devices under stress. They complement the power supplies and electronic loads in the burn-in setup.

• Monitoring Signal Integrity During Burn-In
• Detecting Early Failures
• Debugging Burn-In Boards and Test Fixtures
• Correlating Device Behaviour With Stress Conditions

Programmable DC Loads

In semiconductor burn-in testing, DC electronic loads are a crucial part of the test setup because they simulate real operating conditions by drawing controlled current from the Device Under Test (DUT). Unlike power supplies, which provide voltage, DC loads pull current in programmable ways to stress the device.

Arbitrary signal generation for Testing Mixed signal ICs

Arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs) are essential for testing mixed-signal Integrated Circuits (ICs) because they provide the flexibility, precision, and high-frequency capabilities needed to simulate complex, real-world operating conditions that standard function generators cannot achieve. Unlike simple signal generators, AWGs can create custom, user-defined waveforms, including modulated signals (QAM, OFDM), noise, and non-standard shapes, allowing for comprehensive validation of both analog and digital circuits on a single chip.

Examples of use cases:

• Performance evaluation of RF Transceiver in wireless protocol (like Wi Fi, 5G) ICs require arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs ) which can generate complex modulation signals like QPSK, QAM
• Data Converters: Characterizing analog to digital converters ( ADC) and digital to analog converter (DAC) ICs performance metrics include resolution, sampling rate, linearity (INL/DNL), noise etc