Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 15 recites that the “DUT Temperature Feedback mode functions to maintain, based on the TSP, at least one of: DUT temperature; and thermal test vehicle (TTV)”. Claiming the maintenance of a physical “thermal test vehicle” based on a Temperature Set Point (TSP) renders the claim indefinite. For the purpose of the examination, we consider the limitation to mean “the temperature of the thermal test vehicle”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claims 1-3, 6-8, 10-14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karthik Ranganathan et al. (US20220206061A1) hereinafter Ranganathan and further in view of Mahesh Deshmane (US20230288480A1) hereinafter Deshmane.
Regarding claim 1, Ranganathan teaches a test system for device testing (test system 170 comprising a device under test, Fig. 1C and ¶ [61]), the system comprising: a test board (test board 176 (may correspond to test board 152 of fig. 1B), ¶ [61]) comprising a plurality of test sites (test bard 152 comprises plurality, e.g., six, of stacks 154, ¶ [57]) operable to receive a plurality of devices under test (DUTs) for testing (72 DUTs with corresponding active thermal interposer devices can be tested simultaneously, ¶ [59]); and it further teaches a cooling system ( the DUT and the active thermal interposer device are passed to a thermal head comprises a cold plate 130/730, ¶ [59] & fig. 7. A chiller 135 cools a cooling fluid while cold plate 130/730 removes heat from the test site, and a coolant valve 132/754 regulates the flow of the cooling fluid to the cold plate, fig 1A & 7 and ¶ [50]) comprising a PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) controller (cooling hardware is managed by a control system 700 with a heating/cooling control 740 and a cold plate control 750, these controls utilize dual loop proportional integral derivative (PID) algorithms to control the temperature, ¶ [80 & 84]). It further teaches the physical action of the robotic pick and place arm retrieving an untested chip from a tray and physically placing it down into the socket of the test board so that the testing and thermal control processes can begin, ¶ [59] (to test the plurality of DUTs operable to be disposed in the test sites).
While Ranganathan utilizes dual-loop PID hardware to manage zone temperatures, it does not disclose the software logic to perform an adaptive PID tuning process to test the plurality of DUTs operable to be disposed in the test sites.
Deshmane provides the algorithmic logic for the adaptive tuning process. It discloses a general thermal controller and a junction temperature Tj training controller that is used to compute pre-emphasis and gain controls to proactively correct for slow thermal responses, ¶ [28 & 31 & 36]. It further teaches based on the measurements the system adjusts one or more controls for controlling a temperature of a thermal head connected to the DUT so that a junction temperature of the DUT corresponds to a predetermined test temperature, ¶ [44]. This continues cycle of applying thermal parameters, measuring the response, and adjusting the controls to achieve a s strict temperature tolerance describes an adaptive tuning process (wherein the controller is operable to automatically perform an adaptive tuning process).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the automated, adaptive thermal training/tuning process, taught by Deshmane, into the parallel PID testing system of Ranganathan to proactively correct for slow thermal responses during testing, automatically dial in the controls to prevent thermal shock or regression across a large volume of DUTs.
Regarding claim 2, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the test system of claim 1 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 1.
Ranganathan utilizes dual-loop PID algorithms (PID controller). A first control loop is used to control the cold plate’s overall temperature and a second loop is used to control the heating and cooling elements for each specific zone of the active thermal interposer device to achieve the desired temperature for DUT, ¶ [84]. It teaches that 72 DUTs with corresponding active thermal interposer devices can be tested simultaneously, ¶ [59] (for the plurality of DUTs)
While Ranganathan teaches PID algorithms are used to drive the heating and cooling elements, it does not teach any specific numerical values. Ranganathan does not teach the PID controller is further operable to automatically adjust PID controller values for the plurality of DUTs based on a response measurement to achieve a target performance metric based on adjusted PID controller values.
Deshmane further teaches a processor configured to measure one or more parameters of a current test instance during the execution of that test instance on the DUT, ¶ [15 & 43], this includes actively measuring the real-time junction temperature of the device (based on a response measurement). It teaches that adjusted controls include gain controls to increase or decrease the thermal head temperature, ¶ [50] (the controller is further operable to automatically adjust controller values). It further teaches that the controls are adjusted so that a junction temperature of the DUT corresponds to a predetermined test temperature, ¶[44] (to achieve a target performance metric based on adjusted controller values).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the adaptive gain controls, as taught by Dashmene, into the thermal management system of Ranganathan to automatically adjust PID controller values (gains) of PID algorithm. This adjustment compensates for time lags during high-power testing (Dashmene, ¶ [18]), and ensures that DUT reaches the target temperature setpoint with high temporal resolution. Moreover, dynamically adjusting the DUT’s real-time thermal response, helps to achieve strict temperature tolerance without manual intervention.
Regarding claim 3, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the test system of claim 2 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 2.
Ranganathan teaches the baseline hardware (the multi-site test board and PID cooling system), but it doesn’t teach a mechanism for storing optimized PID tuning values for future use.
Ranganathan doesn’t teach the PID controller is further operable to store the adjusted PID controller values in a memory associated with a respective test site.
Deshmane teaches that the processor is configured to store the determined one or more controls (gain controls) in a look-up table in which the determined one or more controls are indexed to correspond to the measured one or more parameters, ¶ [69] (controller is further operable to store the adjusted controller values in a memory). These thermal controls are determined for a current test instance for testing a device under test (DUT), ¶ [60] (associated with a respective test site).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the look-up table memory storage workflow of Deshmane into PID testing system of Ranganathan so that the optimal thermal parameters could be immediately recalled and applied to future DUTs placed in those same sockets. This combination improves testing throughput and ensures consistent, regression-free thermal management across high-volume production runs.
Regarding claim 6, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the test system of claim 2 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 2.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane further teaches an electronic automatic thermal control system (ATC), figure 8 and (Ranganathan ,¶ [98]) (or thermal controller (145), (Ranganathan ,¶ [54])) (thermal controller). The ATC may incorporate specific active thermal interposer heating/cooling control function (740) and cold plate control functions (750), (Ranganathan ,¶ [97]). It further states that these control functions utilize dual- loop proportional-integral-derivative (PID) processes to evaluate inputs and generate control outputs, (Ranganathan ,¶ [104]) (communicatively coupled to the PID controller). It further teaches that the thermal controller regulates the supply of electrical power to the heating elements of active thermal interposer device and controls the valve regulating the flow of cooling fluid to the cold plate, (Ranganathan ,¶ [108-109]). It also teaches that this thermal management hardware is arranged across a test board (176) that includes a plurality of test stacks (where the DUTs reside), (Ranganathan ,¶ [61]) (wherein the thermal controller is operable to manage temperature conditions of the test board).
Regarding claim 7, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the test system of claim 6 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 6.
Ranganathan teaches a thermal controller that actively controls the supply of electrical power to the heating elements and controls the fluid valves of the cold plate during a test, ¶ [98, 108-109].
However, Ranganathan doesn’t teach that the thermal controller dynamically applies PID values provided by the PID controller.
Deshmane teaches that the newly determined controls (the gain controls) are transmitted to the thermal controller (420) before or during execution of every high-power test instance, ¶ [33 & 41]. Furthermore, it teaches that these controls are applied at a high temporal resolution of 4 milliseconds, to proactively correct for a slow thermal control response, ¶ [36].( wherein the thermal controller is further operable to dynamically apply values provided by the controller)
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to configure the thermal controller of Ranganathan in view of Deshmane to dynamically receive and apply the adaptively tuned PID values (the gain controls, for example) provided by the junction temperature training controller, as taught by Deshmane, so that the localized cooling and heating hardware managed by the thermal controller could immediately benefit from optimized thermal parameters on the fly. This dynamic application allows the system to proactively correct for slow thermal responses and precisely hit target junction temperatures without having to pause or restart this sequence.
Regarding claim 8, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the test system of claim 7 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 7.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches an ATC system that generates control outputs to regulate heating and cooling (Ranganathan ,¶ [98 & 108-109])( wherein the thermal controller is further operable to perform temperature control).
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane further teaches using the physical temperature of the DUT as a real-time feedback input. It teaches that a measurement of the integrated circuit junction temperature (Tj) (820), or a direct measurement of the case or die temperature (830), is utilized as a measured process variable to a temperature control loop (Ranganathan ,¶ [89]), (The ATC system actively receives these specific inputs (e.g., Tj and Tcase of the DUT) to calculate how much heating or cooling to apply)( using a DUT Temperature Feedback mode).
It further teaches that the controller uses the DUT temperature feedback to generate control outputs in order to achieve a desired temperature (TSP) for each zone of the device under test (DUT) (Ranganathan ,¶ [83]) (to maintain conditions based on a temperature set point (TSP)).
Regarding claim 10, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the test system of claim 7 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 7.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane further teaches an ATC system that generates control outputs to regulate heating and cooling (Ranganathan ,¶ [98 & 108-109])( wherein the thermal controller is further operable to perform temperature control).
It further teaches using an active thermal interposer device to perform temperature control. It teaches gathering one or more temperature measurements of each device active thermal interposer device zone (e.g., accessed node 728), (Ranganathan ,¶ [81]). These direct temperature measurements from the active thermal interposer zones are fed into the active thermal interposer device heating/cooling control 740, (Ranganathan ,¶ [83])(using an Active Thermal Interposer (ATI) Temperature Feedback mode).
It teaches that the controller (control 740) uses these ATI temperature measurements to generate control outputs in order to achieve a desired temperature for each such zones, (Ranganathan ,¶ [83]), (that functions to maintain an ATI temperature based on a temperature set point (TSP)).
Regarding claim 11, Ranganathan teaches an automatic thermal control (ATC) system (An apparatus) that executes dual loop proportional-integral-derivative (PID) algorithms (PID controller) to manage heating and cooling,¶ [97-98]. It teaches the hardware required to gather the thermal response. It discloses utilizing temperature measurement devices (e.g., resistance temperature detectors, thermocouples) to measure variable such as the integrated circuit junction temperature (Tj) or the case temperature of the DUT, ¶ [53 & 98]. (the apparatus comprising: a temperature probe operable to determine a thermal response of a DUT to the PID controller)
While Ranganathan teaches PID algorithms are used to drive the heating and cooling elements, it does not teach any specific numerical values. Moreover, it doesn’t teach a mechanism for storing optimized PID controller values in a memory. Ranganathan doesn’t teach the apparatus comprising:
a memory for storing PID controller values and a PID controller operable to execute an adaptive PID tuning process comprising adjusting and storing the PID controller values based on the thermal response and test criteria.
Deshmane teaches a processor configured to measure one or more parameters of a current test instance during the execution of that test instance on the DUT, ¶ [15 & 43], this includes actively measuring the real-time junction temperature of the device (based on the thermal response). It teaches that adjusted controls include gain controls to increase or decrease the thermal head temperature, ¶ [50] (a controller operable to execute an adaptive tuning process comprising adjusting the controller values). It further teaches that the controls are adjusted so that a junction temperature of the DUT corresponds to a predetermined test temperature, ¶[44] (and test criteria).
Deshmane teaches that the processor is configured to store the determined one or more controls (gain controls) in a look-up table in which the determined one or more controls are indexed to correspond to the measured one or more parameters, ¶ [69] (a controller operable to execute an adaptive tuning process comprising storing the controller values). It teaches the controls in the look-up table can also be persistently stored in the storage (445), ¶ [34] (a memory for storing controller values).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the adaptive gain controls, as taught by Dashmane, into the thermal management system of Ranganathan to automatically adjust PID controller values (gains) of PID algorithm. This adjustment compensate for time lags during high-power testing (Dashmane, ¶ [18]), and ensures that DUT reaches the target temperature setpoint with high temporal resolution. Moreover, dynamically adjusting the DUT’s real-time thermal response, helps to achieve strict temperature tolerance without manual intervention. Furthermore, a PHOSITA would have been motivated to implement the look-up table memory storage workflow of Deshmane into PID testing system of Ranganathan so that the optimal thermal parameters could be immediately recalled and applied to future DUTs. This combination improves testing throughput and ensures consistent, regression-free thermal management across high-volume production runs.
Regarding claim 12, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the apparatus of claim 11 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 11.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane further teaches an electronic automatic thermal control system (ATC), figure 8 and (Ranganathan ,¶ [98]) (or thermal controller (145), (Ranganathan ,¶ [54])) (thermal controller). The ATC may incorporate specific active thermal interposer heating/cooling control function (740) and cold plate control functions (750), (Ranganathan ,¶ [97]). It further states that these control functions utilize dual- loop proportional-integral-derivative (PID) processes to evaluate inputs and generate control outputs, (Ranganathan ,¶ [104]) (communicatively coupled to the PID controller). It further teaches that the thermal controller regulates the supply of electrical power to the heating elements of active thermal interposer device and controls the valve regulating the flow of cooling fluid to the cold plate, (Ranganathan ,¶ [108-109]). I also teaches that this thermal management hardware is arranged across a test board (176) that includes a plurality of test stacks (where the DUTs reside), (Ranganathan ,¶ [61]) (wherein the thermal controller is operable to manage temperature conditions within the test environment).
Regarding claim 13, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the apparatus of claim 12 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 12.
Ranganathan teaches a thermal controller that actively controls the supply of electrical power to the heating elements and controls the fluid valves of the cold plate during a test, ¶ [98, 108-109].
However, Ranganathan doesn’t teach that the thermal controller dynamically applies PID values provided by the PID controller.
Deshmane teaches that the newly determined controls (the gain controls) are transmitted to the thermal controller (420) before or during execution of every high-power test instance, ¶ [33 & 41]. Furthermore, it teaches that these controls are applied at a high temporal resolution of 4 milliseconds, to proactively correct for a slow thermal control response, ¶ [36].( wherein the thermal controller is further operable to dynamically apply values provided by the controller)
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to configure the thermal controller of Ranganathan in view of Deshmane to dynamically receive and apply the adaptively tuned PID values (the gain controls, for example) provided by the junction temperature training controller, as taught by Deshmane, so that the localized cooling and heating hardware managed by the thermal controller could immediately benefit from optimized thermal parameters on the fly. This dynamic application allows the system to proactively correct for slow thermal responses and precisely hit target junction temperatures without having to pause or restart this sequence.
Regarding claim 14, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the apparatus of claim 13 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 13.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches an ATC system that generates control outputs to regulate heating and cooling (Ranganathan ,¶ [98 & 108-109])( wherein the thermal controller is further operable to perform temperature control).
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane further teaches using the physical temperature of the DUT as a real-time feedback input. It teaches that a measurement of the integrated circuit junction temperature (Tj) (820), or a direct measurement of the case or die temperature (830), is utilized as a measured process variable to a temperature control loop (Ranganathan ,¶ [89]), (The ATC system actively receives these specific inputs (e.g., Tj and Tcase of the DUT) to calculate how much heating or cooling to apply) (using a DUT Temperature Feedback mode).
It further teaches that the controller uses the DUT temperature feedback to generate control outputs in order to achieve a desired temperature (TSP) for each zone of the device under test (DUT) (Ranganathan ,¶ [83]) (that functions to maintain DUT thermal conditions based on a temperature set point (TSP)).
Regarding claim 16, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the apparatus of claim 13 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 13.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane further teaches an ATC system that generates control outputs to regulate heating and cooling (Ranganathan ,¶ [98 & 108-109])( wherein the thermal controller is further operable to perform temperature control).
It further teaches using an active thermal interposer device to perform temperature control. It teaches gathering one or more temperature measurements of each device active thermal interposer device zone (e.g., accessed node 728), (Ranganathan ,¶ [81]). These direct temperature measurements from the active thermal interposer zones are fed into the active thermal interposer device heating/cooling control 740, (Ranganathan ,¶ [83])(using an Active Thermal Interposer (ATI) Temperature Feedback mode).
It teaches that the controller (control 740) uses these ATI temperature measurements to generate control outputs in order to achieve a desired temperature for each such zones, (Ranganathan ,¶ [83]), (that functions to maintain an ATI temperature based on a temperature set point (TSP)).
Claims 4-5 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ranganathan in view of Deshmane as applied to claim 1-3 above, and further in view of David H. Armstrong (US20140253155A1) hereinafter Armstrong.
Regarding claim 4, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the test system of claim 2 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 2.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane further teaches adjusting the PID controller values based on the responses of the plurality of DUTs to achieve a predefined performance metric for the same reasons set forth with respect to rejection of claim 2. The combination teaches storing adjusted PID controller values in a memory associated with the plurality of test sites that receives the plurality of DUTs during testing for the same reasons set forth with respect to rejection of claim 3.
While Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the adaptive PID tuning process but lacks explicit recitation of accessing and applying a set of initial PID controller values to determine a baseline response.
Armstrong teaches a process where initial control profile values are generated using either computer simulation results or empirical measurement of the DUT, ¶ [34]. It further states that the test program takes the simulates baseline values and adjusts the baseline adaptively, ¶ [35] (accessing a set of initial values).
Armstrong adjusts these values over time using real-time testing environment data or previous test results from the DUT to improve accuracy, ¶ [34] (applying the set of initial values to test and to determine responses). It also discloses that this adaptive determination and adjustment process can utilize proportional integral derivative (PID) circuits, (Claim 5 of Armstrong).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the initialization step, as taught by Armstrong, into the adaptive tuning process of Ranganathan in view of Deshmane to establish a baseline thermal profile before making dynamic adjustments, ensuing the tuning process converges accurately on the target temperature.
Claim 17 recites the same limitations as tuning process of claim 4, therefore claim 17 is rejected for the same reasons set forth with respect to rejection of claim 4.
Regarding claim 5, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane and Armstrong teaches the test system of claim 4 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 4.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane and Armstrong teaches that the thermal head contains 12 slots; each slot containing 6 sockets, therefore 72 DUTs with corresponding active thermal interposer devices can be tested simultaneously, (Ranganathan, ¶ [59])( wherein the PID controller values for the plurality of DUTs are tuned in parallel). Ranganathan in view of Deshmane and Armstrong further teaches that its thermal management system performs device testing by separately controlling temperature of each zone, and individually controlling heating of each zone of the plurality zones, (Ranganathan, Abstract) (and wherein the DUTs are tested and tuned independently)
Claim 18 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 5.
Regarding claim 19, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane and Armstrong teaches the method of claim 17 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 17.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane and Armstrong further teaches testing the device under test using the tester processor, (Ranganathan,¶ [17]), (further comprising testing the DUT). It teaches an ATC system that generates control outputs to regulate heating and cooling (Ranganathan ,¶ [98 & 108-109]).
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane and Armstrong teaches using the physical temperature of the DUT as a real-time feedback input. It teaches that a measurement of the integrated circuit junction temperature (Tj) (820), or a direct measurement of the case or die temperature (830), is utilized as a measured process variable to a temperature control loop (Ranganathan ,¶ [89]), (The ATC system actively receives these specific inputs (e.g., Tj and Tcase of the DUT) to calculate how much heating or cooling to apply)( using a DUT Temperature Feedback mode).
It further teaches that the controller uses the DUT temperature feedback to generate control outputs in order to achieve a desired temperature (TSP) for each zone of the device under test (DUT) (Ranganathan ,¶ [83]) (that functions to maintain DUT thermal conditions based on a temperature set point (TSP)).
Regarding claim 20, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane and Armstrong teaches the method of claim 17 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 17.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane and Armstrong further teaches testing the device under test using the tester processor, (Ranganathan,¶ [17]), (further comprising testing the DUT). It teaches an ATC system that generates control outputs to regulate heating and cooling (Ranganathan ,¶ [98 & 108-109]).
It further teaches using an active thermal interposer device to perform temperature control. It teaches gathering one or more temperature measurements of each device active thermal interposer device zone (e.g., accessed node 728), (Ranganathan ,¶ [81]). These direct temperature measurements from the active thermal interposer zones are fed into the active thermal interposer device heating/cooling control 740, (Ranganathan ,¶ [83])(using an Active Thermal Interposer (ATI) Temperature Feedback mode).
It teaches that the controller (control 740) uses these ATI temperature measurements to generate control outputs in order to achieve a desired temperature for each such zones, (Ranganathan ,¶ [83]), (that functions to maintain an ATI temperature based on a temperature set point (TSP)).
Claims 9 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ranganathan in view of Deshmane as applied to claim 8 and 14 above, and further in view of Robert Stewart et al. (US20060178784A1) hereinafter Stewart.
Regarding claim 9, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the test system of claim 8 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 8.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches that it utilizes DUT Temperature feedback mode functions to maintain a DUT temperature based on desired temperature or TSP for the same reasons as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 8 (wherein the DUT Temperature Feedback mode functions to maintain, based on the TSP, at least one of: a DUT temperature).
However, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane doesn’t teach wherein the DUT Temperature Feedback mode functions to maintain, based on the TSP, a thermal test vehicle (TTV) temperature.
Stewart teaches utilizing a thermal clone or a substitute mass in place of an actual device to gather temperature feedback during thermal testing, ¶ [64]. It teaches operating the temperature control loop based on the temperature feedback received from the probe inside this thermal clone to achieve and maintain the target set point, ¶ [65]( wherein the DUT Temperature Feedback mode functions to maintain, based on the TSP, a thermal test vehicle (TTV) temperature).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the thermal clone feedback mode taught by Stewart into the test system of the Ranganathan in view of Deshmane to safely obtain highly accurate, core representative temperature feedback to successfully calibrate, tune , and maintain the TSP of a test site in situations where placing a physical temperature probe directly on or inside the actual production DUT would be impractical or risk destroying the device.
Regarding claim 15, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches the apparatus of claim 14 as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 14.
Ranganathan in view of Deshmane teaches that it utilizes DUT Temperature feedback mode functions to maintain a DUT temperature based on desired temperature or TSP for the same reasons as set forth with respect to rejection of claim 14 (wherein the DUT Temperature Feedback mode functions to maintain, based on the TSP, at least one of: a DUT temperature).
However, Ranganathan in view of Deshmane doesn’t teach wherein the DUT Temperature Feedback mode functions to maintain, based on the TSP, a thermal test vehicle (TTV) temperature.
Stewart teaches utilizing a thermal clone or a substitute mass in place of an actual device to gather temperature feedback during thermal testing, ¶ [64]. It teaches operating the temperature control loop based on the temperature feedback received from the probe inside this thermal clone to achieve and maintain the target set point, ¶ [65]( wherein the DUT Temperature Feedback mode functions to maintain, based on the TSP, a thermal test vehicle (TTV) temperature).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the thermal clone feedback mode taught by Stewart into the test system of the Ranganathan in view of Deshmane to safely obtain highly accurate, core representative temperature feedback to successfully calibrate, tune , and maintain the TSP of a test site in situations where placing a physical temperature probe directly on or inside the actual production DUT would be impractical or risk destroying the device.
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ritchie Dao et al. (US20090177310A1) teaches a method for gain scheduling of PID controllers across recipe steps during semiconductor manufacturing/testing. It execute a sequence of different test phases and dynamically adjust the initial PID values to a second set of PID values based on the specific phase of the test.
Conclusion
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/SAEEDE NAFOOSHE/ Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/ANDREW SCHECHTER/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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