JP4605451B2 - Solid-state image sensor inspection system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a solid-state image sensor inspection system, and more particularly to a solid-state image sensor inspection system with a high degree of design freedom that can easily cope with expansion of an inspection function.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration of an apparatus capable of inspecting a color solid-state imaging device in a short time.

JP 2002-27506 A

  Solid-state imaging devices such as CCDs and CMOSs are used as imaging devices for digital cameras, for example, and higher integration is being promoted with the demand for higher display resolution. In particular, the CMOS solid-state imaging device has an advantage that a conventional CMOS manufacturing process can be diverted.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual configuration diagram for explaining a solid-state imaging device and an inspection method for performing a quality inspection thereof. In the figure, the solid-state imaging device 1 is composed of a color filter 2 and a photoelectric conversion unit 3.

  The color filter 2 includes a plurality of G1 color filters, B color filters, R color filters, and G2 color filters. The G1 color filter and the G2 color filter transmit green light, but are distinguished because they have different characteristics. The B color filter and the R color filter transmit blue and red light, respectively.

The photoelectric conversion unit 3 is composed of a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements PD _HV (H, V: integer) arranged to face the G1 color filter, the B color filter, the R color filter, and the G2 color filter . This photoelectric conversion element PD _HV becomes a sensor with color vision by the G1 color filter, the B color filter, the R color filter, and the G2 color filter.

  The light source 4 irradiates the solid-state imaging device 1 with uniform white light with a constant illuminance.

In such a configuration, when the light source 4 irradiates the solid-state imaging device 1 with uniform white light with constant illuminance over a certain period of time, the amount of charge accumulated in the photoelectric conversion element PD _HV of the photoelectric conversion unit 3 is not constant, The color filter 2 mounted on the photoelectric conversion element PD _HV is different for each color. This is because the spectral transmission characteristics of each color of the mounted color filter 2 are different, and the amount of charge converted by the photoelectric conversion element PD _HV is an amount depending on the spectral characteristics of the color filter 2.

Such a quality inspection of the solid-state imaging device 1 includes a method of performing separation for each color and a method of performing a gray image in which all colors are mixed. When a characteristic inspection separated for each color is necessary, as described in Patent Document 1, image data obtained from the solid-state imaging device 1 is sorted according to color, and the photoelectric conversion device PD corresponding to the color filter. Processing is performed for each _HV .

  On the other hand, in the case of handling as a gray image, all image data obtained from the solid-state imaging device 1 is subjected to image calculation processing without being sorted by color.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of such a conventional solid-state image sensor inspection system. In FIG. 3, the solid-state imaging device 1 to be inspected is placed on a DUT board 5 and electrically connected.

  The CPU 6 comprehensively controls the operation of the entire solid-state imaging device inspection apparatus based on an inspection program corresponding to the specification standard of the solid-state imaging device 1 to be inspected set and input from the operation setting unit 7.

  The light source drive control unit 8 lights and drives the light source 4 based on a control signal corresponding to the specification standard of the solid-state imaging device 1 to be inspected input from the CPU 6.

  The element drive control unit 9 supplies a DC signal and a drive clock for driving the solid-state image sensor 1 based on a control signal corresponding to the specification standard of the solid-state image sensor 1 to be inspected input from the CPU 6. Image data is output from the solid-state image sensor 1 by irradiating the solid-state image sensor 1 with the output light of the light source 4 while the solid-state image sensor 1 is being driven.

  Image data output from the solid-state imaging device 1 is converted into digital data by the A / D converter 10. The digital data converted by the A / D converter 10 is stored in the data memory 11.

  The image data stored in the data memory 11 is transferred to the image processing memory 13 via a DMAC (direct memory access controller) 12.

  The DSP 14 performs predetermined image calculation processing on the image data transferred to the image processing memory 11 based on the control signal corresponding to the specification standard of the solid-state imaging device 1 to be inspected, which is input from the CPU 6, and the processing result Is output to the CPU 6.

  The CPU 6 determines pass / fail of the solid-state imaging device 1 to be inspected based on the processing result input from the DSP 14. Processing results and determination results of the solid-state imaging device 1 to be inspected are displayed on the display unit 15 via the CPU 6.

  By the way, according to the image calculation processing of the DSP 14, for example, standard inspection processing for the solid-state imaging device 1 such as dot defect inspection can be performed, but originally “stain” or the like belonging to the sensory inspection item based on the subjective judgment of the inspector. In general, “unevenness” or the like is often not included in the image calculation processing of the DSP 14.

  If the user of the inspection apparatus that manufactures the solid-state imaging device 1 desires an inspection that is not included in the image calculation processing of the DSP 14 such as “stain” or “unevenness” after the inspection apparatus is introduced, the image of the DSP 14 In addition to the arithmetic processing, it may be necessary to input image data or inspection data of the inspection apparatus to an external image evaluation unit to perform other inspections.

  However, in such a conventional solid-state imaging device inspection device, a special interface must be prepared separately in order to use image data or inspection data in another device for extending the inspection function. The design freedom is low.

  The present invention solves such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a solid-state imaging device inspection system with a high degree of design freedom that can easily cope with expansion of an inspection function.

In order to achieve such a problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is:
Corresponding to each of a plurality of solid-state imaging device chips having a function of executing high-definition image processing inspection not incorporated in the solid-state imaging device inspection device via the image processing unit controller in the solid-state imaging device inspection device at high speed A solid-state image sensor inspection system to which a plurality of image processing units connected are connected,
The image processing unit controller is
While having a function of controlling transmission and reception of various signals between the solid-state imaging device inspection device and the plurality of image processing units,
Means for storing at least the number of connected image processing units;
Means for distributing the solid command input from the image sensor testing apparatus, the respective image processing units based on the information stored in the connection image processing unit number storage means,
It is characterized by having.

The invention described in claim 2 is the solid-state imaging device inspection system according to claim 1,
The image processing unit control unit further includes:
Means for distributing the solid test results and image data inputted from the image sensor testing apparatus, the respective image processing units based on the connection image processing unit information stored in the number storage means,
It is characterized by having.

The invention described in claim 3 is the solid-state imaging device inspection system according to claim 2,
The image processing unit control unit further includes:
When the said connected image processing result of each image processing unit is in place, all, means for transferring the solid-state imaging device inspection apparatus,
It is characterized by having.

The invention described in claim 4 is the solid-state image sensor inspection system according to claim 3,
The image processing unit control unit further includes:
Forcibly interrupted to timeout process means the image processing operation of the image processing unit applicable to a case where the image processing result from the image processing unit even after the lapse of instruction delivered after a predetermined time is connected is not returned,
It is characterized by having.

The invention described in claim 5 is the solid-state imaging device inspection system according to claim 3 or 4,
The image processing unit control unit further includes:
It means for monitoring the image processing load status of the respective image processing units,
It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a solid-state imaging device inspection system having a high degree of design freedom that can easily cope with expansion of an inspection function.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main part of one embodiment of the present invention, and the same reference numerals are given to the parts common to FIG. In FIG. 1, a transmission / reception interface unit 17 is added to the inspection device 18 in a region 16 surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3. The transmission / reception interface unit 17 transmits / receives various signals between the solid-state image sensor inspection device 18 and the plurality of image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n .

The image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n perform high-definition image processing inspections that are not incorporated in the inspection device 18 such as “stains” and “unevenness” that originally belong to sensory inspection items based on the subjective judgment of the inspector. It has a function of executing at high speed, and is connected to the transmission / reception interface unit 17 via the image processing unit control unit 27 so as to correspond to each of a plurality of n solid-state imaging device chips.

The image processing unit control unit 27 has a function of controlling transmission / reception of various signals between the solid-state image sensor inspection device 18 and the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n .

  The image processing unit control unit 27 includes a connection unit number storage unit 20, a control command distribution unit 21, an inspection result distribution unit 22, an image data distribution unit 23, an image processing result transfer unit 24, a timeout processing unit 25, and an image processing load monitor. A part 26 and the like are provided.

  The connected unit number storage unit 20 stores information on the number of connected image processing units.

The control command distribution unit 21 distributes a command input from the solid-state image sensor inspection device 18 to each of the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n based on information stored in the connection unit number storage unit 20.

The inspection result distribution unit 22 distributes the inspection result input from the solid-state imaging device inspection device 18 to each of the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n based on the information stored in the connection unit number storage unit 20.

The image data distribution unit 23 distributes the image data input from the solid-state image sensor inspection device 18 to the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n based on information stored in the connection unit number storage unit 20.

The image processing result transfer unit 24 transfers the image processing results to the solid-state image sensor inspection device 18 when all the image processing results of the connected image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n are prepared.

The time-out processing unit 25 is applicable when no image processing result is returned from the connected image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n even if a predetermined time has elapsed after the control command distribution unit 21 distributes the command. The image processing operation of the image processing unit is forcibly interrupted.

The image processing load monitoring unit 26 has a function of monitoring the image processing load state of each of the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n .

The operation of the solid-state imaging device inspection system configured as described above will be described.
The solid-state image sensor inspection device 18 sends commands to the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n to the image processing unit control unit 27 without being aware of how many image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n are connected.

The image processing unit control unit 27 distributes the command input from the solid-state image sensor inspection device 18 to each of the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n based on the information stored in the connection unit number storage unit 20.

Result data inspected by each of the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n is input to the image processing result transfer unit 24 of the image processing unit control unit 27. The image processing result transfer unit 24 waits until response data from all the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n are acquired, and transfers and outputs the response data to the solid-state image sensor inspection device 18 when all the response data is ready.

In each of the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n , a predetermined image processing or the like may take an abnormal time due to a system malfunction or a measurement target device defect. Therefore, time-out processing unit 25, by recording the time to get the response data from the image processing unit 19 ₁ to 19 times has issued instructions to _n and the image processing unit 19 ₁ to 19 _n, the control command If no image processing result is returned from the connected image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the distribution unit 21 distributed the command, the image processing operation of the corresponding image processing unit is performed. Perform a timeout process to forcibly suspend.

With this configuration, the solid-state imaging device inspection device 18 performs image processing on commands to the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n without being conscious of how many image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n are connected. By sending it to the unit controller 27, the image processing results of the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n can be automatically taken in.

That is, according to the present invention, the complicated synchronization processing and error processing that occur when a plurality of image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n are connected are performed by the image processing unit control unit 27, and the solid-state imaging device inspection device 18 loads can be reduced.

Although it is conceivable that each image processing unit 19 _{1 to} 19 _n has a time-out processing function, when each image processing unit 19 _{1 to} 19 _n has a time-out process, each image processing unit 19 ₁ When the CPU load of ˜19 _n increases, more accurate timeout processing cannot be performed. On the other hand, more accurate timeout processing can be realized by providing the timeout processing unit 25 in which the CPU and the process are independent of the image processing units 19 _{1 to} 19 _n as in the present invention.

  In addition, the image processing unit control unit 27 grasps how many image processing units are connected and records information such as how long each command takes. Therefore, each image is based on the information. The load status of the processing unit can be grasped. Therefore, by issuing a command according to the CPU load status of each image processing unit, each image processing unit can be efficiently operated, and the time during which the image processing unit is not processing can be reduced to the limit. it can. As a result, the time required for the inspection per device to be measured can be greatly reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the image processing unit control unit 27 includes the connection unit number storage unit 20, the control command distribution unit 21, the inspection result distribution unit 22, the image data distribution unit 23, the image processing result transfer unit 24, the timeout processing unit 25, and Although an example in which the image processing load monitoring unit 26 is provided has been described, a configuration in which some functional blocks are removed may be used depending on the application.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a solid-state imaging device inspection system with a high degree of design freedom that can easily cope with expansion of inspection functions.

It is a block diagram which shows one Example of this invention. It is a conceptual block diagram for demonstrating the inspection method which performs a solid-state image sensor and its quality inspection. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the conventional solid-state image sensor inspection apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Solid-state image sensor 4 Light source 5 DUT board 6 CPU
7 Operation Setting Unit 8 Light Source Drive Control Unit 9 Element Drive Control Unit 10 A / D Converter 11 Data Memory 12 DMAC
13 Image processing memory 14 DSP
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Display part 17 Transmission / reception interface part 18 Solid-state image sensor inspection apparatus 19 Image processing unit 20 Connection unit number storage part 21 Image processing part 22 Control command delivery part 23 Image data delivery part 24 Image processing result transfer part 25 Timeout processing part 26 Image processing Load monitoring unit 27 Image processing unit control unit

Claims (5)

Corresponding to each of a plurality of solid-state imaging device chips having a function of executing high-definition image processing inspection not incorporated in the solid-state imaging device inspection device via the image processing unit controller in the solid-state imaging device inspection device at high speed A solid-state image sensor inspection system to which a plurality of image processing units connected are connected,
The image processing unit controller is
While having a function of controlling transmission and reception of various signals between the solid-state imaging device inspection device and the plurality of image processing units,
Means for storing at least the number of connected image processing units;
Means for distributing the solid command input from the image sensor testing apparatus, the respective image processing units based on the information stored in the connection image processing unit number storage means,
A solid-state imaging device inspection system comprising: The image processing unit control unit further includes:
Means for distributing the solid test results and image data inputted from the image sensor testing apparatus, the respective image processing units based on the connection image processing unit information stored in the number storage means,
The solid-state imaging device inspection system according to claim 1, comprising: The image processing unit control unit further includes:
When the said connected image processing result of each image processing unit is in place, all, means for transferring the solid-state imaging device inspection apparatus,
The solid-state imaging device inspection system according to claim 2, further comprising: The image processing unit control unit further includes:
Forcibly interrupted to timeout process means the image processing operation of the image processing unit applicable to a case where the image processing result from the image processing unit even after the lapse of instruction delivered after a predetermined time is connected is not returned,
The solid-state imaging device inspection system according to claim 3, further comprising: The image processing unit control unit further includes:
It means for monitoring the image processing load status of the respective image processing units,
The solid-state imaging device inspection system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by comprising:

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