The semiconductor industry is transforming, driven by advancements in AI, advanced packaging, heterogeneous integration, and edge computing. As semiconductor design and manufacturing grow in complexity to meet these needs, flexible test strategies emerge as the linchpin for balancing yield, cost, and quality.

The automated test equipment (ATE) sector plays a critical role in not only ensuring these complex, high-performance chips meet stringent quality standards but also preparing the industry to navigate a steady stream of future challenges.

Innovative test strategies are essential in this effort, encompassing comprehensive options that optimize the cost of quality from wafer to final test and system-level testing.

With flexible solutions – for example, the ability to shift tests left or right to other insertions – manufacturers can determine the ideal test approach based on all factors such as cost, test time, and more.

Industry landscape: AI, miniaturization, and energy-efficient innovations

The explosive growth in AI-driven applications has heightened the demand for advanced, low-power, high-speed chips. Technologies like 2nm process nodes, chiplet architectures, and 2.5D/3D integration are becoming essential to meet the performance and efficiency needs of applications such as data centers, automotive systems, and IoT.

The rapid scaling of chip architectures and the emergence of silicon photonics for data centers introduce additional complexity to the semiconductor ecosystem, prompting ATE systems to innovate and adapt.

As chips become smaller, more powerful, and efficient, they require highly specialized and precise testing to identify potential defects. ATE companies must develop equipment that can handle these advanced requirements without compromising accuracy, speed, or cost.

This shift to smaller chip geometries is never-ending. Leading-edge 3nm technology is already scheduled for replacement, and there is an expectation that the industry will face the Angstrom level (with feature sizes below 1nm) within a decade. With smaller geometries, the resulting chips continually have more transistors and require increasingly complex testing processes and strategies.

The move to edge AI adds even more demand, increasing the need for multi-site testing (testing multiple devices simultaneously on a single test setup). Dynamic ATE solutions are essential, offering insights into what’s going on inside the tester downstream, thus ensuring the overall test system can then be optimized for quality and cost.

Unified testing approach addresses complexity

To successfully test these advanced digital chips, test equipment companies are developing flexible test strategies that combine traditional ATE methods (featuring structural tests using predefined test vectors) with system-level test (SLT), allowing semiconductor devices to be evaluated in real-world conditions.

It’s an approach that optimizes the quality and cost of test, tapping into data analytics, machine learning, and AI to enable efficient testing. By intelligently applying data collected during the test process, test providers can derive a Pareto chart of elements that are failing most commonly. They can gain insight into when chips are failing and under what conditions, information which in turn reveals trends related to the device’s manufacture or design.

In this effort, test innovation is critical to success. More intelligence must be integrated into test processes to analyze these trends, fueling AI-based decisions that change the test parameters we need to shift left to the wafer or the fab.

In these test strategies, SLT simulates the interactions between hardware and software, such as booting an operating system or executing a benchmark program. This capability helps identify faults that only manifest under actual operating conditions, like power supply noise, self-heating, and marginal timing issues.

This unified approach is essential for complex devices, such as system-on-chip (SoC) and system-in-package (SiP) technologies, where real-world interactions and software integration are critical. By incorporating both pre-integration testing (for known good die and interposer processes) and stack-wide 3D design-for-test architectures, manufacturers can ensure component quality before final assembly, thereby minimizing defects and improving reliability.

While these SLT tests may increase test time, they can be very effective due to the high site count and can help optimize the cost of quality (see image). They may be crucial to achieving the highest yield possible. For example, losing an entire system due to a single bad die is very costly; this would drive a trend to shift left, to do more testing at the wafer level and focus more on known good die (KGD).

Emerging standards and evolving test requirements

With the rise of interconnected devices and AI applications, emerging standards such as UCIe and IEEE 1838 are shaping test requirements for heterogeneous integration. These standards guide the industry in maintaining compatibility and reliability across different semiconductor layers.

Additionally, as silicon photonics continues to be integrated with electronics, hybrid test solutions that address both digital and optical components become essential for advancing data transfer capabilities while conserving energy. This is a key requirement for modern data centers. For ATE providers, investments in photonics testing are critical – developing hybrid test systems that can handle both electrical and optical signals simultaneously.

AI and data analytics drive smarter testing

AI and data analytics in the testing landscape provide critical insights from ATE data to optimize the fabrication process. Manufacturers can now make real-time adjustments based on trends and patterns identified through data analysis, enhancing yield while controlling costs.

Integrating AI into test workflows also allows dynamic decision-making, adjusting test parameters to suit specific device requirements across various stages of manufacturing. This data-driven approach supports better communication from wafer to final package, ensuring issues are detected and addressed early, ultimately reducing waste and improving product reliability.

Strategic partnerships for a collaborative future

The semiconductor lifecycle involves complex processes that traditionally operated in silos. Teradyne provides manufacturers with an open framework for implementing ATE analytics solutions.

This vendor-agnostic platform aligns with SEMI’s Smart Data & AI Initiative, creating a cohesive test ecosystem that supports industry-wide standards and encourages innovation without vendor lock-in.

Meeting future demands with flexibility and ATE industry leadership

We’ve discussed the current situation, but what about future changes? The ATE sector must evolve in step with semiconductor technologies, offering strategies for efficient, robust test solutions that support the latest semiconductors in a cost-effective, optimized manner. This is critical not only as we see the current impact of the influx of AI applications, but as semiconductor manufacturers face what is next.

This evolution is likely to include continued advancements in AI and machine learning for optimizing testing processes, the growing need for systems to handle heterogeneous integration and chiplet designs, and the importance of thermal management in 3D packaging.

The rise of 5G/6G and higher frequency technologies will necessitate enhanced RF testing capabilities, as well. Increased automation, remote testing, and cloud integration will improve efficiency, while new methods will be required to test quantum and neuromorphic devices. Sustainability efforts will focus on energy-efficient testing and modular equipment, supported by big data analytics for yield optimization and predictive maintenance.

As these and other key trends shape the semiconductor test industry over the next three to seven years, the ATE industry’s focus on innovation in test strategies ensures it can keep pace while balancing cost and quality.

That’s vital, because the semiconductor industry’s growth shows no signs of slowing. New nodes, photonic integration, and complex packaging techniques continue to push the envelope. Flexible test strategies empower ATE leaders to adapt to these challenges, ensuring that each component and system meets stringent standards before reaching the market. Through continuous innovation, strategic collaboration, and data-driven testing, ATE is positioned to support the semiconductor industry’s long-term growth, ensuring scalability and reliability in an era defined by rapid digital advancements.