Patent ID: 11911904
Assignee: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  H  G | IPC B  H

Claim 23:
24. A method, comprising:
moving a pick arm of a pick and place apparatus toward a singulated microelectronic device;
initiating contact of the microelectronic device with a pick surface of the pick arm; and
sensing, with a sensor device carried by the pick arm, at least one of one or more forces or one or more locations of force applied between the pick surface and the contacted microelectronic device;
generating, with the sensor device, one or more signals representative of the at least one of one or more forces or one or more locations of force applied between the pick surface and the contacted microelectronic device;
transmitting the one or more signals to a controller configured to control movement of the pick arm;
the controller determining, from the one or more signals, if at least one of the conditions is present:
a contact force between the pick surface and the microelectronic device exceeds a threshold magnitude;
a single point of contact between the pick surface and the microelectronic device;
multiple points of contact between the pick surface and the microelectronic device at or below a certain number;
multiple points of contact between the pick surface and the microelectronic device along contact of less than about 90% of a surface area of the pick surface with the microelectronic device;
non-parallel orientation of the pick surface relative to a facing surface of the microelectronic device above a threshold acute angle; or
rotational misalignment of the pick surface and the microelectronic device;

receiving the microelectronic device on the pick surface;
reorienting the pick surface to cause the microelectronic device to face a bond tip surface of a thermocompression bonding apparatus bond head;
moving the pick arm into a position with a surface of the microelectronic device in proximity and facing to the bond tip surface;
transferring the microelectronic device from the pick surface to the bond tip surface; and
sensing, with the sensor device, at least one of one or more forces or one or more locations of force applied between the surface of the microelectronic device and the bond tip surface.