Patent ID: 8922271
Filing Date: 2014-12-30
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
1. A circuit for an automatic test equipment (ATE), the ATE including a tester power supply configured to provide a drive voltage and a drive current on a force line and to receive a feedback voltage on a sense line, the circuit comprising: an amplifier having a first input terminal coupled to the force line of the tester power supply and a second input terminal coupled to an output terminal, the output terminal providing an amplifier output signal; an output driver having an input terminal configured to receive the amplifier output signal and an output terminal providing an output voltage indicative of the drive voltage and an output current having a current value greater than and related to the drive current, the output voltage and the output current being coupled to a pin of a semiconductor device under test (DUT); and a feedback circuit comprising a ratiometric current sense circuit being configured to sense a current at the pin of the DUT, to scale down the sensed current and to couple the scaled current to the force line of the tester power supply as a simulated load to the tester power supply, wherein the amplifier, the output driver and the ratiometric current sense circuit are supplied by a high current power source; and the sense line of the tester power supply is coupled to the pin of the DUT to sense the voltage at the pin of the DUT as the feedback voltage.