Patent ID: 6903565

Claim:
An apparatus for the simultaneous and mutually independent testing of voltage-supplied semiconductor devices disposed on a wafer, comprising: supply paths; a programmable test apparatus having a plurality of output and input channels to be connected to the semiconductor devices for functionally testing the semiconductor devices; at least one voltage supply unit connected to said supply paths for supplying voltage through said supply paths to the semiconductor devices during the functional test; at least one needle card adapted to simultaneously contact connect a plurality of the semiconductor devices, the plurality being a true subset of all of the semiconductor devices disposed on the wafer, said at least one needle card connected to said supply paths; a plurality of controllable voltage-regulating units and current-limiting units respectively disposed in each of said supply paths between said at least one voltage supply unit and a respective one of the semiconductor devices, each of said current-limiting units at least one of determining and influencing a current intensity in a respective one of said supply paths; and each of said controllable voltage-regulating units regulating a selectable supply potential of a respective one of the semiconductor devices over a section of the functional test.