Patent ID: 7218129

Claim:
A method for controlling the temperature of an integrated circuit during testing, the method comprising: supplying a chilled fluid to a cold plate at a first flowrate, the cold plate being positioned to cool the integrated circuit, and the first flowrate being associated with a first valve setting of a proportional control valve, the first valve setting being based on at least a desired temperature setpoint and a power applied to the integrated circuit; determining a change in testing conditions prior to detecting a change in integrated circuit temperature, the change in testing conditions comprising a change in power applied to the integrated circuit that will result in a change in temperature of the integrated circuit; and modifying the chilled fluid flowrate from the first flowrate to a second flowrate in response to the change in testing conditions utilizing a feed forward control loop to respond to a change in testing conditions prior to sensing a temperature change of the integrated circuit, the second flowrate being associated with a second valve setting, and the second valve setting being based on at least the desired temperature setpoint and the new testing conditions.