Lingchen Technology Empowers Semiconductor Chip AOI Inspection & Sorting Equipment
In the back-end packaging and testing of semiconductors, the appearance inspection and sorting-taping of chips are key processes that determine product quality and delivery efficiency. With its advantages of high speed, high precision, and non-contact operation, the Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) system has become standard equipment in back-end chip inspection. Chip AOI inspection and sorting equipment integrates visual inspection, motion control, data storage, and sorting-taping into one system, placing extremely high demands on the control system's image processing capability, multi-axis coordination accuracy, and real-time signal acquisition. Drawing on its deep expertise in semiconductor industry scenarios such as assembly, inspection-sorting, and high-speed pick-and-place,Lingchen Technologyaccurately addresses the core requirements of chip AOI inspection and sorting equipment for high-computing-power image processing, multi-axis precise coordination, and massive signal acquisition, and provides a complete solution covering core components such as industrial computers, motion control cards, and IO modules.
Chip AOI Inspection and Sorting Process Flow
In the field of semiconductor packaging and testing, AOI equipment captures chip surface images through high-precision industrial cameras, and combined with advanced image processing algorithms, intelligently determines defect types on the chip surface such as scratches, stains, cracks, pin defects, solder balls, offsets, and bridges.
The complete process flow of the chip AOI inspection and sorting equipment is as follows:
Loading and Positioning:Chips enter the equipment through a vibratory bowl or tube feeder, and after mechanical or visual initial positioning, proceed to the inspection station, ensuring that the feeding rhythm of each chip meets mass-production line requirements.
Multi-station AOI Inspection:Chips pass through multiple AOI inspection stations in sequence. Four high-precision industrial cameras capture chip surface images from different angles or under different lighting conditions—some cameras are responsible for top-surface defect detection, some for pin coplanarity and dimensional measurement, and some for side-edge crack and burr determination. All image data is transmitted in real time to the industrial computer, where defect intelligent determination is performed through image processing algorithms, automatically identifying defect types and severity levels.
Data Storage and Traceability:The inspection images, defect types, determination results, inspection time, and other data of each chip are stored in the industrial computer in real time, facilitating subsequent quality traceability, defect-rate statistics, and process improvement analysis.
Sorting and Taping:Based on the AOI inspection results, the control system precisely separates good products from defective ones. After high-precision positioning, good chips are automatically loaded into the carrier tape by the taping mechanism and the cover tape is sealed, forming a complete taped reel; defective products are classified and recovered into different bins according to defect type. The sorting mechanism must complete discrimination and action output within milliseconds to ensure no risk of mixing good and defective products.
Rewinding into Tape:After taping and sealing, the carrier tape reel is neatly stored by the rewinding mechanism according to specifications, forming a standard shipping reel, which facilitates direct use on subsequent SMT placement lines.
Lingchen Technology Solution
Addressing the needs of chip AOI inspection and sorting equipment, Lingchen Technology provides a complete solution centered on industrial computer + motion control card + IO module. Each product plays the following specific roles in this solution:
Linchen Industrial Computer: The “Computing Brain” for 4-Camera AOI Inspection
As the main control unit of the equipment, the Linchen industrial computer connects four high-precision industrial cameras through high-bandwidth interfaces, captures chip surface images in real time, and runs image processing algorithms to intelligently determine placement and solder defects. At the same time, it is responsible for storing the inspection images, defect types, determination results, and other data of each chip, enabling full-process quality traceability.
Linchen M60 Motion Control Card: The Core of 22-Axis Precision Coordination
Lingchen Technology M60 Series EtherCAT Bus Motion Control Cardcan control up to 32 motion axes,In this solution, it undertakes the precise control tasks of 22-axis motor/stepper motion, covering the actuators of various stations such as loading, transfer, sorting, and taping. The motion control card supports various motion modes such as single-axis relative/absolute motion, multi-axis interpolation, and electronic gear motion. The maximum bus communication cycle can reach 250µs, ensuring coordinated operation of all axes under high-speed inspection rhythm.
Linchen IO Module: The “Neural Network” for Massive Real-time Signal Acquisition
This solution adopts the Linchen LD1100 series remote IO module as the EtherCAT bus slave station, paired with the LD1486 digital input module and LD2486 digital output module, responsible for real-time acquisition of sensor signals from various stations of the equipment and actuator control. The LD1486 acquires various input signals such as fiber optic sensors, photoelectric sensors, force sensors, and positioning sensors; the LD2486 controls actuators such as cylinders, solenoid valves, and indicator lights, ensuring precise coordination of actions at each station in the inspection and sorting process.
The three core products—Linchen industrial computer, motion control card, and IO module—are interconnected via the high-speed EtherCAT bus, with commands and data exchanging at high speed, forming a complete control closed loop that ensures stable operation of the equipment under high rhythm.
Application Value
The deep collaboration of Lingchen Technology's industrial computer, motion control card, and IO module brings significant application results to chip AOI inspection and sorting equipment:
Dual Improvement in Inspection Accuracy and Efficiency:The high computing power of the Linchen industrial computer supports parallel acquisition and processing of four cameras. Combined with the 250µs-level bus cycle of the PCI-M60-EC01E motion control card, it achieves high-precision detection of micro-defects (chipping, cracks, scratches, etc.). In practical applications, the detection rate can reach over 99.9%, the false detection rate is below 0.01%, and the response time is only 0.1s. With the precise coordination of the high-speed IO module, the complete closed loop from image acquisition, defect determination to sorting action output can be completed within milliseconds.
Continuous Product Quality Improvement:Through AOI intelligent inspection and precise sorting, defective products are effectively intercepted from flowing into the taping stage, reducing product defect rates and improving the consistency of factory quality.
Traceable Data, Efficient Complaint Handling:The inspection images, defect types, determination results, and other data of each chip are stored in the industrial computer in real time, forming a complete quality traceability database. When quality abnormalities occur on the client side, historical inspection data can be quickly retrieved to precisely locate abnormal batches and causes, greatly shortening the complaint handling cycle.
Stable and Reliable Equipment:The Linchen industrial computer has anti-vibration and anti-electromagnetic-interference capabilities, ensuring long-term stable operation 7×24 hours. The IO module and motion control card operate in coordination, ensuring the equipment maintains high reliability in high-rhythm continuous production and effectively reducing unplanned downtime frequency.
Shortened Equipment Development Cycle:Linchen's core components are all mature standard products, validated through extensive semiconductor industry field deployments. Customers do not need to start from scratch for hardware selection and adaptation verification, which can effectively shorten the equipment development and time-to-market cycle.
Conclusion
Chip AOI inspection and sorting equipment is key equipment in semiconductor back-end packaging and testing production lines. Its inspection accuracy, sorting speed, and data traceability capability directly determine the factory quality and delivery efficiency of chips. Centered on the industrial computer + motion control card + IO module, Lingchen Technology provides a complete solution for chip AOI inspection and sorting equipment—from image acquisition and processing, multi-axis motion control, to real-time signal acquisition.In the future, Lingchen Technology will continue to deepen its presence in the semiconductor packaging and testing equipment field, focusing on the core process needs of chip AOI inspection, sorting, and taping, and continuously empowering the autonomous, controllable, and high-quality development of China's semiconductor industry with more complete products and solutions.
About Linchen
- About Us -
Suzhou Linchen Acquisition Computer Co., Ltd. was established in 2006. It is an enterprise guided by the business philosophy of creating value for customers and achieving win-win cooperation with them. It provides core components and system solutions for various automation equipment such as industrial computers, motion control, test and measurement, machine vision, and robots. Currently, Linchen has two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Suzhou Xunya Automation Technology Co., Ltd. and Tieoka Robot (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., which are respectively engaged in robot sales and the R&D, production, and sales of linear transmission products. With outstanding performance in specialization, refinement, differentiation, and innovation, the company was successfully awarded the title of “Little Giant” enterprise of specialization and innovation by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2025, marking a new level of enterprise development. In the future, it will continue to promote the development and innovation of China's intelligent manufacturing industry.
Product System Network
Among the levels included in the automation control network, Lingchen Technology covers all products in the equipment layer, control layer, and information layer
01 Industrial Computers
Linchen industrial chassis, with industrial-grade rugged structure, excellent heat dissipation, and dust-proof design, provide all-around physical protection for the critical computing core, ensuring persistent and stable operation even in harsh industrial environments such as vibration, dust, and wide temperature ranges.
02 Embedded Industrial Computers
Linchen embedded industrial computers feature a compact and rugged industrial design, integrating high-performance computing, rich I/O interfaces, and wide-temperature and wide-voltage adaptability. Built for embedded scenarios such as machine vision, edge computing, and automation equipment, they provide a stable and reliable intelligent core within limited space, empowering intelligent manufacturing and IoT applications.
03 Motion Control Cards
Linchen motion control cards can control up to 32 motion axes and simultaneously support control of up to 512 DI points and 512 DO points, with a maximum bus communication cycle of 250µs. In terms of motion, they support single-axis relative motion, absolute motion, jog motion, and drive homing motion; multi-axis interpolation; multi-axis point-table motion; and electronic gear motion, among other functions.
04 LMC Series Motion Controllers
The Linchen LMC series motion controllers are designed based on an open hard real-time kernel (jitter < ±0.3us), thoroughly solving the non-real-time pain points of traditional Windows platforms and ensuring the determinism and immediate response of multi-axis commands. Installation is extremely convenient—connection is completed with just one network cable—and through efficient asynchronous communication technology, synchronous issuance and control of up to 12-axis motion commands within 1 millisecond is achieved.
05 NAC Series High-performance Motion Controllers
The Linchen NAC controller is centered on powerful bus expansion capability, supporting 4 EtherCAT masters and enabling precise control of 256 axes per station and a total of 4096 I/O points. Its motion control functions are comprehensive and powerful: it not only supports basic point, linear, and circular interpolation, but also features advanced functions such as five-axis interpolation, trajectory spline smoothing, and dynamic coordinate systems; it integrates vibration suppression, soft landing, and high-precision position comparison output, and with 8 independent interpolation systems and continuous interpolation capability, meets the needs of complex trajectories and high-speed synchronization. The development environment is open and flexible, supporting C++, C#, Python, and other languages, and can be programmed directly within the real-time system, significantly improving integration and debugging efficiency.
06 PLC Motion Controllers
Linchen PLC controllers strictly follow the PLCopen specification and the IEC-61131-3 international standard, combining high performance, small size, and modular design, with easy development and flexible deployment. They are widely suitable for automation equipment and production line systems in fields such as 3C, lithium batteries, packaging, and printing, and can be extended as network communication nodes in combined production lines such as logistics, automotive, and daily necessities, meeting the needs of internal/external network isolation, high-speed bus communication, and real-time data processing, providing a stable and reliable control core for various industrial scenarios.
07 Industrial Network Cards
Linchen industrial network cards are designed for harsh industrial environments, featuring 10/100/1000Mbps adaptive capability and providing stable and reliable high-speed network connections. With characteristics such as anti-interference, surge protection, and wide-temperature operation, they are widely used in key scenarios such as motion control, machine vision, and automation systems. The products adopt a flexible installation design (standard full-height bracket, optional half-height bracket), and can be widely integrated into various intelligent manufacturing equipment and industrial networks.
08 IO Modules
Lingchen Technology provides a full series of IO module solutions, flexibly meeting diverse industrial automation needs.
LC/LD Series Expandable IO Modules: Support multiple protocols such as EtherCAT, Profinet, Ethernet/IP, and Modbus TCP, and can flexibly expand acquisition modules for digital, analog, temperature, pressure, pulse, etc., widely used in 3C, lithium batteries, semiconductors, automotive, medical, and other fields.
MINI Series IO Modules: Compact in size and highly real-time, covering digital IO, analog IO, temperature modules, and communication modules, suitable for control and data acquisition scenarios with high requirements for space and real-time performance.
GWS Series Cabinet-external IO Modules: Feature high stability and convenient network wiring characteristics, suitable for distributed layouts, significantly saving system integration time and cost.
The entire series is committed to providing users with reliable, easy-to-integrate, and multi-scenario-adaptable IO module support.
