JPH0625010Y2 - Wafer delivery mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial field of application> The delivery mechanism according to the present invention is designed to transfer a wafer to a stage table in a prober for inspecting an electronic circuit formed on the upper surface of the wafer in a semiconductor manufacturing process. It relates to a mechanism for carrying out.

<Prior Art> Since many circuits are formed on the upper surface of the wafer when the wafer is transferred in the prober, it is not desirable to contact the upper surface. Further, since the wafer is made of a material that easily breaks, it needs to be handled gently, and since the wafer is sent in a predetermined direction, it is necessary to move its posture to the wafer table as it is. Therefore, as one of the conventional techniques, a method of holding and transferring the outer periphery of the wafer by a suction device called a Bernoulli chuck has been adopted. However, this method is not desirable because it operates by suctioning the top surface of the wafer.

In addition, a method of supporting the wafer from below is adopted in some of them, but it has a drawback that the mechanism for placing the wafer on the table is complicated and expensive.

<Problem Solving Method of the Present Invention> FIG. 1 shows an outline of the configuration of the present invention. The wafer 3 is placed on the belt transfer mechanism 2 as shown in A, and the transfer mechanism 2 is further moved to the right. At B, it is accurately and quietly carried to directly above the table 1 for loading. At this time, the transfer mechanism 2 supports the wafer 3 at its central portion. In addition, place the table 1 at a position that does not interfere with the loading and unloading of the transport mechanism.
A plurality of pins 4 that can move up and down through the
The wafer is supported from below and floated from the transfer mechanism. Then C
At the stage, the transfer mechanism is moved to the left, the pin 4 is lowered, and the wafer 3 is gently placed on the table 1 by D. The present invention relates to a vertical movement mechanism of the pin 4. In the conventional method, there is a method in which the lower surface of the wafer is suction-held and conveyed onto the table, but at this time also, the pin 4 penetrating the table receives the wafer from the suction-holding mechanism and lowers it to the table surface. In addition, the table has a vertical movement mechanism for contacting the circuit terminals of the wafer with a probe for inspecting the wafer circuit, which is installed downward from the prober ceiling. The part 4 is used to move the pin 4 up and down.

<Embodiment> In FIG. 2, the central axis 5 of the table 1 is vertically inserted into the fixed portion base 6. Further, a motor 7 is laterally attached to the fixed portion, and an eccentric cam 9 is attached to a motor shaft 8 thereof. The lower end of the central shaft 5 of the table is engaged with the cam 9 via a bearing. A lever 10 having the shape shown in FIG. 3 is attached to the other end of the motor shaft 8. The lower end of a vertical rod 11 that penetrates through the fixed portion base 6 and is vertically movable is brought into contact with the tip of the lever 10. At this time, the rod 11 is attached so that it can move up and down but cannot rotate. Fix the ring 12 on top of the vertical rod 11. Multiple pins 4 on ring 12
Set up. The pin 4 is configured to be capable of moving up and down in synchronization with the rotation of the eccentric cam 9 via the rod 11 and the ring 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the eccentric amount of the eccentric cam 9 is maximum, the lever 10 is in the horizontal position (position b), and the tip of the pin 4 at that time is the table 1 as shown in FIG. It is configured so as not to project from the upper surface. Further, the lever 10 is rotated from the position b to the position c by the rotation of the motor 7.
The pin 4 can be swung up to the position, and the tip of the pin 4 at that time projects from the upper surface of the table 1.

In the above configuration, the motor 7 rotates to rotate the eccentric cam 9
However, when turning between a and b in FIG. 3, the table 1 moves up and down in synchronization with the eccentric cam 9. The electrode of each chip of the wafer placed on the table 1 contacts a detection stylus (not shown), and the electrical characteristics of each chip are continuously measured to determine the quality. At this time, the lever 10 also pivots to the b position at the same time and the vertical rod 11 rises, but the tip of the pin 4 does not protrude from the upper surface of the table 1, so that the above measurement is not hindered. When the measurement of all the chips on the wafer is completed, the lever 7 is swung from the position b to the position c by the motor 7, and accordingly, the pin 4 is projected from the upper surface of the table 1 via the rod 11 and the ring 12 to perform the measurement. The finished wafer is levitated from the table 1. At this time, in FIG. 1, the belt transfer mechanism 2 advances to receive the wafer 3. Next, the lever 10 pivots from the position c to the position b, the pin 4 retracts, and the supported wafer is transferred to the belt transfer mechanism and transferred.

When a new wafer to be measured is loaded onto the table 1 by the belt transport mechanism, the lever 10 pivots to the position c, and the tip of the pin 4 projects from the table 1 to receive the wafer.

Next, the belt transport mechanism retracts, the lever 10 pivots in the direction of the position b, the pin 4 retracts, and the wafer is placed on the table 1 to be in the measurement state.

In this manner, the wafer transfer pins can be easily moved up and down by utilizing the mechanism for moving the table up and down for measurement.

<Effect> Since the delivery mechanism according to the present invention uses the vertical movement motor mechanism provided in the table, the number of components is smaller than that of the conventional table to which the vertical movement mechanism of the pin is added.
Product cost can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the weight of the table can be reduced, the positioning speed of the table is increased, and the inspection process time can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a state in which the present invention is used, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partial side view 1 ... Wafer table 2 ... Transfer mechanism 3 ... Wafer 4 ... Support pin 5 ... Center shaft 7 ... Table vertical drive motor 10 ... Lever 11 ... Vertical rod 12 ... Ring

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location H01L 21/66 B 7377-4M // B65G 47/52 C 8010-3F

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A probing machine for measuring electrical characteristics of a semiconductor wafer, comprising: a table on which the semiconductor wafer is placed; and a lower end of a central axis of the table vertically inserted into a fixed base via a bearing. An eccentric cam connected to the vertically driven motor shaft of the engaged table, a lever provided at the other end of the motor shaft, a rod that moves up and down through the lever, and a top portion of the rod, A wafer delivery mechanism comprising a ring that penetrates the table and has a plurality of pins for supporting the wafer.