JP2000019226A - Method and apparatus for cleaning of contact pin of probe device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for cleaning a contact pin, in which a foreign matter stuck to the tip of the contact pin can be removed surely, in which a contact part is hard to be shaved and chamfered and in which apparatus cost is not increased. SOLUTION: The contact-pin cleaning method is a method in which the lower edge part of every contact pin 3a at a probe device is cleaned. A polishing plate 7 in which a groove 8 into which the tip part of every contact pin 3a can be inserted is prepared in advance on its surface 7a is prepared. First, the lower edge 3b of every contact pin 3a at the probe device is brought into contact with the surface 7a of the polishing plate 7 at an angle of contact of smaller than 90 deg.. At least one out of the probe device and the polishing plate 7 is moved back and forth in a direction in which they are brought close to each other and in a direction in which they are separated from each other. Thereby, a part near the lower edge 3b of every contact pin 3a is brought into pressure contact with the upper edge 18 of the groove 8. A foreign body 16 which is stuck to the lower edge 3b or the part near it is scraped off.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe device (probe) which is used as a probe pin, a socket pin, or the like, and performs an electrical test by contacting each contact pin with each terminal of a semiconductor IC chip, a liquid crystal device or the like. And a cleaning device for cleaning each contact pin of the card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in order to conduct an electrical test of an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor chip such as an IC chip or an LSI chip or an LCD (liquid crystal display), a plurality of contacts which contact each terminal of the object to be inspected. A probe device having pins (probe pins) is used.

[0003] By the way, at the stage of manufacturing contact pins,
Generally, since the tip of each contact pin is polished, the polishing residue easily adheres to the tip, and fine dust in the air may adhere. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the tip of each contact pin before shipping the probe device. Further, when the probe device is used for a long time, the material powder of the device pad is easily scraped off and adhered. In such a case, when performing an electrical test of the inspection object, a contact failure between the contact pin and the terminal of the inspection object occurs. Therefore, the tip of each contact pin of the probe device is periodically cleaned. There is a need.
In the present specification, the polishing residue, dust, material powder, and oxides described later are collectively referred to as foreign matter. As a typical cleaning method in the past, a contact pin is brought into contact with a polishing plate, and then a probe pin is pressed into contact with the polishing plate, so that the tip of the pin is polished to remove foreign matter adhering to the tip of the pin. You can do it.

Here, a conventional wafer probing apparatus and its cleaning method will be described in detail. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a probe card 101 is mounted on a card stage 100 of a wafer probing apparatus. The probe pin 103 made of a tungsten needle is fixed to the probe card 101. Stage base 1
On wafer 04, wafer stage 105 is fixed.
For example, the semiconductor wafer 10 is placed on the wafer stage 105.
6 are held. A bump 107 made of, for example, solder is formed on the semiconductor wafer 106. The card stage 100 is moved by the driving device 108 in the vertical direction in the figure and in the direction from the front to the back.

When inspecting the wafer 106, the wafer 10
6 is moved upward together with the wafer stage 105 in the figure. The bump 107 is a solid line 10 from the position of the dotted line 107a.
7b, and the probe pin 103 is
From the position of reference numeral 103a to the position of reference numeral 3b. At this time, since the hardness of the bump 107 is soft,
The probe pins 3b are pushed into the bumps 107, and the solder particles (bump dust) are easily peeled off from the grain boundaries and adhere to the tips of the probe pins 103. Bump dust 109 (the material powder) is attached to the tip end surface of the probe pin 103. Even when the pad is made of aluminum and the bump is made of gold, as described above, when a large number of chips are inspected, aluminum chips and gold chips become bump chips 109 and the tips of the probe pins 103 become dirty. In addition, the probe pin 10
As a result, a thin oxide film is formed at the tip of the probe pin 103 as a result of the current flowing through the pin 3 and generating heat. That is, the electrical and mechanical contact with the Al pad and the Au bump becomes insufficient, and the inspection becomes impossible.

In order to avoid this, as shown in FIG. 11, every time a certain number of chips are inspected, the tips of the probe pins 103 are polished with a ceramic grindstone 10 made of alumina or the like to remove deposits and oxides. The cleaning of removing is performed. That is, the wafer 106 shown in FIG.
Is replaced with a ceramic grindstone 110 made of, for example, alumina ceramic, and the ceramic grindstone 110 and the probe pins 103 are brought into contact. After that, ceramic whetstone 1
10 is moved in the vertical direction in FIG. 10 between the position of the contacted dotted line 110a and the position of the solid line 110b further raised. When the bump dust 109 is made of Al or Au, deposits and oxides are polished and removed by friction between the tip of the probe pin 103 and the ceramic grindstone 110. Such a technology is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 10-92885,
JP-A-5-175286 and Japanese Patent Application No. 7-23.
No. 1019 and the like.

Such a cleaning method can be applied to a probe pin having a spherical tip surface or a flat probe tip. As another conventional technique, as shown in FIG. 12, to clean a probe pin 103 having a flat distal end surface 103c, a probe pin 10 is used.
3 is pressed vertically against the grindstone 110, and the grindstone 110 or the probe pin 103 is reciprocated in the horizontal direction (see the arrow X direction) to thereby remove the foreign matter 109 attached to the tip surface 103c. Can be removed.

[0008]

The above-mentioned conventional cleaning method is applied to cleaning of a probe pin using a tungsten needle, and the tungsten needle comes into almost perpendicular contact with the polishing plate (that is, the contact angle thereof). Was approximately 90 °), only the tip surface (contact surface) of the probe pin was cleaned, and the area of the contact surface did not increase.

However, as shown in FIG. 13A, the inclination angle of the contact pin 103 is gentle, and the sharp lower edge 103d (contact portion) of the contact pin 103 is attached to the inspection object (for example, a bump) by 90 °. If the above-described cleaning method is applied to a probe device that performs inspection by making contact with a smaller contact angle γ, the following problems occur. That is, since the contact pin 103 comes into contact with the polishing plate 110 at a small contact angle, the contact portion 103d is sharp before polishing, but after polishing a plurality of times,
As shown in FIG. 13B, the contact portion 103d
Is chamfered 103e to increase the area of the contact surface, thereby reducing the stylus pressure at the time of the inspection, and at the time of scrubbing, the contact portion 103d slides on the object to be measured to maintain a good contact. There is a problem that it becomes impossible. In addition, scrub is
By lowering the contact pin 103 to bring the contact portion 3d into contact with the object to be inspected, and further lowering the contact portion 3d in this state, the oxide film on the surface of the object to be inspected is scraped off by the contact portion 3d.

Further, there is another problem that the foreign matter 109 attached to the tip of the contact pin 103 cannot be completely removed. That is, since the contact pin 103 contacts the polishing plate 110 in an oblique state, the contact portion 103d
There is also a problem that foreign matter 109a (see FIG. 13 (a)) adheres and grows easily behind, and the foreign matter 109a cannot be completely removed by polishing.

Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 10-92885 discloses that, in addition to the above-described polishing action, friction between a heated polishing plate and the tip of a probe pin causes bump debris adhering to the probe tip. There is disclosed a technique in which the cleaning effect is further enhanced by melting the surface of the polishing plate and absorbing the wet surface. However, this technique increases the cost of the apparatus for heating the polishing plate, increases the size of the apparatus, and takes time to remove the metal adhered to the polishing plate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and it is possible to reliably remove foreign substances adhering to the tip of a contact pin, and it is difficult to chamfer a contact portion, and the area of the contact portion is reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a contact pin cleaning method and a cleaning device that do not increase in size and do not increase the device cost.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a contact pin cleaning method according to the present invention comprises pressing a sharp lower edge of a contact pin with a contact angle smaller than 90 ° against an object to be inspected. A method of cleaning the lower edge of the contact pin of the contact probe for inspection, wherein the lower edge of the contact pin,
The contact pin is moved substantially in the axial direction while pressing against the upper edge of the groove of the polishing member at a contact angle smaller than 90 °.

Further, according to the contact pin cleaning method for a probe device of the present invention, a plurality of pattern wirings are formed on a film, and the tips of the pattern wirings are arranged so as to protrude from the film to form contact pins. A method of cleaning a lower edge of a contact pin of a probe device in which a probe is fixed to an inclined surface of a mounting base, wherein a groove is formed on a surface of the probe device so that the lower edge of the contact pin can be inserted. First, a lower edge of each contact pin of the probe device is brought into contact with the surface of the polishing member at a contact angle smaller than 90 °, and at least one of the probe device and the polishing member is By reciprocating in directions that approach and separate from each other,
The vicinity of the lower edge of each contact pin is brought into pressure contact with the upper edge of the groove to scrape off foreign matter adhering near the lower edge.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus for carrying out the above-described method for cleaning a contact pin of a probe device, comprising: a probe holding means for holding the probe device; and a groove on a surface of which a lower edge of the contact pin can be inserted. A polishing member, a polishing member holding means for holding the polishing member in a state facing the probe device, and at least one of the probe holding means and the polishing member holding means, which are close to each other. Moving means for reciprocating in a direction and in a direction away from each other;
It is characterized by having.

According to the cleaning method of the present invention, the polishing member is provided with a groove, and the lower edge of the contact pin is pressed against the upper edge of the groove of the polishing member at a contact angle smaller than 90 ° while the contact pin is pressed. Is moved substantially in the axial direction, so that foreign matter adhering to the lower edge of the contact pin is scraped off by the upper edge of the groove.
Therefore, not only the dust adhering to the lower edge of the contact pin can be reliably removed, but also the contact portion (lower edge) is not polished. Specifically, a constant stylus pressure of the contact pin against the object to be measured can be maintained, and good contact properties can be maintained for a long period of time.

[0017]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an example of a contact probe and a probe device according to the present invention will be sequentially described. 4 is a perspective view of an essential part showing an example of a contact probe, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a contact probe, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the contact probe 1
a has a structure in which a pattern wiring 3 made of metal is attached to one surface of the film 2, and a tip of the pattern wiring 3 projects from an end of the film 2 to be a contact pin 3 a. In this example, the contact pin 3
The material of a is nickel and its Vickers hardness Hv is about 350, but is not limited to this. Reference numeral 4 denotes an alignment hole described later.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the film 2 of the contact probe 1a
a is provided, and a window 11 is provided for transmitting a signal obtained from the pattern wiring 3 to a printed circuit board 20 (see FIGS. 7 to 9) via a lead wiring 10. ing. Note that the film 2 of this example is made of a polyimide resin film PI and a metal film 500.
(Copper foil) two-layer tape.

Next, referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, four contact probes 1a, 1b, 1c, 1 having the same structure will be described.
A configuration in which d is incorporated into a printed circuit board using mechanical parts 60 to form a probe device (probe card) 70 will be described. The contact probes 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d according to the present embodiment function as a flexible substrate when incorporated in a probe device because they are flexible and easy to bend.

The mechanical part 60 comprises a mounting base 30, a top clamp 40, and a bottom clamp 50. First, the top clamp 40 is mounted on the printed circuit board 20, and then the mounting base 30 to which the contact probes 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d are mounted is screwed into the bolt holes 41 and the bolts 42 on the top clamp 40 ( (See FIG. 9). Then, the contact probes 1a and 1 are
By holding down b, 1c, and 1d, the pattern wiring 3 is maintained in a constant inclined state, and the contact pin 3a located at the tip of the pattern wiring 3 is pressed against the IC chip I at a contact angle smaller than 90 °.

FIG. 8 shows the probe device 70 after the assembly is completed. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line EE of FIG. The leading end side of the film 2 contacts the lower surface 32 and is supported in a state of being inclined downward, and the contact pins 3a are in contact with the IC chip I.

The mounting base 30 is provided with positioning pins 31 for adjusting the positions of the contact probes 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, and the positioning pins 31 are used as contact probes 1a, 1b, 1c, 1c.
The pattern wiring 3 and the IC chip I can be accurately aligned by being inserted into the alignment hole 4 of 1d. Contact probe 1
The elastic body 51 of the bottom clamp 50 is pressed against the pattern wiring 3 in the portion of the window 11 provided in a, 1b, 1c, 1d, and the lead-out wiring 10 is brought into contact with the electrode 21 of the printed circuit board 20, and the pattern wiring is formed. 3 can be transmitted to the outside through the electrode 21.

The probe device 70 constructed as described above
When a probe test or the like of the IC chip I is performed using the probe device, the probe device 70 is mounted on the prober and electrically connected to the tester.
a at a contact angle γ smaller than 90 °
(Inspection object). By sending a predetermined electric signal from the contact pin 3a of the pattern wiring 3 to the IC chip I on the wafer, an output signal from the IC chip I is transmitted from the contact pin 3a to the tester,
The electrical characteristics of chip I are measured.

The contact probes 1a, 1b, 1
Although c and 1d are applied to the probe device 70 as a probe card, they may be adopted for other measurement jigs and the like. For example, the present invention may be applied to an IC chip test socket or the like mounted on an IC chip burn-in test device or the like for holding and protecting the IC chip inside.

Next, a contact pin cleaning device will be described. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a cleaning device for a probe device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a polishing plate surface shown in FIG. 1 for explaining a method of cleaning contact pins. 3 (a),
FIG. 2B is an enlarged plan view of the polishing plate and each contact probe shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 denotes a base as an apparatus main body, and a probe support 6 (probe) for supporting the above-described probe apparatus 70 is provided on the base 5. Support means) are arranged. A probe device 70 is detachably fixed to the probe support 6 in a horizontal state. The probe support 6 is moved up and down by moving means 24 (elevating mechanism) which will be described later. On the other hand, a polishing plate support 25 (polishing member support means) is provided horizontally on the base 5 directly below the probe support 6. The polishing plate 7 as a polishing member is placed and fixed on the polishing plate support 25 in a horizontal state.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a rectangular groove 8 (recess) is formed on the surface of the polishing plate 7 in this embodiment.
Are formed. The outer peripheral upper edge 18 of the groove 8 is in contact with each of the contact probes 1a, 1b, 1c, 1 in plan view.
The contact pin 3a is located slightly inside a rectangle (see a two-dot chain line 8b in FIG. 3A) formed by connecting lower edges 3b (see FIG. 2) of the respective contact pins 3a. When the probe support 6 is lowered, the pointed lower edge 3b of each contact pin 3a comes into contact with the surface 7a of the polishing plate 7,
Each of the contact pins 3 a is slightly bent, and each tip (lower end) thereof is inserted into the groove 8. Note that the angle of the outer peripheral edge 18 of the groove 8 is not limited to 90 degrees, and the outer peripheral edge of the groove may be an acute angle, and the outer peripheral upper edge 18 may be chamfered in advance.

The polishing plate 7 of this embodiment is made of ceramic (for example, S
This is a ceramic grindstone having a polishing grind layer mainly composed of iC), and the hardness of the polishing plate 7 made of this ceramic grindstone is much higher than that of the contact pins 3a. By setting the hardness of the polishing plate to be substantially the same as the hardness of the contact pins 3a, as will be described later, only foreign substances are positively removed from the contact pins 3a by cleaning, and the contact pins 3a themselves are not worn as much as possible. I'm done.

As the moving means 24 for moving the probe support 6 supporting the probe device 70 in the vertical direction, the base 5 is provided with a plurality of guides for guiding the probe support 6 movably in the vertical direction. A guide shaft 12 is provided upright. Reference numeral 13 denotes a precision ball screw. The precision ball screw 13 extends in the up-down direction, and is rotatable on the probe support 6 by a bearing (not shown) (arrow A).
See). The precision ball screw 13 is connected to the nut member 13 fixed to the probe support 6.
a, and the precision ball screw shaft 13 is configured such that the rotation of the rotating shaft of a pulse motor 14 is transmitted through a transmission mechanism 15 such as a coupling. The probe support 6 can be lowered or raised by the forward rotation or the reverse rotation of the rotation shaft.

The controller 19 includes the pulse motor 1
The probe support 6 can be moved up and down by controlling the rotation direction and the rotation angle of the probe support 6. The resolution of movement of the probe support 6 by the precision ball screw shaft 13 is 10 μm or less. Instead of the precision ball screw shaft 13 and the nut 13a, a spline shaft and a spline nut may be used. In addition, the moving means 24
Not limited to the above, for example, a cylinder or the like may be used. In addition, without moving the probe support 6,
The polishing plate support 25 may be moved up and down, and both the probe support 6 and the polishing plate support 25 may be moved.

Next, the operation of the cleaning device described above,
That is, the cleaning method will be described. First, the polishing plate 7 is placed and fixed at a predetermined position on the polishing plate support 25, and the probe device 70 is mounted at a predetermined position on the probe support 6. In this state, the probe device 7
0 is located directly above the polishing plate 7. Here, as shown by a solid line 3a in FIG. 2, each contact probe 1a, 1
The probe device 70 is lowered by the moving means 24 until the lower edge 3b (contact portion) of each of the contact pins 3a, 1c and 1d contacts the surface 7a of the polishing plate 7. In this state, as shown in FIG. 3A, each contact pin 3a comes into contact with the surface 7a of the polishing plate 7 slightly outside the groove 8, and the contact pressure is almost zero. Also, each contact pin 3 of each contact probe 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d.
The lower edge 3b (contact portion) of the surface 7a of the polishing plate 7
At a contact angle γ smaller than 90 ° (see FIG. 2).

Next, the lowering and raising of the probe device 70 are sequentially repeated by the moving means 24 (elevating mechanism), so that each of the contact probes 1a, 1b, 1c,
Each of the contact pins 3a of 1d can be cleaned at the four upper edges 18 of the groove 8, respectively. That is,
Each contact pin 3a (see the solid line in FIG. 2) is
The contact pin 3a is bent while the lower edge 3b thereof is pressed against the surface 7a of the polishing plate 7 while the probe device 70 moves to the lowest position from the state of contact with the surface of the polishing plate 7 while the probe device 70 moves to the lowest position. When the lower edge 3b of the contact pin 3a faces the groove 8 and passes over the outer peripheral upper edge 18 of the groove 8, the lower edge of the contact pin 3a moves substantially in the axial direction and slides on the outer peripheral upper edge 18 of the groove 8. While entering the groove 8 (two-dot chain line 3 in FIG. 2).
a and FIG. 3 (a)).

At this time, the foreign matter 16 attached to the lower edge of the contact pin 3a is scraped off by the upper edge 18. When the contact pin indicated by the two-dot chain line 3a returns to the position indicated by the solid line 3, the operation opposite to the above is performed, and the lower edge of the contact pin 3a slides against the outer peripheral upper edge 18 of the groove 8, and Exit from 8. Reference numeral 17 in FIG. 2 denotes the removed foreign substance, and reference numeral 17a denotes a lower edge 3b of the contact pin 3a.
Shows foreign matter still remaining. This foreign matter 17
“a” is almost completely removed from the contact pin 3 a by the multiple lifting and lowering of the probe device 70.

As described above, according to the cleaning method of the present embodiment, not only the lower edge (contact portion) of the contact pin 3a but also the rear portion of the lower edge 3a, that is, the lower edge portion is polished. Foreign matter adhering to the lower edge can be reliably and easily removed. Further, since the lower edge 3b of the contact pin 3a is not easily chamfered, the contact pressure of the contact pin 3a on the object to be measured is not easily reduced over a long period of time, and good contact can be maintained.

Finally, each contact probe 1a, 1
After the tip of each contact pin 3a of b, 1c, and 1d is pressed (applied overdrive) into the adhesive layer of an adhesive tape (not shown), the overdrive is released, so that the contact pin 3a adheres to the tip. The small amount of foreign substances and the like that have been moved away from the tip portion to the adhesive layer side due to the adhesive force of the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape, and as a result, the tip portion of each contact pin can be cleaned in an extremely clean state. .

In the above embodiment, each contact pin of a plurality (four) of contact probes is cleaned by the four upper edges of the groove formed in a rectangular shape in plan view on the surface of the polishing plate. Micro-grooves (holes) may be formed on the surface of the plate by the number of the contact pins, and the lower edges of the contact pins may be simultaneously inserted into the respective holes for cleaning. Further, cleaning may be performed individually for each contact probe, or may be performed separately for each contact pin.

[0038]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein a groove is formed in the polishing member, and the contact pin is pressed while pressing a lower edge of the contact pin against an upper edge of the groove of the polishing member at a contact angle smaller than 90 °. By moving substantially in the axial direction, the foreign matter attached to the lower edge of the contact pin is scraped off by the upper edge of the groove, so that the foreign matter can be surely removed and the contact portion is less likely to be chamfered. , Its area is difficult to increase. Therefore, each contact pin can be satisfactorily contacted with the measured object at a constant stylus pressure for a long period of time.

According to the cleaning method of the present invention, a plurality of contact pins of the probe device can be cleaned at the same time. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cleaning method can be performed reliably and easily, and there is no need to heat the polishing plate as in the related art, so that a cleaning apparatus with low apparatus cost can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a cleaning device for a probe device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the polishing plate surface shown in FIG. 1, illustrating a method for cleaning contact pins.

3 is an enlarged plan view of the polishing plate and each contact probe shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 (a) shows a state in which the tip of each contact pin is in contact with the surface of the polishing plate as shown by a solid line 3a in FIG. 2; 2A shows a state in which the tip of each contact pin is inserted into a groove on the surface of the polishing plate as shown by a two-dot chain line 3a in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tip portion of an example of a contact probe.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a contact probe.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a probe device incorporating an example of a contact probe.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of an example of a probe device incorporating an example of a contact probe.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line EE of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a probing device provided with a probe pin made of a tungsten needle.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a conventional cleaning method.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining and explaining another conventional cleaning method.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a probe pin for explaining a problem of the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d Contact probe 3a Contact pin 3b Lower edge (contact portion) 5 Device body (base) 6 Probe support (probe support means) 7 Polishing plate (polishing member) 8 Groove (recess) 12 Guide shaft Reference Signs List 13 ball screw shaft 13a nut member 14 pulse motor 15 transmission mechanism 16 foreign matter (bump dust etc.) 18 upper edge 20 printed board 24 moving means (elevating mechanism) 25 polishing plate support (polishing member support means) 70 probe device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Naofumi Iwamoto, 12th Techno Park, Mita City, Hyogo Prefecture Inside the Mita Plant of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (72) Inventor Hideaki Yoshida 12, 12 Techno Park, Mita City, Hyogo Prefecture Mitsubishi Materials Corporation Sanda Plant (72) Inventor Toshinobu Ishii 12th Techno Park, Mita City, Hyogo Prefecture Mitsubishi Materials Corporation Sanda Plant F-term (reference) 2G011 AA02 AC13 AE01 2G032 AB16 AF01 AL14 4M106 BA01 DD03 DD18

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for cleaning a lower edge of a contact pin of a contact probe for inspecting by pressing a lower edge of the contact pin against an object to be inspected at a contact angle of less than 90 °. Contact pin cleaning, wherein the lower edge of the contact pin is pressed against the upper edge of the groove of the polishing member at a contact angle of less than 90 ° while the contact pin is moved substantially in the axial direction. Method. 2. A contact probe having a plurality of pattern wirings formed on a film, each end of each of the pattern wirings protruding from the film and serving as a contact pin, is fixed to an inclined surface of a mounting base. A method of cleaning a lower edge portion of the contact pin of a probe device, comprising: preparing a polishing member having a surface formed with a groove into which the lower edge portion of the contact pin can be inserted; 9 at the bottom edge of each contact pin
By contacting the surface of the polishing member with a contact angle smaller than 0 °, at least one of the probe device and the polishing member is reciprocated in a direction in which the probe device approaches and separates from each other, so that each contact pin A method of cleaning a contact pin of a probe device, wherein a lower edge is pressed against an upper edge of the groove to remove foreign matter adhering near the lower edge. 3. A contact probe having a plurality of pattern wirings formed on a film and each of the pattern wirings protruding from the film to form a contact pin and fixed to an inclined surface of a mounting base. An apparatus for cleaning a lower edge portion of the contact pin of a probe device, comprising: a probe holding unit configured to hold the probe device; and a polishing surface having a groove formed therein for inserting the lower edge portion of the contact pin. A member; a polishing member holding means for holding the polishing member in a state facing the probe device; and a direction in which at least one of the probe holding means and the polishing member holding means approaches and separates from each other. And a moving means for reciprocating the probe device. Tact pin cleaning device.