JP2002071720A - Production method of connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a production method of a connector with a higher through put by enabling handy production with a higher yield, using micromachining technology for the contactor that can maintain a better contact performance for a long time with excellence in height accuracy and interval accuracy of the tip part, abrasion resistance to contact with an electrode made a plurality of times and reliability. SOLUTION: A silicon dioxide film with a thickness of 400 nm as a sacrificial layer is formed on a sacrificial substrate comprising silicon and a tip structure 14 comprising a contact 12 and a leader wiring 13 on the sacrificial layer. The sacrificial substrate can be separated efficiently from the tip structure 14 by melting the sacrificial layer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a connection device for inspecting a semiconductor IC chip and a liquid crystal device by inputting and outputting an electric signal by contacting electrodes of the semiconductor IC chip and a liquid crystal device and the like. With regard to
The present invention relates to a method for accurately and efficiently manufacturing a connection device capable of inspecting a semiconductor IC chip having a large number of electrodes integrated at a high density and a liquid crystal device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit)
A large number of semiconductor elements for "it: large-scale integrated circuit" are formed on one semiconductor wafer and then cut into individual chips, and each chip is used as a semiconductor element (chip) for LSI. A large number of electrodes, that is, contact pads, are arranged on the surface of the semiconductor element along its periphery. Industrially producing a large number of such semiconductor elements,
To efficiently test its electrical performance, an interconnect device as shown in FIG. 9 is used. This interconnection device is composed of a probe card 22 and a contact probe 23 made of a tungsten needle projecting obliquely from the probe card 22. In the inspection of the semiconductor element 24 by this interconnection device, a contact pressure is applied between the contact probe 23 and the semiconductor element 24 by using the bending of the contact probe 23, and the electrode 25 is rubbed by the contact probe 23. The contact probe 23 is electrically connected to the electrode 25 by removing the oxide film naturally formed on the surface of the semiconductor element 24.
Inspection of electrical characteristics of

In recent years, as semiconductor devices have become more highly integrated and finer, the pitch of contact pads has become narrower, and there has been a demand for narrower pitches of contact probes. However, in a contact probe made of a tungsten needle which has been conventionally used, there is a limit to miniaturization of the diameter of the tungsten needle, so that it is difficult to cope with an increase in the number of pins and a narrow pitch. Furthermore, a contact probe made of a tungsten needle has a large inductance due to its long length, and there is a limit to inspection with a high-speed signal.

For this reason, a connection device for transmitting an electric signal between an electrode of a semiconductor element and a test circuit for testing the same is provided, which can be easily connected to a high-density integrated electrode. The development of is desired.

[0005] Therefore, recently, a method for manufacturing an ultra-fine contact probe using a micromachine technology has been developed. It is important for the ultra-fine contact probe that the heights and the intervals of the distal end portions are uniform. If the tip of the contact probe is irregular, a part of the contact probe does not conduct when the contact probe is brought into contact with each electrode of the LSI chip and the liquid crystal device, and the contact accuracy deteriorates. Furthermore, when manufacturing a micro probe using a silicon wafer, considering the compatibility with a series of silicon processing processes, there is a need for an efficient manufacturing method that optimizes the materials used in accordance with the process to be used. .

A method of manufacturing an interconnect device which can cope with the above-mentioned high density and narrow pitch of semiconductor elements and which can cope with an operation test by a high-speed signal is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-50623.
8, JP-A-7-283280 and JP-A-8-283280
No. 50146. Tokiohei 10-5
The technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06238 discloses a probe having a shape in which two movable pins urged by a spring so as to protrude in opposite directions to each other are fitted into a tube so as to be freely retractable.
That is, a spring probe is manufactured. In this spring probe, a movable pin at one end of the spring probe is brought into contact with an electrode of an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor element, and a movable pin at the other end is brought into contact with a terminal provided on a substrate on a measurement circuit side. The inspection is performed by causing the inspection. In addition, by preliminarily manufacturing the movable pins to be brought into contact with the inspection object on the sacrificial substrate, it is possible to transfer the movable pins to the electronic components at once.

The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-283280 discloses a method in which a hole serving as a mold for forming a contact is formed on a mold made of a silicon wafer, and the contact is formed using the mold. The connection device is manufactured by forming an insulating film and a lead wiring.

Further, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-50146, a protrusion is formed by anisotropic etching of a silicon wafer, and the silicon wafer is cantilevered by etching the silicon wafer in a U-shape. A connection device is manufactured by forming a contact by forming a beam and bonding a buffer layer and a wiring board to the contact.

[0009]

However, the technique described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-506238 has the following problems. In this method, an aluminum substrate, a thin steel foil, a metal foil such as an aluminum foil, or a silicon wafer is used as a sacrificial substrate. When the above-mentioned metal foil is used as the sacrificial substrate, there is a problem that it is difficult to handle the sacrificial substrate when performing fine processing.
In addition, as a matter of course, the metal foil cannot be finely processed in a general semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

On the other hand, when a silicon wafer is used as a sacrificial base material, it takes an excessively long time to peel off the sacrificial substrate from the probe, and there is a problem that the productivity of the probe is significantly reduced. In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 10-506238, a silicon wafer is used as a sacrificial substrate, aluminum is used as a sacrificial layer formed on the sacrificial substrate, and a titanium layer is interposed between the silicon wafer and the aluminum layer. An example is shown. At this time,
The titanium layer is actively used to serve as an adhesive layer. According to this method, the probe can be finely processed by a general semiconductor manufacturing apparatus adapted to a silicon device, but the adhesion between the sacrificial layer and the sacrificial substrate and the probe with the sacrificial layer and the formed probe can be reduced. Since the adhesive force between them is large, it takes an excessive time to dissolve the sacrificial layer. Also, there is disclosed an example in which a silicon wafer is used as a sacrificial substrate and an aluminum thin film or a copper thin film is used as a sacrificial layer. In this example, the thickness of the sacrificial layer is as thin as about several μm, and the thin film and the silicon wafer are used. And the penetration of the etching solution into the thin film becomes poor, and the etching rate becomes slow. As a result, considerable time is required for dissolving the sacrificial layer. Thus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-506
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 238, a technique capable of efficiently removing the sacrificial layer or the sacrificial base material in a short time is not disclosed.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-506238, for example, in order to dissolve a silicon wafer,
Hydrofluoric acid acetic acid or a strong alkaline solution is required as a chemical solution for dissolution. Hydrofluoric acetic acid is a mixed solution obtained by mixing hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid and acetic acid at a ratio of 1: 2: 1. Examples of the strong alkaline solution include an etching solution containing potassium hydroxide, isopropanol and water, and There is an etchant containing methyl ammonium hydroxide. When these etchants are used, there is a problem that the material of the support substrate that supports the contact probes is limited. For example, when fluorinated nitric acetic acid is used as a chemical for dissolution, silicon, silicon dioxide, glass, and a metal having low acid resistance cannot be used as the material of the supporting substrate. When a strong alkali solution is used as a chemical for dissolution, silicon, an organic material, and a metal having low alkali resistance cannot be used as the material of the support substrate.

Further, the micro-machine technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-506238 can form a contact with high precision and can lower the contact pressure. Since the contact probe in contact with is a thin-film wiring formed on the surface layer of the minute projection, there is a problem that the mechanical strength of the contact probe is inferior. In particular, there is a problem that the contact probe is easily worn or peeled off by a large number of contacts with an electrode made of a metal having an oxide film on the surface such as aluminum. For this reason, compared with the life of a conventional inspection device using a tungsten needle of several hundred thousand times, it is difficult to commercialize this technology from the viewpoint of reliability.

Further, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-283280, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 238, there is a problem that it takes an extremely long time to separate the mold material and the productivity is poor. Further, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-50146, a method is used in which a contact is cut out from a silicon wafer by etching, which requires time for etching, lowers productivity, and uses a sacrificial substrate. However, there is a problem that the processing accuracy is inferior to that of the above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has excellent height accuracy and interval accuracy at the tip portion, and has excellent wear resistance and reliability against multiple contact with the electrode. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method capable of easily manufacturing a connection device capable of maintaining good contact performance for a long period of time using a micromachine technology with a high yield and improving a throughput.

[0015]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

A method of manufacturing a connection device according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a connection device for inputting / outputting an electrical signal by making electrical contact with a test object, wherein silicon dioxide is provided on a surface of a sacrificial substrate made of silicon. Forming a film, forming a contact on the surface of the sacrificial substrate for making electrical contact with the test object and inputting and outputting the electric signal, and connecting to the contact on the silicon dioxide film. Forming a lead wire for conducting the electric signal at a position, connecting a tip structure including the contactor and the lead wire to a support substrate for supporting the tip structure, and forming the silicon dioxide film. Removing the tip structure from the sacrificial substrate by removing the tip structure. Preferably, the silicon dioxide film is formed to a thickness of 400 nm or more.

In the present invention, a tip structure (hereinafter, referred to as a tip structure) of a connection device comprising a contact and a lead-out wiring is formed on a sacrificial substrate in advance, and the tip structure is connected to a support substrate before the tip structure. By separating the sacrifice substrate from the sacrifice substrate, the tip structure formed on the sacrifice substrate can be transferred to a support substrate, whereby a connection device with high shape accuracy can be easily manufactured, and the manufacturing cost of the connection device can be reduced. Can be reduced. At this time, a sacrificial layer made of silicon dioxide is formed on the sacrificial substrate,
By dissolving the silicon dioxide film, the sacrificial substrate can be easily separated from the tip structure, and the connection device can be manufactured efficiently in a short time.
Further, by setting the thickness of the silicon dioxide film to 400 nm or more, this effect is remarkably increased.

Further, after the step of forming the silicon dioxide film, at least one kind of metal selected from the group consisting of platinum, gold, silver, rhodium, palladium, iridium, ruthenium, copper and tin or an alloy thereof is used. The method may include a step of forming a film.

The metal is a metal having low adhesion to silicon dioxide. For example, noble metals such as platinum have low adhesion to silicon dioxide because they do not easily form oxides on the surface.
Therefore, by disposing these metals between the silicon dioxide film and the tip structure, the separation time in the step of separating the tip structure from the sacrificial substrate is preferably reduced. That is, by disposing a metal having low adhesion to the sacrificial layer between the tip structure and the sacrificial layer, the penetration rate of the etchant in the sacrificial layer dissolution process is accelerated, and the separation of the sacrificial substrate and the tip structure is performed. The required time is significantly reduced.

The step of forming a contact on the surface of the sacrificial substrate includes the step of forming a recess for forming the contact on the surface of the sacrificial substrate, and the step of forming a hard conductive film in the recess. The step of forming the concave portion can be performed by anisotropic etching.

By forming the recesses by the same lithography technique as in the IC manufacturing process, the accuracy of the shape of the tip structure can be improved. Further, by forming the concave portion by anisotropic etching, a large number of pyramid-shaped or truncated pyramid-shaped concave portions having a sharpened tip can be formed on the surface of the sacrificial substrate with higher accuracy, and the shape is uniform. The child can be formed.

Another method for manufacturing a connection device according to the present invention is as follows.
What is claimed is: 1. A method of manufacturing a connection device for inputting and outputting an electrical signal in electrical contact with an object to be inspected, wherein the electrical signal is input to and output from the surface of a sacrificial substrate made of silicon dioxide. Forming a contact for conducting the electric signal at a position on the silicon dioxide film where the contact is connected to the contact, and a tip comprising the contact and the lead. Coupling the structure to a support substrate for supporting the tip structure; andseparating the tip structure from the sacrificial substrate by removing some or all of the sacrificial substrate. I do.

A connection device manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention is a connection device for making electrical contact with a test object and inputting / outputting an electric signal. A contact for inputting / outputting a contact which is in contact with the object to be inspected and is covered with a hard conductive material, and a lead-out wiring connected to the contact and for conducting the electric signal; A support substrate for supporting the contact and the lead-out wiring, a wiring board for supporting the support substrate and connected to the lead-out wiring and conducting the electric signal, And a buffer layer arranged between the contactors for buffering an external force applied to the contact.

[0024] Thus, the wear resistance and reliability of the contact can be improved by covering the contact portion of the contact with the test object with the hard conductive material. Further, by providing the buffer layer between the support substrate and the wiring substrate, it is possible to absorb variations in the distance between the electrode and the contact. Further, even if there are some steps in the electrodes to be contacted, the connection device can stably contact these electrodes.

Preferably, the hard conductive material is tungsten or an alloy thereof, diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC).

As described in the section of the prior art, tungsten is conventionally widely used as a material for contact probes, and is a material having good conductivity and high abrasion resistance, so that it is preferable as a tip material of a contact. In addition, diamond and DLC have extremely high hardness among the thin film hard materials, and can improve the wear resistance and deformation resistance of the contact. Furthermore, diamond and DLC have a particularly low coefficient of friction. Even when the contact directly scrapes the surface oxide layer of the electrode, the contact can move smoothly on the electrode. It is unlikely that the contact pressure required for contact with the contact will increase and hinder contact.

Further, it is preferable that the support substrate is formed of silicon or ceramic.

Accordingly, when the object to be inspected is a semiconductor element formed of silicon, the difference in the coefficient of linear expansion between the semiconductor element and the supporting substrate becomes small, and the difference is caused by the temperature at the time of measurement. A connection device in which the displacement between the position of the contact probe and the position of the electrode of the semiconductor element is small can be realized, and the inspection can be performed stably regardless of the temperature at the time of measurement. For example, inspection can be easily performed at a high temperature even in a wafer state. Similarly, ceramic has a small difference in linear expansion coefficient with respect to silicon, and is a suitable material.

[0029]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a method for manufacturing the contact probe of the present embodiment will be described. 1 (a) to 1 (d), 2 (a) to 2 (e), 3
(A) to (d), FIGS. 4 (a) and (b), and FIG.
4A to 4C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing the connection device in the present embodiment in the order of steps.

First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a single-crystal silicon wafer substrate is prepared as the sacrificial substrate 1, and a thickness of 0.1 μm is formed on the (100) plane of the single-crystal silicon wafer substrate by thermal oxidation. Of silicon dioxide film 2 is formed. The thermal oxidation is performed, for example, by holding the substrate in wet oxygen at an oxidation temperature of 1000 ° C. for 100 minutes.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, a TSMR890 manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.
0 to a thickness of 1 μm, and then, in a region where a contact is to be formed in a later step, about 10 to 40 μm on one side.
By exposing the m square contact pattern and developing it with a developing solution, a photoresist 3 having an opening 4 in the region is formed. Next, the sacrificial substrate 1 provided with the silicon dioxide film 2 and the photoresist 3 is immersed in a mixed solution obtained by mixing hydrofluoric acid and an ammonium fluoride solution at a ratio of 1: 7, and the silicon dioxide film is formed using the photoresist 3 as a mask. 2 is etched to form a mask of the silicon dioxide film 2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, the photoresist 3 is removed, and the (100) plane of the sacrificial substrate 1 is subjected to anisotropic etching using the silicon dioxide film 2 as a mask.
A mold 5 (mold) having a quadrangular pyramid shape is formed. The sacrificial substrate 1 is etched by, for example, immersing the sacrificial substrate 1 in an etching solution containing potassium hydroxide, isopropanol and water, or an etching solution containing tetramethylammonium hydroxide.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, the entire surface of the silicon dioxide film 2 is etched and removed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2A, a sacrificial layer 6 made of a silicon dioxide film is formed on the entire surface of the sacrificial substrate 1. The sacrificial layer 6 is formed by wet oxidation for 6 hours in 5 hours.
The film is formed to a thickness of 00 nm.

Here, the reason for limiting the thickness of the sacrificial layer 6 will be described. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the thickness of the sacrifice layer 6 formed on the surface of the sacrifice substrate 1 and the time required for separating the sacrifice substrate 1 from the tip structure formed on the sacrifice substrate 1. . As described above, in the present embodiment, the sacrificial substrate 1
Forming a sacrificial layer 6 made of silicon dioxide on the surface layer of the connection device, a tip structure of a connection device including a contact and a lead-out wiring is formed on the sacrificial layer 6 in a process described later, and then the sacrificial substrate is formed from the tip structure. When separating 1
By dissolving the sacrificial layer 6, it can be easily separated.

The reason is that the etching rate of hydrofluoric acid in silicon dioxide on a plane is usually about 120 nm /.
However, when the silicon dioxide film (sacrificial layer 6) is sandwiched between the sacrificial substrate 1 and the tip structure from both sides, the etchant hardly permeates the sacrificial layer 6, and the sacrificial layer 6 is dissolved. This is because the time required for the sacrificial substrate 1 to separate from the tip structure largely depends on the thickness and area of the sacrificial layer 6. As shown in FIG. 7, under the conditions of the present embodiment,
The time for the sacrificial substrate 1 to separate from the tip structure depends exponentially on the thickness of the silicon dioxide film, and the thicker the silicon dioxide film, the shorter the separation time. From the viewpoint of the separation time, the thickness of the sacrificial layer 6 is preferably as large as possible. However, in consideration of the film formation time of the sacrificial layer 6 and the depth of the mold 5, the thickness of the sacrificial layer 6 is appropriately in the range of 400 nm to 10 μm. Yes, it is preferably at least 400 nm,
More preferably, it is 600 nm or more. The application of ultrasonic waves to the etching solution has the effect of increasing the etching rate, but the influence of the thickness of the sacrifice layer 6 is overwhelmingly large, so the thinning of the sacrifice layer 6 is compensated for by the application of ultrasonic waves. It is difficult.

After the formation of the sacrificial layer 6, a tungsten film 7 for forming the tip of the contact is formed on the surface of the sacrificial layer 6 as shown in FIG. The tungsten film 7 is formed by a sputtering method, and as shown in FIG. 2C, the tungsten film 7 is formed by dry etching with a plasma of sulfur hexafluoride using a mask (photoresist 8) formed by photolithography. Form a pattern.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2D, the photoresist 8 is ashed by oxygen plasma or stripped by a stripping solution to remove the photoresist 8.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2E, a seed layer 9 necessary for forming a gold plating film in a later step and for promoting dissolution of the sacrificial layer 6 is formed by sputtering. Is formed. In the present embodiment, platinum has a thickness of 20 mm.
The film is formed up to 0 nm. Platinum is a noble metal that does not easily form an oxide film on its surface, and therefore has low adhesion to silicon dioxide.

In this embodiment, a seed layer 9 made of a metal having low adhesion to the silicon dioxide film is disposed on the sacrificial layer 6, and the seed layer 9 is positively combined with the sacrificial layer 6 so as not to hinder the formation of a fine structure. By lowering the adhesion between the tip structure formed on the layer 6 and the sacrificial substrate 1 in the subsequent step, the penetration of the etchant into the sacrificial layer 6 is accelerated when the sacrificial substrate 1 is separated from the tip structure. be able to. As a result, the dissolution of the sacrificial layer 6 is promoted, and the tip structure and the sacrificial substrate 1
And the time required for the separation is reduced. For this purpose, a noble metal is generally effective as a metal film formed on the sacrificial layer 6. The reason is that the noble metal is electrochemically stable, hardly forms an oxide, and has low adhesion to silicon dioxide. Noble metals other than platinum include gold, silver, iridium, palladium, ruthenium and rhodium.

The adhesion between these noble metals and silicon dioxide will be described. One of the methods of measuring the adhesive force is to contact a needle having a sharp tip with a metal film to be measured, apply a load to the needle, and measure a load when a scratch occurs on the metal film. There is a scratching method for determining the adhesive force between the metal film and the base. In this scratching method, the adhesion of platinum to silicon dioxide is 1
g. Similarly, gold was 2 g and silver was 5 g. On the other hand, aluminum, titanium, and chromium are easily oxidized and have high adhesion to silicon dioxide. In the above measurement method, aluminum was 70 g, titanium and chromium were 500 g.
It was found that a load of not less than g was required, which was not suitable as a material for the metal film formed on the sacrificial layer 6. Copper and tin are metals other than the noble metals having low adhesion to silicon dioxide. These metals or their alloys having a low adhesive force exhibit the same effect as the noble metals, and thus can be used as a material for the metal film formed on the sacrificial layer 6 in this step.

After the seed layer 9 is formed, a photoresist 10 is formed on the seed layer 9 as a frame pattern of the gold plating film 11 as shown in FIG. Then, a gold plating film 1 having a thickness of 20 to 50 μm by an electrolytic plating method.
1 is formed. At this time, even if the gold plating film 11 is formed by an electroless plating method instead of the electrolytic plating method, the obtained effect is the same. For electrolytic plating, the liquid temperature is 55 to 7
The plating is performed at 0 ° C. and a current of 0.5 A / dm ² while stirring the plating solution.

After the plating film formation, as shown in FIG.
The photoresist 10 is removed, and the surface of the gold plating film 11 is etched back by a dry etching method using argon plasma, so that the seed layer 9 is etched and removed using the gold plating film 11 as a mask. As a result, a contact 12 and a lead-out wiring 13 composed of the tungsten film 7, the seed layer 9, and the gold plating film 11 are formed. The contact 12 and the lead-out line 13 constitute a tip structure 14 of the connection device.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the tip structure 14 is bonded to a support layer 15 made of polyimide, which is coated on the surface of a support substrate 16 made of a silicon wafer.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, a joined body in which the sacrificial substrate 1 and the tip structure 14 are adhered to the support layer 15 and the support substrate 16 is immersed in an etchant to dissolve the sacrificial layer 6. Since the sacrifice layer 6 is a silicon dioxide film, the bonded body is immersed in a mixed solution of a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride at a ratio of 1: 7 and etched. At this time,
By applying ultrasonic waves to the etchant, the dissolution time of the sacrificial layer 6 can be reduced.

When a silicon dioxide film is used as the sacrificial layer 6, the dissolving time varies depending on the bonding area.
In the case of nm, the dissolution time was 3 to 24 hours in the bonded body having a size of 1.5 cm square. Similarly, when iridium was used as the sacrificial layer 6, the dissolution time was almost the same. When a tantalum nitride film is inserted between the silicon dioxide film constituting the sacrificial layer 6 and the seed layer 9 composed of the platinum film, the tantalum nitride film serves as an adhesive layer between the silicon dioxide film and the platinum film. Therefore, the adhesion of the platinum film was increased, and the time required for dissolution was 240 to 336 hours, which was not suitable for practical use. Furthermore, when the sacrificial layer 6 was made of titanium or chromium, it took an extremely long time to dissolve.

Further, by using silicon dioxide or a glass material similar thereto for the sacrificial substrate 1 as described in claim 6, the mixed liquid of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride can be formed in the same manner as the above-described operation. The entire sacrificial substrate 1 can be dissolved. According to this method, the same effect as when an expensive single crystal silicon wafer is used with an inexpensive material can be expected. In addition, if the entire sacrificial substrate 1 is dissolved, the sacrificial substrate 1 and the sacrificial substrate 1 can be dissolved. Since the sacrificial substrate 1 can be dissolved without depending on the adhesive force with the thin film formed on the sacrificial substrate 1, even if an adhesive layer such as tantalum nitride is formed on the sacrificial substrate 1, the sacrificial substrate 1 can be dissolved within a practical time. Dissolution can be performed. Also, by polishing the sacrificial substrate 1 thinly, it is possible to shorten the melting time. When glass is used for the sacrificial substrate 1 as described above, the formation of the concave portion (the mold 5) in the sacrificial substrate 1 for forming the projection (the contact 12) requires the use of the above-described mixed ammonium fluoride. Methods such as liquid etching and plasma dry etching can be used.

Through the above-described steps, as shown in FIG. 4A, a contact 12 having a projection with a sharp pointed end is formed. At this time, the support base material 16 is cut in the vicinity of the contact 12, and is removed except for a portion corresponding to a position immediately above the contact 12 and its periphery.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, a buffer layer 17 made of silicon rubber is adhered to the support substrate 16, and the buffer layer 17 is further adhered to the wiring board 18. That is,
The silicon rubber functions as the buffer layer 17 by sandwiching and integrating the silicon rubber between the support substrate 16 and the wiring substrate 18. Then, the support layer 15 and the lead-out wiring 13 protruding from the end of the support substrate 16 are smoothly bent and adhered to the wiring substrate 18. At this time, the bonding of the support substrate 16, the buffer layer 17, and the wiring substrate 18 does not require an adhesive because the silicone rubber itself has an adhesive force. In addition, you may make it bond using an adhesive agent. In this embodiment, as the buffer layer 17, for example, silicon rubber having a thickness of 0.2 to 3 mm and a hardness (JISA) of about 15 to 70 is used. However, the material constituting the buffer layer 17 is not limited to the silicone rubber, and may be an organic film or the like that can serve as a buffer.

Next, as shown in FIG.
A lead electrode (not shown) located at the end of the third terminal 3 is connected to the connection terminal 19 on the wiring board 18 by the extension wiring 20. Thereby, the connection device 21 as shown in FIG. 5 can be formed.

Next, the structure of the connection device 21 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the connection device 21 of the present embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view when viewed from the tip structure 14 side.

As shown in FIG. 5, the contact probe 21 of this embodiment has a buffer layer 17 joined to the surface of a wiring board 18, a support substrate 16 joined to the surface of the buffer layer 17,
The support layer 15 is disposed on the surface of the support substrate 16 and the support layer 1
The tip structure 14 is arranged on the surface of the fifth member 5. Wiring board 1
A connection terminal 19 is arranged on the surface on the side where the eight buffer layers 17 are joined, and the connection terminal 19 is connected to the tip structure 14 via the extension wiring 20. In addition, the tip structure 14
Is a contact 12 that contacts an electrode of a semiconductor element or the like to be measured, and one end is connected to the contact 12 and the other end is an extension wiring 2.
And a lead-out line 13 connected to 0.

The wiring board 18 includes the buffer layer 17 and the support substrate 1.
6, supporting the support layer 15 and the tip structure 14, the tip structure 1
4 is electrically connected to an external device, and is made of, for example, a resin material such as polyimide or glass epoxy.
A connection terminal 19 is provided for connection to the terminal 3 and has internal wiring and the like (not shown).

The buffer layer 17 is for reducing the external force applied to the contact 12 so that the contact 12 can stably contact the electrode of the object to be measured.
It is arranged between the support substrate 8 and the support substrate 16 and is made of silicon rubber in this embodiment.

The support substrate 16 includes the support layer 15 and the tip structure 1.
4 is provided between the buffer layer 17 and the support layer 15. In this embodiment, the support substrate 16 is made of a silicon wafer. The support substrate 16 and the buffer layer 17 are arranged only near the contact 12. Thereby, the contact 12 is connected to the support layer 15,
The support substrate 16 and the buffer layer 17 project from the surface of the wiring board 18 by the total thickness.

The support layer 15 is for supporting the tip structure 14 and is made of polyimide.
5 is mounted on the support substrate 16 and the rest is
6 Protrudes from above. The protruding portion is gently curved and connected to the wiring board 18.

The contact 12 is for contacting the electrode of the object to be measured and for inputting and outputting an electric signal to and from the electrode, and is arranged on the support layer 15. The contact 12 has a quadrangular pyramid-shaped protruding portion, and the surface thereof has a tungsten film 7.
A platinum film (seed layer 9) is provided below the tungsten film 7 and a gold plating film 11 is provided below the platinum film.

The lead-out wiring 13 is used to conduct electric signals input / output by the contact 12 to the wiring board 18 via the extension wiring 20 and the connection terminal 19, and is arranged on the support layer 15; Plating film 11 and gold plating film 1
Platinum film (seed layer 9) formed so as to cover the surface of No. 1
It is composed of One end of the lead-out wiring 13 is integrated with and electrically connected to the contact 12, and the other end is a lead-out electrode (not shown) provided at an end of the lead-out wiring 13 in the connection portion between the support layer 15 and the wiring board 18. ) Is connected to the extension wiring 20.

The extension wiring 20 is for connecting the extension wiring 13 to the connection terminal 19, and is constituted by an extension wiring for extension or an extension wiring for extension provided on an insulating film. Further, the extension wiring 20 is smoothly bent outside the tip structure 14, and one end is fixed to a twill portion of the tip structure 14 and connected to a lead electrode (not shown) provided at an end of the lead wiring 13. The other end is fixed on the wiring board 18 and connected to the connection terminal 19. The connection between the extension wiring 20 and the lead electrode and the connection terminal 19 is performed using, for example, solder. Note that these connections may be made by wire bonding.

Further, a probe system is constituted by the connecting device 21 in the present embodiment and a sample support system for supporting the inspection object movably, and the probe system and the sample support system drive the displacement of the inspection object. With a drive control system for controlling and a tester connected to the probe system and performing an inspection,
It is possible to configure a contact device for each electrode of the inspection object on which a large number of electrodes are arranged.

According to the manufacturing method of this embodiment, the sacrificial substrate 1
By using the preliminary manufacturing process described above, it is possible to easily form the connection device 21 having the contacts 12 that come into contact with the electrodes of the semiconductor element or the like to be measured with high yield. According to the method of the present embodiment, even if the pitch of the electrodes is about 10 μm,
Can be formed.

In the step shown in FIG. 2A, the sacrificial layer 6 having a predetermined thickness is provided on the surface of the sacrificial substrate 1 so that the sacrificial substrate 1 is separated from the tip structure 14 in the step of separating. The required time can be reduced, and the connection device 21 can be manufactured efficiently.

Further, by providing a seed layer 9 made of platinum on the sacrificial layer 6 in the step shown in FIG. 2E, the separation time can be further reduced.

Further, in the step of forming the mold 5 for forming the contact 12 on the sacrificial substrate 1 as shown in FIG.
Is formed, the heights of the plurality of contacts 12 can be made uniform. In the present embodiment, the accuracy of the height of the contact 12 can be achieved within ± 0.2 μm.

Furthermore, by forming the mold 5 by anisotropic etching, the shape of the contact 12 can be made into a pyramid shape with a sharp tip. Generally, when the metal constituting the electrode of the measurement object is a metal such as aluminum which easily forms an oxide film on the surface, the oxide film is formed on the electrode surface, and the electric resistance value at the time of contact becomes unstable. . However, as in the connection device 21 of the present embodiment,
The instability of the contact resistance can be eliminated by forming the contact 12 into a pyramid shape with a sharp point and forming a hard tungsten film on the surface layer. That is,
In the contact of the contact 12 with the aluminum electrode,
First, the oxide layer on the surface of the aluminum electrode is removed by the projection covered with the tungsten film having high hardness, and then the projection can be cut into the aluminum electrode to make contact with the portion where the surface oxide layer has been removed. In the case of the connection device 21 of the present embodiment, if a contact pressure that results in a load of 5 mN or more per contact 12 is applied, the connection device 2 will simply be connected.
It is possible to energize the object to be measured via the contact 12 with a stable contact resistance only by pressing 1. Therefore, since the connection device 21 only needs to contact the electrode with a low stylus pressure, it is possible to prevent damage to the electrode of the semiconductor element and the element immediately below the electrode. Further, since a hard tungsten film is formed on the surface layer of the contact 12, the connection device 21 of the present embodiment has excellent wear resistance and durability.

Further, in the process shown in FIG. 3A, even when the thickness of the gold plating film 11 varies between the tip structures 14 when the gold plating film 11 is formed, In the step shown in FIG. 3C, the tip structure 14 formed on the sacrificial substrate 1 is bonded to the support layer 15 via an adhesive layer (not shown), so that the variation in the film thickness is reduced. It can be easily absorbed by the agent layer. For this reason, the projection tips of the contacts 12 in each tip structure are always arranged on the same plane.

Furthermore, since the connection device 21 of the present embodiment has the buffer layer 7 made of flexible silicon rubber between the wiring board 18 and the support board 6, each contact 1
The external force applied to the semiconductor element 2 can be reduced, and the influence of the unevenness of the electrode in the semiconductor element can be absorbed. This allows
Even if the height of the electrode of the semiconductor element varies, stable contact between the electrode and the contact 12 can be obtained. Further, when the support layer 15 is made of a flexible material such as polyimide, the above effect can be further improved.

Further, in the step shown in FIG. 3C, when the sacrificial substrate 1 is separated from the tip structure 14, the sacrificial layer 6 made of silicon dioxide is dissolved instead of the sacrificial substrate 1 made of silicon. In this dissolving step, damage to the support substrate 16 made of silicon by the etchant can be extremely reduced.

Furthermore, since the connecting device 21 has the structure as shown in FIG. 5, the contact 12 protrudes from the surface of the wiring board 18 by the total thickness of the support layer 15, the support board 16 and the buffer layer 7. I do. Thereby, when contact 12 is brought into contact with the electrode and pushed in, dust such as a metal piece generated from the contact or the semiconductor element is pinched between the semiconductor element and each part of connection device 21 at the next measurement as much as possible. Can be avoided.

Next, a modification of this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, an example in which the tungsten film 7 is formed as a hard conductive film covering the surface of the contact 12 in the steps shown in FIGS.
In this modification, an example is shown in which a hard conductive film is formed by diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) instead of the tungsten film 7.

In the manufacturing method of this modification, FIG.
Steps (d) and (a) shown in FIG. 2A are the same as those in the above embodiment. In the step shown in FIG. 2B, a film made of diamond or DLC is formed instead of the tungsten film 7. The diamond film is formed by a microwave plasma CVD method using methane, hydrogen, and diborane as source gases. The conditions for forming the diamond film are, for example, 0.5% by volume of methane and 99.5% by volume of hydrogen as a source gas.
Using a gas obtained by adding 0.1 vol ppm of diborane to a gas consisting of: a substrate temperature of 800 ° C. and a pressure of 8 KPa, a film is formed to a thickness of 1 μm by synthesis for 12 hours. The deposition conditions were as follows: methane concentration of 0.3 to 2% by volume, diborane concentration of 0.1 to 10% by volume, and substrate temperature of 6%.
Film formation is possible at a temperature of 00 to 950 ° C. and a pressure of 4 to 8 KPa. The thickness of the diamond film is appropriately changed in the range of 1 to 5 μm according to the depth of the mold 5. On the other hand, the DLC film is formed by a DC sputtering method. The subsequent steps are the same as the manufacturing method of the present embodiment shown in FIG.

According to this modification, it is possible to obtain a connection device in which the surface of the contact is covered with a diamond film or a DLC film instead of a tungsten film. Thereby, the frictional force when the contact contacts the electrode can be reduced. The configuration of the connection device of the present modified example other than the surface portion of the contact is the same as that of the connection device 21 of the present embodiment.

Next, another modified example of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows a connection device 21a according to this modification.
It is sectional drawing which shows a structure of. The tip structure 14a in the connection device 21a includes a plurality of contacts 12a. Each contact 12a is connected to the lead wiring 13.

In the manufacturing method according to this modification, in the step shown in FIG. 1B in the above embodiment, a plurality of openings 4
In the step shown in (c), a plurality of molds 5 are formed,
This is to form a plurality of contacts 12a.

In this modification, by forming a plurality of contacts 12a, the probability of contact between the contacts 12a and the contact object increases, and the reliability is improved. In addition, since the load is dispersed to each contact 12a, the durability of the connection device 21a is improved. In this modification, each contact 12
The type of the hard film formed on the surface layer of a may be a diamond film or a DLC film instead of the tungsten film.

In the present embodiment, the shape of the contact 12 or 12a is a quadrangular pyramid.
The shape of the contact is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a truncated square pyramid. By making the shape of the contact 12 or 12a a truncated square pyramid, the effective contact area with the contact object increases, and the contact resistance decreases. Further, since the contact pressure between the contact 12 or 12a and the contact object decreases, the possibility that the contact and the contact object are damaged can be reduced. Furthermore,
The shape of the contact can be changed by appropriately setting the component ratio of the etching solution, the solution temperature, the etching time and the like in the anisotropic etching. For example, other shapes such as an octagonal pyramid or a truncated octagonal pyramid can be used.

In this embodiment, the support substrate 16
Is made of silicon, but may be made of other materials such as ceramics in the present invention.

Further, in the present embodiment, the buffer layer 7 is formed of silicon rubber. However, in the present invention, other materials may be selected without being limited to silicon rubber. By appropriately selecting the elastic modulus of the buffer layer 7, the contact pressure of the contact 12 can be reduced so that the contact between the contact 12 and the electrode of the semiconductor element can be electrically connected, and the electrode and the active element immediately below the electrode can be damaged. It is possible to adjust to a moderate value that does not give.

Further, in this embodiment, the contact 12
And the lead wiring 13 are formed at the same time, but in the present invention, they can be formed separately.

Further, in this embodiment, FIG.
In the process shown in (1), the seed layer 9 was formed of platinum. However, in the present invention, the seed layer 9 is not limited to platinum, but may be formed of gold,
It can be formed of a noble metal such as silver, rhodium, palladium, iridium or ruthenium, or copper or tin.

[0081]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to obtain a connection device that is excellent in height accuracy and spacing accuracy of the tip portion, is excellent in abrasion resistance and reliability for a large number of contact with the electrode, and can maintain good contact performance for a long time. Further, after the tip structure is formed on the sacrificial substrate provided with the sacrificial layer on the surface, a step of dissolving the sacrificial layer and separating the sacrificial substrate from the tip structure in a short time is provided. Can be easily manufactured with high yield by applying a silicon process on a silicon wafer. Further, it is possible to obtain an optimum material and a manufacturing method capable of reducing damage to the connection device due to the etching solution. The method for manufacturing the connection device of the present invention and the connection device manufactured by this manufacturing method are not limited to a semiconductor element as a contact target, and are effective in application to a contact device of a mere facing electrode. It is possible to cope with narrowing the pitch of the electrodes and increasing the number of pins.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A to 1D are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a connection device in an embodiment of the present invention in the order of steps.

FIGS. 2A to 2E are cross-sectional views showing, in the order of steps, the next step of FIG. 1 in the method of manufacturing the connection device in this embodiment.

FIGS. 3A to 3D are cross-sectional views showing, in the order of steps, the next step of FIG. 2 in the method of manufacturing the connection device in this embodiment.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views showing, in the order of steps, the next step of FIG. 3 in the method of manufacturing the connection device in this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the next step of FIG. 4 in the manufacturing method of the connection device in this embodiment in the order of steps;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration of the connection device in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 shows the thickness of the sacrifice layer 6 formed on the surface of the sacrifice substrate 1, the sacrifice substrate 1, and the tip structure 1 in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship with time required for separation from the sample No. 4;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a connection device according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a conventional connection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Sacrificial substrate 2: Silicon dioxide film 3: Photoresist 4: Opening 5; Mold 6; Sacrificial layer 7; Tungsten film 8; Photoresist 9; Seed layer 10; Photoresist 11; Child 13; lead-out wiring 14, 14a; tip structure 15; support layer 16; support substrate 17; buffer layer 18; wiring board 19; connection terminal 20; Semiconductor element 25; electrode

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takayuki Hirano 1-5-5 Takatsukadai, Nishi-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture Inside Kobe Research Institute, Kobe Steel Ltd. 1-5-5 Takatsukadai Kobe Steel Research Institute, Kobe Research Institute (72) Inventor Takashi Kinoshita 1-5-5 Takatsukadai, Nishi Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture Kobe Steel Research Institute Kobe Research Institute (72 ) Inventor Koji Yoneda 1-5-5 Takatsukadai, Nishi-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo F-term in Kobe Steel Research Institute, Kobe Research Institute, Ltd. (reference) 2G011 AA09 AB06 AB08 AC21 AE03 AF07 2H088 FA11 HA01 HA05 MA20 2H092 MA05 MA17 MA19 MA57 NA29 NA30 PA01 4M106 AA02 BA01 BA14 CA51 DD03

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a connection device for inputting and outputting an electrical signal in electrical contact with a test object, comprising: forming a silicon dioxide film on a surface of a sacrificial substrate made of silicon; Forming a contact on the surface of the substrate for inputting and outputting the electrical signal by electrically contacting the test object; and conducting the electrical signal to a position on the silicon dioxide film that is connected to the contact. Forming a lead wire, connecting a tip structure comprising the contact and the lead wire to a support substrate for supporting the tip structure, and removing the silicon dioxide film to form the tip structure. Separating the connection device from the sacrificial substrate. 2. The silicon dioxide film has a thickness of 400 nm.
The method for manufacturing a connection device according to claim 1, wherein the connection device is formed as described above. 3. After the step of forming the silicon dioxide film, it is made of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of platinum, gold, silver, rhodium, palladium, iridium, ruthenium, copper and tin, or an alloy thereof. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of forming a film. 4. The step of forming the contact on the surface of the sacrificial substrate includes forming a recess for forming the contact on the surface of the sacrificial substrate, and forming a hard conductive film in the recess. 4. The method for manufacturing a connection device according to claim 1, further comprising: 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the concave portion for forming the contact on the surface of the sacrificial substrate is performed by anisotropic etching. Manufacturing method of the connecting device. 6. A method of manufacturing a connection device for inputting / outputting an electrical signal by electrically contacting a test object, wherein the connection device is electrically connected to a surface of a sacrificial substrate made of silicon dioxide. A step of forming a contact for inputting / outputting a signal, a step of forming a lead-out line for conducting the electric signal at a position on the silicon dioxide film connected to the contact, and a step of forming the contact and the contact Connecting the tip structure consisting of the lead-out wiring to a support substrate for supporting the tip structure, and separating the tip structure from the sacrificial substrate by removing a part or all of the sacrificial substrate. A method for manufacturing a connection device, comprising: 7. A step of forming a film made of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of platinum, gold, silver, rhodium, palladium, iridium, ruthenium, copper and tin or an alloy thereof on the sacrificial substrate. 7. The method for manufacturing a connection device according to claim 6, comprising: