JP2004281453A - Method and system of manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and system by which a probe test can be conducted more properly in a process of manufacturing a thinned semiconductor device. <P>SOLUTION: The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device is provided with a semiconductor device forming process 11 for forming a plurality of semiconductor devices on a semiconductor wafer 100, a thinning process 12 for making the semiconductor wafer into a thin piece, a dicing process 14 for separating the thinned semiconductor wafer, and an assembling process 15 for assembling the diced semiconductor devices. The probe test 13 for conducting an electrical inspection for the thinned semiconductor wafer is conducted after the process 12 and before the process 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and a system for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a probe test in a method and a system for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer to be sliced by back grinding (BG) or polish grinding (PG).
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, after a device forming process (previous process) is completed, a probe is brought into contact with an electrode pad of each semiconductor chip (die) formed on a semiconductor wafer in order to improve manufacturing efficiency. Then, a power is applied to the semiconductor chip via the probe to make the semiconductor chip in an operation state, an operation test is performed by applying and detecting a test signal, and a defective chip is removed from a later assembly process. This inspection is called a probe test, and a device that holds a semiconductor wafer and makes probes come into contact is called a prober, and a device that supplies a test signal to the prober and analyzes a signal from a semiconductor chip is called a tester. That is, the probe test is performed by an apparatus combining a prober and a tester.
[0003]
The completed device is further subjected to final inspection before shipment. The probe test is a test for inspecting a completed semiconductor chip to discriminate a non-defective product from a non-defective product. After the probe test, it is desirable to perform an assembly without performing a process that damages a semiconductor wafer. However, performing a probe test after cutting in the dicing process has a problem in terms of inspection efficiency as compared with inspecting semiconductor chips arranged on a semiconductor wafer. Therefore, the probe test is performed before the dicing process. That is, the semiconductor wafer is cut by the dicer after the probe test, and only the non-defective chips are assembled in the post-process (assembly process).
[0004]
In recent years, thinned semiconductor devices have been mounted on IC cards and the like. To thin a semiconductor device, the back surface of the semiconductor wafer that has been subjected to the previous process is polished by a back grinder / polishing grinder.
[0005]
When a probe is brought into contact with a semiconductor wafer held on a stage in order to perform a probe test on a thinned semiconductor wafer, there is a problem that the wafer is damaged due to the contact pressure of the probe. Therefore, in a conventional manufacturing process of a thinned semiconductor device, a probe test is performed on a semiconductor wafer that has been subjected to a previous process, and then the back surface of the semiconductor wafer is polished and thinned with a back grinder / polysh grinder, and cut and assembled with a dicer. .
[0006]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing process of this conventional thinned semiconductor device. As shown in the figure, a semiconductor chip (die) is formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer in a device forming process (pre-process) 1, an electrical operation test of each chip is performed in a probe test process 2, and a thinning process (back grinding) / Polished grind (BG / PG)), the semiconductor wafer is sliced in step 3, cut in dicing step 4, and assembled in assembling step (post-process) 5. Thereafter, a final inspection is performed in a final inspection step 6, and the product is shipped.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-335384 (whole)
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, if a thinned semiconductor wafer is held on a stage and brought into contact with a probe, there is a problem that the wafer may be damaged due to the contact pressure of the probe, so the probe test is performed before the thinning process. I have. However, in the thinning step 3, since the back surface of the semiconductor wafer is polished by the back grinder / polishing grinder, a polishing liquid is supplied and a physical force is applied to the semiconductor wafer, so that the semiconductor wafer is damaged in the thinning step. In some cases, the chip is made defective. As described above, since the probe test has already been completed, defects generated in the thinning process cannot be found, and chips with abnormal electrical characteristics are carried over to the next process, resulting in a decrease in yield. There is.
[0009]
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to realize a method and a system that can more appropriately perform a probe test in a manufacturing process of a thinned semiconductor device.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a semiconductor device manufacturing method and system according to the present invention is characterized in that a probe test is performed immediately before a dicing step after a thinning step.
[0011]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the semiconductor device manufacturing method and system of the present invention.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, in the semiconductor device manufacturing method and system according to the present invention, a semiconductor chip (die) is formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer in a device forming process (pre-process) 11, and a thinning process (back grinding / polishing grinding) is performed. (BG / PG)) The semiconductor wafer is sliced in a step 12, an electrical operation test of each chip is performed in a probe test step 13, the semiconductor wafer is cut into chips in a dicing step 14, and an assembling step (post-process) Assembling is performed at 15 and final inspection is performed at a final inspection step 16.
[0013]
As described above, when a probe is brought into contact with a thinned semiconductor wafer, there is a problem that the wafer may be damaged by contact pressure.However, in the present invention, the prober holds the semiconductor wafer in a state of being adhered to the adhesive tape and performs inspection. Be able to do it. Even if the semiconductor wafer is thinned, the semiconductor wafer is adhered to the adhesive tape, so that even if the probe is brought into contact, the contact pressure is absorbed by the adhesive tape, thereby preventing damage to the semiconductor wafer. In the dicing step, the semiconductor wafer is cut in a state where the semiconductor wafer is stuck to an adhesive tape stuck to a frame so that the cut chips do not fall apart, but when the probe test of the present invention is performed, the chip is stuck to this frame. It is desirable that a semiconductor wafer be attached to and held by an adhesive tape. Preferably, the adhesive tape is conductive.
[0014]
In the conventional dicing process, a semiconductor wafer is cut by a blade. In the present invention, a light beam (laser light) is irradiated, and then the semiconductor wafer is cut by applying a force. In this case, since the polishing liquid is not used, a laser irradiation mechanism can be provided in the prober to irradiate the laser using the moving stage of the prober, thereby reducing the cost of the entire system. Further, there is a problem that chipping occurs when a thinned semiconductor wafer is cut with a blade, but the method of irradiating a laser beam can reduce the occurrence of chipping.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a semiconductor device manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, a pre-process apparatus group 21 for forming devices on a semiconductor wafer, a polish grinder 22 for polishing and slicing the back surface of the semiconductor wafer, and a probe test apparatus 23 combining a tester, a prober, and a laser irradiator. And an assembly device 24 in which a die bonder, a wire bonder, and the like are combined.
[0016]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a semiconductor wafer 100 having a plurality of semiconductor chips 110 formed on the surface. Each chip is inspected by the probe test device 23. The semiconductor wafer is modified by irradiating the laser beam converged on the portion between the chips 110 of the thinned semiconductor wafer at small intervals, and the semiconductor wafer is modified, and cut along the irradiated portion of the laser beam by applying force. Is done.
[0017]
In the polish grinder 22, the semiconductor wafer 100 shown in FIG. 4 is held in a state where a protective tape is adhered to the front surface, and the back surface is polished to thin the semiconductor wafer 100. The thinned semiconductor wafer 100 is attached to a hard material (aluminum) frame 101 having an adhesive tape 102 shown in FIG. In this state, the protective tape on the surface is peeled off. Here, since the thinned semiconductor wafer 100 is warped, it is important to peel off the protective tape after the semiconductor wafer 100 is attached to the adhesive tape 102 of the frame 101.
[0018]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of the probe test apparatus 23. The probe test apparatus 23 has a configuration similar to that of the related art, except that it can hold a semiconductor wafer attached to the adhesive tape 102 of the frame 101 in FIG. 5 and that a laser irradiator 40 is provided. Are different. As shown in FIG. 6, the probe test apparatus 23 includes a chuck 31 for holding a frame 101 on which a semiconductor wafer is attached to an adhesive tape 102, a probe card 33 having a probe 34, a performance board 32, and a test head 36. A mechanism for rotating the test head 36 about a rotation shaft 38, a moving mechanism 39 for moving the chuck 31, and a laser irradiator 40. The chuck 31 is moved by the moving mechanism 39 to bring the probe 34 into contact with the electrode pad of each chip of the semiconductor wafer attached to the adhesive tape 102 of the frame 101. In this state, the test head 36 applies a power supply and a test signal to each chip via the performance board 32, the probe card 33, and the probe 34, and detects a signal from each chip to determine whether the operation is normal. Then, the position of the defective chip is stored. The probe test is performed in this manner. If the semiconductor wafer is charged, the probe test cannot be performed correctly or the probe card may be damaged. Therefore, it is preferable that the adhesive tape 102 is conductive.
[0019]
The semiconductor wafer on which the probe test has been completed moves to a portion shown by a broken line after a defective chip is marked by a marker (not shown). Then, the semiconductor wafer on the chuck 31 is moved by the moving mechanism 39, and converged laser light output from the laser irradiator 40 is irradiated at predetermined intervals to a portion between the chips of the semiconductor wafer. Thereby, the portion irradiated with the laser is modified and can be cut by applying a force. Chipping occurs when a thinned semiconductor wafer is cut with a blade, but chipping can be reduced by a method of cutting by irradiating a laser beam.
[0020]
As described above, in the semiconductor device manufacturing system according to the embodiment of the present invention, a chip on a thinned semiconductor wafer after polishing is subjected to a probe test, so that defective products due to damage caused in the thinning process can be found. It is possible to prevent a defective chip (die) from being carried over to a subsequent process. Further, since dicing can be performed by using the moving mechanism of the probe test apparatus only by providing the laser irradiator in the probe test apparatus, the cost of the system can be reduced.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in a manufacturing process of a thinned semiconductor device, a probe test can be more appropriately performed, and carryover of a defective chip to a subsequent process can be reduced. Further, the cost of the system including dicing can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a conventional semiconductor device manufacturing process.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing process of the semiconductor device of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a semiconductor device manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a view showing a semiconductor wafer having a semiconductor chip (die) formed on a surface.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a semiconductor wafer attached to an adhesive tape of a frame.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a probe test apparatus according to an embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference numeral 22: polish grinder 23 ... probe test device 24 ... assembly device 40 ... laser irradiator 100 ... semiconductor wafer 101 ... frame 102 ... adhesive tape

Claims (7)

A semiconductor device forming step of forming a plurality of semiconductor devices on a semiconductor wafer,
A thinning step of thinning the semiconductor wafer,
A dicing step of performing a process for separating the thinned semiconductor wafer into individual semiconductor devices,
An assembly step of assembling the separated semiconductor device.
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: performing a probe test in which a probe is brought into contact with the plurality of semiconductor devices on the thinned semiconductor wafer and an electrical inspection is performed before the dicing step after the thinning step. . The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein
The semiconductor device manufacturing method, wherein the probe test is performed in a state where the thinned semiconductor wafer is adhered to an adhesive tape. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein
In the dicing step, a light beam is applied to a portion of the thinned semiconductor wafer to be cut,
The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein the irradiation of the light beam is performed in a state where the light beam is held by a mechanism for holding the sliced semiconductor wafer for performing the probe test. A semiconductor device forming apparatus for forming a plurality of semiconductor devices on a semiconductor wafer,
A thinning device for thinning the semiconductor wafer,
A dicing apparatus for performing a process for separating the sliced semiconductor wafer into individual semiconductor devices,
A semiconductor device manufacturing system comprising: an assembling apparatus that assembles separated semiconductor devices;
A semiconductor device manufacturing system, comprising: a probe test apparatus that performs an electrical inspection by bringing a probe into contact with the plurality of semiconductor devices on the thinned semiconductor wafer before separating the thinned semiconductor wafer. . The semiconductor device manufacturing system according to claim 4, wherein
A semiconductor device manufacturing system, wherein the probe test apparatus includes a holding mechanism that holds the thinned semiconductor wafer in a state of being adhered to an adhesive tape, and tests the semiconductor wafer adhered to the adhesive tape. The semiconductor device manufacturing system according to claim 4, wherein
The dicing apparatus, provided in the probe test apparatus, includes a light beam irradiation mechanism for irradiating a light beam to a portion of the thinned semiconductor wafer to be cut,
A semiconductor device manufacturing system for irradiating the semiconductor wafer held by the probe test apparatus with the light beam. The semiconductor device manufacturing system according to claim 4, wherein
The semiconductor device manufacturing system, wherein the adhesive tape is conductive.

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