JP2006179601A - Probe card for inspecting solid-state imaging element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a probe card for inspecting solid-state imaging element for easily realizing simultaneous inspections of a plurality of solid-state imaging elements. <P>SOLUTION: The probe card for inspecting solid-state imaging element is used for inspection of many solid-state imaging elements 3 formed in the shape of matrix on a substrate. This probe card for inspecting solid-state imaging element is provided with four groups of inspection probe 25 which are arranged contactable with each electrode pad of the four solid-state imaging elements (hatched solid-state imaging elements in Fig.1) arranged in the diagonal direction for the particular side of the solid-state imaging element 3 on the substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor used for inspecting a large number of solid-state image sensors formed in a matrix on a substrate.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for inspecting a solid-state imaging device in which electrode pads are formed on two opposing sides. In this apparatus, one solid-state image pickup element among a large number of solid-state image pickup elements formed in a matrix on a substrate is to be inspected, and an electrode pad formed on two opposite sides of the solid-state image pickup element is attached to a probe card. An inspection probe provided is brought into contact, light from a light source is introduced into the solid-state image sensor by a lens or the like above the solid-state image sensor, and the solid-state imaging is performed based on a signal obtained from the inspection probe in this state. The device is inspected.

JP-A-11-265521

  In order to improve the throughput of inspection of a solid-state image sensor, a probe card that can inspect a plurality of solid-state image sensors simultaneously is desired. In order to inspect multiple solid-state image sensors with electrode pads on multiple sides at the same time as in the above prior art, it is necessary to take a lot of space for placing the probe for inspection in the probe card. It was not easy to do.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor that can easily realize simultaneous inspection of a plurality of solid-state image sensors.

  The probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor of the present invention is a probe card for inspecting a large number of solid-state image sensors formed in a matrix on a substrate, and is a probe card for inspecting the solid-state image sensor on the substrate. An inspection probe is provided so as to be in contact with each electrode pad of a plurality of solid-state imaging devices arranged in an oblique direction with respect to a specific side.

  With this configuration, a plurality of solid-state image sensors arranged in an oblique direction are to be inspected, so that a sufficient space can be secured for arranging inspection probes that are brought into contact with the electrode pads of each solid-state image sensor. Therefore, the degree of freedom of arrangement of inspection probes is increased, and simultaneous inspection of a plurality of solid-state imaging elements can be easily realized.

  In the probe card for inspecting a solid-state imaging device of the present invention, at least one solid-state imaging device is interposed between the plurality of solid-state imaging devices arranged in the oblique direction.

  With this configuration, it is possible to eliminate optical interference between two adjacent solid-state image sensors of a plurality of solid-state image sensors to be inspected.

  In the probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor according to the present invention, the plurality of solid-state image sensors arranged in the oblique direction are such that one of two adjacent solid-state image sensors is in a position of jumping with respect to the other.

  With this configuration, the illumination range of light incident on a plurality of solid-state image sensors to be inspected can be narrowed in the long side direction of the solid-state image sensor. It is possible to cope with area increase.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the probe card for a solid-state image sensor test | inspection which can implement | achieve simultaneously the test | inspection of several solid-state image sensor easily can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor used in a solid-state image sensor inspection apparatus that inspects a large number of solid-state image sensors formed in a matrix (for example, a square lattice shape) on a semiconductor substrate such as silicon will be described. To do. It is assumed that the solid-state imaging device to be inspected in this embodiment has electrode pads formed on three sides thereof.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a solid-state image sensor inspection probe card for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a probe card 2 for inspecting a solid-state image sensor is mounted on an inspection substrate 1, and the inspection substrate 1 is placed on a semiconductor substrate on which a large number of solid-state image sensors 3 are formed in a matrix. By scanning, all the solid-state imaging devices 3 can be inspected.

  The probe card 2 for inspecting a solid-state imaging device includes a card substrate 21, a lens module holder 22 fixed on the card substrate 21, and a lens module 23 detachably attached to the lens module holder 22.

  An opening 24 is provided in the card substrate 21, and a part of the lens module holder 22 is inserted into the opening 24. A plurality of inspection probe groups 25 extending obliquely from the card substrate 21 to below the opening 24 are provided on the back surface of the card substrate 21. The inspection probe group 25 is composed of a number of probes for inspecting the solid-state image sensor by making contact with electrode pads formed on three sides of one solid-state image sensor.

  Each of the plurality of inspection probe groups 25 is a specific state of the solid-state imaging device 3 on the semiconductor substrate in a state where the inspection substrate 1 is set at a predetermined position for inspecting the solid-state imaging device (state shown in FIG. 1). Four solid-state image pickup devices 3 (solid-state image pickup devices 3 with diagonal lines in the figure, which are arranged in an oblique direction (for example, a direction in which the diagonal line of the solid-state image pickup device 3 faces) with respect to the side (long side or short side), Then, it is arranged so as to be in contact with each electrode pad of the solid imaging device 3 to be inspected). Here, four inspection object solid-state imaging devices 3 are used, but the number is not limited to four, and may be two or more.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the test substrate 1 is formed on three sides of each of the four test target solid-state image sensors 3 arranged in the diagonal direction at intervals of one solid-state image sensor in a state where the inspection substrate 1 is set at a predetermined position. Each inspection probe group 25 is in contact with the electrode pad. Then, a signal obtained from each inspection probe group 25 in a state in which light from a light source (not shown) is incident on the plurality of lenses 232 included in the lens module 23 from above the solid-state image sensor inspection probe card 2. The above-mentioned four inspection object solid-state imaging devices 3 can be inspected simultaneously.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the probe card for inspecting the solid-state imaging device shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the lens module 23 includes four lenses 232 for introducing light into the inspection target solid-state imaging device 3, four dimming filters 231, and four diffusion plates 233, and the lens module The center of each of the four lenses 231 coincides with the center of each of the four inspection target solid-state imaging devices 3 in a state where the holder 22 is mounted and the inspection substrate 1 is set at a predetermined position. Yes.

FIG. 3 is a view of the solid-state imaging device inspection probe card shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of the white arrow in FIG. In FIG. 3, the lens module holder 22 and the lens module 23 are shown in a simplified manner.
As shown in FIG. 3, the lens module holder 22 is provided with positioning pins 22a. By inserting the positioning pins 22a into positioning holes 27 provided in the card substrate 21, the lens module holder 22 and the card substrate are arranged. It is possible to accurately perform positioning with 21. With the positioning thus performed, the lens module holder 22 is fixed to the fixing hole 26 provided in the card substrate 21 with a screw or the like.

  The lens module holder 22 and the card substrate 21 include the center of each of the four lenses 232 included in the lens module 23 attached to the lens module holder 22 with the positioning pins 22a inserted into the positioning holes 27, and the card substrate. Designed so that the centers of the four test target solid-state imaging devices 3 positioned below 21 coincide with each other.

  In the probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor configured in this way, the inspection probe group 25 is brought into contact with each electrode pad of the four inspected solid-state image sensors 3 arranged in an oblique direction on the semiconductor substrate, The inspection of the four inspection object solid-state imaging devices 3 can be performed simultaneously. Since the inspection target solid-state imaging devices 3 are arranged in an oblique direction, it is possible to increase the space for arranging the inspection probe groups 25 to be brought into contact with the electrode pads of each inspection target solid-state imaging device 3. Accordingly, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the inspection probe group 25 is increased, and a solid-state image sensor inspection probe card capable of simultaneously inspecting a plurality of solid-state image sensors can be easily realized.

  If the size of the lens 232 that introduces light into the inspection target solid-state imaging element 3 can be reduced, the solid-state imaging element 3 is not interposed between the adjacent inspection target solid-state imaging elements 3. May be. In other words, the four solid-state imaging devices 3 that are continuously arranged in the oblique direction may be used as the inspection target solid-state imaging device 3. Even in this case, since the degree of freedom of arrangement of the inspection probe group 25 is increased, the above-described effect can be obtained.

  In the probe card for inspecting the solid-state image sensor according to the present embodiment, since one solid-state image sensor 3 is interposed between the four solid-state image sensors 3 to be inspected, between the adjacent solid-state image sensors 3 to be inspected. A sufficient distance can be secured. If this distance is small, there is a possibility that optical interference occurs between the adjacent solid-state imaging devices 3 to be inspected. However, according to the present embodiment, this optical interference can be prevented.

  In addition, as long as the illumination range of the light from a light source can be expanded, two or more solid-state image sensors 3 may intervene between adjacent test object solid-state image sensors 3.

  In the probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor according to this embodiment, the lens module is mounted on the card substrate 21 in a state where the positioning pins 22 a provided on the lens module holder 22 are inserted into the positioning holes 27 provided on the card substrate 21. Since the holder 22 can be fixed, the positioning of the four lenses 232 and the four test target solid-state imaging devices 3 can be performed with high accuracy.

  Further, in the probe card for inspecting the solid-state image sensor according to the present embodiment, the lens module 23 attached to the lens module holder 22 can be changed according to the type of lens desired to be inspected for the solid-state image sensor 3. One inspection device can perform inspection under various conditions.

  In the solid-state image sensor inspection probe card of the present embodiment, the solid-state image sensor 3 positioned below the opening 24 of the card substrate 21 is covered with the lens module holder 22 and the lens module 23 when the solid-state image sensor is inspected. Therefore, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as dust from adhering to the solid-state imaging device 3.

  In the above, as shown in FIG. 4A, among the many solid-state image pickup devices 3 formed in a matrix on the semiconductor substrate 10, four solid-state images to be inspected that are arranged at intervals in the oblique direction. A plurality of inspection probe groups 25 are provided on the card substrate 21 so as to be in contact with the electrode pads of the element 3 (the hatched portion in the figure), but are arranged as shown in FIG. A plurality of inspection probe groups 25 may be provided on the card substrate 21 so as to be in contact with the electrode pads of the four inspection target solid-state imaging devices 3 (the hatched portions in the figure).

  The four test target solid-state imaging devices 3 shown in FIG. 4B are also arranged in an oblique direction with respect to the long side or the short side of the solid-state imaging device 3 as in FIG. The difference is that one of the two matching solid-state image pickup devices 3 to be inspected is in a position of jumping with respect to the other. The position of jumping Keima means that when a certain inspection target solid-state image pickup device 3 is used as a reference, the short-side direction (see FIG. It means a position shifted by two solid-state image sensors in the vertical direction in the middle.

  By arranging the four inspection target solid-state imaging devices 3 as shown in FIG. 4B, the inspection probe group 25 should be allowed to enter the four inspection target solid-state imaging devices 3 while ensuring the degree of freedom of arrangement. The illumination range of light from the light source can be made narrower in the long side direction than in the case of FIG. That is, according to the example shown in FIG. 4B, it is possible to simultaneously inspect four solid-state imaging devices in an illumination range smaller than the example shown in FIG. It is preferable that the illumination range can be reduced because it leads to downsizing and cost reduction of the inspection apparatus.

  With the recent trend toward high-vision, the aspect ratio of solid-state image sensors also tends to increase. In particular, the long side of the solid-state imaging device tends to be longer in order to improve the resolution in the horizontal direction. Thus, even when the long side of the solid-state image sensor 3 becomes long, according to the example shown in FIG. 4B, the four solid-state image sensors 3 to be inspected can be simultaneously inspected with a smaller illumination range. Thus, it is possible to easily cope with the size increase of the solid-state imaging device 3.

Schematic plan view of a probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor for explaining an embodiment of the present invention AA sectional view of the probe card for inspecting the solid-state imaging device shown in FIG. The figure which looked at the probe card for solid-state image sensor inspection shown in FIG. 1 from the direction of the white arrow in FIG. The figure for demonstrating the arrangement | sequence of the test object solid-state image sensor

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inspection board 2 Solid-state image sensor inspection probe card 3 Solid-state image sensor 21 Card board 22 Lens module holder 23 Lens module 24 Opening 25 Inspection probe group 26 Fixing hole 27 Positioning hole

Claims (3)

A probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor used for inspecting a large number of solid-state image sensors formed in a matrix on a substrate,
A solid-state image sensor inspection probe comprising an inspection probe arranged to be in contact with each electrode pad of a plurality of solid-state image sensors arranged in an oblique direction with respect to a specific side of the solid-state image sensor on the substrate card. A probe card for inspecting a solid-state imaging device according to claim 1,
A probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor in which at least one solid-state image sensor is interposed between the plurality of solid-state image sensors arranged in the oblique direction. A probe card for inspecting a solid-state imaging device according to claim 1,
The plurality of solid-state image sensors arranged in the oblique direction is a probe card for inspecting a solid-state image sensor in which one of two adjacent solid-state image sensors is in a position where the other side of the solid-state image sensor jumps with respect to the other.

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