JP2007003319A - Apparatus and method for measuring characteristics of crystal oscillator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a decrease in work efficiency, suppress a decrease in yield and measure exact characteristics. <P>SOLUTION: An apparatus 1 for measuring characteristics of a crystal oscillator is provided with a depressurization vessel 3 capable of containing a plurality of crystal oscillators and depressurizing inside, contact probes 15 and 16 arranged in the depressurization vessel 3 to contact electrodes provided to each crystal oscillator and a characteristics measuring part 8 for supplying exciting voltage by way of the contact probes 15 and 16 and measuring the oscillating frequency and equivalent series resistance of the crystal oscillators. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a crystal resonator characteristic measuring apparatus and a characteristic measuring method.

Conventionally, various types of crystal resonator characteristic measuring apparatuses are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
The characteristic measuring apparatus of Patent Document 1 is an apparatus that simultaneously measures frequency characteristics of a plurality of crystal resonators, and includes a contact pin that is brought into contact with an electrode of each crystal resonator. Further, this Patent Document 1 also discloses measuring a resistance value of a crystal resonator.
In addition, the characteristic measurement device of Patent Document 2 is a device that measures the vibration frequency of a crystal resonator in the state of a crystal wafer.
JP-A-10-267974 JP 2004-301524 A

  The characteristic measurement devices of Patent Documents 1 and 2 are devices that can measure the frequency characteristics of a plurality of crystal resonators, but the actual crystal resonators are sealed in sealed containers one by one, The sealed container is shipped under reduced pressure and used. This is because it is possible to prevent ambient air from becoming resistance when the crystal unit vibrates, and to prevent characteristic fluctuation due to temperature change of the outside air. Therefore, the actual characteristics of the crystal resonator need to be measured in a usage state sealed in a sealed container.

  However, if the characteristic measurement is performed in a use state in which each crystal resonator is sealed in a sealed container, there is an advantage that the characteristic in the actual use state can be accurately measured. There is an inconvenience that the characteristics of the vibrator must be measured and the work becomes complicated, and if it is determined that the characteristics do not satisfy the allowable value, it can be taken out of the sealed container and replaced, There is an inconvenience that it must be discarded and the yield decreases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and is capable of measuring a characteristic of a crystal resonator capable of measuring an accurate characteristic while preventing a decrease in yield and preventing a decrease in yield. The object is to provide a characteristic measurement method.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The present invention includes a decompression container that accommodates a plurality of crystal resonators and is capable of decompressing the inside thereof, a contact probe that is disposed in the decompression vessel and is brought into contact with an electrode provided in each crystal resonator, and the contact probe A crystal resonator characteristic measurement device is provided that includes a characteristic measurement unit that supplies an excitation voltage via the crystal and measures an oscillation frequency and an equivalent series resistance value of the crystal resonator.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of crystal resonators are accommodated in a decompression container to be in a decompressed state, a contact probe disposed in the decompression container is brought into contact with an electrode of each crystal resonator, and transmission is performed by operation of the characteristic measurement unit. Measure frequency and equivalent series resistance. Therefore, before enclosing each crystal resonator individually in a sealed container, it is possible to realize a use state after the encapsulation and to measure accurate characteristics. As a result, it is possible to determine whether or not the characteristic is acceptable before sealing in the sealed container, and it is possible to prevent a decrease in yield.

  In addition, since a plurality of crystal resonators can be accommodated in the decompression container, the contact probes arranged at fixed positions can be easily brought into contact with the electrodes and placed at the same time as long as the crystal resonators are positioned with respect to each other. Measurement is possible. Therefore, it is not necessary to measure each crystal resonator individually and work efficiency can be improved.

In the above invention, it is preferable that one of the electrodes of the plurality of crystal resonators is connected to each other to be a common ground.
By using a common ground for the electrodes of a plurality of crystal units, the number of contact probes to be contacted can be reduced, positioning work can be facilitated, and deterioration in measurement accuracy due to poor contact can be prevented. it can. In addition, the apparatus can be simplified.

In the above invention, it is preferable that the plurality of crystal resonators are integrally configured in a crystal wafer state.
With this configuration, it is possible to maintain a plurality of crystal resonators in a positioning state without using any special positioning means. Therefore, it is easy to align the contact probe.

Further, the present invention accommodates a plurality of crystal resonators in a decompression vessel, supplies an excitation voltage to the electrodes of each crystal resonator in a decompressed state, and measures the oscillation frequency and equivalent series resistance value of the crystal resonator. Provided is a method for measuring characteristics of a crystal resonator.
According to the present invention, it is possible to easily realize an actual use state without individually enclosing each crystal resonator in a sealed container, and thus it is possible to measure an accurate characteristic in the actual use state. .

  In the above invention, it is preferable that the plurality of crystal resonators are integrally formed in a crystal wafer state. By doing so, it is possible to maintain the plurality of crystal resonators in a positioning state without using any special positioning means, and it is possible to facilitate the automation of characteristic measurement.

  According to the crystal resonator characteristic measuring apparatus and the characteristic measuring method of the present invention, it is possible to measure the accurate characteristics while preventing the working efficiency from being lowered and the yield from being lowered.

Hereinafter, a crystal resonator characteristic measuring apparatus and a characteristic measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the characteristic measuring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a decompression container 3 that can accommodate a crystal wafer 2, a measurement head 4 disposed in the decompression container 3, and the measurement head 4. A head moving mechanism 5 for moving, a mounting table 6 for mounting the crystal wafer 2 conveyed into the decompression container 3 by a hand (not shown), and a wafer transfer mechanism for transferring the crystal wafer 2 from the hand to the mounting table 6 7 and a characteristic measuring unit 8 connected to the measuring head 4.

The decompression vessel 3 includes an opening 9 provided in a side wall for introducing the crystal wafer 2 conveyed in the horizontal direction, and a gate 10 capable of sealing the opening 9 in an airtight state. .
The crystal wafer 2 has, for example, the form shown in FIGS. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the crystal wafer 2 is formed in a substantially disc shape and includes a positioning hole 11 that is positioned in the wafer transfer mechanism 7. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the crystal wafer 2 is integrally formed in a state in which a plurality of crystal resonators 12 are arranged in a plurality of rows by cutting out the periphery of the crystal resonator 12 formed in a substantially U shape. Are arranged. Each crystal resonator 12 is provided with two electrodes 13 and 14, and one of the electrodes 13 is connected to each other to constitute a common ground (hereinafter also referred to as a common ground 13).

The measurement head 4 is in contact with a plurality of first contact probes 15 that are in contact with electrodes 14 other than the common ground 13 of each crystal resonator 12 of the crystal wafer 2 mounted on the mounting table 6, and the common ground 13. And at least one second contact probe 16 and a measurement substrate 17 connected to these contact probes 15. The measurement substrate 17 is connected to the characteristic measurement unit 8 disposed outside the decompression vessel 3 through cables 18 and 20 and a vacuum connector 19. Reference numeral 21 denotes a pressing probe that is pressed so as to sandwich the crystal wafer 2 with the mounting table 6.
An elastic member (not shown) such as a coil spring is disposed at the tip of each contact probe 15, 16, and the coil spring is elastically deformed by further pressing from the state in contact with the electrodes 13, 14 of the crystal resonator 12. The electrodes 13 and 14 can be maintained in contact with a predetermined contact pressure.

The head moving mechanism 5 includes an arm 22 on which the measurement head 4 is mounted, and a cylinder 24 having a rod 23 that raises and lowers the arm 22. Reference numeral 25 in the figure denotes a guide sleeve for guiding the movement of the rod 23.
Further, the wafer transfer mechanism 7 includes a positioning pin 26 having a tip end portion 26 a inserted into the positioning hole 11 of the crystal wafer 2 and a positioning pin lifting mechanism 27 that lifts and lowers the positioning pin 26. As shown in FIG. 4, the positioning pin 26 is provided with a step portion 26b, and the crystal wafer 2 is placed on and supported by the step portion 26b in a state where the tip portion 26a is inserted into the positioning hole 11 of the crystal wafer 2. Be able to.

The positioning pin 26 is disposed in a through hole 28 formed in the mounting table 6 so as to penetrate in the vertical direction, and is provided so as to be able to protrude from the upper surface of the mounting table 6. As shown in FIG. 5, the positioning pin 26 is arranged at a position where the tip end portion 26 a protrudes from the upper surface of the mounting table 6 even in the lowest position. The positioning pin 26 is biased to the lowest position by the coil spring 29.
The positioning pin raising / lowering mechanism 27 includes a contact member 27a for abutting and pushing up the lower end of the positioning pin 26, and a cylinder 27b for raising and lowering the corresponding contact member 27a. Reference numeral 27c in the figure denotes a guide sleeve.

  When the positioning pin elevating mechanism 27 receives the crystal wafer 2 from a hand (not shown), the positioning pin 26 is pushed up to the position shown in FIG. It is designed to be lowered. In this state, the crystal wafer 2 is mounted on the mounting table 6, while maintaining the positioning state by maintaining the distal end portion 26 a of the positioning pin 26 inserted in the positioning hole 11.

  The characteristic measurement unit 8 sends a signal to the measurement board 17 via the vacuum connector 19 and the cables 18 and 20 to apply a predetermined excitation voltage between the measurement board 17 and the contact probes 15 and 16. The voltage signals returned from all the crystal resonators 12 through the measurement board 17 are measured by the measurement substrate 17, and the oscillation frequency of each crystal resonator 12 is output by the output frequency f 0, the output frequency f 0 and the output voltage value VR. Thus, the equivalent series resistance value R1 of each crystal resonator 12 is calculated by the following equation (1).

R1 = A / VR × (Fs / f0) ² (1)
Here, A is a circuit constant, and Fs is a reference frequency.

A characteristic measuring method using the characteristic measuring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below.
In the characteristic measurement method according to the present embodiment, the quartz wafer 2 is accommodated in the decompression vessel 3, the inside of the decompression vessel 3 is set to a predetermined decompression state, and the electrodes 13 and 14 of the plurality of crystal resonators 12 on the quartz wafer 2. The contact probes 15 and 16 are brought into contact with each other, a predetermined excitation voltage is applied, and the equivalent series resistance value R1 is calculated by the equation (1) based on the obtained output frequency f0 and output voltage value VR.

More specifically, the measuring head 4 is raised to the upper limit position by the operation of the cylinder 24, and the gate 10 is opened to open the opening 9 with the positioning pin 26 lowered to the lower limit position by the operation of the cylinder 27b. The quartz crystal wafer 2 is inserted into the decompression container 3 through the opening 9 by a hand (not shown).
With the crystal wafer 2 inserted to a predetermined position by the hand, the positioning pin elevating mechanism 27 is operated to raise the positioning pin 26. As a result, the distal end portion 26a of the positioning pin 26 is inserted into the positioning hole 11 of the crystal wafer 2, and the crystal wafer 2 is lifted by the step portion 26b and can be received from the hand. Thereafter, the hand is retracted to the outside of the decompression vessel 3 and the opening 9 is sealed in an airtight state by the gate 10. The space inside the decompression vessel 3 is decompressed to a predetermined pressure by the operation of the decompression device (not shown). The predetermined pressure is a pressure equivalent to the pressure achieved by the crystal resonator 12 as a product in the sealed container.

Then, the positioning pin 26 is lowered to the lower limit position where the crystal wafer 2 is mounted on the mounting table 6 by the operation of the positioning pin lifting mechanism 27.
Next, the measurement head 4 is lowered by the operation of the head moving mechanism 5. As a result, the tips of the contact probes 15 and 16 of the measuring head 4 are brought into contact with the electrodes 13 and 14 provided on each crystal resonator 12 of the crystal wafer 2. A predetermined contact pressure is achieved by pressing the tips of the contact probes 15 and 16 against the electrodes 13 and 14.

  In this state, a measurement command is sent from the characteristic measurement unit 8 to the measurement substrate 17, and an excitation voltage is applied from the measurement substrate 17 to the electrodes 13 and 14 of each crystal resonator 12 via the contact probes 15 and 16. The vibrator 12 is vibrated. At this time, since the space around the crystal unit 12, that is, the space in the decompression container 3 is arranged in a decompressed state equivalent to the actual use state, the crystal unit 12 vibrates in the same manner as the actual use state. Vibrated at frequency.

  The measurement board 17 acquires the output frequency f0 and the output voltage value VR via the contact probes 15 and 16, and these acquired values are sent to the characteristic measurement unit 8 via the cables 18 and 20. In the characteristic measuring unit 8, the obtained plurality of output frequencies f0 are recorded as the transmission frequencies of the respective crystal resonators 12, and the equivalent series resistance value R1 is calculated by the equation (1) using the output frequency f0 and the output voltage value VR. Is calculated and recorded. As a result, the transmission frequency f0 and the equivalent series resistance value R1 are obtained simultaneously for the plurality of crystal resonators 12.

  As described above, according to the characteristic measuring apparatus 1 and the characteristic measuring method of the crystal unit 12 according to the present embodiment, before each crystal unit 12 is stored in the sealed container, the usage state stored in the sealed container is used. The pressure reduction state equivalent to the above can be achieved, and the characteristics such as the frequency characteristic f0 and the equivalent series resistance value R1 in the use state can be accurately measured. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that the characteristics are found not to satisfy the allowable value after being individually sealed in the sealed container, and to improve the yield.

In addition, it is possible to simultaneously measure the transmission frequency f0 and the equivalent series resistance value R1 for the plurality of crystal resonators 12 arranged in a positioning state with each other in the state of the crystal wafer 2. Therefore, the number of work steps can be reduced and efficient measurement can be performed.
Further, by providing the common ground 13 for the plurality of crystal resonators 12, the number of contact probes 16 can be reduced, the apparatus can be simplified, and the complicated state of maintaining the contact state of all the many contact probes 16 can be achieved. This eliminates this problem and provides a highly reliable measurement result.

  In the present embodiment, the crystal wafer 2 is inserted into the decompression vessel 3, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of crystal resonators 12 are arranged in a mutually positioned state. It is good also as inserting in the pressure reduction container 3 in arbitrary states.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the characteristic measuring apparatus of the crystal oscillator which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic overall view showing an example of a crystal wafer provided with a crystal resonator measured by the characteristic measuring apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion A showing a crystal resonator provided in the crystal wafer of FIG. 2. It is an enlarged view which shows partially the positioning pin of the characteristic measuring apparatus of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the measurement state by the characteristic measuring apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Characteristic measuring apparatus 2 Crystal wafer 3 Pressure-reducing container 8 Characteristic measuring part 12 Crystal oscillator 13 Electrode (common ground)
14 electrodes 15, 16 contact probe

Claims (5)

A decompression container that houses a plurality of crystal units and is capable of decompressing the interior;
A contact probe disposed in the decompression vessel and brought into contact with an electrode provided in each crystal resonator;
A crystal resonator characteristic measurement device comprising a characteristic measurement unit that supplies an excitation voltage via the contact probe and measures an oscillation frequency and an equivalent series resistance value of the crystal resonator.   The crystal resonator characteristic measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the electrodes of the plurality of crystal resonators is connected to each other to be a common ground.   The crystal resonator characteristic measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of crystal resonators are integrally configured in a state of a crystal wafer. A plurality of crystal units are housed in a vacuum container,
In a reduced pressure state, an excitation voltage is supplied to the electrodes of each crystal resonator,
A method for measuring characteristics of a crystal resonator that measures the oscillation frequency and equivalent series resistance value of the crystal resonator.   The method for measuring characteristics of a crystal resonator according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of crystal resonators are integrally configured in a state of a crystal wafer.

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