JP2007218635A - Probe card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a probe card that facilitates the alignment of a probe needle to an inspected object and can be even in a probing device for a blade type or cantilever type probe card. <P>SOLUTION: A tilting probe pin 24 for alignment is disposed in a probe card substrate 21, an alignment mark 28 is disposed in an inspected chip 26 of a semiconductor wafer 25 to be inspected, and the positional relation between the tips of two tilting probe pins 24 and the alignment mark 28 can be observed through an opening 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a probe card used for inspection of electrical characteristics of an electronic circuit or the like formed on a semiconductor wafer or a printed circuit board, and more particularly to a probe card alignment technique.

  In the semiconductor manufacturing process and the printed circuit board manufacturing process, a probe test is performed to inspect electrical characteristics. This probe test is usually performed after the completion of the wafer process in the semiconductor manufacturing process and after the completion of the entire manufacturing process in the printed circuit board manufacturing process, and the electrical characteristics are inspected by bringing the probe needle into contact with the probe test electrode. Is done.

  Probe cards used for probe tests can be roughly classified into two types depending on the type of probe needle. One corresponds to a probe needle called a blade type or a cantilever type, and these probe needles come into contact with test electrodes formed on an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer or a printed board from obliquely above. Therefore, the probe card has an opening, and the positional relationship between the test electrode and the probe needle can be observed through the opening. Another type of probe card is a vertical pin type, in which a vertical probe pin is brought into perpendicular contact with a test electrode of an object to be inspected.

An example of a conventional blade type probe card is shown in FIGS.
In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the probe card is obliquely penetrated through the opening 6 from the probe card substrate 1 having the observation opening 6 in the center and the upper edge of the opening 6 of the probe card substrate 1. A plurality of blade-type probe needles 3 provided so as to protrude downward, and the tips of the probe needles 3 are brought into contact with the probe test electrodes 5 of the chip 4 to be inspected formed on the semiconductor wafer 2. I have to.

An example of a conventional cantilever type probe card is shown in FIGS.
10 and 11, the probe card is obliquely penetrated from the probe card substrate 1 having the observation opening 6 in the center and the upper edge of the opening 6 of the probe card substrate 1 through the opening 6. A plurality of cantilever type probe needles 7 provided so as to protrude downward, and the probe needles 7 are brought into contact with the probe test electrodes 5 of the chip 4 to be inspected formed on the semiconductor wafer 2. Yes.

Examples of conventional probe cards using vertical pins are shown in FIGS.
12 and 13, the probe card has a probe card substrate 1 and a plurality of vertical pin type probe needles 8 projecting vertically downward from the probe card substrate 1. The probe test electrode 4 of the chip to be inspected 4 formed on the semiconductor wafer 2 is brought into contact with the electrode vertically.
Such a probe card corresponding to a vertical pin is used for an open short inspection of a semiconductor chip or a printed circuit board in which a test electrode is formed on the entire surface of an element forming surface for increasing the number of pins. In addition, since this type of probe card supports the probe needle itself vertically above the test electrode, the probe card substrate 1 has no opening for observation.

  In general, the probe card is mounted on a probing apparatus to inspect an object to be inspected. At that time, it is necessary to align the probe needle so that the probe needle accurately contacts the probe test electrode of the semiconductor wafer or printed circuit board. Normally, after replacing the probe card or when the object to be inspected is switched to another product type, the registration operation is performed by performing a manual alignment operation. After that, the probe needle and the alignment mark of the object to be inspected are identified by the image recognition device and the alignment is automatically performed. It is the manual operation that requires a procedure for alignment. An example of manual operation for alignment will be described below.

An example of manual alignment in a blade type or a cantilever type will be described with reference to FIG.
The semiconductor wafer 16 that is the object to be inspected is fixed to the stage 17, and the probe card 14 is fixed to the probe card fixture 15. The probe card fixture 15 can be adjusted in the XYZ axis and angle. The positions of the probe needle 14a and the measurement electrode on the semiconductor wafer 16 are observed by the camera 13, and the X-Y axis and angle are adjusted while confirming the image on a monitor (not shown). Thereafter, the probe needle 14a is brought into contact with the measurement electrode for height adjustment in the Z direction, the height at which the needle mark is attached is confirmed, and an appropriate amount of overdrive is applied to make the contact more reliable. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the probe needle is a cantilever type, but the procedure is the same for a blade type probe needle. The procedure is the same even if the object to be inspected is a printed circuit board.

On the other hand, in the case of a vertical pin type probe card, the position of the measurement electrode and the probe needle cannot be confirmed by observation from above, and the alignment procedure is complicated. An example of a probe needle positioning procedure in a conventional vertical pin type will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16.
First, the XY stage 14 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 15, the semiconductor wafer 10 as the inspection object is fixed to the Z stage 11, and the probe card 13 is fixed to the XY stage 14. The position of the probe needle 13a is observed by the camera 12, the position of the measurement electrode of the chip to be inspected on the semiconductor wafer 10 is observed by the camera 9, and each image is confirmed by a monitor (not shown). The positions of the camera 9 and the camera 12 are stored in the probing apparatus, and XY and angle alignment are performed from the position information of the probe needle and the measurement electrode observed by these cameras. The angle can be adjusted by providing either the XY stage 14 or the Z stage 11 with an angle adjusting mechanism.
Next, to adjust the height in the Z direction and to finely adjust the XY and angle, the XY stage 14 is moved to a position above the Z stage 11 shown in FIG. Raise until contact. The amount of ascent of the Z stage 11 is calculated in advance from the thickness of the semiconductor wafer, the length of the probe needle, and the like as a guide. Next, the XY stage 14 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 15, the needle marks attached to the measurement electrodes are confirmed by the camera 9, and the XY and angle are finely adjusted as necessary. At the same time, the height of the Z stage 11 on which the needle mark is attached is confirmed, and an appropriate amount of overdrive is applied to make the contact more reliable.

  Regarding the alignment of the vertical pin type, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method thereof. In Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the recognition of the probe needle with the camera due to particle adhesion to the probe needle, contamination of the needle tip, oxidation, etc., in addition to the measurement probe needle, an alignment probe needle is used. The probe needle for alignment is shorter than the probe needle for measurement so that it does not come into contact with the object to be inspected to prevent adhesion of particles, and the tip of the needle is smoothed. A method for facilitating recognition with a camera by using a material has been proposed.

As a vertical pin type alignment method, another method as shown in Patent Document 2 has been proposed.
With the vertical pin, it is difficult to place a needle mark for alignment, and it is necessary to make the needle contact the measurement electrode many times until the needle mark can be confirmed. In order to avoid this, excessive overdrive is applied, and in a semiconductor wafer, an element directly under the measurement electrode may be destroyed. In order to prevent this, in Patent Document 2, a probe needle for alignment longer than the probe needle for measurement is provided in addition to the probe needle for measurement, and is brought into contact with an alignment mark provided on the semiconductor wafer. .
JP-A-8-327658 Japanese Patent No. 3334659

  In the conventional vertical pin type probe card, it is necessary to observe with a camera from at least two directions for alignment, the function and configuration of the probing device tends to be complicated, and the time required for alignment tends to increase. It was. In addition, for positioning in the height direction, it is essential to check information such as the thickness of the object to be inspected and the length of the probe needle in advance, and work with a certain standard, which is complicated. I was supposed to. In addition, it is impossible to align the vertical pin type probe card with a probing device compatible with blade type or cantilever type probe cards, and it is necessary to prepare a probing device separately in the inspection process where both probe cards are mixed. There was an increase in inspection costs.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and it is easy to align the probe needle with the object to be inspected, and can be used in a probing device for a blade type or cantilever type probe card. An object is to provide a pin type probe card.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a probe card for inspecting the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected, and a substrate, a plurality of vertical probe pins for inspection protruding vertically from the substrate, A plurality of inclined probe pins for alignment projecting obliquely from the substrate; and an opening provided on the substrate for observing a place where each inclined probe pin contacts the object to be inspected. .

  According to the present invention, in addition to the vertical probe pin for inspection, the inclined probe pin for alignment is provided, and the contact between the inclined probe pin and the object to be inspected can be observed through the opening. While taking advantage of the multi-pin that the probe card has, it can be easily aligned like the probe card of the inclined probe pin type such as blade type or cantilever type, and the inspection procedure can be shortened. Can be realized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a probe card according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The probe card according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.
(First embodiment)

  FIG. 1 is a side view of a positional relationship between a vertical probe type probe card and a semiconductor wafer according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the side, and FIG. 2 is a vertical probe type according to the first embodiment. It is the top view which looked at the probe card from the upper part. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of the probe card in the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the inclined probe pin in the first embodiment is overdriven. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vertical probe type probe card shown in the first embodiment has a square probe card substrate 21, and the probe card substrate 21 includes a lower surface of the probe card substrate 21. A plurality of inspection vertical probe pins 22 projecting vertically to the side and vertically contacting the test electrode 27 of the chip 26 to be inspected formed on the semiconductor wafer 25 as an object to be inspected from the upper surface are spaced apart from each other. Are provided in a matrix.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, alignment marks 28 are respectively formed at two positions located on the left and right corners on the upper side of the chip 26 to be inspected. The alignment mark 28 is used for alignment between the test electrode 27 of the chip 26 to be inspected and the vertical probe pin 22 of the probe card substrate 21.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, observation openings 23 are provided at two locations on the probe card substrate 21 facing the alignment marks 28, respectively. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the probe card substrate 21 is provided with a cantilever-type inclined probe pin 24 that passes through the opening 23 and protrudes obliquely downward for each alignment mark. That is, the lower surface of the probe card substrate 21 faces the chip 26 to be inspected of the semiconductor wafer 25, the base portion of the inclined probe pin 24 is provided on the upper surface of the probe card substrate 21, and the protruding portion side of the inclined probe pin 24 has an opening 23. It penetrates and projects obliquely toward the lower surface side of the probe card substrate 21, and its tip is in contact with the alignment mark 28.
Further, when performing alignment, the inclined probe pin 24 is perpendicular to the protrusion height H1 of the inclined probe pin 24 so that the inclined probe pin 24 can contact the alignment mark 28 and the vertical probe pin 22 can simultaneously contact the test electrode 27 of the chip 26 to be inspected. The protruding height H2 of the probe pin 22 is set to the same dimension.

In the probe card shown in the first embodiment as described above, when this is aligned with the chip 26 to be inspected, the positional relationship between the tips of the two inclined probe pins 24 and the alignment marks 28 is opened. The image is observed through a camera (not shown) through the unit 23, and alignment is performed by adjusting the XY direction and angle while checking the image on a monitor (not shown). Thereby, when the alignment of the inclined probe pins 24 with respect to the respective alignment marks 28 is completed, the alignment of all the vertical probe pins 22 with respect to the chip 26 to be inspected is also completed at the same time. In the first embodiment, a case where a cantilever type is used as an example of the inclined probe pin 24 has been described, but this is the same even with a blade type probe pin.
In addition, the Z-direction alignment of the probe card shown in the first embodiment is also performed by observing with a camera (not shown) through the opening 23.

  In the probe inspection, the needle tip of the vertical probe pin 22 is usually brought into contact with the test electrode 27 of the chip 26 to be inspected, and then overdrive is applied to further complete the contact. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, after the inclined probe pin 24 is brought into contact with the alignment mark 28, the surface of the alignment mark 28 is slid in the direction of the arrow 31 by applying overdrive in the direction indicated by the arrow 30. Make it. This is observed from above with a camera (not shown), and the needle tip of the inclined probe pin 24 slides in the lateral direction, or the height at which the needle tip contacts by looking at the needle mark 32 on the surface of the alignment mark 28. Can know. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the protruding height H2 of the vertical probe pin 22 and the protruding height H1 of the inclined probe pin 24 are substantially equal. Accordingly, the height at which the inclined probe pin 24 contacts the alignment mark 28 and the height at which the vertical probe pin 22 contacts the test electrode 27 are substantially equal. Therefore, after the inclined probe pin 24 contacts the alignment mark 28, the Z-direction alignment is completed by applying an appropriate amount of overdrive.

  According to such a first embodiment, the probe card substrate 21 is provided with the inclined probe pins 24 for alignment, and the alignment mark 28 is provided on the chip 26 to be inspected of the semiconductor wafer 25 that is the object to be inspected. Since the positional relationship between the tips of the two inclined probe pins 24 and the alignment mark 28 can be observed through the opening 23, while taking advantage of the advantage of being able to deal with the multiple pins of a vertical probe pin type probe card. In addition, it is possible to easily perform alignment as in the case of an inclined probe pin type probe card such as a blade type or a cantilever type, and it is possible to realize a shortened procedure of the inspection process and to reduce the inspection cost. In this case, by providing at least two inclined probe pins 24, it is possible to align the angle with the XY direction.

In addition, according to the first embodiment, since the protruding height H1 of the inclined probe pin 24 and the protruding height H2 of the vertical probe pin 22 at the time of alignment are substantially equal, the inclined probe pin 24 is aligned with the alignment mark. After contacting 28, positioning in the Z direction can be performed by applying an appropriate amount of overdrive.
(Second Embodiment)

  FIG. 5 is a side view of the positional relationship between the vertical probe type probe card and the semiconductor wafer in the second embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the side, and FIG. 6 shows the vertical probe type in the second embodiment. It is the top view which looked at the probe card from the upper part.

In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and the vertical probe type probe card shown in the second embodiment is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the probe card substrate 21 has a square shape, and the probe card substrate 21 protrudes perpendicularly to the lower surface side of the probe card substrate 21 and is formed on the semiconductor wafer 25 that is an object to be inspected. A plurality of inspection vertical probe pins 22 that are in perpendicular contact with the test electrodes 27 of the chip 26 from the upper surface are provided in a matrix in accordance with the spacing of the test electrodes 27.
Of the matrix-like test electrodes 27 on the chip 26 to be inspected, the two test electrodes 27a located at the left and right ends of the first row also serve as alignment marks, and vertical probes corresponding to the test electrodes 27a. The pin 22 is omitted, and a cantilever-type tilted probe pin 29 that also serves as an inspection probe pin is provided on the probe card substrate 21 instead.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, openings 23 for observation are respectively provided at two locations on the probe card substrate 21 facing the test electrode 27a which also serves as the alignment mark, and the probe card substrate. 21 is provided with the inclined probe pin 29 that penetrates the opening 23 and protrudes obliquely downward. That is, the lower surface of the probe card substrate 21 faces the chip 26 to be inspected of the semiconductor wafer 25, the base portion of the inclined probe pin 29 is provided on the upper surface of the probe card substrate 21, and the protruding portion side of the inclined probe pin 29 has the opening 23. It penetrates and protrudes obliquely to the lower surface side of the probe card substrate 21, and its tip is in contact with a test electrode 27 a that also serves as an alignment mark.
In addition, the protruding height H1 of the inclined probe pin 29 and the protruding height H2 of the vertical probe pin 22 are set to the same dimension so that the vertical probe pin 22 contacts the test electrode 27 of the chip 26 to be inspected simultaneously.

In the probe card shown in the second embodiment, when this is aligned with the chip 26 to be inspected, the positional relationship between the tip of the two inclined probe pins 29 and the test electrode 27a is defined as an opening. The image is observed through a camera (not shown) through 23, and the position is adjusted by adjusting the angle in the XY directions while checking the image on a monitor (not shown). As a result, if the alignment of the inclined probe pins 29 with respect to the respective test electrodes 27a is completed, the alignment of all the vertical probe pins 22 with respect to the chip 26 to be inspected is simultaneously completed. In the second embodiment, a case where a cantilever type is used as an example of the inclined probe pin 29 has been described, but this is the same even with a blade type probe pin.
Further, the alignment of the probe card in the Z direction shown in the second embodiment is also performed by observing with a camera (not shown) through the opening 23.

  According to such a second embodiment, the probe card substrate 21 is provided with two inclined probe pins 29 for alignment that also serve as inspection probe pins, and also serves as an alignment mark on the chip 26 to be inspected. Since two test electrodes 27a are provided so that the positional relationship between the tip of the two inclined probe pins 29 and the test electrode 27a can be observed through the opening 23, the multi-pins of the vertical probe pin type probe card can be used. While making use of the advantage of being able to handle, it can be easily aligned like a probe card of the inclined probe pin type such as blade type or cantilever type, and the inspection process can be shortened, and the inspection cost can be reduced. In addition to the reduction, the cost of the probe card can be reduced.

Further, according to the second embodiment, since the protruding height H1 of the inclined probe pin 29 and the protruding height H2 of the vertical probe pin 22 at the time of alignment are substantially equal, the inclined probe pin 29 is connected to the test electrode 27a. After the contact, the Z-direction alignment can be performed by applying an appropriate amount of overdrive.
In addition, according to the second embodiment, since the tilted probe pin 29 is aligned while being in contact with the test electrode 27a, if it is in contact with the test electrode 27a, it becomes a substitute for the vertical probe pin for inspection. It is economically advantageous without increasing the number.
(Third embodiment)

FIG. 7 is a side view of the positional relationship between a vertical probe type probe card and a semiconductor wafer according to the third embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the side.
In FIG. 7, the same components as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and portions different from those in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be mainly described.
In the third embodiment, the difference from the first embodiment is that the protruding height H1 of the inclined probe pin 24 is made larger than the protruding height H2 of the vertical probe pin 22 as is apparent from FIG. There is a difference d between the two.

  According to the third embodiment, since the inclined probe pin 24 can be brought into contact with the alignment mark 28 before the vertical probe pin 22 is brought into contact with the test electrode 27, the inclined probe pin 24 and the vertical probe pin 22 are inclined. If the protrusion height difference d of the probe pin 24 is measured in advance, after the height adjustment in the Z direction is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the overdrive is further increased by the difference d. It suffices if necessary, and alignment in the Z direction can be easily performed. Also in the third embodiment, the same operational effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

It is the side view which looked at the positional relationship of the vertical probe type probe card and semiconductor wafer in the 1st Embodiment of this invention from the side. It is the top view which looked at the probe card of the perpendicular probe type in a 1st embodiment from the upper part. It is a top view which expands and shows a part of probe card in 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the overdrive was applied to the inclination probe pin in 1st Embodiment. It is the side view which looked at the positional relationship of the vertical probe type probe card and semiconductor wafer in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention from the side. It is the top view which looked at the probe card of the perpendicular probe type in a 2nd embodiment from the upper part. It is the side view which looked at the positional relationship of the vertical probe type probe card and semiconductor wafer in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention from the side. It is a side view which shows the probe card using the conventional blade type probe pin. It is a top view which shows the probe card using the conventional blade type probe pin. It is a side view which shows the probe card using the conventional cantilever type probe pin. It is a top view which shows the probe card using the conventional cantilever type probe pin. It is a side view which shows the probe card using the conventional vertical type probe pin. It is a top view which shows the probe card using the conventional vertical type probe pin. It is a schematic diagram which shows the position alignment method in the probe card of the conventional probe pin. It is a schematic diagram which shows the positioning method in the conventional vertical type probe card. It is a schematic diagram which shows the positioning method in the conventional vertical type probe card.

Explanation of symbols

20... Probe card substrate, 22... Vertical probe pin, 23... Opening, 24... Inclined probe pin, 25... Semiconductor wafer, 26 ... Chip to be inspected, 27, 27a. ... Alignment mark, 29 ... Inclined probe pin.

Claims (5)

A probe card for inspecting the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected,
A substrate,
A plurality of vertical probe pins for inspection protruding vertically from the substrate;
A plurality of inclined probe pins for alignment projecting obliquely from the substrate;
An opening for observing a place where the inclined probe pin is provided on the substrate and contacts the object to be inspected;
A probe card comprising:   One surface in the thickness direction of the substrate faces the object to be inspected, the base portion of the inclined probe pin is provided on the other surface in the thickness direction of the substrate, and the protruding portion side of the inclined probe pin is the opening. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein the probe card protrudes from one surface in the thickness direction of the substrate through a portion.   The protruding height away from the substrate in the vertical direction is such that the inclined probe pin is formed with a larger dimension than the vertical probe pin, or is formed with the same dimension. Probe card.   The probe card according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inspection object includes an alignment mark, and the inclined probe pin is disposed so as to contact the alignment mark. The probe card according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inclined probe pin is disposed so as to contact an inspection electrode of the inspection object.

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