JP2626772B2 - Probe device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a probe device.

(Prior art) The probe device measures the electrical characteristics of a large number of IC chips formed on a target object, for example, a semiconductor wafer, and eliminates chips determined to be defective before the assembly process, thereby reducing costs. And a device for contributing to the improvement of productivity.

In recent years, the number of small-quantity multi-product production processes has increased due to the high integration and the variety of IC chips, and the current situation is that the number of operations performed by operators has increased significantly. In particular, the probe card needs to be replaced for each type of IC chip to be measured and each time the arrangement pattern of the electrode pads is different. In such a probe card replacing means, the operator manually removes a probe card by loosening screws or the like at a mounting portion of the probe card, and then attaches another probe card.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-described probe device, the operator artificially replaces the probe card every time the type of wafer is changed, which is contrary to the automation in the semiconductor manufacturing process. Of course, it is extremely difficult to improve productivity, yield, quality and the like.

Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 29, JP-A-60-47433, JP-A-61-15339, JP-A-61-15339
No. 61-283138 has been proposed, but has not been put into practical use for complete automatic replacement.

In particular, when automatically exchanging probe cards, it is necessary to store a plurality of different types of probe cards in a storage container such as a stocker. In this case, the accuracy of each probe card increases as the number of uses increases. If the use state of the probe card, for example, the number of contacts with the object to be measured cannot be recognized, the measurement is performed using the deteriorated probe card and only a low-reliable result is obtained. There was a problem.

Further, the automation of the probe device allows the operator to monitor only each device, but there is a problem that the probe card must be taken out of the storage container when checking the type of the stored probe card.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and information such as the number of measurement contacts of various probe cards stored in a storage container can be checked at a glance from the outside. It is an object of the present invention to provide a probe device that can store probe cards in respective storage positions and that can always perform highly reliable measurement even when the probe card is automatically replaced.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) A probe device of the present invention is a probe device for automatically mounting and measuring a probe card corresponding to a measured object, comprising: a storage container for storing a plurality of types of the probe cards; A display unit for displaying information including the number of measured contacts of each of the probe cards, the display unit being provided in the storage container so as to be visible from the outside and corresponding to each of the probe cards, and displaying the number of measured contacts on the display unit. And a CPU for calculation and display.

(Effects) According to the present invention, when the measurement of an object to be measured is performed by the probe card, the CPU calculates the number of measurement contacts of the probe card, displays information including the number of measurement contacts on the display unit, and displays each probe. Since the information including the number of measurement contacts on the card can be visually recognized from the outside, the information such as the number of measurement contacts on the various probe cards in the storage container can be checked at a glance from the outside. Can be stored in the respective storage positions, and a probe device that can always perform highly reliable measurement even when the probe card is automatically replaced can be provided.

Embodiment Next, an embodiment of the probe device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of this device is mainly the prober section (1)
And an automatic probe card exchange unit (2).
In the prober section (1), 25 objects to be measured, for example, semiconductor wafers (4) are placed in a cassette, for example, in a column shape at predetermined intervals in the thickness direction. The cassette (3) storing the wafer (4) is carried into the cassette storage section. The wafers (4) are taken out one by one from the storage section and transported to the preliminary positioning stage (5). The pre-positioning stage (5) is rotated to pre-position the wafer (4) to an accuracy of about ± 1 ° based on the orientation flat of the wafer (4), and then the wafer (4) is transferred to the measurement stage (6). In order to accurately position the wafer (4) transferred to the measurement stage (6), a pattern recognition mechanism using a CCD camera or a recognition mechanism using a laser is installed.
After accurately positioning the wafer (4) with reference to the pattern using the recognition mechanism, the probe card (8) mounted on an insert ring (7) provided above the measurement stage (6) allows the wafer (4) to be positioned. 4) The probe needle (9) of the probe card (8) is soft-touched on the upper surface, and the electrical characteristics of the wafer (4) are automatically measured and inspected by the test head (10) provided above the probe card (8). .
When the measurement and inspection process of the semiconductor wafer (4) is performed by the prober unit (1) having such a continuous automatic measurement mechanism, the type of the electrode pad differs for each type of the semiconductor wafer (4). Needs to be replaced with a probe card (8) corresponding to the electrode pad. Next, the probe card automatic exchange section (2) will be described.

The automatic exchange section (2) is provided in a rotating base of a test head 10 used for inspection of high frequency characteristics. The position of the probe card (8) is adjusted in advance as shown in FIG. 3, and the probe card (8) is attached to the probe card holder (11), for example, by screwing. The probe card (8) integrated with the holder (11) is stored in a stocker (12), which is a storage container capable of storing six models, for example, in a tandem manner at appropriate intervals in the plate thickness direction.

At this time, different types of probe cards (8) corresponding to a plurality of types of measurement / inspection targets can be mounted.
Each storage card (12) has a probe card (8)
The information of the probe card (8), such as the type of the probe card (8) and the use condition, for example, the number of measured contacts between the probe needle (9) and the object to be measured and the date of manufacture, corresponds to the number of measured contacts corresponding to the storage position of A display panel (13) that is displayed as information including is provided as a display unit. The display panel (13) is connected to the CPU of the probe device.
The information such as the product type and the production date is input by key input by an operator or by reading from a predetermined bar code with a bar code reader. In addition, information on the use state of the probe card (8) such as the number of measured contacts is as follows.
The display panel (1
Displayed in 3). The probe card (8) is located at the position where each probe card (8) of the stocker (12) is placed.
A contact-type switch (not shown) for confirming the storage of the probe card is provided. When the probe card (8) is stored, the switch is activated, and the display panel (13) or the storage recognition lamp (not shown) is turned on. They are lit. A transport mechanism (14) for selectively transporting the probe card (8) stored in the stocker (12) as described above to the probe card (8) installation position of the prober unit together with the holder (11) is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer mechanism (14) is a base (1) of the probe card automatic transfer mechanism (14).
5) A rotating base (16) is arranged on the upper side while maintaining a gap.

On the rotating base (16), an extendable telescopic arm, for example, a telescopic arm (1) having a structure in which a number of links are connected in an X shape by a pivot pin.
7) is located.

A telescopic arm drive screw (18) is attached to the rotating base (16) by sliding support members (19a) and (19b) at both ends in parallel with the telescopic direction of the telescopic arm (17). A ball nut (20) is screwed into the telescopic arm drive screw (18), and the ball nut (20) and the support pin (21) of the telescopic arm (17) are connected by a nut connecting plate (22). Have been.

On the rotating base (16), a telescopic arm drive motor (23) is installed. A gear (24) provided on the rotating shaft of the motor (23) and one end of a telescopic arm drive screw (18). The provided gear (25) is connected by a timing belt (26).

That is, the expansion and contraction operation of the telescopic arm (17) transmits the rotation of the telescopic arm drive motor (23) mounted on the rotating base (16) to the drive screw (18) via the timing belt (26). By this rotation, the ball nut (2
By moving (0), the nut connecting plate (22) for connecting the ball nut (20) and the support pin (21) of the telescopic arm (17) is moved.

A disk-shaped probe card mounting plate (27) is attached to the tip of the telescopic arm (17), and probe card support pins (28) project from the peripheral edge thereof at an interval of 120 degrees. It is set up.

On the other hand, a rotation motor (29) is mounted on the base (15), and a gear is mounted on a rotation shaft of the rotation motor (29). The gear is composed of the rotation base (16) and the base (15). ) Are connected by a timing belt to a rotation base rotation shaft (not shown) provided in the gap between the rotation base and the rotation shaft. That is, the rotation motor (29)
By rotating, the rotating base (16) rotates.

By the way, the base (15) can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction by a vertical drive mechanism. This vertical drive mechanism is connected to three vertical guide shafts (30) suspended from the probe device main body and a vertical drive screw. And a vertical drive motor (32).

A gear is mounted on the rotating shaft of the vertical drive motor (32), and the gear is connected to a gear inserted through the lower end of the vertical drive screw (31) via a timing belt.

Each of the three vertical guide shafts (30) penetrates a bearing member (33) provided on the base (15) and is vertically suspended from the probe device main body. I have. The ball screw (34) is attached to the vertical drive screw (31).
The ball nut (34) is attached to the base (1
5) is fixed.

That is, the raising / lowering operation structure of the base (15) is such that the vertical drive screw (31) is rotated by the rotation of the vertical drive motor (32), whereby the base (15) screwed to the vertical drive screw (31). This is performed by lifting and lowering the ball nut (34) integrated with the ball nut.

As described above, the probe card automatic exchanging section (2) is configured in, for example, a hinge section for reducing the rotational movement of the test head (10).

Here, while the prober (1) is inspecting the type, each probe card (8) corresponding to another type is stocked in the stocker (12) in a standby state. Information including the number of measured contacts of the various probe cards (8) in a stock state is displayed on each display panel (13) provided on the stocker (12), so that an operator can recognize the information from outside. ing. From this display,
Depending on the state of the stocked probe card (8), maintenance or replacement with another type of probe card (8) is performed. If the probe card (8) information has passed a predetermined period from the date of manufacture or if the number of test contacts is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the display panel (8) is displayed in accordance with a predetermined program of the CPU of the probe device. A warning lamp may be lit at 13).

 Next, the operation of the probe device will be described.

In the prober section (1), the semiconductor wafer (4) stored in the cassette (3) is transferred to the measurement stage (6) after preliminary alignment. Here, the wafer (4) is accurately aligned and the wafer (4) is set at a position facing the probe card (8) by a predetermined operation. Next, the measurement stage (6) is raised, and the electrode pads of the IC chip formed on the wafer (4) and the probe needles (9) of the probe card (8).
And a tester (not shown) is used to measure and inspect the electrical characteristics of the IC chip. The number of contacts is counted by the CPU and added and displayed on the display panel (13) of the stocker (12). After the above measurement is repeated and the measurement of the type is completed, the probe card (8) corresponding to the type is next replaced. Next, such an automatic probe card exchange operation will be described.

First, the probe card (8) corresponding to the wafer type is selected based on the type information of the wafer (4) programmed in advance in the storage mechanism of the probe device CPU, and the probe card mounting plate (27) is moved to the stocker (12). The telescopic arm (17) is extended so as to be inserted into the lower surface of the selected probe card (8) stored in), and then the vertical drive motor (32) is driven to raise the base (15), and the probe Card placement board (27)
The probe card (8) is placed on top. Then, the probe card (8) is temporarily placed on a probe card positioning mechanism (not shown) to perform positioning.

After the positioning is completed, the probe card (8) is placed again, and the rotary motor (29) is driven to rotate the rotary base (16) by 90 degrees. The probe card (8) is conveyed to the lower surface of the insert ring (7) provided on the lower surface of the test head (10), and then the vertical motor (32) is driven to raise the base (15) so that the probe card (8) is raised. 8) is brought into contact with the insert ring (7). Thereafter, the probe card (8) and the insert ring (7) are fixed by the probe card fixing mechanism.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the number of measured contacts of the various probe cards (8) stored in the stocker (12) at a glance from the outside of the display panel (12),
You can check information such as the type and date of manufacture.
If a probe card (8) in which the number of measurement contacts exceeds a predetermined number and reaches a measurement limit or an old probe card (8) in which a predetermined period has passed since the date of manufacture is stored in the stocker (12), Various normal probe cards (8) can always be stored in the respective storage positions of the stocker (12) by replacing the probe card (8) with a new one by the operator, and by extension, the probe card (8). A highly reliable measurement can always be performed even if the automatic replacement is performed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the information of various probe cards (8) is stored in a stocker (12)
May not be displayed on the display panel (13), but may be displayed collectively on a TV screen or the like. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, an illumination mechanism (35) is provided in the storage container (12) of the probe card (8),
The storage state of the probe card (8) in the stocker (12) may be visually confirmed.

Further, the probe card (8) is mounted on the insert ring (7), a plurality of probe cards (8) integrated with the insert ring (7) are stored in the stocker (12), and the probe card (8) is inserted together with the insert ring. Similarly, in a probe device having a configuration in which the probe card information is exchanged from above the prober unit (1), the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained by displaying the probe card information.

Further, the information of the probe card (8) may be input from a host computer connected to the probe device.

Further, a probe card (8) stored in a stocker
Has been described in which the probe card (8) and the holder (11) are integrated, but the probe card itself may have a holder function.

Further, the probe card (8) may store the same type of probe card, and the probe card can be replaced under the conditions specified by the probe device even before all the wafers in the cassette have been measured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view of a probe device with a probe card automatic exchange function for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view of a stocker of FIG. FIG. 4 is a view of the transport mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a view for explaining another embodiment of the stocker of FIG. 1. Prober section 2. Probe card automatic exchange section 8. Probe card 11. Probe card holder 12. Stocker 13, Display panel 14. Transport mechanism

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A probe device for automatically mounting and measuring a probe card corresponding to an object to be measured, comprising: a storage container for storing a plurality of types of said probe cards; A display unit provided corresponding to each probe card and displaying information including the number of measurement contacts of each probe card; and a CPU for calculating and displaying the number of measurement contacts on this display unit
A probe device comprising: 2. The probe device according to claim 1, wherein said information includes a type of said probe card. 3. The probe device according to claim 1, wherein said CPU displays a warning on said display unit when said number of measured contacts reaches a limit. 4. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein an illumination mechanism is provided in said storage container, and the storage state of each probe card stored in said storage container is made visible by said illumination mechanism. Probe device.