JP2715266B2 - Probe device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer on which a plurality of semiconductor devices are formed and a glass substrate on which a pixel driving circuit constituting a liquid crystal display device is formed. A probe device for measuring
In particular, the present invention relates to a probe card holder and a probe card holding structure in a probe device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a large number of semiconductor devices are formed on a semiconductor wafer by using a precise photo transfer technique or the like.
Thereafter, the wafer is cut for each semiconductor device. In the process of manufacturing such a semiconductor device, test determination of electrical characteristics of a semi-finished semiconductor device is conventionally performed using a probe device in a state of a semiconductor wafer, and as a result of the test measurement, it is determined that the semiconductor device is non-defective. Only those that have been sent are sent to a post-process such as packaging to improve productivity.

The above-mentioned probe apparatus has a wafer mounting table which is movable in XYZ-θ directions. On the wafer mounting table, a large number of probes corresponding to electrode pads of a semiconductor device are provided. A probe card with a needle is fixed by a suitable probe holder. At the time of measurement, an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer is mounted and fixed on the wafer mounting table, the wafer mounting table is driven, a probe needle is brought into contact with an electrode of a semiconductor device, and a tester is connected through the probe needle. It is configured to perform test measurements.

In such a probe device, the contact between the probe card and the tester has recently been made at an electrode land portion connected by an electric lead wire corresponding to each probe needle arranged on the probe card. This is performed by a pogo contact that presses a contact pin (pogo pin) that is elastically biased. By the way, in order to obtain a contact between, for example, 100 probe needles and a tester at the time of inspection, if a pressure of about 10 g is applied to each probe needle, it is necessary to apply a pressing force of 1 kg to the entire probe card. is there.

In particular, the number of probe needles required for testing one chip tends to increase with the increase in the degree of integration of semiconductor devices such as CPUs of supercomputers. Recently, 1000 to 2000 probe needles have been set up. The installed probe card has been required in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. They may be erected, for example, in a 2 cm × 2 cm space. In such a case, a pressing force of 10 kg to 20 kg is applied to the entire probe card, so that the probe card is distorted in the Z direction in accordance with the pressing force, and the probe needle is pressed at a uniform pressure and a uniform parallelism. It is impossible to contact the object to be inspected at a time, and a precise inspection cannot be performed. For this reason, some measures have been taken to improve the distortion resistance of the probe card itself, but this is also limited, and some countermeasures are required.

Further, in performing the probe inspection, it is preferable that information unique to each probe card, such as a product type number and the number of times of use, be managed for each probe card using a storage means or the like. However, as described above, as the integration and density of semiconductor wafers increase, thousands of probe needles are arranged on a probe card composed of a printed circuit board, and a wiring area and a wiring area corresponding to the probe needles are arranged. Although it is necessary to secure a land area for contact with the tester, 1000 to 3000 probe needles are erected and each probe card is provided with electrodes for securing electrical leads of those probe needles. It is difficult to find room for such storage means.
Therefore, there is a need for measures to move the storage means together with the probe card and to arrange them at a distance that does not adversely affect each other.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional probe device, and its purpose is to store information unique to each probe card in the probe card. Even if there is no physical space to perform, or even if it is desired to avoid the mixture of signal lines and storage elements via the probe card, it is possible to store and manage information for each probe card. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved probe card holder and a probe device having a probe card holding structure.

Another object of the present invention is to reinforce the strength of the probe card and avoid the distortion in the Z direction even when a pressing force is applied to the probe card during measurement. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved probe card holder and a probe device having a probe card holding structure.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a probe card for making electrical contact with an object to be inspected and measuring its electrical characteristics, and a probe card separately provided from the probe card. body Ru is configured, but de-probe card
And a probe card holder that can be
The lobe card holder allows the specified probe card to be attached and detached.
To form a probe card assembly ,
Applies the probe card to the probe <br/> blanking device configured to hold fixed to the measuring position facing the object to be tested in the probe apparatus, its probe card holder, the
Probe fixed detachably to probe card holder
Storage means for storing unique information relating to the card , and connection means for connecting the storage means with a path for reading and writing the information of the storage means (for example, a pogo contact which can be freely contacted and separated by an electrode and a pogo pin means) ).

[0010] The probe card may include guide means for guiding a probe needle for measuring electrical characteristics of the object to be inspected to the object to be inspected. The probe card holder has a first portion for supporting the probe card upward at a peripheral portion of the back surface of the probe card and a guide portion at an engagement portion provided at a peripheral portion of the guide means of the probe card. And a second portion for supporting the probe card upward.

Further, the probe card holder further has a third portion around the first portion for supporting the probe card upward, and the storage means is provided on the surface of the third portion. can do.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the probe card is held.
The storage element storing the unique information about the probe card detachably fixed to the tool is moved together with the probe card, and the storage element is moved together with the probe card so as not to adversely affect each other. While Ru is configured as a separate body, flop
Probe card that can be detachably fixed to the robe card
Since it is installed on the probe card holder that constitutes the assembly , the arrangement of the probe needles on the probe card and the electrode lands that secure the electrical leads of the probe needles is not subject to physical restrictions, and the connection means can be placed on the probe card. It becomes possible to install through. In addition, it is less susceptible to the influence of noise and crosstalk from the probe card, and it is possible to operate the storage element accurately and stably operate a measurement signal processed at high speed via the probe needle. Furthermore, when replacing the probe needle tip of the probe card, only the probe card needs to be replaced, and the probe card holder can be reused.

Further , according to the invention of claim 2, according to claim 1
Connecting means for a probe device configured as in the invention described in (1).
In addition, due to the configuration using pogo contacts,
Easy connection and disconnection of robe card and tester
Probe card and its holder
Of probe equipment such as automatic transfer and automatic fixing
Can respond to.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, at the time of measurement,
To the probe card from top to bottom with pogo pins
Probe car, even if pressure is applied
Probe card means around the back and center of the
Can be supported upward by probe card holder
Therefore, the load applied to the probe card means
Probe card means absorbed and dispersed by the card holder
The distortion of itself is reduced. Therefore, the probe needle
Contact the test object with uniform pressure and uniform flatness
It is possible.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, the program
This prevents distortion of the lobe card means,
Since the storage element is installed in a place other than the card means,
The placement of the probe needle and land is not subject to physical restrictions,
It can be performed freely on the probe card means.
In addition, noise from probe card
Less likely to be affected by the
And it is possible. In addition, the probe card
In this case, only the probe card means needs to be replaced.
In addition, the storage element itself can be reused.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A probe card holder and a probe card holding structure constructed according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be simplified. First, in order to facilitate understanding, the configuration and operation of the entire probe device will be schematically described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, a main stage 101 is provided substantially at the center of the probe device 100. A mounting table 103 for mounting and fixing a semiconductor wafer 102 is mounted on the main stage 101. This mounting table 103 is a Z-direction and θ-direction stage 103
A, X direction stage 103B and Y direction stage 10
3C, and is configured to be movable in a desired direction on the main stage 101. Above the mounting table 103, a probe assembly 104 described later is provided.
Are provided so as to face the semiconductor wafer 102. Although not shown, an alignment unit is provided on the near side of the center of the probe device 100. The alignment unit is provided with a camera or the like as an image recognition device for alignment. When performing alignment, the mounting table 103 is moved to a position below the camera.

An autoloader 1 for loading / unloading the semiconductor wafer 102 is provided on the right side of the probe device 100 in the drawing.
05 is arranged, and the probe assembly 10
Each of the exchanges 106 for exchanging 4 is provided.

In the autoloader 105, a wafer cassette 107 accommodating a large number of semiconductor wafers 102 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction is exchangeably disposed on a cassette mounting table 108. This wafer cassette 107
A loader stage 109 that can move in a horizontal plane and a wafer handling arm 110 that can be driven by a Y-direction driving mechanism and a Z-direction elevating mechanism (not shown) are provided between the mounting table 13 and the mounting table 13.

When the semiconductor wafer 102 is probe-tested by the probe assembly 104, the semiconductor wafer 102 is transported to a position near the mounting table 103 by the loader stage 109, and is mounted on the mounting table 103 by the handling arm 110. Fixed. Thereafter, a probe needle described later of the probe assembly 104 positioned at a predetermined position is brought into contact with a predetermined contact point on the semiconductor wafer, and an inspection result is transmitted to a tester 60 via a pogo pin ring 50 described later. In, the quality of the inspection target is determined. After the inspection, the semiconductor wafer 102 is moved by the handling arm 110 to the loader stage 10.
Then, the wafer is transferred to the wafer cassette 107 by the loader stage 109 again.

The exchange 106 has a probe card 1
0 is attached to the probe card holder 30 and the probe card assembly 104
A plurality of the probe card assemblies 1 are housed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and can be replaced with a probe card assembly 104 installed in the main body of the probe device 100 as needed.

A monitoring device 112 such as a microscope or a television camera can be installed on the tester 60 disposed above the probe device 100, if necessary. It is also possible to monitor the semiconductor wafer located below and the tip of the probe needle of the probe card 10 via an opening formed at the center of the probe card holder 10 and the probe card holder 20. Further, as another method of monitoring the probe needle, it is also possible to provide an upwardly directed camera on a mounting table on which the object to be inspected is mounted and perform positioning.

Next, the structure of the probe card 10 for performing a probe test on an object to be inspected will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The probe card 10
A substantially disc-shaped printed circuit board 11, a probe needle 12, and a guide portion 1 for guiding the probe needle 12 to an object to be inspected.
3 is comprised. As shown in FIG. 2, the probe needle 12 is made of a conductor such as gold (Au) or tungsten (W), and the portion 12A is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the object to be inspected. As will be described later, the mounting table on which the substrate to be inspected is slightly moved in the horizontal direction so that the tip 12B of the needle scrapes off the oxide film on the surface of the semiconductor wafer and the predetermined contact point P
It is configured to contact. The probe needle 12 is bent substantially parallel to the upper surface of the printed circuit board 11 at the portion 12C protruding from the upper surface of the printed circuit board 11 toward the outer periphery of the substrate,
At a point 19, the wiring is buried in the printed circuit board 11 and connected to a pogo contact land 20 to be described later. In the example shown, the probe needle is 1
Although the probe card 10 is buried in the probe card 10 in 2D, wiring can be provided on the back surface side of the probe card 10 to facilitate the work.

Printed circuit board 1 of probe card 10
The guide portion 13 for guiding the probe needle 12 disposed on the back surface of the first block 1 includes an upper block 13A and an intermediate block 1.
3B and a lower block 13C. A needle fixing resin 14 is disposed at the center of the upper block 13A, and a needle fixing plate 1 is provided on the lower surface of the needle fixing resin 14.
5 is attached. A hole corresponding to the probe needle is formed in the needle fixing plate, and the needle is positioned and fixed in the hole.

In the center of the intermediate block 13B, the cavity 1
6A, and an upper guide plate 17 is attached to the lower end of the cavity 16A. This upper guide plate 1
8 is also provided with a hole corresponding to the probe needle, and the needle is positioned and fixed in the hole. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the probe needle 12 is to be inspected between the cavity portion 16A provided between the needle fixing plate 15 and the upper guide plate 17, such as a semiconductor wafer. As the tip 12B of the probe needle is pressed against the tip 102, the tip 12B rises vertically, and the body of the probe needle between the needle fixing plate 15 and the guide plate 17 is configured to be elastically bent. .

A cavity 16B is also provided at the center of the lower block 13C, and a lower guide plate 18 is attached to the lower end of the cavity 16B. The lower guide plate 18 is also provided with a hole corresponding to the probe needle, and the needle is positioned and fixed in the hole. As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the probe needle is placed between the upper guide plate 17 and the lower guide plate 18 on the object 102 to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer. 12B
Is pressed and guided by upper and lower guide plates 17 and 18 so as to be movable up and down.

Although the above embodiment has been described with reference to a so-called vertical needle type probe card in which probe needles are provided upright in the vertical direction, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.
The present invention, like the conventional device, contacts the test object with the tip of the probe needle arranged obliquely to the test object from the front or back surface of the card as in the conventional device,
The present invention is also applicable to a so-called horizontal needle type probe card and a holder for the probe card. Furthermore, the present invention can be similarly applied to a rubber-type probe card using conductive rubber or a membrane-type probe card using a bump film and their holders.

The probe card 1 configured as described above
FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the ASIC 1 with logic and highly integrated ASI.
When a semiconductor is highly integrated, such as a C chip or a CPU chip of a supercomputer, or when a plurality of 16MDRAM chips are required to be simultaneously contacted, the probe card 11 has a large number, for example, thousands of probes. Needle 1
2 are arranged. Therefore, the surface area of the probe card 11 is concentric with the opening area 21 as a center, a needle holder area (A) where the probe needles 12 are erected substantially perpendicular to the semiconductor wafer, and a portion 12C of the probe needles 12C.
And the pad area (C) where the lands 20 for the pogo contacts are arranged are so wide that there is no room for the vertical cone. Therefore, it is difficult to provide a physical space for arranging a storage element described later on the probe card 11 in the probe card 11 currently used. In addition, the measurement signal transmitted through the highly integrated probe needle has extremely low noise other than the signal component, and it is required that the signal line used for communication between the probe devices be separated from the storage device as much as possible. There is.

In particular, in a logic circuit or a memory after 16 MDRAM, the operating voltage tends to be reduced from the conventional 5 V to, for example, 2.4 V or less, and the threshold level tends to decrease. For the inspection of the inspected object, noise countermeasures are strongly desired. Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the above problem is solved by providing the probe card holder 30 with the area 32 for installing the storage element 31. Thus, the storage element 31 is connected to the probe card 1.
By disposing it in a region different from 0, the above-mentioned problems of physical restrictions are solved, and the storage element 31 against the noise generated from the probe card 10 and, conversely, the measurement signal of the inspection object are protected. It became possible to do it. Further, even when the probe card 10 fails, the storage element 31 that can still be used does not need to be discarded together as in the related art, so that the storage element 31 can be reused.

The storage element 31 is mounted and fixed on the area 32 via an appropriate insulating material 34. By using the insulating material 34 as described above, in order to reduce the deformation of the probe card due to the stress generated when the probe tip of the probe card comes into contact with the substrate to be measured, a rigid metal material such as aluminum is used. And S
The storage element 31 can be electrically insulated and protected from the probe card holder 30 made of a conductive material such as US.

The storage element 31 can be composed of, for example, two elements 31A and 31B as shown in FIG. 6. Preferably, a plurality of EEPROMs (ELECTRICALLY ERASABLE PROG
RAMMABLE READ ONLY MEMORY) is used as an element capable of writing and reading stored data. One ROM 31A stores various information related to the probe card 10 fixed to the probe card holder 30 before the inspection, and the other ROM 31B stores various information related to the probe card 10 rewritten each time the inspection is performed. Is stored.

The information includes the Z of the mounting table 103.
In addition to the Z-direction movement data for controlling the movement in the direction, for example, the number of contacts (total and trip), the relative position of the needle, the serial number of the probe card, the type of the probe card, the number of pins, the number of multis, the multilocation, The timing of execution of the HARN and the number of contacts, the overdrive allowance, the execution of slides after contact,
This includes the implementation of needle research and the execution of alarms and rejects for defective probe card products.

Further, an appropriate number of lands 33 for pogo contacts, which will be described later, are arranged on the upper surface of the storage element 31, and a terminal provided with a pogo pin corresponding to each of the lands 33, which will be described later, is pressed to contact the pogo contacts. Is obtained, and is electrically connected to perform data transmission / reception with the controller 90.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 7, the storage element 31, for example, an EEPROM (ELECTRICALLY E
Between the RASABLE PROGRAMMABLE READ ONLY MEMORY) and the controller 90, a relay means 93 for controlling ON / OFF of a signal and a + 5V power supply line 92 may be interposed. According to such a configuration, when there is no access to the EEPROM, the relay 93 can be set to off so that the signal of the probe card does not pick up noise. In addition, as the relay means 93,
In addition to mechanical relay means, it is also possible to employ a relay circuit composed of a transistor or the like.

Next, the structure of the probe card holder 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the probe card holder 30 according to the present invention has a region around the probe card 10, preferably a region where a land 20 for a pogo contact is arranged and a load is applied by a pogo pin ring 50 described later at the time of inspection. That is, a region 35 for supporting the pad region (C) upward from the back surface is provided. Probe card 10
Can be fixed to this area 35 using a suitable fixing member (not shown), for example, a screw.

On the outer periphery of this area, there is provided an area 32 for mounting the storage element 31 described above. This area 3
When the probe card 10 and the storage element 31 are mounted and fixed, respectively, the level line on the upper surface of the pogo contact land 20 on the probe card 10 and the level line for the pogo contact on the storage element 31 The adjustment is performed so that the level line on the upper surface of the land 33 is substantially on the same plane. With this configuration, when the pogo pin ring 50 and the terminal 70 are pressed downward as described later, the probe card 10
And two electrical contacts between the pogo pin ring 50 and the terminal 70 and the storage element 31 can be achieved at the same time.

In this case, according to the present invention, the stress applied to the probe card 10 by the pogo pin ring 50 can be absorbed by the region 35 of the probe card holder 30, so that the stress distortion of the probe card 10 is reduced. It is possible. As a result, even when a parallelism of, for example, about ± 10 μm is required at the needle tip 13C, the tip 13C of the probe needle 12 is sufficiently parallel to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 102 with a uniform pressure. , It is possible to perform a highly accurate probe test.

Further, the probe card holder 3 shown in FIG.
Numeral 0 has an area 36 that curves downward in a bowl shape from the periphery of the probe card 10 to the center. The bowl-shaped region 36 is further arranged on the same plane as the bottom surface of the lower block 13C of the guide portion 13 and is continuous with the bottom region 37. According to the present invention, the overhang portion 38a is provided around the intermediate block 13B of the guide portion 13,
The projecting portion 38a of the guide portion is engaged with the bottom region 37 of the probe card holder 30, and is fixed by a fixing member 39a such as a screw. With this configuration, the pogo pin ring 50 can be used for inspection.
When the probe card is driven downward, it is possible to support the stress dispersed in the central portion of the probe card 10 upward, and to support the probe card 10 against the stress caused by the pogo pin ring 50 together with the region 35. Thus, the occurrence of the stress distortion can be prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of shoulder portions 38 are provided in the outer peripheral region of the region 32. At the time of operation, the shoulder portion 38 is engaged with a predetermined place of the probe device 100 so that the probe card holder 3
In addition to being able to position the probe card holder 30 itself, the probe card holder 30 itself can be supported and fixed to the probe device 100 against the stress caused by the pogo pin ring 50.

The probe card 1 configured as described above
The probe card holder 30 and the probe card holder 30 are placed on the top plate 80 on the upper surface of the housing of the probe device 100 during measurement.
At this time, according to the present invention, the first engagement surface 81 of the probe card holder 30 and the first engagement surface 82 of the top plate 80 are processed into a smooth surface with high precision, The second engagement surface 83 of the tool 30 and the second
Is also processed into a smooth surface with high accuracy. In this manner, the first engagement surface 81, 82 and the second engagement surface 83, 84 each achieve the parallelism with high accuracy, and the tip 12B of the probe needle 12 is moved with respect to the object to be processed. Positioning with high uniformity and high parallelism. Therefore, since the smooth surface treatment of the other parts can be omitted, the man-hour for manufacturing the device can be reduced.

Recently, the semiconductor wafer 102 is heated to a temperature of, for example, about 60 ° C. to 150 ° C. by a heater (not shown) built in the mounting table 103, and the electrical characteristics of the IC chips on the semiconductor wafer 102 in a high temperature state. Has been implemented. Conversely, when cooling, the semiconductor wafer can be cooled to −10 ° C. by circulating cooling water through the mounting table. In the case of such a measurement, the probe card 10 or the probe card holder 30 thermally expands or contracts due to radiant heat from a heated or cooled wafer or heat conduction from a stylus, and particularly aluminum or SUS having high heat conductivity. The stress concentration due to thermal expansion or thermal contraction occurs in the probe card holder 30 made of the above material, the probe card holder 30 itself is thermally deformed, the parallel balance of the tip 13C of the probe needle is lost, and the probe card holder 30 is set in advance at room temperature. There is a possibility that the overdrive amount cannot be added and accurate measurement cannot be performed.

Therefore, in the probe card holder 30 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, by providing holes or grooves 39 in the circumferential direction of the bottom region 37 and the bowl-shaped region 36, heat can be obtained. Stress concentration caused by expansion or thermal contraction can be absorbed as elastic deformation in the hole or groove. As a result, the thermal displacement of the probe card holder 30 is reduced, and the amount of thermal displacement of the contact means such as the probe needle of the probe card 10 in the Z direction can be reduced, so that the predetermined overdrive amount is maintained. As a result, the probe can be brought into contact with the object to be inspected, so that an accurate probe inspection can be performed.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, a hole or a groove is formed in the probe card holder 30 to reduce stress concentration. In addition, thermal displacement applied to the probe card holder 30 may be reduced. It is also possible to configure the probe card holder 30 by combining materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion so as to compensate for the stress, and to reduce stress concentration. For example, the probe card holder 30 is displaced so as to compensate for stress concentration due to heat conduction by a bimetal effect by adopting a material having a high thermal expansion coefficient in a circumferential direction of an upper layer of the probe card holder 30 in a multilayer structure. It is also possible to configure so that

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the structure of the probe card holder 30 which is formed in a bowl shape and is fixed to the overhang portion 38a formed below the middle block 13B of the guide portion 13 is shown. Based probe card holder 3
The configuration of 0 is not limited to the above example. For example, the structure shown in FIG. 8 or FIG.
It is also possible to support the pressing force exerted by.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9, the same members as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a region 36 extending downward from the peripheral portion of the probe card 10 is different from the terminal portion of the region 35, that is, the wiring area (B) and the pad. An area 40 is provided which extends downward from the vicinity of the boundary area with the area (C). This area 40 is the guide section 13 of the probe card 10.
And is fixed by a fixing member 41 such as a screw. As a result, the pressing force dispersed in the center of the probe card 10 is supported and absorbed by the region 40 on the lower surface of the upper block 13A,
The occurrence of stress distortion of the probe card 10 can be avoided.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the structure is further simplified, and the area 36 of the probe card holder 30 shown in FIG. 5 continues almost linearly beyond the pad area (C) to the area 42. The probe card 10 is also supported in the wiring area (B). Further, in this embodiment, a shoulder 43 is provided around the upper block 13A of the guide 13 of the probe card 10.
The region 44 of the probe card holder 30 is engaged with the shoulder portion 43 from below, and is fixed to 45 by a fixing member such as a screw. As a result, the load applied to the probe card 10 is supported by the entire surface of the probe card holder 30, and the occurrence of stress distortion of the probe card 10 can be avoided.

Next, the operation of the probe card holder 30 constructed according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in the exploded view of FIG. 10, the probe card 10 is placed and fixed on the region 35 on the upper surface of the probe card holder 30 constructed according to the present invention. At the same time, the storage element 31 is placed and fixed in the area 32. Then, at the time of inspection, the pogo pin ring 50 is pressed against the probe card 10.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the pogo pin ring 50 is a substantially columnar member having a cylindrical space at the center, as shown in FIG.
Pogo pins 51 are arranged so as to correspond to the lands 20 appropriately arranged in the pad area (C) of the probe card 10. At the time of inspection, the pogo pin ring 50 is driven by an appropriate pressing drive means, and the pogo pins 51 are pressed against the lands 20 of the probe card 10 to make electrical contact therewith, and the inspection data from the probe needle is transmitted. The pogo pins 52 are also arranged on the upper surface of the pogo pin ring 50, and the pogo pins 5 on these upper surfaces are used at the time of inspection.
2 is pressed against the corresponding land of the tester 60 and makes electrical contact therewith, and the inspection data from the probe needle is further transmitted to the tester, and the tester 60 determines the quality of the inspection target. At the same time, the pogo pins 71 provided on the lower surface of the terminal 71 are also in pressure contact with the lands 33 provided on the upper surface of the storage element, and transmit predetermined data to the controller 90 via the cable 72. .

Further, the controller 90 is connected to a CPU 91. The CPU 91 sends necessary drive signals to the mounting table 103 based on signals from the controller, thereby optimally controlling the driving of each of the stages 103A, 103B and 103C. It is possible to

Also, as shown in FIG.
The terminal 0 and the terminal 70 are engaged with each other at the surface 73, and the land 20 of the probe card 10 and the land 33 of the storage element 31 are adjusted so as to be substantially on the same surface. Each of the pogo pins 51 and 71 can be pressed into contact with both the land 20 of the probe card 10 and the land 33 of the storage element 31.

[0051]

As described above, according to the probe apparatus of the present invention, even if the number of probe needles is increased and there is no physical space on the surface of each probe card, measurement of the card can be performed. Can be stored and managed in a storage element installed on the probe card holder. In addition, since the storage element is arranged on a holder separated from the signal line of the probe card, the measurement signal is not generated due to mutual adverse effects (crosstalk) and noise between the high-speed signal line of the probe card and the data control line of the memory. Can be protected. Further, when the tip of the probe card is worn or broken, the probe card can be replaced and the probe card holder can be used continuously.

Further, according to the probe device of the present invention, even when a pressing force is applied to the probe card by pogo ring during measurement, the strength of the probe tip of the probe card is reinforced. The stress can be absorbed, and the distortion of the probe card can be avoided. As a result, the degree of parallelism and the pressure at the tip of the probe needle can be kept uniform, so that a highly accurate probe test can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a probe device equipped with a probe card holder according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a probe card.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing the operation of the probe needle of the probe card.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a probe card.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a probe card holder configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a probe card holder configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a connection state between an EEPROM of a probe card holder and a probe device configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of a probe card holder configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of still another embodiment of the probe card holder configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a probe card holder, a probe card, and a pogo pin ring configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a state in which a probe card holder configured according to the present invention is mounted on a probe device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Probe card 11 Substrate 12 Probe needle 13 Guide part 14 Needle fixing resin 15 Needle fixing plate 17 Upper guide plate 18 Lower guide plate 20 Pogo contact land 30 Probe card holder 31 Storage element 32 Third part 33 Storage element Land 34 Insulating material 35 First part 37 Second part 50 Pogo pin ring 60 Tester 100 Probe device 102 Semiconductor wafer 103 Placement table A Needle stand area B Wiring area C Pad area

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A probe card for measuring the electrical characteristics in electrical contact with the object to be inspected, but this Ru is configured separately from the probe card, the probe card
And a probe card holder that can be fixed detachably.
The probe card holder is provided with the predetermined probe.
The probe card assembly is fixed so that the card can be
Configure yellowtail, to hold fixed to the measuring position facing the probe card to the object to be tested in the probe device
In the probe device configured as described above, the probe card holder is configured to hold the probe card.
The probe card is detachably fixed to a tool.
A probe device comprising: a storage unit for storing unique information; and a connection unit for connecting the storage unit with a read / write path for reading and writing information from the storage unit. 2. A electrical contact with the object to be tested and a probe card for measuring the electrical characteristics, although this Ru is configured separately from the probe card, the probe car
And a probe card holder that can fix the
The probe card holder is provided with the predetermined probe.
The probe card assembly is fixed so that the card can be
Configure yellowtail, to hold fixed to the measuring position facing the probe card to the object to be tested in the probe device
In the probe device configured as described above, the probe card holder is configured to hold the probe card.
The probe card is detachably fixed to a tool.
Storage means for storing unique information; and connection means for connecting the information read / write path of the storage means and the storage means, wherein the connection means comprises: an electrode; A probe device characterized by being a flexible pogo contact. 3. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein the probe card is
The probe needle for measuring the electrical characteristics of
Guide means for guiding the probe card , and the probe card holder is provided on the back of the probe card.
Support the probe card upward at the periphery of the surface
And a guide for the probe card
An engaging portion provided at the periphery of the step relates to the guiding means.
And a second for supporting the probe card upward.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
The probe device according to claim 1. 4. The probe card holder according to claim 1 , wherein
Perimeter of said first part for supporting the bead card upward.
The enclosure further has a third portion, and the storage means is provided on a surface of the third portion.
4. The probe device according to claim 3, wherein: