JP2984541B2 - Probing method and probe device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a probing method and a probe apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, for example, in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor wafer or the like, a probe inspection process for inspecting electrical characteristics of the manufactured semiconductor wafer on the wafer is performed.

An apparatus used in the probe inspection process is, for example, a structure in which probe needles are brought into contact with electrode pads of a large number of elements on a semiconductor wafer and the probe needles are connected to a tester to measure the above characteristics. Some have.

[0004] Therefore, the semiconductor wafer is kept held on a mounting table such as a vacuum chuck.
The position is adjusted in the X direction, the Y direction, and the θ direction, which is the circumferential direction of the Z axis, so that the electrode pad is aligned with the probe needle,
A so-called setup is performed.

When the measurement is actually performed,
The contact between the electrode pad and the probe needle is ensured by the overdrive in which the mounting table is raised and brought into contact with the substrate, and the oxide film on the element surface is removed by the subsequent further lifting.

[0006]

By the way, the alignment between the electrode pads of the elements on the semiconductor wafer and the probe needles is performed when the type of the element to be measured is changed or when the type of the type is changed. Is executed when a change or the like is made.

[0007] However, such alignment requires that the accuracy error be extremely small. Conventionally, the position adjustment often depends on the manual operation of the operator. That is, the operator performs positioning while observing the contact state of the probe needle with the electrode pad on the element side using a microscope or the like. Therefore, such an operation requires considerable skill, as a matter of course.

[0008] As described above, the reason why skill is required for the alignment is that the probe card equipped with the probe needle has a tilt in the rotational direction, that is, a so-called deviation of the position that requires θ correction, and that the probe card has Alignment of all electrode pads at once due to the misalignment of the center position of the electrode pads of the element aligned with the center position, and the increasing number of pins and large pitch of the element. Is said to be difficult.

Therefore, it is desired to automate such positioning.

However, the following points are required for executing such an automatic processing.

That is, the probe needle may cause a contact failure due to a temporal change. Specifically, the facing distance to the electrode pad changes due to wear or deformation of the needle tip, breakage, or the like, and this causes a failure to maintain a proper contact state.

Therefore, the probe card equipped with the probe needle maintains the positional relationship between the electrode pad and the probe needle not only when the type of the element is changed but also when the same type of element is targeted. Need to be done.
As a matter of course, it is preferable that the probe needle be replaced at every predetermined cycle in consideration of the life of the probe needle due to wear or the like.

Therefore, it is considered preferable that the alignment can be automatically performed in all cases including the replacement of the probe card in the sense of automation.

The object of the present invention has been made in view of such a demand,
The present invention provides a probing method and a probe device using the same that can automatically align the probe needle on the probe card side with the electrode pad of the element even when the probe card is replaced, not only when the type of element is changed. is there.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a probing method for continuously inspecting electrical characteristics of devices such as semiconductor wafers. A first registration step of registering the measured first position information, and the first position information;
A first detection step of, based on the preset position information on the pad side of the element, virtually contacting the two with each other to detect a needle mark virtually formed on the pad; A second detection step of detecting displacement information, a first correction step of correcting a position condition for bringing the pad into contact with the probe needle based on the displacement information,
It is characterized by including.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the second position actually measured with respect to an arbitrary probe needle other than the specific probe needle in parallel with or subsequent to the steps of the first aspect. A second registration step of registering information, and a probe needle being virtually contacted with the pad based on the second position information and a preset position information of the element on the pad side, and virtually formed on the pad. A third detection step of detecting a needle trace to be performed, a fourth detection step of detecting positional deviation information between the arbitrary probe needle and the corresponding pad by image recognition of the needle trace, and A second correction step of correcting a position condition for bringing the probe needle into contact with the pad.

The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect.
In the method, after the first or second correction step, a step of contacting a pad of the element with the probe needle to form an actual needle mark, and a step of forming an actual probe mark on the element pad are performed. A fifth detecting step for detecting, a sixth detecting step for detecting actual positional deviation information of the needle trace, and a third correcting step for correcting a positional condition for bringing the pad into contact with the probe needle based on the positional deviation information. And a correcting step.

The invention according to claim 4 is the first or second invention.
In the above, the first or second correction step includes a step of calculating a virtual center of the pad based on the outline of the pad by image recognition, and calculating the position shift information from the virtual center and the position information of the needle mark. It is characterized by including the step of detecting.

The invention according to claim 5 is the first or second invention.
In the first or second registration step, the position information is obtained by focusing on the tip of the probe needle by auto-focusing.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, a step of automatically exchanging a probe card equipped with a probe needle is performed when positional information of the probe needle cannot be obtained due to an autofocus defect. It is characterized by:

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, in the first, third, or fifth detection step, a probe needle is provided when the needle mark is out of a predetermined range. And a step of performing automatic replacement of the probe card.

The invention according to claim 8 is the first or second invention.
In the first to third correction steps, a probe card provided with probe needles is fixed, and the element side is rotated to correct the position of the pad by θ.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect, the first to third correction steps are performed such that the position of the pad with respect to the probe needle is set so that the sum of squares of the positional shift amounts of the needle traces is minimized. Is corrected.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in a probing apparatus for continuously inspecting electrical characteristics of elements such as semiconductor wafers, a first position information for registering actually measured first position information of a specific probe needle is provided. Based on the registration unit, the first position information, and the preset position information on the pad side of the element, the two are virtually contacted with each other to detect a needle mark virtually formed on the pad. First detecting means for detecting the positional deviation of the needle mark, second detecting means for detecting the positional deviation information of the needle mark, and setting the mounting table side on which the element having the pad is mounted to X, Y based on the positional deviation information. And first correction means for correcting a position condition for bringing the pad and the probe needle into contact with each other by displacing in the θ direction.

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, positional deviation information can be obtained by the contact state between the virtual pad and the probe needle, so that the actual contact state between the pad and the probe needle can be determined in advance. In addition to virtual monitoring, it is possible to correct to an optimal contact state based on the result obtained in the contact state. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contact state between the pad and the probe needle from becoming a so-called defective state.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the actual contact state is set based on the correction result of the contact state between the pad and the probe needle which is virtually determined, and an appropriate contact state is set based on the result of this contact. It can be corrected to the contact state.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the virtual center of the pad can be automatically calculated, and the formation state of the needle mark can be determined based on the virtual center.

According to the fifth to seventh aspects of the present invention, according to the contact condition on the side of the probe card equipped with the probe needle that comes into contact with the pad, the contact condition is automatically automatically adjusted to always optimize the contact condition. Since probe card can be replaced,
The electrical characteristics of the device can always be implemented under optimal conditions.

According to the present invention, even if the probe card is fixed, the contact position of the pad with each probe needle of the probe card can be optimized.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the position of the needle mark can be displaced to the substantially center position of the pad, and the contact position of the pad with each probe needle can be optimized.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain positional deviation information based on the contact state between the virtual pad and the probe needle. In addition to monitoring, the contact state can be corrected to an optimal one based on the result obtained in the contact state. For this reason, it is possible to obtain a device capable of preventing the contact state between the pad and the probe needle from actually becoming a so-called defective state.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a probe apparatus to which a probing method according to the present invention is applied.

The present embodiment is characterized in that the positional deviation condition can be corrected based on the result of performing virtual contact in advance before performing the setup executed in the continuous inspection.

First, the probe device 10 will be described. The probe device 10 is provided for inspecting the electrical characteristics of the element as is well known, and the semiconductor wafer W to be subjected to this inspection is removed. A mounting table 12 for mounting;
A probe card 14 having a probe needle 14A capable of contacting an electrode pad of an element in a semiconductor wafer is provided.

When the orthogonal coordinate axes on the mounting table are X and Y, the vertical direction is the Z axis, and the circumferential direction of the Z axis is the θ direction, the mounting table 12 has the X, Y, Z and θ directions. It is configured to be freely movable.

The mounting table 12 is provided with a mechanism for vacuum-sucking the mounted semiconductor wafer W so that it can be moved in the above-described direction while holding the semiconductor wafer W by suction. Has become.

On the other hand, the probe card 14 is provided with a number of probe needles 14 A corresponding to the number of electrode pads of the element, and is supported by the ring insert 16.

Further, at a position above the probe card 14 where the element and the probe needle 14A can be seen,
For example, a recognition unit 18 (hereinafter, referred to as a CCD or the like)
For convenience, a first camera 18 is disposed.

The first camera 18 is used not only for photographing the position of the electrode pad of the element but also for confirming the contact state between the probe needle and the electrode pad, and is formed by the press contact of the probe needle. The position and size of the trace of the probe needle are output as an image signal to a determination control processing unit 26 described later.

In addition to the first camera 18, a camera 20 for confirming the contact state between the electrode pads of the semiconductor wafer and the probe needles is arranged near the side of the contact position.

The above-described probe card 14 is shown in FIG.
A position for inspecting the electrical characteristics of the element indicated by the solid line,
The position of the probe needle 14A indicated by a two-dot chain line can be moved to a reading position to be detected.

At the reading position, the probe needle 14
Recognition means 2 such as a camera for detecting the position of the needle point of A
2 (hereinafter, for convenience, referred to as a second camera 22) is disposed so as to face below the probe card 14,
The second camera 22 is configured such that the incident portion is connected to the probe card 14.
Of the needle.

The second camera 22 is installed to obtain position information (hereinafter referred to as first position information) of the probe needle 14A mounted on the probe card 14. For this reason, the probe card 14 that has moved to the reading position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 has a specific needle based on the square on the monitor 24, for example, as shown by reference numerals P1 to P4 in FIG. Then, the probe needle 14A at a position corresponding to the pads located near the four corners of the element itself is selected as the specific needle, and the coordinate position in the X and Y directions is read. Then, the read information is output to the determination control processing unit 26 described later, and an appropriate facing relationship is set.

On the other hand, the determination control processing section 26 has, as an example, a microcomputer as an arithmetic processing section as a main section. On the input side of the determination control processing unit 26, a ROM storing a basic program for executing the probing processing and basic data necessary for the arithmetic processing is provided.
26A and a RAM 26B for storing various calculation results are connected. In addition, on the input side of the determination control processing unit 26, via an interface (not shown), the setting unit 2 located on the first and second cameras 18, 22 and the operation panel.
8 and a potentiometer 30 located at a drive unit of the mounting table 12 are connected to each other.

On the output side of the judgment control processing unit 26,
The monitor 24, the drive unit 32 of the mounting table 12, and the probe card exchange drive unit 34 are connected to each other.

The setting section 28 provided on the operation panel is for inputting data necessary for manually selecting the type of element to be subjected to probing, and is connected to the input side of an interface (not shown). ing. The information on the pad position of the element selected in the setting section 28 is selected from those registered in the ROM 26A in advance. Further, the position information on the pads of such elements may be selected, for example, by a central management control unit (not shown) that manages the entire manufacturing process.

The drive unit 32 of the mounting table 12 connected to the output side of the judgment control processing unit 26 controls the movement in the X, Y, Z and θ directions. The amount and the direction are set according to the drive signal from the controller.

In the determination control processing section 26, the mounting table 12
The position of the electrode pad in each element of the semiconductor wafer W placed thereon and the probe needle 14 on the probe card 14 side
Processing for associating the position with A is performed.

Then, as a procedure for alignment, a training step for positioning the probe needle 14A with respect to a specific pad selected in advance, a setup step of the probe needle 14A with respect to pads other than the specific pad, and further, In each of these steps, all the correspondences between the pads and the probe needles 14A correspond to a setup check step for enabling proper alignment with respect to the pads of the element in a continuously executed inspection step. Be executed.

Next, the setup operation executed by the probing method according to the present invention will be described.

That is, in the probing method according to the present embodiment, before setting up all the probe needles 14A for all the pads of each element on the semiconductor wafer,
A training step is set to execute an initial setting of the positional relationship between the electrode pad of the element specified in advance and the probe needle.

Such a training process includes, for example,
The position of the probe needle 14A corresponding to the specific pad located at the positions indicated by reference numerals P1 to P4 in FIG.

That is, in the training step, the position of the specific needle of the probe needle 14A is searched, the actual positional relationship between the searched probe needle 14A and the specific pad of the element is determined, and the position is corrected based on the determination. It has become.

Hereinafter, the details of the training process will be described with reference to FIGS.

This training process is, for example, a process that is executed immediately after the change of the device type or the replacement of the probe card.

In this process, in step 101, it is determined whether or not coordinate position information of a specific pad corresponding to the type of the element has been input. As the coordinate position information input at this time, the coordinate position information of the pad set at the stage of designing the element is used.

In this determination, when the coordinate position information of the specific pad has not been input, the registration of the coordinate position information is performed manually (step 102). This manual registration means, as shown in FIG. 6, based on the virtual center a of the element W, X, up to the specified pad among the specified pads.
This is performed to determine the distance in the Y direction. In other words, the distance in the X and Y directions is measured between the edges of the protective film on the element surface, that is, the boundary position before the passivation edge is reached, and the virtual center a is obtained from this distance, and the reference specified as the reference from this virtual center The coordinate position in the X and Y directions up to the position of the pad is determined. Separately from this, for example, if the coordinate position of the reference pad among the pads on the element side, in this embodiment, the pad indicated by reference numeral P1 in FIG. 6 is known, this pad P1 is used as the reference. As
By operating the camera in the horizontal and vertical directions in the X and Y directions, the coordinate positions of the remaining pads are determined, and the position information of each pad is registered.

On the other hand, during the training process, the probe card 14 is positioned at the reading position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

The probe card 14 placed at the reading position is positioned in the Z direction of the first camera 22 in preparation for matching the positional relationship with the specific pad on the element side (step 103). This positioning is
Of the specific pads on the element side, a reference pad (FIG. 2)
The process is performed by focusing on the tip of the probe needle 14A at the position corresponding to the middle (pad indicated by the symbol P1) (step 104).

Such focusing is performed using an autofocus mechanism having a well-known structure, and it is determined whether or not the autofocus processing has been completed, in other words, whether or not the focus has been achieved (step 105).

If the autofocus process cannot be performed, the camera focuses on the tip of the probe needle 14A corresponding to the reference pad by manual operation by the operator (step 106). Note that, even when it is determined that the autofocus has been completed, it is preferable that the operator can visually recognize the autofocus. This allows
It is possible to eliminate an erroneous operation in which the focus is not on the tip of the probe needle 14A but on another location. If focusing by manual operation cannot be performed, it is determined that there is an abnormality on the probe needle side and an error is displayed (step 106B). In this case, the probe card may be automatically replaced.

When the focusing is completed, a registration step is performed in which the coordinate position of the specific probe needle in the X and Y directions is stored in the RAM 26B of the determination control processing section 26 (step 107). As a result, three-dimensional position information about the reference needle on the probe needle side with respect to the specific pad serving as the reference on the element side can be obtained.

When the coordinate position of the reference specific probe needle 14A is registered in this way, the coordinates of all the remaining specific probe needles 14A on the probe card 14 corresponding to the specific pads of the elements other than the reference pad are registered. It is determined whether or not the registration of the position information has been performed, and the registration operation is completed (step 108).

When this registration operation is completed, a reference probe needle 14A is selected from the registered probe needles 14A based on each position information, and this probe needle 14A is selected.
Virtual needle trace formation for a specific pad of the element using
A so-called virtual pin inspection is performed (step 109).

The needle mark formed by the virtual pin inspection is used for sampling or monitoring for determining whether the contact state between the probe needle 14A and the pad is appropriate. And step 10
The determination using the needle trace virtually performed in step 9 is, for example, the passivation edge where the virtual needle trace with respect to the area of the pad is completely inside the pad or protrudes to the periphery of the pad as a protective film of the pad. It is determined whether or not the deviation is within a predetermined range, based on whether or not the deviation of the needle trace is within a predetermined range as shown in FIG. Is done. (Step 110).

The above-described virtual pin inspection and the determination regarding the needle trace obtained therefrom are executed for all the specific pads on the element side.

If it is determined as a result of the determination in step 110 that none of the specific probe needles 14A is formed within a predetermined range with respect to the specific pad, the operator is informed of the probe needle for the pad. Is warned that the contact state is abnormal (step 11)
1). The operator performs a countermeasure such as replacement of the probe card according to the warning.

Then, the processing in each of the above steps is restarted using the replaced probe card 14.

On the other hand, in step 110, when it is determined that the position of the needle trace due to the virtual contact of the specific probe needle with the specific pads P1 to P4 is within the allowable range, other than the specific probe needle, It is determined whether or not the registration of the coordinate position of the probe needle 14A, that is, the probe needles other than the above-described specific probe needles P1 to P4 is determined (step 112), and if specified, the registration step is performed (step 112). 113), it is determined whether or not this registration step has been performed for all the designated probe needles (step 114).

In this step, one step is taken from the previously executed positioning of the specific probe needle 14A, and monitoring is performed on the entire specific probe needle as approached during actual probing.

If data relating to the coordinate positions of all the probe needles has been input, virtual needle mark formation is executed by the probe needles 14A (step 115).
Whether the formation state of the virtual needle trace is entirely sampled and whether or not the needle trace is formed within a predetermined range, that is, a determination process similar to that in step 110 is executed (step 116).

If it is determined in step 116 that the virtual needle mark shift amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount, an alarm process for calling the operator is executed (step 117). In this case, it is possible to automatically execute a probe card replacement process instead of simply calling an operator, and these processes depend on the creation of a program.

In the above determination process (step 116), if the virtual needle mark deviation is within a predetermined amount, the maximum value of the deviations, that is, the worst value of the largest deviation Is extracted (step 118). The extraction in this case is executed, for example, by obtaining each value of X, Y, and θ as the amount of displacement between each probe needle and the corresponding pad, and extracting the maximum value among them.

Next, a first correction step of correcting position conditions including θ correction based on the coordinate position of the probe needle obtained in step 118 is performed (step 119).

In the θ correction, for example, the direction of the element is adjusted to the direction of the probe card installed in a stationary state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the mounting table 12 is not only rotationally displaced in the θ direction, but also performs simultaneous driving in the X and Y directions while calculating the deviation angle, thereby correcting the deviation angle. Is performed step by step.

By performing the stepwise feeding operation of the mounting table 12 as described above, the direction of the element gradually matches the direction of the probe card, and the X and Y coordinates are corrected, so that the probe needle moves. The direction can be moved accurately in the X and Y directions.

By such a process, tentative alignment has been performed between each pad on the element side and the probe needle 14A. One of the pads on the element side, in this case, A specific probe needle corresponding to the specific pad is designated (step 120).

As a result, a state in which all the pads correspond to the probe needles is set (step 121), and the mounting table 12 is moved in the Z direction in the same manner as in the normal probing operation, and the actual needle marks are overdriven. A formation is performed (step 122).

Then, the probe needle 14A for the pad
It is determined whether or not the actual needle trace formation state is within a predetermined range (step 123).

If the probe needle 14A is not within the proper range for the pad, it is determined whether or not this result is after the first needle trace formation (step 12).
4). If the determination regarding the actual formation of the needle trace is the first time, the position condition for the probe needle 14A to make actual contact with the pad is corrected (step 125). The correction in this case is based on the direction (X, Y, θ) of the probe needle 14A.
Is automatically corrected (step 12).
5).

When correcting the position of the probe needle 14A,
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the virtual center of the pad is calculated by image recognition, and the position of the needle mark is corrected so that this value is minimum, that is, the position of the needle trace is minimized substantially with respect to the center of the pad. I do. In other words, the position on the pad side with respect to the probe needle in the immobile state is corrected so that the actual needle trace position is displaced to the center position of the pad. As a method of obtaining such a virtual center, for example, the minimum 2
A calculation method such as multiplication is used.

In the above determination processing, if the probe needle 14A is not located within the predetermined range other than the first time, an alarm processing is executed (step 1).
26).

If it is determined in step 123 that the trace of the probe needle 14A with respect to the pad is within a predetermined range, the process proceeds to a normal probing process in which the probe needle is actually brought into contact with the pad ( Step 127).

In this way, the specific pad including the reference pad (or other pads if necessary)
Then, the X-, Y-, and θ-conditions on the element side are corrected by calculating the positional deviation from the corresponding probe needle.

Thereafter, actual contact between the probe needle and the pad is performed to form a needle mark, and the actual positional deviation amount is obtained from the needle mark formation, and the X, Y, and Execute the θ correction again.

On the other hand, at the time of the probing inspection of the element performed after the training step is completed, the auto setup processing shown in FIG. 10 and thereafter is executed. This auto setup process is based on the premise that actual probing is performed using the position adjustment between the probe needle and the pad that was monitored earlier, and supports all pads in the same way as performed in actual probing. This is a process for inspecting the contact state of the probe needle to be performed.

The auto setup process is executed, for example, when the power is turned on or when the probe card is replaced.

That is, in the auto set-up processing, first, the type of the element is input (step 130).

Next, it is determined whether or not to read the training data corresponding to the input device type (step 131). For example, when there is corresponding data but it is desired to perform training again, the process shifts to the above-described training process again (step 132).

On the other hand, when the corresponding data is used as it is, after the data is read, the auto-focusing of the specific probe needle, in this embodiment, the specific probe needle corresponding to the pad indicated by the symbol P1 in FIG. Is executed (step 133).

It is determined whether or not auto-focusing has been performed (step 134). If focusing cannot be performed, manual focusing is performed (step 135). It is determined whether or not focusing by manual operation has been performed (step 136). If focusing cannot be performed even in manual operation, the probe needle is determined to be abnormal and automatic probe card replacement processing is executed (step 136). 137).

When such automatic exchange of the probe card is performed, the determination control processing section 26 outputs an operation command to the probe card exchange drive section 34 to set a new probe card at the reading position. In this case, the probe card exchange driving unit 34 takes out the probe card set in the ring insert 16 using a handler (not shown), and mounts a new probe card on the ring insert 16 from the storage unit.

When the auto-focusing of the probe needle has been performed, the position information of the specific probe needle is registered with the coordinate position in the X and Y directions of the specific probe needle as in the training step. (Step 138). As a result, three-dimensional position information on the probe needle side with respect to a specific pad serving as a reference on the element side can be obtained.

At step 138, it is determined whether or not the registration processing of the coordinate position information has been completed (step 13).
9) If not completed, it is determined that the probe needle is abnormal, and the probe card is automatically replaced (step 140).

When the registration is completed, the probe needle 1
4A and a specific pad of the element are virtually contacted to form a virtual needle mark (step 141).

Then, it is determined in the above step whether or not the needle mark is within a predetermined range, or whether or not a criterion such as the amount of displacement is within an appropriate range is satisfied (step 142). .

If the registration process cannot be performed in step 139, the probe needle is determined to be abnormal, and the probe card is automatically replaced (step 140).

Then, as shown in FIG.
8, it is determined whether or not the position information of the other than the registered specific probe needle 14A has been registered (step 143). When the registration is completed, all the registered pads and probe needles are virtually set. To form a virtual needle mark (step 144).

The needle trace virtually obtained is determined based on whether or not the amount of displacement is within an appropriate range and whether or not it is formed within a predetermined range (step 145).

Then, of the virtually formed needle marks,
After automatically extracting the one with the largest displacement (step 146), the probe needle is automatically brought into contact with the pad (step 147). The contact in this case is overdriven to form a needle mark in the same manner as the normally performed contact (step 148).

Then, it is determined whether or not the actual needle mark is formed at a predetermined position, or whether or not the amount of displacement is within a predetermined range (step 149).
It is determined whether or not this needle mark formation is the first time (step 150). For the subsequent processing, the processing shown in steps 123 to 125 is executed in the training process.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the state of the probe needle is abnormal is automatically determined, and the probe card can be automatically replaced according to the result. Processing can be automated.

In the probe device according to the present embodiment,
Since the correction of the θ alignment is performed on the element side with the probe card side fixed, the procedure for the alignment correction can be simplified. That is, the structure and operation become easier as compared with the case where both the movement amount adjustment on the card probe side and the movement amount adjustment on the element side are performed.

[0104]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is possible to obtain positional deviation information based on the state of contact between the virtual pad and the probe needle, and thus the actual pad and probe needle can be obtained. In addition to virtually monitoring the contact state in advance, the optimal contact state can be corrected based on the result obtained in the contact state. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the contact state between the pad and the probe needle from becoming a so-called defective state.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the actual contact state is set based on the correction result of the virtually determined contact state between the pad and the probe needle, and an appropriate contact state is set based on the result of this contact. It is possible to correct the contact state.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the virtual center of the pad can be automatically calculated, and the formation state of the needle mark can be determined based on the virtual center. The required labor can be simplified.

According to the fifth to seventh aspects of the present invention, according to the contact condition on the probe card side equipped with the probe needle that comes into contact with the pad, the contact condition is automatically automatically adjusted to always optimize the contact condition. Since probe card can be replaced,
It is always possible to implement the electrical properties of the device under optimal conditions.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, even if the probe card is fixed, it is possible to optimize the contact position of the pad with each probe needle of the probe card.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the position of the needle trace can be displaced to the substantially center position of the pad, and the contact position of the pad with each probe needle can be optimized.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, positional displacement information can be obtained based on the contact state between the virtual pad and the probe needle, so that the actual contact state between the pad and the probe needle can be determined in advance. In addition to monitoring, the contact state can be corrected to an optimal one based on the result obtained in the contact state. For this reason, it is possible to obtain a device that can prevent the contact state between the pad and the probe needle from actually becoming a so-called defective state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of an apparatus used for a probing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a specific pad of an element used in a probing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a control unit in the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining another operation of the control unit in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining still another operation in the control unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a method for setting a virtual center when a specific pad is obtained according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a stylus detection method in the probing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the principle of correcting θ alignment by the probing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the principle of correction in the X, Y and θ directions by the probing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for automatic setup in a control unit in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining another procedure for automatic setup in the control unit in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

[Brief description of reference numerals]

 Reference Signs List 10 probe device 12 mounting table 14 probe card 14A probe needle 18 first camera 22 which is one of the recognition means 22 second camera which is another one of the recognition means 24 monitor 26 determination control processing unit 28 operation unit 34 probe Card exchange drive

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A probing method for continuously inspecting electrical characteristics of devices such as semiconductor wafers, wherein: a first registration step of registering first actually measured first position information of a specific probe needle; A first detection step of detecting a needle mark virtually formed on the pad by virtually contacting the two with each other based on the position information of the pad and the preset position information of the element on the pad side. A second detection step of detecting positional deviation information of the needle mark, and a first correcting step of correcting a position condition for bringing a pad into contact with a probe needle based on the positional deviation information. A probing method characterized by the following. 2. A second step of registering second position information actually measured for an arbitrary probe needle other than the specific probe needle in parallel with or subsequent to each step described in claim 1. Registering a probe needle based on the second position information and the preset position information of the element on the pad side, and virtually detecting a needle mark formed on the pad by contacting the probe needle with the pad. A third detection step of detecting positional deviation information between the arbitrary probe needle and the corresponding pad by image recognition of the needle trace, and a probe needle and a pad based on the positional deviation information. A second correction step of correcting a position condition for bringing the two into contact with each other. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the first or second correction step, a step of contacting a pad of the element with a probe needle to form an actual needle mark is performed; A fifth detection step of detecting a needle trace with the actual probe needle, a sixth detection step of detecting positional deviation information of the actual needle trace, and a pad and a probe needle based on the positional deviation information. And a third correction step of correcting a position condition for contacting. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first or second correction step includes a step of calculating a virtual center of the pad based on an outline of the pad by image recognition. A probing method, comprising a step of detecting the positional deviation information from position information of a trace. 5. The probing method according to claim 1, wherein in the first or second registration step, position information is obtained by focusing on a tip of the probe needle by autofocus. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein when the position information of the probe needle cannot be obtained due to an auto-focus defect, the focus processing is performed by a manual operation. A probing method, wherein a step of automatically replacing an equipped probe card is performed. 7. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein, in the first, third, or fifth detection step, when a needle mark is out of a predetermined range, the probe card is provided with a probe needle. A probing method comprising the step of performing an automatic exchange. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in the first to third correction steps, a probe card provided with a probe needle is fixed, and the position of the pad is θ-corrected by rotating the element side. A probing method characterized by the following. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first to third correction steps correct the position of the pad with respect to the probe needle so that the sum of squares of the positional shift amounts of the needle traces is minimized. And the probing method. 10. A probing apparatus for continuously inspecting electrical characteristics of elements such as semiconductor wafers, wherein: a first registration unit for registering first actually measured first position information of a specific probe needle; A first detecting means for detecting a needle mark virtually formed on the pad by virtually contacting the two with each other based on the positional information of the pad and the preset positional information on the pad side of the element. Second detecting means for detecting positional deviation information of the needle mark; and displacing a mounting table on which an element having a pad is mounted in X, Y, and θ directions based on the positional deviation information. And a first correction means for correcting a position condition for bringing the pad into contact with the probe needle.