JP3094052B2 - Cleaning device and probe device using this device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe card cleaning apparatus and a probe apparatus using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A probe card has an inclined probe card.
And vertical probe cards. The former is a probe card in which probe needles are arranged radially on the substrate (laminate) and inclined at approximately 7 degrees. The latter is a substrate (laminate)
A probe card is provided in parallel with the probe needle, and probe needles are arranged so as to be orthogonal to the wafer surface. Inclined pro
When probing, both the card and the vertical probe card, the dust separated from the wafer, for example,
Aluminum dust floats around the probe needle. In the vertical probe card, the separated dust adheres to the bottom surface of the insulating guide plate that guides the probe needles (corresponding to the facing surface of the upper surface of the wafer). This deposit accumulates each time the probing is repeated. The accumulated dust, that is, the deposits, cause troubles such as poor electrical insulation in the probe needle. In order to avoid this, conventionally, the deposited matter is air-
Was removed by wind pressure by spraying. The inclined probe card that blows the air is the same as that disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-750.
No. 41 publication.

On the other hand, a lens cleaning brush 50 is known in the camera industry. As shown in FIG. 8A, the cleaning brush has a configuration in which air is ejected from a nozzle 52 provided in a brush 51 to remove dust 54 attached to a lens 53. Considering the case where the lens cleaning brush 50 is used for a vertical probe card, the vertical probe card has a diameter of 70 μm where the probe needle is thick, a diameter of 20 μm when the probe tip is thick, and a diameter of the probe. It has a fine structure with a probe needle axis distance of 100 microns, and the probe needle may be damaged by a small force. However, if this lens cleaning brush is used automatically, -Θ,
By performing + θ swinging motion, the above-mentioned attached matter on the bottom surface of the guide substrate can be peeled off, and the dust 54 can be removed.

[0004]

However, when removing the adhering matter adhered to the guide plate 56 in the vertical probe card, the tip of the brush 51 is caused to swing mechanically, and the guide plate 56 is moved. When the adhered matter on the bottom surface of the brush is removed and the tip of the brush 51 is tangled and mechanically oscillated, the probe needle 5 is caught at the entangled portion and the oscillating motion is continued. There was a problem that the needle 3 was bent.

Therefore, the inventor of the present invention bundled, for example, hundreds to thousands of synthetic fibers, bound one end of the synthetic fibers, vibrated the free end of the brush by jetting high-pressure air, and attached the brush to the bottom surface of the guide plate. A study was conducted to remove deposits and deposits attached to the probe needle. Therefore,

A first object of the present invention is to remove the adhered substance adhered to the bottom surface of the guide member of the probe needle with a vibrating brush to remove the adhered substance without damaging the probe needle. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that removes dust with air and extends the life of a probe card.

A second object of the present invention is to make it possible for the tip of the brush to easily reach the bottom surface of the guide member even when the probe needle axis distance is minutely arranged and the gap between the axes is small. In addition, by arranging the longitudinal direction of the brush and the longitudinal direction of the probe needle in the same direction, the bending of the brush, the breakage of the brush, and the like are reduced, and the cleaning device that improves the life of the cleaning device is provided. To provide.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a probe device which realizes an improvement in maintainability by carrying a cleaning device to a position of a probe card for cleaning. is there.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a storage device with a
In a device which takes out a card, transports it to a measuring unit, and attaches it to the measuring unit, a cleaning device is provided in this transport path, and when the probe card is moved, it is temporarily stopped and cleaned. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a probe device having an improved throughput.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a probe apparatus having a plurality of measuring units and a loading mechanism for guiding an object to be measured to each of the measuring units. (1) To provide a probe device which can be downsized by cleaning the card.

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

Means 1 A brush made of a fiber bundle provided opposite to a large number of probe needles provided on a probe card, and the brush is provided by intermittently jetting air from the side to the brush. And a vibration mechanism for vibrating the probe needle.
With the brush in contact with the
And vibrating the brush and the air to remove deposits on the probe card.

[0012]

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the probe needle provided on the probe card is directed downward.
The brush protrudes upward while the brush protrudes upward
Further, the longitudinal direction of the probe needle and the longitudinal direction of the brush are arranged in the same direction.

[0013]

[Means 3] Placing the probe card at the measurement position,
A probe device for inspecting electrical characteristics by bringing a probe needle into contact with an electrode of an object to be measured, wherein a moving means for moving the cleaning device according to claim 1 from said predetermined position to said measurement position is provided. It is characterized in that the probe card is cleaned.

[0014]

[Means 4] A probe selected from the probe card storage section
An apparatus for taking out a card, arranging it at a measurement position, and inspecting electrical characteristics, wherein the cleaning device according to claim 1 is provided on a transport path between said storage section and said measurement position, It is characterized in that cleaning is performed at the time of transporting the card.

[0015]

In a probe apparatus having a plurality of measuring units for measuring an object to be measured and a loading mechanism for guiding the object to be measured to each of the measuring units, each probe of the measuring unit is provided. The cleaning device according to claim 1 is guided to the card by a single handling arm mechanism, and each probe card is cleaned by the derived cleaning device. .

[0016]

[Function 1] The intermittent air is jetted in the direction of the brush to vibrate the tip of the brush, and the vibrated tip comes into contact with the bottom surface of the guide member and physically rubs the attached matter by the brush vibration. Is lifted from the guide member. The raised deposits become dust, and the dust is air-
Can be removed to the outside. By this removal, a short circuit or the like due to conductive deposits accumulated in the space between the probe needle shafts can be eliminated, and the life of the probe card can be extended. That is, it has been proved that the number of times of probing is extended, for example, from 4 times to 6 times. Due to the extension of the life, the number of times of probe card replacement is drastically reduced, the maintenance time is shortened, and the efficiency of productivity is improved. Incidentally, if the probe card is damaged in the semiconductor manufacturing line, it is not limited to replacing the probe card, but an extra time such as an operation time for aligning the probe needle and the electrode pad after the replacement. Time is required and this time is also eliminated. Also, the deposits on the probe needle are removed at the same time.

[0017]

In the vertical probe card, the space between the probe needles is fine, and after the longitudinal direction of the brush and the longitudinal direction of the probe needle are arranged in the same direction, the bottom surface of the guide member is formed. When the brush moves so that the free end of the brush arrives at the same position, the brush is arranged in the same direction, so that the brush is less likely to be entangled with the probe needle, and efficient cleaning is possible. Is prolonged.

[0018]

[Function 3] The cleaning device is moved from the stored position to the measuring section where the probe card is arranged to clean the guide member, so that the probe card is conventionally used. Can be removed from the head plate to shorten the time required for attachment and detachment for cleaning, thereby improving workability.

[0019]

[Action 4] The probe selected from the probe card storage section
In a device for taking out a card, arranging it at a measurement position, and inspecting electrical characteristics, a cleaning device is provided in a transfer path between a storage and a measuring unit. -When automatically changing the card,
After the cleaning is performed by the cleaning device in the transport path, the probe is mounted at the measuring position, so that the probe can be constantly measured with the probe card after cleaning, and stable measurement can be performed. .

[0020]

[Function 5] By cleaning each probe card of a plurality of measuring units with a single cleaning device, it is possible to reduce the size of the probe device.

[0021]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
An embodiment applied to a bus will be described with reference to the drawings. The tip of the probe needle provided in the wafer probe of this embodiment is formed so as to be perpendicularly connected to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer, and the contact portion of the probe needle is in contact with the wafer surface. It is formed vertically, that is, linearly.
Accordingly, in the description, the "longitudinal direction of the probe needle" means this linear direction, and the "longitudinal direction of the brush" will be defined and described in the same manner.

As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the wafer probe includes a measuring section 4 for inspecting a wafer 1 by bringing a probe needle 3 into contact with an electrode pad 2; A transport unit that has a mounting table 11 for supporting the wafer 1 and transports the wafer 1 to the measuring unit 4, and a cleaning device 6 that vibrates the brush 5 to remove the deposits attached to the probe needle 3. It has. Then, the probe needles 3 and the electrode pads 2 are aligned using a dummy wafer (not shown), and the probe needles 3 are brought into contact with the electrode pads 2 of the wafer 1 on the mounting table 11 so as to be chipped. Are sequentially probed, and after a predetermined number of probings are completed, the cleaning needle 6 is automatically cleaned by the cleaning device 6, and after the completion, probing is started again. I have.

The measuring section 4 of the wafer probe is connected to the base 7 via a support standing upright from the base 7 of the wafer probe.
A head plate 8 is provided in parallel with the head plate 8. An opening is provided in the center of the head plate 8, and a vertical probe cover is provided in the opening through a ring insert member 9.
A probe 10 is mounted, and the tip of a probe needle 3 of the probe card 10 is disposed so as to be orthogonal to the wafer 1 surface. The mounting table 11 on which the wafer 1 is mounted is mounted on an XY stage 12 having an XY index mechanism, and receives the wafer 1 from the loader 13 at the transfer position.
It is configured to be movable to the measuring section 4.

A transfer section (not shown) for the wafer prober
Is JP-B-5-29143, JP-A-62-169341.
Since it is well known and disclosed in a number of documents such as Japanese Patent Publication No. First, a wafer is transferred from a wafer cassette (not shown) by a handling arm (not shown) provided on the right side of the base 7 of the wafer prober at a transfer position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 is taken out, the wafer 1 is received on the mounting table 11, and is transported to the measuring section 4 by driving the XY stage 12.

After the transfer, the measuring unit 4 aligns the probe needle 3 with the electrode pad 2 of the wafer 1, raises the mounting table 11 by the lifting mechanism 14, and performs probing sequentially. Here, the cleaning is controlled to be automatically performed every 40,000 probings, for example. FIG.
(B) As shown in (c), at the time of cleaning, the mounting table 11 is retracted from the measuring section 4, and then the cleaning handling arm 15 on the left side of the base 7 is driven. Then, the cleaning device 6 is moved below the probe needle 3, and after being cleaned by the cleaning device 6, the cleaning device 6 returns to the original position, and probing is started again.

A control unit 16 is connected to the driving mechanism of the handling arm 15, and the command of the control unit 16 causes the handling arm 15 to connect the cleaning device 6 to the probe needle 3 of the measuring unit 4. The cleaning device 6 is moved in the longitudinal direction by an elevating mechanism 17 so that the tip of the brush 5 interferes with the probe needle array to perform cleaning.

Next, the structure of the cleaning device will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 (c), a support 15d is erected on the base 7, and one end of a handling arm 15 is rotatably fixed to the support 15d. Here, the handling arm 15 is composed of a main arm 15a and a slave arm 15b, and a lifting mechanism 17 is provided at a free end of the slave arm 15b. A peripheral adjustment mechanism 17a is fixed to the elevating mechanism 17, and the cleaning device 6 is mounted on the peripheral adjustment mechanism 17a.
Then, the cleaning device 6 which has been waiting in the vicinity of the support 15d is replaced with the probe card 10 arranged in the measuring section 4.
It moves to the center position of.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the cleaning device 6 is roughly composed of a vibration mechanism 19 and an elevating mechanism 17 as a moving mechanism. An air supply mechanism 25 is provided.

The brush mechanism 18 has a handling arm.
The cleaning base 20 is fixed to a free end of the system 15. The brush mechanism 18 has a professional
A fiber bundle 5 a aligned in the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the needle 3 is provided, and the base end of the fiber bundle 5 a is bound by a fixing bracket 21. The fiber bundle 5a is bundled such that, for example, a nylon-based fiber is folded in two and its cross section becomes rectangular. For example, the free end of a fiber bundle 5a having a length of 35 mm and having a rectangular shape of 6 × 4 mm is arranged so as to face the distal end of the probe needle 3, and the base end thereof is fixed with a fixture 21. . Then, as shown in FIG. 2D, a guide member 22 for focusing the free end 5b of the fiber bundle 5a in the row direction of the probe needles 3 is fixed to the cleaning base 20.

The guide member 22 has a rectangular cross section.
For example, it is formed of an aluminum material of t = 0.5, width 8 × height 6 mm, and a wind tunnel 23 is fixed to the guide member 22 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the probe needle 3. This wind tunnel 23
In the vicinity of the center in the longitudinal direction, a rectangular opening 23a into which the fiber bundle 5a of the brush 5 is inserted is opened with a margin. This opening 23a is opened in a necessary area (also called swinging motion) when the free end 5b of the fiber bundle 5a vibrates by air, more precisely, when the free end 5b swings. Needless to say.

An air gun 24 for intermittently ejecting air from one side of the wind tunnel 23 to the other in the longitudinal direction.
Is provided. The air gun 24 is connected to an air supply mechanism 25. Then, the air supply mechanism 25
The air adjusted by the above is intermittently injected into the wind tunnel 23 via the air gun 24. As shown in FIG. 3B, the air-supply mechanism 25 includes a high-pressure generator 25.
a, an air filter 25f (for example, a filter of about 0.5 micron, and an air dryer if necessary), a pressure regulator 25b (for example, input 3 to 10 kg, output 0 to 3 kg / 0.5 kg), It is composed of a flow controller 25c (a needle valve) and a timing controller 25d (using a solenoid valve, 0.2 to 2 sec / cycle, and a duty ratio of 20 to 80% variable).
Is intermittently sprayed on the brush.

As shown in FIG. 3 (c), the intermittent air is generated by inputting a pulse to the timing controller 25d and driving the solenoid valve 25e, and the intermittent air is brushed. It is configured to jet to the fiber bundle 5a, which is one of the types. Here, the air jetted from the air gun 24 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the fiber bundle 5a.
The circumference adjusting mechanism 17a is arranged so that the free end 5b of the a can be corrected to an appropriate position. As shown in FIG. 2 (c), the inside of the air gun 24 has a rectangular cross section formed from a circular pipe, so that a turbulent flow is generated. Therefore,
A plurality of rectifying blades 29 for bringing this turbulent flow closer to a laminar flow are arranged.

Here, the example in which the rectifying wings 29 are used has been described, but the rectifying wings 29 need not be used. An air nozzle 28 provided in a separate system shown in FIG. 2A is provided with an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the direction so that air is ejected near the tip of the probe needle 3. The above-mentioned handling arm 15
As shown in FIG. 4, a two-axis arm mechanism including a column 15d, a main arm 15a and a slave arm 15b is employed. A pulse motor (not shown) is built in the column 15d, and the column 1 is erected from the base 7 of the wafer prober.
The main arm 1 is attached to the axis of the pulse motor protruding from the top surface of 5d.
One end of 5a is connected, and is configured to be rotationally driven by a command from the control unit.

The elevating mechanism 17 is programmed in advance so as to raise the cleaning base 20 until the brassier 5 touches the probe needle 3. Further, on both sides of the measuring section 4, an air blow injection port 26 and a suction port 27 for removing dust generated at the time of cleaning are provided, and are connected to an air supply source and a suction source (not shown). The above clear
The cleaning device 6 is preset so that the center of the cleaning device 6 is located at the center of the measuring section 4 when the main arm 15a and the slave arm 15b are at a circumferential angle θ1 that is aligned. Here, an advantage of using the cantilever type handling arm 15 is that the generation of dust during driving is suppressed by another transport device. In addition, this handling arm 15
Instead of this, a translation device 31 described later may be used.

Next, a description will be given of a configuration of a double-supported parallel moving device 31 in place of the handling arm 15 described above. As shown in FIGS. 4 (d) to 4 (g), the parallel moving device 31 has a pair of guide rails 32 provided in parallel on both sides of the measuring unit 4 below the head plate 8 around the measuring unit 4. H moving along the guide rail 32
The elevating mechanism 17 is provided at the center of the moving member 33, and the cleaning base 20 is provided on the upper surface of the elevating mechanism 17. And
The center of the cleaning device 6 is moved to the center of the measuring unit 4 by driving the translation device 31 stored at a preset position (the left side in the figure), and the brush 5 is probed by the lifting mechanism 17. It is configured to rise until it interferes with the needle 3.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the controller 16
Is a program or keyboard 3 stored in advance.
4 allows input. In the control unit 16, the clear
When receiving the cleaning command, it is checked whether or not the mounting table 11 exists in the measuring section 4. If the measuring section 4 does not have the mounting table 11, the handling arm is driven and the measuring section 4 is cleaned. The table 20 is moved. Next, the cleaning base 20 is raised, and the flow rate, pressure, vibration and the like of the air are controlled to appropriate values.

Next, the operation of the above-described probe device and cleaning device will be described. First, the probe needle 3 and the electrode pad 2 are aligned using a dummy wafer.
Thereafter, the wafer 1 is taken out from a wafer cassette (not shown), and rough alignment is performed. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, it is placed on a mounting table 11 and moved to a measuring section 4 by an XY stage 12, and is placed above the electrode pads 2 of the chips of the moved wafer 1 and the measuring section 4 in advance. The probe needles 3 of the vertical probe card 10 are aligned with each other, and the probe needles 3 are brought into contact with the electrode pads 2 of the chips by raising the mounting table 11 on which the wafer 1 is mounted. Further, an overdrive is added and probing is performed, for example, 40,000 times, and the quality of the electric circuit of each chip is inspected.

Under predetermined conditions, for example, 40,000 times
If the cleaning arm is programmed to execute the cleaning after the bing, the handling arm 15 stored at a predetermined position in accordance with a command from the control unit 16 according to this condition.
Moves the cleaning device 6 to the position of the measuring section 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning device 6 that has reached the measuring section 4 stops when it is raised by the elevating mechanism 17 to a predetermined height, that is, until the tip of the brush 5 contacts the bottom surface of the guide member 10a. While maintaining this position, air is intermittently ejected from the air gun 24 as shown in FIG. 3D, and the brush 5 is vibrated to vibrate the tip 5b of the brush 5 to the guide member 10a. The attached matter is physically rubbed off, and emerged as dust 54. As a secondary effect, the attached matter attached to the probe needle 3 is physically rubbed to peel off the attached matter from the probe needle 3 and emerge as dust 54.

The raised dust 54 is blown off by high-pressure air from the air nozzle 28 of another system. If this operation is continued for 1 to 2 minutes, the extraneous matter can be sufficiently removed from the probe needle 3. This operation time is set in advance. Here, it has been described that the air is blown off by the high pressure air from the air nozzle 28 of another system.
May be blown off.

After the cleaning of the probe card is completed, the cleaning device 6 is lowered by the driving of the lifting / lowering mechanism 17 and returned to the original position. Thereafter, the mounting table 11 is returned to the measurement position, and the wafer is probed again. In the first embodiment, the life of the vertical probe card 10 and the normal number of probings of 40,000 times are extended to 3 to 6 times as compared with the wafer prober not using the cleaning device 6. can do.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. An embodiment in which the cleaning apparatus of the present invention is applied to a probe card automatic exchange wafer probe will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the wafer probe accommodates a plurality of probe cards 10 in a special cassette 35 in order to cope with a variety of products.
5 is a device for taking out a corresponding probe card 10 from the apparatus 5 and attaching it to the head plate 8 of the measuring section 4 to inspect the wafer 1. This device also has a measuring section 4 and a transport section (not shown).
And a cleaning device 6.

The measuring section 4 has a base 7 of a wafer prober.
Head support via a support (not shown) erected from the head.
8 is provided. A vertical probe card 10 is mounted via a ring insert member 9 in a hollow portion 8a opened at the center of the head plate 8. The vertical probe card 10 is provided in the cassette 35 with the longitudinal end of the probe needle 3 (the end in contact with the wafer).
, The probe needle 3 in the XY direction (plane direction)
And is stored so as to be movable in the Z direction (vertical direction).

The cleaning device 6 comprises a transport path 3 between the measuring section 4 and the dedicated cassette 35 of the probe card 10.
6 and is raised and lowered by lifting means 17.

Next, the operation will be described. A probe card 10 corresponding to the type of wafer is selected from the dedicated cassette 35, the selected vertical probe card 10 is taken out by a take-out mechanism (not shown), and the head plate 8 of the measuring section 4 is taken out. During the transfer to the cleaning device 6, it is temporarily stopped at a position above the cleaning device 6. Then, the reached vertical probe
After the cleaning, the vertical probe card 10 is mounted in the hollow portion of the head plate 8 and the wafer 1 is inspected. In the second embodiment, when the probe card is conveyed to the measuring section, the probe needle is cleaned by a cleaning device on the way, then mounted on the measuring section and probed. . Therefore, since cleaning is always performed at the start of probing, stable inspection can be performed, and work efficiency can be improved.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of inspection stages 4a and 4b are provided, and the cleaning device 6 is guided to the vertical probe cards 10a and 10b of each inspection stage. It is provided with a handling mechanism. That is, a wafer prober that can clean a plurality of probe cards with a single cleaning device 6 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 6, vertical probe cards 10a and 10b are provided at two measurement units 4a and 4b of the wafer probe, respectively. The measuring units 4a, 4
The transfer unit 37 for loading the wafer 1 on the measuring unit 4
a, 4b. Further, the cleaning device 6 is connected to each vertical probe card 10a, 1
Column 15 of the handling arm 15 to be moved to 0b
d stands inside the transfer device 37. The cleaning device 6 is configured to move to the center of each of the vertical probe cards 10a and 10b around the support 15d.

In the third embodiment, the handling alarm
The cleaning device 6 provided in the program 15 cleans the vertical probe cards 10a and 10b which need cleaning in accordance with a command from the control unit. In the third embodiment, since a plurality of probe cards can be cleaned by a single handling arm 15, a wafer probe having a plurality of inspection stages can be reduced in size and weight. Can be.

Next, a modified example of the above cleaning apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning apparatus comprises a table 38 on which the probe needle is placed and a moving mechanism 39 for moving the cleaning apparatus 6 in the XYZ directions.
And a brush 40 fixed linearly like a small brush, and a nozzle 41 for jetting air orthogonally or obliquely in the longitudinal direction of the brush. Further, a manual valve 42 for controlling the injection of air moving in a linear direction is provided.

In this modification, the mechanism for intermittently injecting air is the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. Further, by providing the microscope 45, the cleaning state of the probe needle 3 can be grasped. It is to be noted that the present invention can be implemented in various modes without being limited to the above-described embodiments and modified examples.

[0050]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the attached matter such as the probe needle is rubbed with a vibrating brush to remove the attached matter, so that the durability of the probe card is improved. Is increased by a factor of 5 to 6 and efficient inspection is possible. Moreover, the reliability of the inspection can be improved. According to the invention described in claim 2, the free end in the longitudinal direction of the brush is pro-
The brush is disposed so as to face the tip of the probe needle, and is disposed in the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the brush, so that the vibration of the brush reduces the peripheral surface of the probe needle and the deposits on the guide member supporting the probe needle. It can be evenly removed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning device is moved to the position of the probe needle by the handling arm for cleaning, the workability can be improved. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the storage in which the probe card is stored is separated from the measuring unit, and the cleaning device is provided in the transport path of the probe card between the storage and the measuring unit. Since the cleaning is performed when the probe card is moved, stable probing can be performed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of stages are provided.
In a probe device having a loading mechanism and a loading mechanism for guiding an object to be measured to each of the stage mechanisms, a plurality of probe card mechanisms are cleaned by a single cleaning device. The size and throughput of the probe device can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a wafer probe to which a cleaning device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the cleaning device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the cleaning device shown in FIG. 1;

4 (a) to 4 (c) are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the cleaning device shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 4 (d) to 4 (g) are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a cleaning device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a cleaning device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a cleaning device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a conventional lens cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wafer 2 ... Electrode pad 3 ... Probe needle 4 ... Measuring part 5 ... Brush 5a ... Fiber bundle 5b ... Free end 6 ... Cleaning device 7 ... Base 8 ... Head plate 10 ... Vertical probe Reference numeral 11: mounting table 12: XY stage 13: loader 14: elevating mechanism 15: handling arm (moving means) 16: control unit 17: elevating mechanism 17a: circumference adjusting mechanism 18: brush mechanism 19 Vibration mechanism 20 Cleaning base 21 Fixing bracket 22 Guide member 23 Air tunnel 24 Air gun 25 Air supply mechanism 26 Injection port 27 Suction port 28 Auxiliary nozzle 29 Rectifying blade 31 Parallel Moving device 32 Guide rail 33 Moving member 34 Keyboard 35 Dedicated cassette 36 Transport path 37 Transporter 38 Mounting table 39 Moving mechanism 40 Brush 41 Nozzle 42 Manual valve

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/66 G01R 31/26 G01R 31/28 G01R 1/067

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A brush made of a fiber bundle provided opposite to a large number of probe needles provided on a probe card; and intermittently jetting air from side to the brush. A vibration mechanism for vibrating the brush, wherein the probe
With the brush in contact with the needle,
A probe card cleaning apparatus characterized in that the probe card is vibrated by air, and the attached matter of the probe card is removed by the vibrated brush and the air. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the probe needle provided on the probe card faces downward.
While the brush is protruding, the brush protrudes upward,
A probe card cleaner characterized in that the longitudinal direction of the probe needle and the longitudinal direction of the brush are arranged in the same direction.
Device. 3. A probe apparatus in which a probe card is arranged at a measurement position, and a probe needle is brought into contact with an electrode of an object to be measured to check an electric characteristic from a predetermined position. A cleaning apparatus comprising: moving means for moving the cleaning apparatus to the measurement position; and cleaning the probe card. 4. A cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the selected probe card is taken out of the probe card storage section, placed at a measurement position, and an electrical characteristic is inspected. A probe apparatus provided in a transport path between the storage section and the measurement position, and performing cleaning when transporting a probe card. 5. A probe apparatus comprising: a plurality of measuring units for measuring an object to be measured; and a loading mechanism for guiding the object to be measured to each of the measuring units. The cleaning device according to claim 1 is guided to the head by a single handling arm mechanism, and each probe card is cleaned by the derived cleaning device. Probe device.