JP3394620B2 - Probe assembly and inspection 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 assembly in which a plurality of probes are positioned and arranged, and a positioning substrate used therefor. In particular, a probe assembly having a large number of probes for connecting to electrodes of a measuring object having a large number of electrodes arranged in high density such as a semiconductor element, and a positioning substrate used in the probe assembly Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a semiconductor element such as a semiconductor memory, a large number of semiconductor elements (chips) 2 for LSI are provided on the surface of a wafer 1 as shown in FIG. Be served. The semiconductor element 2 is one of the
As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 6 (B), the surface has
A large number of electrodes 3 are arranged along the periphery thereof.

In order to industrially produce a large number of such semiconductor elements 2 and inspect their electrical performance, an inspection apparatus having a structure as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is used. This inspection device is composed of a probe card 4 and a probe 5 which is obliquely projected from the probe card and is made of a tungsten needle. In the inspection by this inspection device, a method of inspecting the electrical characteristics of the electrode 3 by rubbing the electrode 3 with the contact pressure utilizing the deflection of the probe 5 to make contact is used.

Further, as the density of semiconductor elements has increased, FIG.
A chip-shaped semiconductor element 2 as shown in FIG. This semiconductor element 2 has solder bumps 6 for solder connection mounted on each of a plurality of electrodes arranged on the chip surface. As a mounting method for such a semiconductor element 2, as shown in FIG. 10, there is a method in which the semiconductor element 2 is opposed to the electrode 8 on the surface of the wiring board 7 and is connected via the solder bumps 6. Since this method is suitable for high-density mounting and batch connection with high yield, its application is expanding.

If the semiconductor elements as described above are further increased in density and narrowed in pitch and an operation test by a high-speed signal is required, it becomes difficult to cope with the above-mentioned method. As an inspection method and an inspection apparatus capable of inspecting the characteristics of a semiconductor device in such a case, there is a technique having a structure as shown in FIG. 11 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-71141). It is used. This spring probe 10 uses a spring probe 10 having a shape in which two plungers 10b and 10c biased by springs 10a so as to project in mutually opposite directions are fitted in a tube 10d so as to be retractable. That is, a pair of upper and lower positioning substrates 11 and 12 having through holes for inserting and fixing the spring probe 10 are fixed by sandwiching the intermediate plate 13, and the spring probe 10 is inserted into the through hole. . In this inspection apparatus, a plunger 10b on one end side of a spring probe 10 is brought into contact with an electrode (not shown) of an object to be inspected, and a plunger 10c on the other end side is connected to a substrate 1 on a measurement circuit side.
By abutting on the electrode terminal 15 provided at 4,
Perform an inspection.

As the positioning substrates 11 and 12, there are used machinable ceramics or polyimide or acrylic insulating substrates in which through holes for inserting and fixing probes are drilled. Also, as a drilling method,
There is a method in which a hole is processed by crystallizing a portion of photosensitive glass exposed to ultraviolet rays using an etching mask and dissolving and removing the crystallized portion with an acid.

[0007]

In recent years, as the density of semiconductor devices has increased, the number of high density pins for inspection probes has increased. Therefore, there is a demand for a low-cost perforation positioning board for inserting and fixing or positioning a probe of a semiconductor device inspection apparatus. From this point of view, the conventional drilling technique will be examined.

In the conventional drilling method using a drill,
Since the holes are drilled one by one, the processing time becomes longer when the number of holes increases. In particular, in fine drilling with a hole diameter of 0.3 mm or less, it is necessary to raise and lower the drill many times during the drilling of one hole in order to remove shavings. Further, since the cutting edge of the drill is worn, it is necessary to replace the drill frequently. In particular, when the number of drilled holes is large, the setup time associated therewith increases. Therefore, the time required for processing increases as a whole. These steps are directly reflected in the processing cost, and the drilling board for multiple pins is expensive.

On the other hand, in the conventional method of forming a hole by etching, the hole diameter increases as the distance from the mask surface for etching increases, so the accuracy of the hole diameter deteriorates. Therefore, unless the thickness of the photosensitive glass is about 0.5 mm or less, it is difficult to suppress an error of several μm or less. However, the thin photosensitive glass has low strength. Therefore, there is a problem that it is easily broken.

It is a first object of the present invention to provide a positioning board having through holes having a board structure with high accuracy in hole diameter accuracy.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a positioning board having a through hole having a board structure with improved board strength.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an inspection apparatus having a positioning board having a high density, a large number of pins, and a through hole having good drilling accuracy and board strength.

In order to achieve the above first and second objects, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a through hole is provided.
Insert a plurality of positioning boards into the through holes.
And a probe for electrically connecting to the electrode to be measured.
A probe assembly having a plurality of needles,
At least one positioning board of the boards has one surface
Through holes whose opening diameter is smaller than that of the other surface
Having a first substrate and a second substrate having the first substrate
And the second board, align the corresponding through holes
And the surfaces with large apertures are placed in opposite directions.
A probe assembly is provided.

[0014]

The through holes of the first and second substrates are
Each may be formed by etching. Further, photosensitive glass can be used for the positioning substrate having the through holes. Furthermore, the first
The substrate and the second substrate can be fixed by fusion.

The entire surfaces of the fused first and second substrates can be covered with an insulating film.

Further, between the first substrate and the second substrate, there is provided a third substrate having a through hole corresponding to the positions of the through holes of those substrates and having an inner diameter larger than their large opening diameter. They can be arranged and fixedly attached to each other.

In order to achieve the third object of the present invention, according to still another embodiment, an inspection in which each electrode of the inspection object in which a large number of electrodes are arranged is contacted to transmit and receive an electric signal to perform the inspection. In the device, a sample support system for supporting the inspection object,
And Saguharigumi stereoscopic arranged to test object facing supported by the sample support system, a drive control system for controlling the displacement drive of the inspection target of the sample support system, said probe assembly
And a tester connected to perform inspection.
An inspection device is provided. The probe assembly is a through-hole.
Positioning board having a module and the through hole
And is electrically connected to the electrode to be measured.
And a probe assembly for
At least one of the positioning boards is
Through with the opening diameter of one surface smaller than the opening diameter of the other surface
A first substrate having a hole and a second substrate,
The positions of the corresponding through holes on the first and second boards
And in the direction in which the faces with large apertures face each other.
The probe assembly is arranged.

As the probe, for example, a spring probe or a probe made of a wire can be used.

[0020]

According to the above structure, by stacking the photosensitive glass substrates having the through holes formed by etching and heat-treating the substrates, the substrates are crystallized to increase the strength of the substrates, and the thick substrates are fused and integrated. Can be formed, and the strength can be significantly improved. In addition, when the probe or the wire is inserted into the through hole, the through hole having a good processing accuracy is superposed and the etched substrates are stacked and heat-bonded to each other so that the through hole has a good accuracy. Since the inner wall of the through hole is held at at least two places, the through hole can be used in a state where the accuracy of the through hole is improved.

Further, by covering the entire surface of the positioning substrate having the through hole with an insulating film, it is possible to provide the positioning substrate having the through hole in which abrasion powder due to the probe inserted into the through hole is prevented.

Further, by configuring the semiconductor inspection device having the positioning substrate having the above-mentioned through hole,
A low-cost semiconductor inspection device can be provided even for a multi-pin semiconductor element.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a probe assembly using a probe positioning substrate according to the present invention. These figures are cross-sectional views showing the main part.

In FIG. 1, the probe assembly of this embodiment is
It is composed of a plurality of spring probes 10 and a positioning structure C1 that determines the position of each spring probe 10. In FIG. 1, four spring probes 10 are shown, but this is for convenience of illustration and description, and in fact, a larger number of probes are arranged. The arrangement of the probes is usually two-dimensional. Therefore, in FIG. 1, only one row with sequences of many probes is shown. This also applies to the other embodiments described below.

This probe assembly has a large number of electrodes 2a on its surface.
Wiring board 50 for connecting to the semiconductor element 2 to be inspected, on which the inspection is formed, and an inspection device (not shown) for performing the inspection.
It is placed between and. That is, one end of each spring probe 10 is arranged so as to face the corresponding electrode 2a. Further, the other end of each spring probe 10 is arranged so as to face the electrode 52 of the wiring board 50. In the wiring board 50, the electrodes 52 are arranged on one surface of the insulating substrate 51, and the wiring 53 is provided inside the board 51.
Have.

The spring probe 10 includes two plungers 10b and 10c and these plungers 10b.
And 10c, and a tube 10d for containing them. The tips of the plungers 10b and 10c are sharpened like needles. These plungers 10b and 10c are attached to the tube 10
It is fitted into and retracted from one end side and the other end side of d. Plungers 10b and 10c have spring 10
By a, they are urged to project in opposite directions.
The tube 10d includes the plungers 10b and 10c.
Is provided with a protrusion 10e that locks so as not to jump out. The two plungers 10b and 10c, the tube 10d, and the spring 10a are made of a conductor.
Thereby, the plunger 1
Conduction up to the tip of 0c is secured.

The positioning structure C1 includes a plunger 10b.
A positioning board 11 for positioning the plunger 10b, a positioning board 12 for positioning the plunger 10c and a positioning board 12 for positioning the plunger 10c, and a positioning board 12 arranged between them. An intermediate plate 13 for holding 11 and 12.

The positioning board 11 is composed of a first board 11a and a second board 11b for positioning, and a reinforcing board 11c for reinforcing the strength of these boards. In addition, the positioning board 12 is a first positioning board for positioning.
The substrate 12a and the second substrate 12b. The positioning substrates 11 and 12 have various holes formed at corresponding positions according to the purpose of use. As various holes, probe through holes 22 for inserting the spring probes 10 are formed. Further, the positioning boards 11 and 12 have bolts 26 for fixing, respectively.
/ Accommodation holes 23a, 23b for accommodating the nut 27,
23c and 23d and a knock pin 2 for positioning
Holes 24a, 24b, 24c and 2 for inserting 5
4d are provided. In addition, the bolt 2
A hole 13b for inserting 6 and a hole 13c for inserting a knock pin 25 for positioning are provided. Further, the intermediate plate 13 is provided with a large-diameter hole 13a through which the spring probe 10 inserted into the plurality of through holes can be inserted as a whole.

First substrate 11a and second substrate 11b
Is composed of photosensitive glass. That is, in the photosensitive glass, a portion exposed to ultraviolet rays is crystallized using an etching mask, and the crystallized portion is dissolved and removed with an acid, so that various holes are formed according to the purpose of use. These holes penetrate from one surface to the other surface of each of the substrates 11a and 11b. Further, these holes have a shape in which the opening diameter of one surface is smaller than the opening diameter of the other surface, that is, a trapezoidal cross section.

First substrate 11a and second substrate 11b
Are arranged so that the surfaces having the openings having large opening diameters face each other, and the through holes 22 corresponding to each other are aligned and overlapped, and are integrally fixed in this state. The fixing is performed by superposing these substrates 11a and 11b on each other and closely adhering them to each other, followed by heat treatment, and fusing these substrates 11a and 11b. In this embodiment, in order to increase the strength, the positioning substrate 1 superposed as described above is used.
Reinforcing substrate 11c, which has been punched by etching, is further overlapped on 1a and 11b and brought into close contact therewith, and these are fused. As a result, the reinforced integrated positioning board 11 is formed. The reinforcing substrate 11c can be omitted.

As the photosensitive glass substrate, for example, photosensitive glass PEG3 manufactured by HOYA Co., Ltd. can be used.

As with the first substrate 11a and the second substrate 11b, the first substrate 12a and the second substrate 12b of the positioning substrate 12 are also exposed to ultraviolet light using a photosensitive glass using an etching mask. Various holes including the through holes 22 are formed by crystallizing the part and dissolving and removing the crystallized part with an acid. Then, similar to the first and second substrates 11a and 11b, the first substrate 12a and the second substrate 12a and the second substrate 12a having various holes such as the through holes 22 are formed.
The two glass substrates 12b of the substrate 12b are stacked and brought into close contact with each other with the glass substrate surfaces having good hole diameters in contact with the mask surface facing each other outside, and then heat-treated to be fused to form an integrated positioning substrate 12 Make up.

After heat-treating the positioning substrate 11, the surface thereof is coated with a coating material 21 such as polyparaxylene or polyimide for improving wear resistance. The covering material 21 may be provided at least on the inner wall and the opening of the through hole 22.

In the positioning structure C1, as described above, the positioning boards 11 and 12 are overlapped with the intermediate plate 13 interposed therebetween, and the knocking pins 25 are used for positioning. In this state, these are fixed with bolts 26 and nuts 27. Then, the spring probe 10 is inserted into each of the through holes 22 in the assembled positioning structure C1 to form a probe assembly. When the positioning boards 11 and 12 and the intermediate plate 13 are stacked,
The spring probe 10 may be attached together.

The positioning structure C1 can be appropriately sized according to the size of electrodes to be inspected, the arrangement density of electrodes, and the like. Here, an example of the size will be described. First and second substrates 11 of the positioning substrate 11
The thickness of each of a and 11b is about 0.5 mm, the reinforcing substrate 11c
Has a thickness of about 1 mm, and the first and second positioning substrates 12
Each of the substrates has a thickness of about 1 mm. In addition, the intermediate plate 13
Can have an appropriate thickness, but in the above example,
It is about 5 mm. Further, the small opening diameters of the first substrate 11a and the second substrate 11b of the positioning substrate 11 are
The large opening diameter is about 0.16 mm, which is about 0.18 mm. On the other hand, the small opening diameter of the first substrate 12a and the second substrate 12b of the positioning substrate 12 is about 0.21 mm,
The large opening diameter is about 0.24 mm. Further, the outer diameter of the plunger 10b is about 0.14 mm, and the tube 10
The outer diameter of d is about 0.2 mm.

In the probe assembly thus assembled, as shown in FIG. 1, the spring probe 10
The tube 10d is the reinforcing substrate 11 of the positioning substrate 11.
c, the hole 13a of the intermediate plate 13, the holes of the first substrate 12a and the second substrate 12b of the positioning substrate 12 are inserted. On the other hand, the plunger 10b is directly inserted into the through holes 22 of the first substrate 11a and the second substrate 11b of the positioning substrate 11 without being covered with the tube 10d.

When a semiconductor element is inspected by this probe assembly, the probe assembly is positioned above the semiconductor element 2 to be inspected and connected to an inspection device (not shown). To the electrode 52 of the wiring board 50 for
0c are made to correspond to each other and brought into contact. On the other hand, each plunger 10b is brought into contact with the corresponding electrode 2a. And
The distance between the wiring board 50 and the semiconductor element 2 is narrowed. As a result, the spring 10a causes the plungers 10b and 10c to
Are pressed so that their tips are pressed against the electrodes. This breaks through the oxide film that covers the electrode surface,
The effect of contact resistance due to the oxide film is eliminated, and good electrical connection can be secured. In this state, the wiring 5 of the wiring board 50
Each spring probe 10 and an inspection device (not shown) are connected via 3 to perform an inspection.

At this time, the displacement of the plunger 10b on the plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the plunger 10b is restricted by the openings having the small opening diameters of the first substrate 11a and the second substrate 11b of the positioning substrate 11. . By the way, the opening having the small opening diameter of the first substrate 11a and the second substrate 11b is the portion closest to the mask, and therefore is accurately etched, and the error with respect to the dimension of the mask is small. Therefore, the displacement of the plunger 10b is suppressed to a small error range by this portion. Further, since the openings having the small opening diameters of the first substrate 11a and the second substrate 11b are located outside so as to be distant from each other, the plunger 10b is regulated at two points in the axial direction. Therefore, the displacement of the tip of the plunger 10b is smaller and the accuracy is higher than in the case of regulating at one point.

Further, since the part that regulates the plunger 10b is covered with the covering material 21, the plunger 10b
Even if b and a part of the through hole 22 come into contact with each other, it is possible to prevent the material of the plunger 10b or the positioning substrate 11 from being scraped to generate material powder.

In FIG. 1, the positioning substrates 11 and 12 having through holes are formed by heat-treating two or three etched glass substrates one on top of the other. However, the positioning substrate may be formed by stacking an arbitrary number of glass plates. Further, the orientation when the substrates are combined can be set appropriately. In FIG.
Examples of these are shown below.

FIG. 12A shows four glass substrates 11
This is an example in which a, 11d, 11e, and 11b are overlapped.
In this example, 11a and 11b are arranged so that the surface of each through hole 22 having the smaller opening diameter is on the outside.

FIG. 12B shows three glass substrates 11
This is an example in which a, 11d, and 11b are overlapped. In this example, 11a and 11b are arranged so that the surface of each through hole 22 having the smaller opening diameter is on the outside. Then, a glass plate 11d having a large hole gauge is sandwiched between them.

FIG. 12C shows an example in which the coating material 21 is provided on the surface of the positioning substrate of the example shown in FIG. Similarly, FIG. 12D is an example in which the coating material 21 is provided on the surface of the positioning substrate of the example shown in FIG.

Next, a second embodiment of the probe assembly of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the form of the spring probe and the form of the fixed substrate accordingly. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the essential parts of a second embodiment of the probe assembly of the present invention. The probe assembly of this embodiment includes a plurality of spring probes 30 and a positioning structure C2 that determines the position of each spring probe 30. Similar to the first embodiment, this probe assembly is for connecting to a semiconductor element 2 to be inspected, which has a large number of electrodes 2a formed on its surface, and an inspection apparatus (not shown) for inspecting. It is arranged between the wiring board 50.

The spring probe 30 includes two plungers 30b and 30c and these plungers 30b.
And 30c, and a tube 30d for containing them. Plungers 30b and 30c have their tips sharpened. These plungers 30b and 30c are fitted in the tube 30d at one end side and the other end side so as to be retractable. The plungers 30b and 30c are biased by the spring 30a so as to project in opposite directions. The tube 30d is provided with protrusions 30e and 30f in a flange shape that lock the plungers 30b and 30c so as not to jump out. Also, this tube 30d
A flange 30g for locking the tube itself is provided on one end side of the. Two plungers 30
b and 30c, the tube 30d, and the spring 30a are made of a conductor. As a result, the plunger 30b
Conduction is secured from the tip of the to the tip of the plunger 30c.

The positioning structure C2 includes a plunger 30b.
A positioning board 31 for positioning the plunger 30b, a positioning board 32 for positioning the plunger 30c and a positioning board 32 for positioning the plunger 30c, and a positioning board 32 arranged between them. And an intermediate plate 13 for holding 31 and 32.

The positioning board 31 is composed of a first board 31a and a second board 31b for positioning. The positioning board 32 is composed of a first board 32a and a second board 32b for performing positioning. The positioning boards 31 and 32 are formed with various holes at corresponding positions according to the purpose of use.
As various holes, a probe through hole 22 for inserting the spring probe 30 is formed. Further, the positioning boards 31 and 32 are provided with accommodation holes 33a, 33b, 23c and 23d for accommodating the bolts 26 / nuts 27 for fixing, respectively. Although not shown, a hole (not shown) for inserting a pin similar to the knock pin 25 for positioning shown in FIG. 1 is provided. In addition, the bolt 26
A hole 13b for inserting a pin and a hole (not shown) for inserting a knock pin for positioning are provided. Further, the intermediate plate 13 is provided with a large diameter hole 13a through which the spring probe 30 inserted into the plurality of through holes can be inserted as a whole.

First substrate 31a and second substrate 31b
In the same manner as the positioning substrate 12 of the first embodiment, various holes are formed by using the photosensitive glass in the same process. These holes have a shape in which the opening diameter of one surface is smaller than the opening diameter of the other surface, that is, a trapezoidal cross section. As the photosensitive glass substrate, for example, HOY
Photosensitive glass PEG3 manufactured by A Co. can be used.

First substrate 31a and second substrate 31b
Are arranged so that the surfaces having the openings with large opening diameters face each other, and the corresponding through holes are aligned and superposed, and are integrally fixed in this state. The fixation is performed by superposing these substrates 31a and 31b on each other and closely adhering them to each other, followed by heat treatment to fuse the substrates 31a and 31b. A reinforcing board similar to the reinforcing board 11c used in the first embodiment may be added to the positioning board 31.

The first substrate 32a and the second substrate 32b of the positioning substrate 32 are also formed with various holes including the through holes 22 like the first substrate 31a and the second substrate 31b. Then, the first and second substrates 3 described above
Similar to 1a and 31b, two glass substrates, that is, first substrates 32a and 32b in which various holes such as through holes 22 are formed, are arranged such that the glass substrate surfaces having good hole diameter contact with the mask surface are outside each other. The positioning substrate 32 is integrated by stacking and closely adhering to each other and heat-bonding to form an integral positioning substrate 32.

The positioning boards 31 and 32 include
After the heat treatment, the surface thereof may be coated with a coating material 21 such as polyparaxylene or polyimide for improving abrasion resistance.

In the positioning structure C2, as described above, the positioning boards 31 and 32 are stacked with the intermediate plate 13 interposed therebetween, and are positioned by a knock pin (not shown). In this state, these are fixed with bolts 26 and nuts 27. Then, the spring probe 30 is inserted into each of the through holes 22 in the assembled positioning structure C2 to form a probe assembly.

The probe assembly thus formed is
When the plunger 30b of the spring probe 30 is placed inside the through hole 22 of the positioning substrate 31, the tube 30d
It is different from the first embodiment in that it is covered with. Therefore, in this embodiment, the plunger 30b can be projected and retracted without coming into contact with the inner wall of the through hole 22 of the positioning substrate 31, especially the opening.

Inspection of a semiconductor device using the probe assembly of this embodiment can be carried out in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the description will not be repeated here.

Next, a third embodiment of the probe assembly of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is characterized in that a wire rod made of a conductor is used as a probe instead of a spring probe.

FIG. 3 shows the essential parts of a third embodiment of the probe assembly according to the present invention. In FIG. 3, the probe assembly of the present embodiment includes a plurality of probes 40, a positioning structure C3 that determines the position of each probe 40, and a wiring board 60 that fixes and electrically connects the probes 40. Composed of.

The probe 40 is composed of a metal wire having a spring property such as phosphor bronze. One end (tip 40a) side is sharpened, and the other end (base end 40b) side is connected to the wiring board 60. Further, one end and the other end are bent so that their extension lines are orthogonal to each other. However, the bent portion is bent so as to have a spring property and is folded back in a U shape or an S shape in order to easily maintain the orthogonal state.

The positioning structure C3 is disposed on the tip end side of the probe 40 and the positioning substrate 41 for positioning the probe 40, and on the base end 40b side of the probe 40 for positioning the probe 40. Positioning boards 42 and an intermediate plate 13 arranged between them for holding these positioning boards 41 and 42.
And a substrate 14 placed on the intermediate plate 13 and supporting the wiring substrate 60.

The positioning board 41 is composed of a first board 41a and a second board 41b for positioning, and a reinforcing board 41c for reinforcing the strength of these boards. Further, the positioning board 42 is a first board for positioning.
Substrate 42a and second substrate 42b. The positioning boards 41 and 42 have various holes formed at corresponding positions according to the purpose of use. As various holes, probe through holes 22 for inserting the probes 40 are formed. Further, the positioning boards 41 and 42 respectively have bolts 26 / nuts 2 for fixing.
Housing holes 23a, 23b, 23c and 23d for housing 7, and a knock pin (not shown) for positioning
And a hole (not shown) for inserting the through hole. Further, the intermediate plate 13 also has a hole 1 through which the bolt 26 is inserted.
3b and a hole (not shown) for inserting a knock pin for positioning are provided. Further, the intermediate plate 1
3 is provided with a hole 13a having a large diameter, through which the probe 40 inserted into the plurality of through holes can be inserted as a whole. The support substrate 14 is provided with a hole 14a for accommodating the positioning substrate 42. However, the hole 14a may be a gap between the two plates instead of the hole. That is, in this case, the support substrate 14 is composed of two plates.

Since the structure and manufacturing method of the positioning board 41 are the same as those of the positioning board 11 of the first embodiment,
The description is omitted.

The first substrate 42a and the second substrate 42b of the positioning substrate 42 have the same structure as the positioning substrate 12 of the first embodiment except that the surface thereof is covered with the coating material 21. Further, it is manufactured in the same manner as the positioning board 12.

After heating the positioning substrates 41, 42, the surfaces thereof are coated with a coating material 21 such as polyparaxylene or polyimide for improving the wear resistance. The covering material 21 may be provided at least on the inner wall and the opening of the through hole 22.

The wiring board 60 has two layers of a first board 61 and a second board 62. Each board 6
Internal wirings 63 and a plurality of connection pads 64 that correspond to the internal wirings in a one-to-one correspondence are arranged on the wirings 1 and 62.
The connection pad 64 has a base end 40 b of the probe 40.
Are connected by solder 65, for example. By this connection, each probe 40 is electrically connected to the wiring board 60 and mechanically fixed. However, the tip 40a of each probe 40 can be displaced in the axial direction due to the elasticity of the bent portion.

In this embodiment, as the wiring board 60, the two-layer boards 61 and 62 are arranged. However, if necessary, a plurality of layers of boards may be used.

If necessary, the positioning board 4
Alternatively, one of the positioning board 42 and the positioning board 42 may be omitted. However, by providing both the positioning board 41 and the positioning board 42, the displacement of the probe 40 in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction can be suppressed to a smaller extent.

The inspection by this probe assembly is carried out by the probe 4
The tip 40a of 0 is brought into pressure contact with the electrode 2a of the semiconductor element 2. At this time, the probe 40 comes into contact with the electrode 2a while appropriately absorbing the pressure due to each spring property. Therefore, all the probes 40 surely contact the electrodes 2a. Further, at this time, the probe 40 is displaced in the axial direction, but even if it contacts the inner wall of the through hole, particularly the opening, it is covered with the coating material 21, so that the surface of the probe 40 or the substrate is scraped. It can be prevented.

Since the probe assembly of the third embodiment has a simpler probe structure than the first and second embodiments, the probe can be made thinner. For example, 0.
A wire rod having a wire diameter of about 07 mm can be used. When such a linear probe is used, the positioning substrate 41
The through hole 22 has a small opening diameter, for example, 0.1 mm, and a large diameter, for example, 0.12 mm.
Further, the through hole 22 is covered with the covering material 21 to have an opening diameter of, for example, about 0.08 mm. Therefore, even if the electrodes are semiconductor elements having a smaller area and a high density, the electrodes can be connected with high positional accuracy. Moreover, the probe can be manufactured at low cost.

In the probe assembly of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, an insulating coating 67 may be provided from the bent portion of the probe to the base end side. This can prevent a short circuit due to mutual contact of the probes. The insulating coating 67 can be formed, for example, by covering a tube of polyimide, polytetrafluoroethylene, or the like, or by coating polyparaxylene, polyimide, or the like.

Next, an example of an inspection apparatus using the probe assembly of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a main part of an inspection apparatus which is an embodiment using the probe assembly of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the inspection device is constructed as a wafer prober in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. This inspection apparatus includes a sample support system 1 that supports an object to be inspected.
20, a probe system 100 that contacts an object to be inspected to send and receive an electric signal, a drive control system 150 that controls the operation of the sample support system 120, and a tester 170 that inspects. The semiconductor wafer 1 is targeted as the inspection object. A plurality of electrodes 2a as external connection electrodes are formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1.

The sample support system 120 includes a sample table 12 on which the semiconductor wafer 1 is removably mounted and which is provided substantially horizontally.
2, a vertically arranged lifting shaft 124 that supports the sample table 122, a lifting drive unit 125 that drives the lifting shaft 124 up and down, and an XY that supports the lifting drive unit 125.
And a stage 126. XY stage 126
Is fixed on the housing 127. Lifting drive unit 125
Is, for example, a stepping motor. XY
By combining the movement operation of the stage 126 in the horizontal plane and the vertical movement by the elevation drive unit 125, the positioning operation of the sample table 122 in the horizontal and vertical directions is performed. Further, the sample table 122 is provided with a rotation mechanism (not shown) so that the sample table 122 can be rotationally displaced in a horizontal plane.

A probe assembly C is provided above the sample table 122.
And the probe system 100 having the wiring boards 101 and 102 are arranged. That is, the spring probe 100b and the wiring boards 101 and 102 that are inserted into the positioning board 100a in a posture facing the sample table 122 in parallel are provided. Each spring probe 10
0b passes through the lower electrode 101a of the wiring board 101, the internal wiring 101b, the pogo pin 103 and the internal wiring 102b of the wiring board 102, and the wiring board 10b.
2 is connected to the connection terminal 102c provided on the second terminal. In this embodiment, the connection terminal 102c is composed of a coaxial connector. It is connected to the tester 170 via a cable 171 connected to the connection terminal 102c. The probe assembly C used here is the probe assembly C1 having a structure using the spring probe shown in FIG. 1, but is not limited to this. For example, the structure shown in FIG. 2 or 3 may be used.

The drive control system 150 is connected to the tester 170 via a cable 172. Further, the drive control system 150 sends a control signal to the actuator of each drive unit of the sample support system 120 to control the operation thereof. That is, the drive control system 150 includes a computer inside,
The operation of the sample support system 120 is controlled according to the progress information of the test operation of the tester 170 transmitted via the cable 172. In addition, the drive control system 150 includes an operation unit 151.
And receives an input of various instructions regarding drive control, for example, an instruction of a manual operation.

The operation of the inspection apparatus of this embodiment will be described below. The semiconductor wafer 1 is fixed on the sample table 122, and the electrode 2a formed on the semiconductor wafer 1 is fixed to the spring probe 100b inserted in the positioning substrate 100a by using the XY stage 126 and the rotating mechanism. Adjust to position directly below. After that, the drive control system 150 operates the lift drive unit 125 to move the sample table 122.
Is raised to a predetermined height to bring the tips of the plurality of spring probes 100b into contact with the plurality of electrodes 2a of the target semiconductor element with a predetermined pressure. The operation up to this point is executed by the drive control system 150 according to the operation instruction from the operation unit 151. It should be noted that these adjustments such as positioning may be automatically performed. For example, it can be carried out by marking a reference position mark on the semiconductor wafer 1 in advance and reading it with a reading device to set the origin of the coordinates. In this case, the position of the electrode is known by the drive control unit 150 by receiving the design data in advance.

In this state, the cable 171 and the wiring board 1
02 and 101 and the spring probe 100b, the semiconductor device formed on the semiconductor wafer 1 and the tester 170 exchange operating power, an operation test signal, and the like to determine whether or not the operating characteristics of the semiconductor device. Determine. The above-described series of test operations are performed for each of the plurality of semiconductor elements formed on the semiconductor wafer 1, and it is determined whether the operation characteristics are appropriate or not.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a main part of an inspection apparatus which is another embodiment using the probe assembly of the present invention. The present embodiment is an example in which the probe assembly C3 having the structure shown in FIG. 3 is used as the probe assembly C. In this embodiment, the inspection device is configured as a wafer prober in the manufacture of semiconductor devices.

The probe 40 shown in FIG. 3 is inserted into the positioning boards 41 and 42 of the present invention, and one end of the wiring board 61,
It is soldered to connection pads 64 formed on the surface of 62, and is connected to connection terminals 66 provided on the wiring boards 61 and 62 through internal wiring 63 of the wiring boards 61 and 62. In this embodiment, the connection terminal 66 is a coaxial connector. It is connected to the tester 170 via the cable 171 connected to the connection terminal 66.
Since the basic operation of the inspection device is the same as that of FIG. 4, the description of the operation is omitted. In this example as well, as shown in FIG. 13, the probe 40 may be provided with an insulating coating 67.

[0081]

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the hole diameter of the through hole for inserting the probe of the positioning board, in particular, the accuracy of the opening diameter, and moreover, the inner wall of the through hole having a good accuracy, especially the opening. Since the structure is held in at least two places, it can be used in a highly accurate state in an actual use state.

Further, according to the present invention, by superposing the etched substrates and heat-treating the substrates, the substrates are crystallized to increase the substrate strength, and a thick substrate integrated by fusion can be formed. Therefore, the strength of the positioning substrate can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a semiconductor inspection device using a positioning substrate having a high density, a large number of pins, and a through hole having a good drilling accuracy and substrate strength.

Further, by configuring the semiconductor inspection device having the positioning board having the above-mentioned through hole,
Even for a multi-pin semiconductor element, it is possible to provide a low-cost semiconductor inspection device by collective hole drilling, as compared with a conventional positioning substrate having through holes formed by drilling holes.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a main part of a first embodiment of a probe assembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an essential part of a second embodiment of the probe assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an essential part of a third embodiment of the probe assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a main part of an example of an inspection apparatus using the probe assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of another example of the inspection apparatus using the probe assembly of the present invention.

6A is a perspective view of a wafer, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view of a semiconductor element.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of a conventional inspection probe.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a conventional inspection probe.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a semiconductor element having solder balls on electrodes.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of a semiconductor element which is solder-melted and connected.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a fixed portion of a probe for a conventional semiconductor device inspection apparatus.

12A to 12D are cross-sectional views of a main part showing another example of the positioning board.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a state in which a means for preventing mutual contact of the probes is added in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Wafer, 2 ... Semiconductor element, 2a ... Electrode, 3 ... Electrode, 4 ... Probe card, 5 ... Probe, 6 ... Solder bump, 7 ... Wiring board, 8 ... Electrode, 10 ... Spring probe, 10a ... Spring, 10b, 10c ... Plunger, 1
0d ... Tube, 10e ... Protrusion, 11, 12, 31, 3
2, 41, 42 ... Positioning board, 11a, 12a, 31
a, 32a, 41a, 42a, 61 ... First substrate, 11
b, 12b, 31b, 32b, 41b, 42b, 62 ...
Second substrate, 11c, 41c ... Reinforcing substrate, 11d, 11
e ... Substrate, 13 ... Intermediate plate, 13a, 13b, 13c ...
Hole, 14 ... substrate, 14a ... hole, 15 ... electrode terminal, 21 ...
Coating material, 22 ... through hole, 23a, 23b, 23
c, 23d, 33a, 33b ... accommodation holes, 24a, 24
b, 24c, 24d ... hole, 25 ... knock pin, 26 ... bolt, 27 ... nut, 30 ... spring probe, 30
a ... Spring, 30b, 30c ... Plunger, 30d ... Tube, 30e, 30f ... Protrusion, 30g ... Flange, 40
... probe, 40a ... tip, 40b ... base end, 50 ... wiring board, 51 ... insulating board, 52 ... electrode, 53 ... wiring, 60
... Wiring board, 63 ... Internal wiring, 64 ... Connection pad, 65
... Solder, 66 ... Connection terminal, 67 ... Insulation coating, 100 ...
Probe system, 100a ... Positioning board, 100b ... Spring probe, 101 ... Wiring board, 101a ... Electrode,
101b ... internal wiring, 102 ... wiring board, 102b ... internal wiring, 102c ... connecting terminal, 103 ... pogo pin, 12
0 ... Sample support system, 122 ... Sample base, 124 ... Elevating shaft, 1
25 ... Lifting / driving unit, 126 ... XY stage, 127 ...
Case, 150 ... Drive control system, 151 ... Operation unit, 170 ...
Tester, 171, 172 ... Cable, C ... Probe assembly,
C1, C2, C3 ... Positioning structure.

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-6-317624 (JP, A) JP-A-1-287484 (JP, A) JP-A-4-112549 (JP, A) JP-A-63-293934 (JP , A) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01R 1/06-1/073 G01R 31/28

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of positioning substrates having through holes.
And the voltage of the object to be measured that is inserted through the through hole.
A probe assembly having a probe for electrically connecting to a pole
At least one of the plurality of positioning boards
The substrate has a smaller opening on one side than the opening on the other.
Has a first substrate and a second substrate having a through hole
However , the first substrate and the second substrate are corresponding through holes.
And the surfaces with large apertures face each other.
A probe assembly characterized by being arranged in a facing direction. 2. The probe assembly according to claim 1, wherein
The first substrate and the second substrate have at least two openings.
The small diameter opening regulates and positions the probe.
A probe assembly which is characterized by: 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 and 2.
In the probe assembly, the first substrate and the second substrate are
A probe assembly using photosensitive glass. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 3.
In the mounted probe assembly, the first substrate and the second substrate
Shall be fused and integrated by heat treatment
A probe assembly characterized by: 5. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3 and 4.
In the probe assembly described in 1), the inner wall of the through hole and the
And the opening is made of polyparaxylene or polyimide.
Probe assembly characterized by being coated with either
body. 6. A method according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The probe assembly according to claim 1, wherein the probe is a splice.
A probe assembly which is a probe. 7. A sample support system for supporting an object to be inspected, comprising: a sample support system for supporting an object to be inspected; in a Saguharigumi solid which is arranged to face the test object to be supported, and a drive control system for controlling the displacement drive of the inspection target of the sample support system, the inspection is connected to the probe assembly And a tester for performing the probe assembly , wherein the probe set assembly comprises:
The probe apparatus according to any one of 6 to 6, which is an inspection apparatus.