JP4939129B2 - Probe polishing member, probe polishing method, probe card, and probe apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to Migaku Ken how to polish the probe of a probe card for use in inspecting electrical characteristics of the inspection object, more particularly, the probe tip face to improve the electrical contact with the object to be inspected it relates polishing side Ho及 beauty probe apparatus of a probe that can be obtained.

  The probe device is usually configured to include a loader chamber that conveys an object to be inspected (for example, a wafer) and a prober chamber that is adjacent to the loader chamber and inspects the electrical characteristics of the wafer received from the loader chamber. Yes. In the prober chamber, a mounting table for mounting a wafer is disposed so as to be movable in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions, and a probe card for inspecting the electrical characteristics of the wafer is disposed above the mounting table. Yes. Then, the mounting table moves in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions, and the plurality of electrode pads respectively formed on the plurality of devices on the wafer and the plurality of probes on the probe card are in electrical contact with each other, Conduct electrical property tests on each device.

  Thus, in order to bring the electrode pad and the probe into electrical contact, the mounting table is overdriven by a predetermined distance after the electrode pad of the wafer on the mounting table and the probe are in contact with each other. By overdrive, the oxide film O is scraped off while the tip of the probe 1 moves on the electrode pad P as shown by an arrow in FIG. 6, and the probe 1 and the metal conductor of the electrode pad P are brought into electrical contact with each other. I take the.

  However, when the tip surface of the probe 1 is formed as a smooth curved surface as shown in FIG. 6, the tip surface of the probe 1 is smooth even if the probe 1 and the electrode pad P are connected. The contact resistance is not stable due to the contact angle with one electrode pad P. For this reason, a probe whose tip surface is satin-finished is used. The satin-treated probe can obtain a relatively stable contact resistance through a large number of fine protrusions.

  Regardless of whether or not the matte finish is applied, metal oxide shavings scraped from the electrode pad P adhere to the tip surface of the probe while the inspection is repeated. Since the shavings are welded to the tip surface of the probe 1 due to frictional heat between the tip surface of the probe 1 and the electrode pad P and increase the contact resistance between the electrode pad P, a probe using a polishing member has been conventionally used. 1 The tip is polished to remove deposits. Various types of polishing members have heretofore been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a polishing plate in which an abrasive is attached to a conductive base material. However, with this polishing plate, the tip of the probe is polished and the tip surface becomes flat, and stable contact with the electrode pad cannot be ensured. Therefore, Patent Document 2 proposes a cleaning member capable of extending the life of the probe without polishing the tip of the probe even when the cleaning is repeated a plurality of times. This cleaning member is formed by mixing an abrasive base material made of silicon rubber or urethane rubber with a fine abrasive such as alumina, silicon carbide or diamond powder, and has the same shape and the same dimensions as the wafer as a whole. . Further, as a polishing member of the same kind as the cleaning member of Patent Document 2, there are polishing members described in Patent Documents 3 and 4. The polishing member described in Patent Document 3 includes a polishing layer in which a fine abrasive grain layer is disposed on a base material, and a cushion layer having elasticity and buffering properties. The polishing member described in Patent Document 4 is a first elastic member formed in a base plate shape and a first elastic member formed on the first elastic member as a polishing member that prevents the tip of the probe from being cut and thinned. 2 and an abrasive layer made of hard particles and a binder material formed on the second elastic member.

  In Patent Document 5, a polishing plate is placed on a wafer chuck instead of a wafer, and the probe is slid in an oblique direction on the upper edge of a groove formed on the surface of the polishing plate to polish the probe. A cleaning device that removes deposits from a probe has been proposed. Patent Document 6 proposes a substrate inspection apparatus provided with a polishing means for sharpening a needle tip using an ultrasonic vibrator.

  Patent Document 7 describes a technique related to an electrode recovery processing method for easily and surely forming predetermined irregularities on a connection surface of an electrode portion of an electrode plate worn by inspection. In this technology, the connection surface of the electrode part of the worn electrode plate and the transfer plate having the uneven surface are pressed against each other, and in this state, the electrode plate and the transfer plate are relatively moved to form predetermined unevenness on the connection surface. To do.

Japanese Utility Model 07-076772 JP 07-244074 A JP-A-10-300777 JP 2003-0668810 A JP 2000-019226 A JP 05-126849 JP 2004-056078 A

  However, if the conventional polishing members described in Patent Documents 2 to 4 and Patent Document 6 are used, the deposits can be removed while suppressing the polishing of the tip of the probe 1, but the tip of the probe 1 is small even in these cases. For example, even with a probe whose tip surface has been subjected to a matte finish, the treated surface becomes smooth, and the matte finish treatment is wasted, so that stable contact resistance cannot be obtained. Further, since the tip of the probe polished by these polishing members has a smooth surface, the contact resistance between the probe and the electrode pad is not stable as described above. Further, the polishing plate described in Patent Document 5 can remove the deposit on the sliding contact portion between the probe and the upper edge of the groove, but it is difficult to sufficiently remove the deposit on other portions.

  Further, in the case of the polishing plate of Patent Document 1, since the tip of the probe is polished by the polishing member dispersed in the base material as described above, the polishing state of the surface cannot be managed. Also, in the case of the transfer plate of Patent Document 7, as in Patent Document 1, irregularities on the surface of the transfer plate are irregularly formed, and the electrode plate is formed by relative movement of the electrode plate and the transfer plate in a pressure contact state. The unevenness of the connection surface of the electrode part is irregular, and the transfer state cannot be managed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can manage the polishing state of the tip surface of the probe and ensure stable conduction between the probe and the object to be inspected even after polishing. and its object is to provide a polishing method can be Help lobe. Further, the present invention can secure a stable connection between the probe and the inspection object is an object that can provide together Help lobe device can be performed with high reliability testing.

The probe polishing method according to claim 1 of the present invention is a method for polishing a probe of a probe card used when an electrical property inspection of the inspection object is performed by making electrical contact with an electrode of the inspection object. In polishing the probe, the polishing member having a polishing surface formed such that the convex portions of the quadrangular pyramid are arranged vertically and horizontally, and the adjacent convex portions share one of the bottom sides, and the above The tip of the probe is polished with the polishing surface by moving the probe relative to each other, and a plurality of protrusions having substantially the same shape as the protrusion are formed on the tip of the probe. It is.

The probe polishing method according to claim 2 of the present invention is the method according to claim 1 , wherein the polishing surface of the polishing member and the tip end surface of the probe are pressed against each other; A step of relatively moving the probe in one direction in a pressure-contacted manner to form a groove portion of a plurality of muscles on the tip surface of the probe by the plurality of convex portions; and the polishing member and the tip surface of the probe. A plurality of groove portions are formed in each of the line-like protrusions between the plurality of grooves by the plurality of convex portions, and the remaining portions are moved relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to the one direction while being pressed against each other. And a step of forming a plurality of quadrangular pyramidal protrusions having substantially the same shape as the convex portions.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a probe apparatus comprising: a probe card having a plurality of probes; and a polishing member for polishing the plurality of probes of the probe card; In the probe apparatus for inspecting the electrical characteristics of the object to be inspected by bringing them into electrical contact, the polishing member is made of a diamond material or a cemented carbide, and the polishing surface of the polishing member is formed by being arranged vertically and horizontally. a plurality of quadrangular pyramid has protrusions and adjacent consists protrusion is formed by sharing one base shape, the probe is polished according to claim 1 or claim 2 using the polishing member The tip surface has a plurality of quadrangular pyramid-shaped protrusions formed by renewing so that the shape of the tip surface of the probe is substantially the same as the shape of the convex portion when polished by the method. The protruding portions which is characterized in that sharing one base.

According to the present invention, the polished state of the probe tip surface can be managed as a state in which a plurality of quadrangular pyramidal protrusions are arranged vertically and horizontally, and are formed by being arranged vertically and horizontally on the probe tip surface even after polishing. a plurality of constantly stable polishing method Help lobes can ensure continuity between the projection and the test subject during square pyramidal shape can be provided. In addition, according to the present invention, by using the polishing member according to the present invention, the polished state of the probe tip surface can be managed as a state in which a plurality of quadrangular pyramidal protrusions are arranged vertically and horizontally, and the probe tip surface a plurality of constantly stable electric connection between the projection and the test subject during a quadrangular pyramid shape can be ensured, Help lobe device can perform highly reliable test which is formed by arranging in a matrix in Can also be provided.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the embodiment shown in FIGS.

  First, the probe device of this embodiment will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the probe apparatus 10 of the present embodiment has a mounting table 11 on which a wafer W, which is an object to be inspected, can be moved in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions. And an electrode pad (not shown) of the wafer W on the mounting table 11 and the plurality of probes 121 of the probe card 12 are aligned under the control of the control device. The electrical characteristics of the wafer W are inspected by electrically contacting the plurality of probes 121 and the electrode pads of the wafer. The alignment between the probe 121 and the electrode pad is performed via an alignment mechanism.

  The probe card 12 is attached to the opening of the head plate 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the alignment mechanism includes a first camera 14 attached to the side of the mounting table 11, and a second camera (not shown) attached to an alignment bridge (not shown). The probe 121 is imaged by the first camera 14, the electrode pad of the wafer W is imaged by the second camera, and the probe 121 and the electrode pad are aligned based on the respective position data.

  A polishing member 15 is disposed on the side of the mounting table 11. The polishing member 15 is fixed on a support table 16 attached to the side of the mounting table 11. The support base 15 has a substantially square shape, for example, and moves up and down slightly below and slightly above the mounting surface of the mounting table 11 via the lifting mechanism 16A. When the probe 121 is polished, the support base 15 rises slightly above the placement surface via the elevator mechanism 16A as shown by a solid line in FIG. 1, and otherwise the support base 16 as shown by a one-dot chain line in the figure. Is lowered to a position slightly below the placement surface via the lifting mechanism 16A.

  Thus, in the polishing member 15, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, one surface (upper surface) of the substrate 15A as a base material is formed as a polishing surface. On this polished surface, a plurality of quadrangular pyramid-shaped (pyramid-type) convex portions 15B are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the probe 121 is polished by these convex portions 15B. The plurality of convex portions 15B are formed so as to be packed in the upper surface of the substrate 15A without any gap, as is clear from FIG. 5B, and the adjacent pyramid-shaped convex portions 15B are one of the bottom sides (groove portions). Is formed to share. For example, it is preferable that the convex portion 15B has a bottom length of 0.5 to 1.5 μm and a height from the apex groove portion of 0.3 to 1.0 μm. In this embodiment, the length of the base is 1.0 μm and the height from the apex groove is 0.5 μm. The polishing member 15 is formed of a material harder than the probe 121, and is formed so that the probe 121 is polished and the plurality of convex portions 15B function as cutting blades. Accordingly, the material of the polishing member 15 is not particularly limited as long as the material is harder than the probe 121. As such a material, for example, a diamond material, a cemented carbide (for example, tungsten carbide) or the like is preferably used.

  Since the convex portion 15B has a function as a cutting blade as described above, the polishing member 15 moves as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3A, for example, so that the polishing surface is pressed against the probe tip. By polishing the tip surface of 121 in the X and Y directions, as shown in FIG. 5B, a groove 121A that intersects the tip surface of the probe 121 vertically and horizontally is formed, and a plurality of protrusions 121B are formed in the remaining portion. Can be formed. Accordingly, the polishing member 15 can be used to provide a plurality of protrusions 121B on the tip surface of the probe 121 as shown in FIG. Then, by simply pressing the probe 121 against the electrode pad P as shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of protrusions 121B penetrate the oxide film O of the electrode pad P and directly contact the metal conductor of the electrode pad P. Conductivity with the electrode pad P can be obtained.

  Next, a method for polishing the probe 121 using the polishing member 15 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, after the polishing member 15 attached to the mounting table 11 and the probe 121 are aligned via the alignment mechanism, the mounting table 11 moves and the polishing member 15 moves to the probe as shown in FIG. It ’s just under 121. Subsequently, as shown by the white arrow in the figure, the mounting table 11 is raised and the polishing member 15 and the probe 121 come into contact with each other. The mounting table 11 moves in the X direction, for example, in the pressed state. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, a plurality of convex portions 15B of the polishing member 15 form a stripe-shaped groove portion 121A having a triangular cross section across the plurality of streaks on the tip surface of the probe 121. Thereafter, after the mounting table 11 is lowered, it is lifted again, overdriven, and the mounting table 11 moves in the Y direction in a state where the polishing member 15 and the tip surface of the probe 121 are in pressure contact. Thus, the groove 121A is formed in a direction orthogonal to the streaky groove 121A previously formed by the plurality of convex portions 15B of the polishing member 15. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of quadrangular pyramidal protrusions 121B are formed in portions remaining between the mutually orthogonal groove portions 121A.

  The protrusion 121 </ b> B formed on the tip surface of the probe 121 is formed in substantially the same form as the protrusion 15 </ b> B of the polishing member 15. That is, each time the tip surface of the probe 121 is polished by the polishing member 15, a plurality of protrusions 121 </ b> B having substantially the same shape as the convex portions 15 </ b> B of the polishing member 15 are transferred to the tip surface of the probe 121. As shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of protrusions 121B are formed to be arranged vertically and horizontally, and adjacent protrusions 121B share one of the bottom sides (grooves 121A). Similar to the protrusion 15B, the protrusion 121B has a bottom length of 0.5 to 1.5 μm and a height from the apex groove 121A of 0.3 to 1.0 μm, for example. Yes. In the present embodiment, the length of the base is 1.0 μm and the height from the apex groove 121A is 0.5 μm.

  Next, an inspection of the wafer W using the probe 121 having a plurality of protrusions 121B on the front end surface will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the wafer W is mounted on the mounting table 11, and the electrode pad of the wafer W on the mounting table 11 and the plurality of probes 121 of the probe card 12 are aligned via the alignment mechanism, and then the mounting table 11 is moved. When moved in the X and Y directions, a predetermined electrode pad of the wafer W is positioned directly below the plurality of probes 121 of the probe card 12. In this state, the mounting table 11 is raised, and the electrode pad of the wafer W and the plurality of probes 121 come into contact with each other. Further, when the mounting table 11 is overdriven and the plurality of probes 121 and the corresponding electrode pads are pressed into contact with each other, the plurality of protrusions 121B of each probe 121 form the oxide film O of the electrode pad P as shown in FIG. Break and pierce.

  The plurality of protrusions 121B of the probe 121 that have broken through the oxide film O of the electrode pad P are in direct contact with the metal conductor of the electrode pad P, as shown in FIG. Since the plurality of protrusions 121B are formed over the entire tip surface of the probe 121 as shown in FIG. 4, the contact area with the metal conductor is large, and a stable conduction state can be secured. Signals can be transmitted / received to / from the electrode pad P reliably, and a highly reliable inspection can be performed. In addition, since the probe 121 only pierces the electrode pad P with the plurality of protruding portions 121B and does not scrape, there is no damage to the electrode pad P. When the transmission / reception of the signal is completed in this state, after the mounting table 11 is lowered, the mounting table 11 performs index feeding of the wafer W and performs an electrical characteristic inspection on all devices in the wafer W.

  If a part of the oxide film O adheres to the tip surface of the probe 121 during the inspection and the valleys of the plurality of protrusions 121B are filled with the metal oxide, the contact resistance with the electrode pad P increases, and the inspection reliability is increased. Decreases. In this case, the probe 121 is polished using the polishing member 15.

  For this purpose, after the polishing member 15 attached to the mounting table 11 is aligned with the plurality of probes 121 of the probe card 12, the polishing member 15 and the plurality of probes 121 are interposed via the mounting table 11 as shown in FIG. Then, the mounting table 11 is moved in the X direction, the tip surface of the probe 121 is polished to remove the metal oxide, and a streaky groove 121A is newly formed. Next, the mounting table 11 is lowered and the polishing member 15 and the plurality of probes 121 are again brought into pressure contact with each other, and then moved in the Y direction to form a groove 121A orthogonal to the streak-shaped groove 121A. Thereby, the remaining pyramidal projections 121B shown in FIG. 4 are formed in a matrix and updated to a new projection 121B. Due to the updated protrusion 121B, the conduction state between the probe 121 and the electrode pad P is restored, and a highly reliable inspection can be performed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the polishing member 15 is made of the base material 15A having the polishing surface on the upper surface, and the polishing surface is made up of the plurality of quadrangular pyramid-shaped convex portions 15B formed in the vertical and horizontal directions. Since the adjacent convex portion 15B shares one of the bottom sides, when the tip surface of the probe 121 is polished using the polishing member 15, the tip portion of the probe 121 is substantially the same as the convex portion 15B of the polishing member 15. Thus, a plurality of protrusions 121B having the same shape can be formed. Therefore, the polishing state of the tip surface of the probe 121 can be managed in a constant form, and after polishing, stable conduction with the wafer W can be ensured with the plurality of protrusions 121B at the tip of the probe 121. it can.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the base material 15A of the polishing member 15 is formed of a material harder than the probe 121, each time the tip surface of the probe 121 is polished by the polishing member 15, The plurality of protrusions 121B can be reliably formed. In addition, since the plurality of convex portions 15B of the polishing member 15 are sized to be arranged vertically and horizontally on the tip surface of the probe 121, a plurality of protrusions 121B are reliably formed on the tip surface of the probe 121 by polishing with the polishing member 15. In addition, the conduction with the wafer W is stabilized via the plurality of protrusions 121B at the tip of the probe 121, and a highly reliable inspection can be performed.

  Furthermore, the height of the convex portion 15B of the polishing member 15 is a height that exceeds the thickness of the oxide film O of the electrode pad P with which the probe 12 is in electrical contact and does not exceed the thickness of the electrode pad P. The oxide film O is pierced by the projection 121B formed on the tip surface of the electrode, and the electrical connection with the wafer W can be ensured through the plurality of projections 121B at the tip of the probe 121 without damaging the electrode pad P. .

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the probe card 12 has the plurality of protrusions 121B described above on the distal end surface of the probe 121, the conduction to the wafer W can be achieved only by pressing the plurality of protrusions 121B against the electrode pad P. It is possible to remove the damage to the electrode pad P without scraping off the electrode pad P as in the prior art.

  In addition, this invention is not restrict | limited at all to said each embodiment, Each component can be changed suitably as needed. In the above embodiment, the protrusion 121B of the probe 121 has been described as being formed by the polishing member 15. However, the protrusion 121B may be formed by something other than the polishing member. Moreover, although the shape of the protrusion 121B has been described with respect to a quadrangular pyramidal shape formed by a polishing member arranged vertically and horizontally, it is formed by means other than the polishing member, and the protrusion having a shape other than the quadrangular pyramid The parts may be arranged. In this case, the protrusion may be formed of a material different from that of the probe.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used for a probe apparatus that performs an electrical property inspection of an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer.

It is principal part sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of the probe apparatus of this invention. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the grinding | polishing member used for the probe apparatus shown in FIG. 1, respectively, (a) is the perspective view, (b) is the top view. (A) is a side view showing a state in which the tip end surface of the probe is polished using the polishing member shown in FIG. 2, and (b) is a side view showing the main part of the tip end portion of the probe polished by the polishing member in a broken state. It is. It is a top view which shows the front end surface of the probe shown to (b) of FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a part of a state where the probe shown in FIG. 4 and the electrode pad of the wafer are electrically connected to each other. It is a side view which fractures | ruptures and shows a part of the state in which the conventional probe and the electrode pad were electrically connected.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Probe apparatus 11 Mounting base 12 Probe card 15 Polishing member 15A Base material 15B Convex part 121 Probe 121A Groove part 121B Protrusion part

Claims (3)

  In a method of polishing a probe of a probe card used when an electrical property inspection of the test object is performed by making electrical contact with an electrode of the test object, a quadrangular pyramid-shaped convex is used when the probe is polished. The tip of the probe is moved by relatively moving the polishing member having the polishing surface formed so that the portions are arranged vertically and horizontally and the adjacent convex portion share one of the bases and the probe. A probe polishing method, wherein polishing is performed on the polishing surface, and a plurality of protrusions having substantially the same shape as the protrusions are formed on a tip surface of the probe. The polishing surface of the polishing member and the tip end surface of the probe are pressed against each other, and the polishing member and the probe are relatively moved in one direction while being pressed against each other, and a plurality of streaks are formed by the plurality of convex portions. The step of forming a groove on the tip surface of the probe and the polishing member and the tip surface of the probe are in pressure contact with each other in a direction orthogonal to the one direction so that the plurality of protrusions Forming a plurality of streak-like projections on each of the streaky projections between the plurality of grooves and forming a plurality of quadrangular pyramid-like projections having substantially the same shape as the projections in the remaining portions; The probe polishing method according to claim 1 , wherein the probe polishing method is provided. A probe card having a plurality of probes; and a polishing member for polishing the plurality of probes of the probe card, wherein the plurality of probes and the object to be inspected are brought into electrical contact with each other so that the electrical characteristics of the object to be inspected In the probe device for inspecting, the polishing member is made of a diamond material or a cemented carbide, and the polishing surface of the polishing member is formed of a plurality of quadrangular pyramid-shaped protrusions formed by arranging vertically and horizontally, and adjacent protrusions. The portion is formed so as to share one of the bottom sides, and the probe is polished by the polishing method according to claim 1 or 2 using the polishing member, and the tip end surface of the probe has the convex shape. A plurality of quadrangular pyramid-shaped protrusions formed in an updatable manner in substantially the same form as the portion, and the adjacent protrusions share one of the bases. Probe apparatus according to.

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