JP5316964B2 - Base unit for semiconductor test equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a base unit of a semiconductor test apparatus, and more particularly to a mechanism for supporting a contact load received when contacting a device under test.

  In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a semiconductor test apparatus is used to test the performance and function of the semiconductor device. In a semiconductor test apparatus, a device under test (DUT) is tested by connecting a base unit mounted on a test head to a probe card mounted on a prober.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a conventional base unit. In this figure, the base unit main body 300 is held by a test head (not shown) located in the upward direction of the figure, and the top plate 310 is held by a prober (not shown) located in the downward direction of the figure.

  The ring 320 is a unit for fixing the removable probe card 200 and is fixed to the top plate 310. On the upper surface of the ring 320, there is provided a taper block 330 having a slope formed in the horizontal direction in the figure.

  A lower surface of the base unit main body 300 is provided with a wedge 350 that moves left and right between the base unit main body and the tapered block 330 by a cylinder 340. The cylinder 340 and the wedge 350 are provided in a pair corresponding to the slope of the taper block 330, and the operation of the cylinder 340 is performed by the drive control unit 360 based on a control signal from an external sequencer or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the wedge 350 is positioned in the center direction by the cylinder 340, the wedge 350 comes into contact with the taper block 330 and the base unit main body 300, so that the probe card 200 is brought into contact with the device under test. Such a contact load can be supported also by the base unit main body 300. Without this mechanism, as shown in FIG. 4, when a contact load is applied, the probe card 200 is deformed, resulting in variations in the contact height of the probe card 200, and the probe card and the device under test are not connected. It becomes impossible to contact normally.

  On the other hand, when the probe card 200 is automatically leveled, the wedge 350 is moved outward by the cylinder 340 as shown in FIG. 5 so that the inclination of the top plate 310 can be changed. Thereby, the contact state between the wedge 350 and the taper block 330 is released, and the top plate 310 can move, so that the inclination can be adjusted. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the auto leveling is an operation in which the prober adjusts the inclination of the top plate 310 so that the device under test 212 mounted on the wafer chuck 211 and the probe card 200 are parallel to each other. is there.

JP 2010-50437 A

  In the mechanism shown in FIG. 3, when the friction coefficient at the contact portion between the taper block 330 and the wedge 350 is small, the wedge 350 escapes when trying to support the contact load. On the other hand, if the friction coefficient at the contact point between the taper block 330 and the wedge 350 is large, the wedge 350 cannot be removed during auto-leveling in which it is necessary to move the wedge 350 outward, which hinders smooth auto-leveling operation. Will come. Therefore, although it is important to control the friction coefficient at the contact point between the taper block 330 and the wedge 350, it is generally difficult to properly adjust the friction coefficient.

  Further, when the inclination of the top plate 310 is changed by auto-leveling, the top plate 310 and the base unit main body 300 are not parallel to each other, the slope of the wedge 350 and the slope of the taper block 330 do not coincide with each other, and the contact load can be received well. There is also a problem of disappearing.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that supports a contact load and does not hinder an automatic leveling operation in a base unit of a semiconductor test apparatus.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a base unit of a semiconductor test apparatus according to the present invention has a base unit main body and a probe card that is disposed in a downward direction of the base unit main body and can change an inclination with respect to the base unit main body. A taper block provided on the upper part of the unit and having slopes formed on both sides thereof, and a pair of plates capable of linear movement along a guide provided in the inclination direction of the taper block at the lower part of the base unit. The pair of plates are connected to each other by elastic means, and each plate includes a stopping means for the guide and a rotating means provided at a position in contact with the inclined surface of the tapered block and rotating in the moving direction. It is characterized by.

  Here, when changing the inclination of the unit that fixes the probe card with respect to the base unit main body, the apparatus further includes a drive control unit that releases the stop means and operates the stop means after the change of the inclination is completed. it can.

In addition to the slopes on both sides, the taper block has slopes formed in both directions perpendicular to the slopes on both sides, and a second guide provided in a direction perpendicular to the guides at the lower part of the base unit. A pair of second plates that are linearly movable along the pair, the pair of second plates being connected to each other by second elastic means, each plate having stop means for the second guide, and the taper block Rotating means provided at a position in contact with the inclined surface in the second guide direction and rotating in the moving direction of the pair of second plates may be provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the base unit of a semiconductor test device, while supporting a contact load, the mechanism which does not cause trouble in auto leveling operation | movement is provided.

It is a figure which shows typically the structure of the base unit of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the mode at the time of the auto leveling operation | movement of the base unit of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional base unit typically. It is a figure explaining the problem when there is no mechanism by a cylinder and a wedge. It is a figure which shows the case where a wedge moves to the outer side direction with a cylinder. It is a figure for demonstrating an auto leveling operation | movement.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a base unit in the present embodiment. In this figure, the base unit main body 100 is held by a test head (not shown) located in the upward direction of the figure, and the top plate 110 is held by a prober (not shown) located in the downward direction of the figure.

  The ring 120 is a unit for fixing the removable probe card 200 and is fixed to the top plate 110. On the upper surface of the ring 120, a tapered block 130 having a slope formed in the left-right direction in the figure is provided.

  On the lower surface of the base unit main body 100, a linear guide 140 is provided in the inclination direction of the taper block 130, and a pair of plates 150 that move linearly in the horizontal direction of the figure along the linear guide 140 are provided.

  Each plate 150 is connected by a tension spring 154 that is an elastic means, and a linear guide block 151 for moving along the linear guide 140 and a brake that functions as a stopping means for stopping the linear guide 140. 152. For example, the brake 152 may have a structure in which a linear guide is sandwiched when operated by air drive.

  Each plate 150 is provided with a roller 153 that rotates in the moving direction of the plate 150 at a position in contact with the inclined surface of the taper block 130. The roller 153 functions as a rotating unit. The roller 153 can be, for example, a wheel type or a cylindrical type, but may be a spherical shape or the like.

  The operation of the brake 152 is performed by the drive control unit 160 based on a control signal from an external sequencer or the like. During auto-leveling, the drive control unit 160 releases the brake 152 so that the plate 150 can move left and right as shown in FIG. Since the pair of plates 150 tends to move in the central direction by the tension spring 154, both the rollers 153 are always in contact with the inclined surface of the taper block 130.

  When the automatic leveling is completed, the drive control unit 160 operates the brake 152 to fix the plate 150 to the linear guide 140 and prevent it from moving. When the probe card 200 is brought into contact with the device under test in this state, the contact load applied to the probe card 200 can be supported also by the base unit main body 100 via the roller 153 in contact with the taper block 130. Can prevent deformation.

  According to the base unit of the present embodiment, by using the roller 153 instead of the conventional wedge 350, it is possible to eliminate an adverse effect on auto-leveling due to friction between the wedge 350 and the taper block 130. Further, by releasing the brake 152, an automatic leveling operation of the top plate 110 becomes possible, and by operating the brake 152, a contact load can be supported when the probe card 200 and the device under test are in contact with each other. .

  In a state where the brake 152 is released, the roller 153 is always in contact with the inclined surface of the taper block 130 by the tension spring 154, so that the movement of the top plate 110 can be followed, and the base unit body 100 and the top plate The contact load can be supported by the base unit main body 100 even in a state where 110 is not parallel.

  If the stopping force of the brake 152 is constant, a larger contact load can be supported by making the angle of the inclined surface of the taper block 130 gentle. In the above example, a pair of left and right plates 150 are used, and the contact load is transmitted toward the base unit main body 100 at two points where the roller 153 contacts the taper block 130. By forming a slope also in the front-rear direction orthogonal to the slope, providing a linear guide in the front-rear direction orthogonal to the linear guide 140, and having a pair of plates connected by a tension spring having the same configuration as the plate 150 The contact load is received at four points, and a larger contact load can be supported.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Base unit main body 110 ... Top plate 120 ... Ring 130 ... Taper block 140 ... Linear guide 150 ... Plate 151 ... Linear guide block 152 ... Brake 153 ... Roller 154 ... Tensile spring 160 ... Drive control part 200 ... Probe card 211 ... Wafer Chuck 212 ... Device under test 300 ... Base unit body 310 ... Top plate 320 ... Ring 330 ... Taper block 340 ... Cylinder 350 ... Wedge 360 ... Drive controller

Claims (3)

The base unit body,
A taper block that is disposed in the lower direction of the base unit body and can be changed in inclination with respect to the base unit body, provided on the upper part of the unit that fixes the probe card, and has slopes formed on both sides;
A pair of plates that can move linearly along a guide provided in an inclined direction of the taper block at the lower part of the base unit;
The pair of plates are connected to each other by elastic means, and each plate includes a stopping means for the guide and a rotating means provided at a position in contact with the inclined surface of the tapered block and rotating in the moving direction. A base unit for a semiconductor test apparatus.   When changing the inclination of the unit for adhering the probe card with respect to the base unit main body, the apparatus further comprises a drive control unit that releases the stop means and activates the stop means after the change of the inclination is completed. The base unit of the semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1. In addition to the slopes on both sides, the taper block has slopes formed in both directions perpendicular to the slopes on both sides ,
A lower portion of the base unit further comprising a pair of second plates movable linearly along a second guide provided in a direction orthogonal to the guide;
The pair of second plates are connected to each other by second elastic means, and each plate is provided at a position in contact with a stopping means for the second guide and an inclined surface of the tapered block in the second guide direction, The base unit of the semiconductor test apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotating unit that rotates in a moving direction of the pair of second plates .