JP7109630B2 - Wafer inspection system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to wafer inspection systems.

2. Description of the Related Art A prober is used as a wafer inspection apparatus in order to inspect the electrical characteristics of each semiconductor device on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as "wafer") on which a large number of semiconductor devices are formed. The prober has a probe card that faces the wafer, and the probe card has contact probes that are a plurality of columnar contact terminals (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this prober, each contact probe of the probe card sends a test signal to the semiconductor device connected to the electrode pad or solder bump of the semiconductor device, thereby testing the continuity of the electric circuit of the semiconductor device.

Inspection signals are sent to each contact probe of the probe card from the test head on which the main board, which is the inspection circuit, is mounted. A wafer inspection apparatus has been developed which has a head and can inspect semiconductor devices on the wafer with another test head while the wafer is being transported to one test head by a transport stage. In this wafer inspection apparatus, cells accommodating a plurality of test heads are arranged in multiple tiers from the viewpoint of footprint reduction.

The main board of each test head is a kind of consumable item and needs to be replaced periodically. In order to replace the main board, the test head must be pulled out of the wafer inspection system onto a maintenance cart. .

JP 2012-063227 A

However, since the test head weighs about 70 kgf and is supported by slide rails, it is difficult to move the test head in a direction other than the pull-out direction. Therefore, it is necessary to precisely match the position of the trolley for maintenance with the position of the test head. The problem is that the head is difficult to pull out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer inspection system in which a test head can be pulled out and a main board can be easily replaced.

In order to achieve the above object, the wafer inspection system of the present invention comprises a wafer inspection apparatus in which inspection chambers each having a test head for accommodating a main board are arranged in multiple stages, and a support mechanism, wherein the inspection chamber has an opening through which the test head is pulled out from the inspection chamber; the support mechanism supports the pulled-out test head; The worn main board of the test head supported by the support mechanism is removed, and a new main board is attached to the test head.

According to the present invention, the main board can be easily replaced by pulling out the test head.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a wafer inspection apparatus using a test head to be serviced according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a test head, and FIG. 2B is a test head and a pogo frame in each cell. FIG. and a front view showing an arrangement state of the probe card. 3A is a side view and FIG. 3B is a front view schematically showing the configuration of a maintenance truck used for the test head to be serviced in the present embodiment; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams schematically showing the configurations of a lifter and a test head case in FIGS. 3A and 3B, FIG. 4A being a side view and FIG. 4B being a front view; FIG. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view for explaining loose fitting of the guide portion to the guide rail; FIG. 6A is a side view schematically showing the configuration of a trolley for simple maintenance, FIG. 6A shows the case where the test head of the first stage cell in the cell tower is maintained, and FIG. 6B shows the second stage in the cell tower; shows the case of servicing the test head of the cell. FIG. 4 is a process chart for explaining a maintenance method of the wafer inspection apparatus using the maintenance cart of FIG. 3; FIG. 4 is a front view showing a modification of the arrangement of the maintenance trolley in FIG. 3;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a prober using the test head to be serviced according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a wafer inspection apparatus as a prober using a test head to be serviced according to this embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a wafer inspection apparatus 10 includes a cell tower 12 in which a plurality of inspection chambers (cells) 11 are arranged in multiple stages, for example, four stages, and a transfer mechanism (not shown) arranged adjacent to the cell tower 12. A built-in loader 13 for loading and unloading wafers into and out of each cell 11 is provided. Each of the cell tower 12 and the loader 13 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a height of, for example, 2.4 m.

In the wafer inspection apparatus 10, a space is secured on the opposite side of the adjacent surface of the cell tower 12 to the loader 13 (hereinafter referred to as "outside") so that an operator can perform maintenance work on each cell 11, which will be described later. A trolley for maintenance 27 is arranged.

2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining components built into each cell of the cell tower in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the test head, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the arrangement state of the head, pogo frame, and probe card;

In FIG. 2A, the test head 15 has a main body 16 made of a rectangular parallelepiped housing and a flange 17 protruding sideways from the upper part of the longitudinal side of the main body 16. The main body 16 is an inspection circuit. It houses a mainboard (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2B, each cell 11 internally holds a test head 15, a probe card 18, and pogo pins (not shown) electrically connecting the probe card 18 and the main board. and a pogo frame 19 . Sealing members 20 and 21 are arranged between the probe card 18 and the pogo frame 19, and between the pogo frame 19 and the test head 15. By depressurizing the space surrounded by the sealing members 20 and 21, the probe card 18 And the pogo frame 19 is attached to the test head 15 by vacuum suction.

The probe card 18 has a disk-shaped main body 24 and a plurality of contact probes 25 which are a large number of columnar contact terminals arranged to protrude downward in the drawing from the lower surface of the main body 24 . When a wafer (not shown) contacts the probe card 18, each contact probe 25 contacts the electrode pads and solder bumps (both not shown) of each semiconductor device formed on the wafer.

Returning to FIG. 1, a maintenance opening 26 is formed outside each cell 11, and the test head 15 is pulled out through the maintenance opening 26. As shown in FIG. The operator removes the worn main board from the pulled out test head 15 and attaches a new main board.

By the way, the weight of the test head 15 is about 70 kgf, and it is difficult for the operator to handle the test head 15 only by force. ) is supported via a flange 17 by a slide rail (not shown) arranged along the .

In order for the operator to easily replace the main board in the wafer inspection apparatus 10, a support mechanism for supporting the pulled-out test head 15 is required. A trolley 27 is provided.

3A and 3B are diagrams schematically showing the configuration of a maintenance truck used for using the test head to be serviced according to the present embodiment, FIG. 3A being a side view and FIG. It is a front view.

3(A) and 3(B), the maintenance trolley 27 includes a trolley base 29 supported by a plurality of rollers 28 (wheels) and configured to be movable, and a trolley base 29 erected from the trolley base 29. It has a lift mechanism 30 and a housing-shaped test head case 31 (case) capable of accommodating the test head 15 .

A handle 32 is provided on the carriage base 29, and the operator moves the servicing carriage 27 by taking it and pushing or pulling the handle 32. - 特許庁Since each roller 28 is composed of two wheels and is configured so that the orientation can be freely changed, the degree of freedom regarding movement of the maintenance cart 27 is improved.

The lift mechanism 30 includes a support 33 extending upward from the carriage base 29 in the drawing, and a lifter attached to the support 33 and moving along the extending direction of the support 33 to move vertically in the drawing. 34 and a motor (not shown) for moving the lifter 34 .

Each roller 28 of the carriage base 29 has a brake (not shown), and the brake is released only when the lifter 34 is positioned at the lowest point in the vertical direction.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the lifter and test head case in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B). FIG. 4(A) is a side view, and FIG. 4(B) is a front view. 4A and 4B, the test head 15 is indicated by a dashed line, and FIG. 4B shows a slide rail cover 40, which will be described later, by a dashed line. , and the slide rail cover 40 is shown in a see-through state.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the test head case 31 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is open at both ends in the longitudinal direction to form an opening. , one of the openings at both ends faces the maintenance opening 26 of the cell 11, and the test head 15 pulled out through the maintenance opening 26 is accommodated therein. Moreover, since the upper surface of the test head case 31 is also open, the operator can access the accommodated test head 15 from the upper surface of the test head case 31 and replace the main board through the upper surface.

A test head case 31 is supported by a lifter 34 via a horizontal position adjustment stage 35 . The horizontal position adjusting stage 35 is composed of a base portion 35a and a moving portion 35b, which are disc-shaped members that are stacked vertically. 35b can move horizontally with respect to base 35a. The base portion 35 a is connected to the lifter 34 and the moving portion 35 b is connected to the test head case 31 . Thereby, the horizontal position adjusting stage 35 can horizontally move the test head case 31 with respect to the lifter 34 .

In addition, in the horizontal position adjustment stage 35, by sending air from the outside, the moving portion 35b can be fixed to the base portion 35a by engaging a part of the base portion 35a and a part of the moving portion 35b. .

Since the movement of the moving part 35b is realized by a large number of ball bearings, a large force is not required to move the moving part 35b. As a result, the test head case 31 can be easily moved horizontally by the operator. A plate-like stopper 36 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the test head case 31 , and when the amount of horizontal movement of the test head case 31 reaches a predetermined amount, the stopper 36 moves toward the base 35 a of the horizontal position adjustment stage 35 . , the amount of horizontal movement of the test head case 31 is restricted.

A slide rail 37 composed of a plurality of ball pedestals is arranged on the upper part of both longitudinal side surfaces of the test head case 31 . The slide rail 37 supports the flange 17 of the test head 15 accommodated in the test head case 31 and slides the test head 15 in the longitudinal direction of the test head case 31 .

Stopper mechanisms 38 (fixing mechanisms) are arranged at both ends of the upper part of both side surfaces of the test head case 31 in the longitudinal direction. The stopper mechanism 38 has a protruding contactor 39 which protrudes and contacts the flange 17 of the test head 15 , thereby fixing the position of the test head 15 relative to the test head case 31 . be done. The lift mechanism 30 is configured so that the lifter 34 cannot move up and down when the contactor 39 is not in contact with the flange 17 when the test head 15 is accommodated in the test head case 31 .

When the test head 15 is slid in the longitudinal direction of the test head case 31 , there is a risk that the operator's hand, particularly fingers, may be caught between the flange 17 and the slide rail 37 . covered by

In the trolley for maintenance 27, the lift mechanism 30 moves the position of the test head case 31 to a height where the slide rails 37 of the test head case 31 face the flange 17 of the test head 15 housed in the first stage cell 11. , the height at which the slide rail 37 faces the flange 17 of the test head 15 housed in the cell 11 of the second stage, and the height of the slide rail 37 facing the flange 17 of the test head 15 housed in the cell 11 of the third stage. The slide rail 37 can be fixed to the height directly facing the flange 17 of the test head 15 housed in the cell 11 of the fourth stage.

Returning to FIG. 1, a guide rail 41 is arranged outside and below the cell tower 12 . The guide rail 41 extends along the longitudinal direction of the cell tower 12 and is a tubular body with a rectangular cross section. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, the maintenance truck 27 has a guide portion 43 (guide mechanism) arranged on the truck base portion 29 .

As shown in FIG. 5, the guide portion 43 has a bracket 43a projecting sideways from the carriage base portion 29 and a roller 43b provided at the tip of the bracket 43a and rotating horizontally. The roller 43b enters the guide rail 41 through the slit 42, and the roller 43b is housed inside the guide rail 41. As shown in FIG. That is, the guide portion 43 is loosely engaged with the guide rail 41, and the side wall 41a of the guide rail 41 is interposed between the roller 43b and the carriage base portion 29 at this time.

Although the above-described servicing cart 27 is used to pull out the entire test head 15 , there are cases where it is not necessary to pull out the entire test head 15 when servicing the test head 15 . In such a case, the wafer inspection apparatus 10 uses a simple maintenance cart 44 on which the test head 15 is partially mounted instead of the maintenance cart 27 .

6A and 6B are side views schematically showing the configuration of the trolley for simple maintenance. FIG. 6A shows the case where the test head of the first stage cell in the cell tower is maintained, and FIG. 6B shows the cell tower. shows the case of maintenance of the test head of the second stage cell in .

6(A) and 6(B), the trolley for simple maintenance 44 has a main frame 46 having a plurality of rollers 45 arranged at the bottom, and a maintenance table 47 which can move up and down with respect to the main frame 46. have The service table 47 has a slide rail 48 consisting of a plurality of ball seats, which supports the flange 17 of the partially extended test head 15 . The maintenance table 47 has a first height at which the slide rail 48 faces the flange 17 of the test head 15 housed in the first stage cell 11, and a test head with the slide rail 48 housed in the second stage cell 11. It is configured to be fixable to each of the second heights facing the flange 17 of the head 15 .

The simple maintenance cart 44 is much simpler and lighter than the maintenance cart 27, and has a plurality of rollers 45 arranged at the bottom of the main frame 46, so that the operator can use the simple maintenance cart 44. position can be easily adjusted so that the flange 17 of the test head 15 housed in the cell 11 of the first or second stage and the slide rail 48 of the maintenance table 47 can be accurately opposed to each other. can be done. As a result, the test head 15 can be partially pulled out easily from the cells 11 in the first and second stages.

FIG. 7 is a process chart for explaining a maintenance method for a wafer inspection apparatus using the maintenance cart of FIG.

First, after the rollers 43b of the guide portion 43 are accommodated inside the guide rails 41 at the end portions of the guide rails 41, the maintenance truck 27 is subjected to maintenance while the rollers 43b are accommodated inside the guide rails 41. It is roughly moved to a position where the cell 11 housing the head 15 exists. Thereafter, the brakes of the rollers 28 of the carriage base 29 are actuated to fix the position of the servicing carriage 27 (FIG. 7(A)).

Next, the lift mechanism 30 raises the test head case 31 to a height where the slide rails 37 of the test head case 31 face the flange 17 of the test head 15 to be serviced, and then the position of the test head case 31 is fixed. (FIG. 7(B)).

Next, the position of the test head case 31 is finely adjusted in the horizontal direction by the horizontal position adjustment stage 35 so that the slide rails 37 are precisely aligned with the flange 17 of the test head 15 to be serviced (FIG. 7(C)). End this maintenance procedure.

According to the maintenance trolley 27 of the present embodiment, the horizontal position adjustment stage 35 includes the lifter 34 of the lift mechanism 30 erected from the movable trolley base 29 and the test head case 31 accommodating the test head 15 . Since the test head case 31 is moved horizontally with respect to the lifter 34, the position of the carriage base 29 is fixed, and the test head case 31 is moved up and down to the position where the test head 15 to be serviced exists. After the position of the test head case 31 is fixed, the position of the test head case 31 is finely adjusted in the horizontal direction so that the slide rails 37 can be accurately opposed to the flanges 17 of the test head 15 to be serviced. As a result, the test head 15 can be easily pulled out toward the test head case 31 .

In the above-described maintenance truck 27, slide rails 37 for sliding the test head 15 in the longitudinal direction of the test head case 31 are disposed on both sides of the test head case 31 in the longitudinal direction. 15, the test head 15 accommodated in the test head case 31 can be moved to a desired position within the test head case 31 and then fixed at that position. , the efficiency of the maintenance work of the test head 15 can be improved.

In addition, since the above-described maintenance cart 27 further includes guide portions 43 that play with the guide rails 41 provided at the bottom of the cell tower 12, the maintenance cart 27 can be accurately moved along the cell tower 12. As a result, the adjustment time for the position of the maintenance cart 27 can be shortened.

Further, in the above-described maintenance truck 27, the side walls 41a of the guide rails 41 are interposed between the truck base 29 and the rollers 43b provided at the ends of the brackets 43a projecting sideways from the truck base 29. When the truck 27 is tilted, the rollers 43b are engaged with the side walls 41a of the guide rails 41 to prevent the maintenance truck 27 from overturning.

Although the present invention has been described using the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

For example, the maintenance trolley 27 described above is arranged only on the outside of one cell tower 12, but as shown in FIG. The maintenance trolley 27 may be arranged so as to be sandwiched between the two. At this time, the test head case 31 of the servicing carriage 27 has openings at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and the openings face the servicing openings 26 in the cells 11 of the wafer inspection apparatus 10, respectively. The test head 15 of the wafer inspection apparatus 10 can also be housed in the test head case 31, thereby improving the efficiency of the test head 15 maintenance work.

10 Wafer Inspection Apparatus 15 Test Head 17 Flange 27 Cart for Maintenance 29 Cart Base 30 Lift Mechanism 31 Test Head Case 35 Horizontal Position Adjustment Stage 37 Slide Rail 38 Stopper Mechanism 41 Guide Rail 43 Guide Part 43b Roller

Claims (1)

a wafer inspection apparatus in which inspection chambers having test heads for accommodating main boards are arranged in multiple stages;
a support mechanism arranged outside the wafer inspection apparatus,
The examination chamber has an opening,
the test head is withdrawn from the examination chamber through the opening;
The support mechanism supports the pulled-out test head,
A wafer inspection system, wherein the worn main board of the test head supported by the support mechanism is removed and a new main board is attached to the test head.

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