JP7277325B2 - Test equipment and test method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a testing apparatus for measuring the strength of test pieces such as semiconductor device chips.

Grinding strain is generated in the wafer backside grinding process, which is one of the semiconductor wafer processing processes. Furthermore, for example, in the subsequent dicing process using a cutting blade, cutting distortion is generated on the side surface of the semiconductor device chip.

If these grinding strains and cutting strains remain, the strength of the chip is lowered, and the device chip is likely to break. Therefore, the processing conditions of the semiconductor wafer are set so that the strength of the chip is maintained at a certain level or more, and the strength of the chip is measured.

A three-point bending test specified in SEMI standard G86-0303 is generally used in a strength measurement test of a semiconductor device chip.

The 3-point bending test is a method for measuring the strength of a test piece by pressing the central portion of the test piece with an indenter while supporting both ends of the test piece and monitoring the load applied to the indenter at that time. For example, a test apparatus (measurement of fracture toughness value of a test piece) is known as disclosed in Patent Document 1.

JP 2005-017054 A

In the three-point bending test, the chip is pressed by an indenter to break the chip, but foreign matter such as chip fragments may adhere to the supporting portion that supports the lower surface of the chip.

If the strength of another chip is measured with this foreign matter still attached, the foreign matter may get caught between the chip and the support, causing problems such as damage to the chip or tilting of the chip, making accurate measurement impossible. A problem arises.

In view of the above problems, the present invention proposes a technology that can accurately measure strength even when measuring a plurality of test pieces continuously by preventing problems caused by foreign matter from occurring. is.

According to one aspect of the invention,
A test device for measuring the strength of a test piece,
a support unit having a pair of elongated support portions arranged at a predetermined distance from each other and including a pair of support portions for supporting the lower surface of the test piece;
an indenter disposed above the support and between the pair of supports and extending parallel to the supports;
moving means for relatively moving the indenter closer to the test piece supported by the pair of support portions;
load measuring means for measuring the load acting on the indenter when the indenter presses the test piece supported by the pair of support portions;
The indenter includes a tip that contacts the test piece supported by the pair of supports, and a pair of side walls that follow the tip,
Injection ports for injecting gas to the pair of support portions are formed in the pair of side wall portions, respectively,
A test apparatus is provided in which a gas supply path is formed inside the indenter, one end of which communicates with the injection port and the other end of which is connected to a gas supply source.

Further, according to one aspect of the present invention,
A test method for measuring the strength of a test piece with a test device,
a supporting step of supporting the lower surface of the test piece with the supporting portion of the supporting unit;
a test piece breaking step of moving the indenter relatively close to the test piece supported by the support unit to break the test piece with the indenter;
a foreign matter removing step of, after performing the test piece breaking step, injecting the gas from the gas injection port of the indenter onto the supporting portion of the supporting unit to remove foreign matter on the supporting portion from the supporting portion; , and shall be a test method including.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the injection port is formed in the side wall portion of the indenter, and the gas can be injected toward the support portion of the support unit to remove foreign matter adhering to the support portion. It is possible to accurately measure the intensity even when measuring the intensity of

It is a perspective view which shows a test apparatus. It is a perspective view showing a support unit. It is a perspective view showing a pressing unit. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the test device with the test piece supported by the support unit; (A) is a diagram for explaining the external configuration of an indenter. (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of (A) for explaining the internal structure of the tip of the indenter. (A) is a diagram illustrating a state in which a test piece is pressed by an indenter. (B) is a diagram illustrating a state in which the test piece is destroyed. (C) is a diagram for explaining the state of air blow. (A) is a diagram illustrating a state in which the support portion is shifted to the right with respect to the indenter. (B) is a diagram illustrating a state in which the support portion is shifted to the left with respect to the indenter.

An embodiment according to one aspect of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a configuration example of a test apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a testing device 2 for testing the strength of test pieces.

The test device 2 measures the bending strength (bending strength) of a test piece such as a device chip. A device chip is, for example, silicon in which a device such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) or an LSI (Large Scale Integration) is formed in each area partitioned by a plurality of dividing lines (streets) arranged so as to cross each other. It is manufactured by dividing the wafer along the dividing lines.

The type, material, shape, structure, size, etc. of the test piece whose strength is measured by the test device 2 are not limited. For example, the test piece may be a test chip obtained by dividing a wafer in which no device is formed on the front side and the back side is ground or polished under predetermined conditions. The result of measuring the strength of such a chip by the test device 2 can be used for selection of processing conditions for semiconductor wafers.

Also, the test piece may be a chip or the like obtained by dividing a substrate made of a material other than silicon (SiC, GaAs, InP, GaN, etc.), sapphire, glass, ceramics, resin, metal, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the test apparatus 2 includes a box-shaped lower container (receiving portion) 4 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The lower container 4 is formed with a rectangular parallelepiped opening 4 b that opens upward on the upper surface 4 a side of the lower container 4 . A supporting unit (supporting means) 6 for supporting a test piece whose strength is to be measured by the testing device 2 is provided inside the opening 4b.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the support unit 6. FIG. The support unit 6 includes a pair of support bases 8 that support the test piece. The pair of support bases 8 are each formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape and arranged in a state separated from each other so that a gap 10 is provided between the pair of support bases 8 . Further, the pair of support bases 8 are arranged such that the longitudinal direction of the upper surface 8a thereof extends along the first horizontal direction (X-axis direction, front-rear direction). A test piece whose strength is to be measured is placed on the pair of supports 8 .

On the side of the upper surface 8a of the pair of support bases 8, a support portion 8b is formed in the form of a ridge protruding upward from the upper surface 8a. The support portion 8b is made of metal such as stainless steel, for example, and is arranged adjacent to the gap 10 so that its length direction is along the X-axis direction. A pair of support portions 8b are arranged in a state separated from each other with a gap 10 therebetween, and support the lower surface side of the test piece. Note that FIG. 2 shows the support portion 8b having a curved upper surface.

A plate-like contact member 12 made of a material (rubber sponge or the like) that is softer than the support portion 8b is provided on each of the pair of support bases 8 on the side of the upper surface 8a. The pair of contact members 12 are formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and are provided on both sides of the pair of support portions 8b. That is, the contact members 12 are arranged on the opposite sides of the support portions 8 b from the gap 10 , and the pair of support portions 8 b are arranged between the pair of contact members 12 .

The upper surface of the contact member 12 forms a contact surface 12a that contacts and supports the test piece. The contact member 12 is provided such that its contact surface 12a is positioned above the upper end of the support portion 8b (for example, approximately 1 mm above the upper end of the support portion 8b). Therefore, when the test strip is placed on the pair of support bases 8, the lower surface side of the test strip contacts the contact surface 12a of the contact member 12 without contacting the support portion 8b.

On the rear side of the pair of support stands 8, a support stand moving mechanism (support stand movement means) 14 is provided. The support base moving mechanism 14 has a rectangular parallelepiped support structure 16, and a pair of guide rails 18 are fixed to the front side (surface side) of the support structure 16 along the Y-axis direction at predetermined intervals.

A pair of ball screws 20 arranged substantially parallel to the pair of guide rails 18 are provided between the pair of guide rails 18 . A pulse motor 22 for rotating the ball screws 20 is connected to one end of each of the pair of ball screws 20 .

Further, the support base moving mechanism 14 includes a pair of moving plates 24 fixed to the rear surfaces of the pair of support bases 8, respectively. Each of the moving plates 24 is slidably mounted on a pair of guide rails 18 provided on the front side of the support structure 16 .

A nut portion (not shown) is provided on each of the rear surfaces (rear surfaces) of the pair of moving plates 24 . A nut portion provided on one of the pair of moving plates 24 is screwed onto one of the pair of ball screws 20, and a nut portion provided on the other of the pair of moving plates 24 is screwed onto the other of the pair of ball screws 20. there is

When the ball screw 20 is rotated by the pulse motor 22, the moving plate 24 screwed onto the ball screw 20 moves along the guide rail 18 in the Y-axis direction. Thereby, the positions of the pair of support bases 8 in the Y-axis direction and the width of the gap 10 are controlled.

The shape, size, etc. of the lower container 4 and the opening 4b shown in FIG.

A pressing unit 26 is provided above the lower container 4 . The pressing unit 26 presses the test piece supported by the support unit 6 and measures the load applied to the pressing unit 26 when the test piece is pressed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the pressing unit 26. As shown in FIG. The pressing unit 26 includes a moving base 28 connected to moving means (moving mechanism) 40 . A cylindrical first support member 30 arranged downward from the lower surface of the movable base 28 is connected to the lower surface of the movable base 28, and a load cell is connected to the lower end of the first support member 30. A load measuring means (load measuring device) 32 is fixed.

A clamping member 36 is connected to the lower side of the load measuring instrument 32 via a cylindrical second support member 34 . The clamping member 36 is formed in a substantially gate shape when viewed from the front, and includes a pair of clamping surfaces 36a facing each other. An indenter 38 for pressing the test piece supported by the support unit 6 is fixed between the pair of holding surfaces 36a.

The distal end (lower end) of the indenter 38 is formed in a tapered, substantially V-shape, the width of which narrows downward. That is, both side surfaces of the tip portion of the indenter 38 are inclined with respect to the vertical direction. Further, the tip (lower end) of the indenter 38 is formed in a rounded shape (R shape) (see FIG. 4). However, the shape of the indenter 38 is not limited to the above.

In addition, the indenter 38 is supported by a holding member 36 so that its lower end extends along the X-axis direction. As a result, the lower end of the indenter 38 and the pair of support portions 8b (see FIG. 2) of the support unit 6 are arranged substantially parallel to each other.

Further, a moving means 40 for moving the pressing unit 26 along the vertical direction (Z-axis direction, vertical direction) is provided on the rear side (rear side) of the pressing unit 26 . The moving means 40 includes a rectangular parallelepiped support structure 42, and a pair of guide rails 44 are fixed to the front side (surface side) of the support structure 42 along the Z-axis direction at predetermined intervals.

A ball screw 46 is provided between the pair of guide rails 44 and arranged substantially parallel to the pair of guide rails 44 . A pulse motor 48 for rotating the ball screw 46 is connected to one end of the ball screw 46 .

A pair of guide rails 44 are slidably mounted on the rear side (rear side) of the moving base 28 of the pressing unit 26 . A nut portion (not shown) is provided on the rear side of the movable base 28 , and this nut portion is screwed onto the ball screw 46 .

When the ball screw 46 is rotated by the pulse motor 48, the movable base 28 moves along the guide rail 44 in the Z-axis direction. Thereby, the position of the pressing unit 26 in the Z-axis direction is controlled. By moving the pressing unit 26 along the Z-axis direction by the moving means 40 , the indenter 38 moves relatively close to and away from the support unit 6 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 , a pair of plate-shaped connection members 50 are fixed to both side surfaces of the movable base 28 . The connection member 50 is provided downward from the side surface of the movable base 28 , and the lower end of the connection member 50 is arranged below the lower end of the holding member 36 .

A pair of upper container support portions 50a that protrude toward the indenter 38 are formed at the lower end portions of the pair of connection members 50 . A rectangular parallelepiped upper container (cover) 52 that covers the tip of the indenter 38 is fixed between the pair of upper container support portions 50a. The upper container 52 is arranged above the lower container 4, and both side surfaces thereof are supported by a pair of upper container support portions 50a.

The upper container 52 is made of, for example, a transparent material (glass, plastic, etc.) and has a box shape. The upper container 52 is formed with a rectangular parallelepiped opening 52b (see FIG. 4) that opens downward on the side of the lower surface 52a of the upper container 52 . An indenter insertion hole 52d is formed on the side of the upper surface 52c of the upper container 52, and the tip of the indenter 38 is inserted into the indenter insertion hole 52d. Therefore, the tip of the indenter 38 is covered with the upper container 52 . In FIG. 1, a part of the indenter 38 covered with the upper container 52 is indicated by a broken line.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper container 52 is sized to be inserted into the opening 4b of the lower container 4, and is arranged inside the opening 4b of the lower container 4 in plan view. Further, the opening 52b (see FIG. 4) of the upper container 52 is formed to have a size capable of accommodating the support unit 6. Therefore, when the pressing unit 26 is moved downward by the moving means 40, the upper container 52 is opened. 52 is inserted into the opening 4 b of the lower container 4 and the upper side of the support unit 6 is covered with the upper container 52 .

A side wall 52e of the upper container 52 is provided with a gas supply pipe insertion hole 52f. A gas supply pipe 56 for supplying gas to the inside of the tip portion of the indenter 38 is inserted through the gas supply pipe insertion hole 52f. The gas supply pipe 56 can be composed of a flexible resin tube.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the tip portion 38a of the indenter 38 is formed in a substantially V shape, and a plurality of injection ports 38b are formed in each V-shaped side wall portion 38a. The injection ports 38b are arranged in a row in the depth direction (X-axis direction) of the indenter 38, and a total of seven injection ports 38b are formed in this embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 6C, 7A, and 7B, each injection port 38b is designed such that the injected gas is directed toward the support portion 8b and the contact surface 12a.

FIG. 5(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 5(A). Inside the indenter 38, a gas supply passage 38c communicating with each injection port 38b is formed. The gas supply passage 38c is connected to the gas supply source 60 via the gas supply pipe 56 and the valve 58 that constitute the gas supply unit 54, and when the valve 58 is opened, the gas is supplied to the gas supply passage 38c through the gas supply pipe 56. Gas is supplied and ejected from each injection port 38b. As will be described later in detail, this gas is used to blow the tip of the indenter 38, the support portion 8b, and the contact surface 12a (see FIG. 2), thereby removing foreign substances adhering thereto.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom of the lower container 4 is formed with a fragment discharge port 4d penetrating from the bottom of the opening 4b of the lower container 4 to the lower surface (bottom surface) 4c of the lower container 4. As shown in FIG. A fragment ejection unit 62 for ejecting fragments of the test strip present inside the lower container 4 is connected to the fragment ejection port 4d.

As shown in FIG. 1, the debris ejection unit 62 includes a debris ejection passage 64 that provides a path for ejecting test strip debris. One end side of the fragment discharge path 64 is connected to the fragment discharge port 4 d , and the other end side of the fragment discharge path 64 is connected to the suction source 68 via the valve 66 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the fragment discharge path 64 is provided with a fragment recovery section 70 for recovering fragments of the test piece. The fragment collector 70 is configured by a filter or the like, and captures fragments of the test strip passing through the fragment discharge path 64 . When the valve 66 is opened, the test piece fragments scattered inside the opening 4b of the lower container 4 are sucked through the fragment outlet 4d and recovered by the fragment recovery section 70. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an imaging unit (camera) 72 is provided on the rear side of the lower container 4, and a light source 74 for irradiating light toward the imaging unit 72 is provided on the front side of the lower container 4. ing. The positions of the imaging unit 72 and the light source 74 are adjusted so that the imaging unit 72 can image the test piece supported by the support unit 6, the tip of the indenter 38, and the like.

By photographing the tip of the indenter 38 with the imaging unit 72 while irradiating light from the light source 74, the state of the test piece being pressed by the indenter 38 and the state of the tip of the indenter 38 (whether or not foreign matter is attached, Presence or absence of chipping, etc.) can be observed. However, the light source 74 may be omitted when the image pickup unit 72 takes an image in a sufficiently bright environment.

As shown in FIG. 1 , each component constituting the test apparatus 2 is connected to a control section 200 that controls the operation of the test apparatus 2 . For example, the operation of the support base moving mechanism 14, the load measuring instrument 32, the moving means 40, the gas supply unit 54, the fragment discharging unit 62, the imaging unit 72, the light source 74, etc. is controlled by the control section.

By using the test apparatus 2 configured as described above, a three-point bending test of a test piece can be performed. The bending strength (bending strength) of the test piece is measured by this three-point bending test. An operation example of the test apparatus 2 when measuring the strength of the test piece will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, the positions of the pair of support stands 8 in the Y-axis direction are adjusted by the support stand moving mechanism 14 (see FIG. 2). The positions of the pair of supports 8 are adjusted according to the dimensions of the test piece 11 and the like so that the gap 10 with an appropriate width is formed. After that, the test piece 11 is placed on the pair of supports 8 . At this time, the test piece 11 is arranged so that both ends thereof are supported by a pair of support bases 8 and the central portion of the test piece 11 overlaps the gap 10 .

At this time, the lower surface of the test piece 11 is supported by the contact surface 12a of the contact member 12 made of a flexible material. Since the contact surface 12a of the contact member 12 is located above the upper end of the support portion 8b, it is possible to prevent the lower surface of the test piece 11 from contacting the support portion 8b and being damaged, thereby suppressing a change in the strength of the test piece 11. be.

The indenter 38 is arranged above the pair of support portions 8b so as to overlap the region (gap 10) between the pair of support portions 8b, and the tip portion 38a (lower end) of the indenter 38 extends in the longitudinal direction of the support portions 8b. (X-axis direction).

Then, the pressing unit 26 is lowered by the moving means 40 (see FIG. 3). As the pressing unit 26 is lowered, the tip 38 a of the indenter 38 comes into contact with the upper surface of the test piece 11 and the test piece 11 is pressed by the indenter 38 . Also, the load (force in the Z-axis direction) applied to the indenter 38 by pressing the test piece 11 is measured by the load measuring device 32 (see FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the pressing unit is further lowered, the test piece 11 is further pressed by the indenter 38, the contact member 12 supporting the test piece 11 is deformed, and the test piece 11 is bent. As a result, the lower surface side of the test piece 11 comes into contact with the support portion 8b of the support base 8. As shown in FIG. When the test piece 11 comes into contact with the support portions 8b, the test piece 11 is supported by the pair of support portions 8b, and the load applied to the indenter 38 pressing the test piece 11 increases.

As shown in FIG. 6B, when the pressing unit is further lowered, the test piece 11 is further pressed by the indenter 38 while being supported by the pair of support portions 8b, causing the test piece 11 to bend. When the pressing force applied from the indenter 38 to the test piece 11 exceeds a predetermined value, the test piece 11 is destroyed. When the test piece 11 is destroyed, the load measured by the load measuring device 32 (Fig. 3) decreases from the maximum value to zero. The timing of destruction can be detected, and the maximum value of the load measured by the load measuring device 32 corresponds to the strength of the test piece 11 .

Specifically, the bending stress value of the test piece 11 is calculated based on the maximum value of the load applied to the indenter 38, the distance between the upper ends of the pair of support portions 8b, and the dimensions of the test piece 11. FIG. The maximum value of the load applied to the indenter 38 that presses the test piece 11 is W [N], the distance between the upper ends of the pair of support portions 8b is L [mm], the width of the test piece 11 (the straight line connecting the pair of support portions 8b and the length of the test piece 11 in the direction (X-axis direction)) is b [mm], and the thickness of the test piece 11 is h [mm], the bending stress value σ of the test piece 11 is σ = 3WL /2bh ² .

As shown in FIG. 6B, when the test piece 11 is destroyed, fragments 11a of the test piece 11 scatter. Here, when the test strip 11 is pressed by the indenter 38, as shown in FIG. 11a is prevented from scattering to the outside of the test apparatus 2. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6(B), the upper container 52 prevents the fragments 11a from scattering, so that the operator of the test apparatus 2 must wear protective goggles or the like when testing the strength of the test piece 11. As shown in FIGS. You can omit wearing equipment. This prevents deterioration of the visibility of the components of the testing device 2 (the indenter 38 and the like) and the test piece 11 due to the wearing of protective equipment.

At appropriate times such as before the start of the above three-point bending test, during the three-point bending test of each test piece, and after completing the three-point bending test of all test pieces, as shown in FIG. An air blow is performed to remove the foreign matter. Specifically, the tip portion 38 s of the indenter 38 is positioned between the pair of support stands 8 and close to above the support stand 8 . Next, the valve 58 of the gas supply unit 54 is opened, and the gas supplied from the gas supply source 60 is injected from the injection port 38b toward the support base 8 (air blow).

As a result, the foreign matter adhering to the support portion 8b of the support base 8 and the contact surface 12a of the contact member 12 is blown off and removed. In addition, foreign matter adhering to the tip portion 38s of the indenter 38 can also be removed by the gas blown back from the support base 8. As shown in FIG.

At this time, by moving the indenter 38 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), the height position of the injection port 38b is changed, and by changing the angle at which the gas hits each portion, the foreign matter adhering to each portion is removed. It becomes possible to remove more reliably.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, by moving the support table 8 in the Y-axis direction by the support table moving mechanism 14 (FIG. 2), the spraying angle of the contact member 12 with respect to the contact surface 12a can be adjusted to The gas may be directly blown while changing. As a result, it is possible to directly blow air over a wide area of the contact surface 12a, and foreign matter can be reliably removed even from a portion of the contact surface 12a that is distant from the indenter 38 during pressing. can. This is a very effective means in view of the scattering of fragments 11a (FIG. 6(B)).

After repeating the above test a certain number of times, fragments of the test piece 11 accumulated inside the lower container 4 shown in FIG. 1 are collected. That is, the valve 66 of the fragment discharge unit 62 is opened, and the fragments accumulated inside the opening 4b of the lower container 4 are sucked through the fragment discharge port 4d provided at the bottom of the opening 4b. The sucked fragments pass through the fragment discharge path 64 and are collected by the fragment collector 70 . In this way, debris can be quickly removed without manually cleaning the interior of the opening 4b of the lower container 4. FIG.

The present invention can be implemented as described above.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, a test device 2 for measuring the strength of a test piece 11,
a support unit 6 having a pair of elongated support portions 8b including a pair of support portions 8b arranged at a predetermined distance from each other and supporting the lower surface of the test piece 11;
an indenter 38 disposed above the support portions 8b and between the pair of support portions 8b and extending parallel to the support portions 8b;
a moving means 40 for moving the indenter 38 relatively close to the test piece 11 supported by the pair of support portions 8b;
A load measuring means 32 for measuring the load acting on the indenter 38 when the indenter 38 presses the test piece 11 supported by the pair of support portions 8b,
The indenter 38 includes a tip portion 38s that contacts the test piece 11 supported by the pair of support portions 8b, and a pair of side wall portions 38a following the tip portion 38s,
Injection ports 38b for injecting gas to the pair of support portions 8b are respectively formed in the pair of side wall portions 38a,
Inside the indenter 38, a gas supply path 38c is formed, one end of which communicates with the injection port 38b and the other end of which is connected to the gas supply source 60, to form the test apparatus 2. FIG.

As described above, the injection port 38b is formed in the side wall portion 38a of the indenter 38, and the gas can be injected toward the support portion 8b of the support unit 6 to remove foreign matter adhering to the support portion 8b. The strength can be measured accurately even when the strength of the test piece 11 is measured continuously.

Also, as shown in FIG.
A test method for measuring the strength of a test piece 11 with a test device 2,
a supporting step of supporting the lower surface of the test piece 11 with the supporting portion 8b of the supporting unit 6 (FIG. 6(A));
a test piece breaking step (FIG. 6B) in which the indenter 38 is moved relatively close to the test piece 11 supported by the support unit 6 to break the test piece 11 with the indenter 38;
After the test piece destruction step is performed, a foreign matter removing step (FIG. 6 ( C)) and the test method including.

As a result, foreign matter such as fragments 11a generated in the test piece destruction step (FIG. 6B) can be removed from the support portion 8b of the support unit 6, and the strength of the test piece can be accurately measured. .

2 test apparatus 6 support unit 8 support base 8a upper surface 8b support portion 11 test piece 11a fragment 12 contact member 12a contact surface 14 support base moving mechanism 32 load measuring means 38 indenter 38a side wall portion 38b injection port 38c gas supply passage 38s tip portion 40 Moving mechanism 54 Gas supply unit 56 Gas supply pipe 58 Valve 60 Gas supply source 62 Fragment discharge unit 64 Fragment discharge path 66 Valve 68 Suction source 70 Fragment collector

Claims (2)

A test device for measuring the strength of a test piece,
a support unit having a pair of elongated support portions arranged at a predetermined distance from each other and including a pair of support portions for supporting the lower surface of the test piece;
an indenter disposed above the support and between the pair of supports and extending parallel to the supports;
moving means for relatively moving the indenter closer to the test piece supported by the pair of support portions;
load measuring means for measuring the load acting on the indenter when the indenter presses the test piece supported by the pair of support portions;
The indenter includes a tip that contacts the test piece supported by the pair of supports, and a pair of side walls that follow the tip,
Injection ports for injecting gas to the pair of support portions are formed in the pair of side wall portions, respectively,
A test apparatus, wherein a gas supply passage having one end communicating with the injection port and the other end connected to a gas supply source is formed inside the indenter. A test method for measuring the strength of a test piece with the test apparatus according to claim 1,
a supporting step of supporting the lower surface of the test piece with the supporting portion of the supporting unit;
a test piece breaking step of moving the indenter relatively close to the test piece supported by the support unit to break the test piece with the indenter;
a foreign matter removing step of, after performing the test piece breaking step, injecting the gas from the gas injection port of the indenter onto the supporting portion of the supporting unit to remove foreign matter on the supporting portion from the supporting portion; , test methods.

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