JPH0266475A - Method for inspecting semiconductor element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the accuracy of inspection and yield without dropping through-put correspondingly to the sort of a semiconductor element by arranging plural ID information on the proper position of a pallet, arranging a positional information checking signal in the vicinity of the ID information and reading out the ID information or positional information on the pallet concerned. CONSTITUTION:An inspection stage 7 for mounting a pallet 2 storing many semiconductor elements 3 can be driven in the X, Y, Z, and theta directions by driving a motor. A probe card 8 is arranged on a position opposite to the stage 7 and the electric characteristics of the element 3 in the pallet 2 on the stage 7 is inspected by a probe stylus 9 of the probe card 8. A storage board 11 can be vertically moved in accordance with the movement of a supporting shaft 13 connected to the motor 7. In the case of executing an inspection, the pallet 2 is carried from the cassette to the stage 7 by a carrying mechanism and vacuum suction is executed on the stage 7. Then the information of an ID information setting mechanism 5 and a position checking hole 6 formed on a non-section part of the pallet 2 is detected by a proper detecting means shown in Fig.5 to position the pallet 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a semiconductor device testing method for testing the electrical characteristics of a plurality of semiconductor devices housed in a partitioned pallet using a stylus. It is something.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, an IC handler has generally been used to inspect the electrical characteristics of a semiconductor element such as an IC after the packaging process of a finished product. This IC handler transports and positions a plurality of ICs set in a row in a cylindrical magazine to an inspection section provided on the side of the handler using the action of gravity and an autoloader mechanism. It is sorted by performance using an autoloader mechanism. In order to position the semiconductor elements there, a cylindrical magazine was used, and end positioning was done semi-automatically by the action of gravity.

In addition, as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 57-147247, a large number of packaged semiconductor devices are accommodated on a partitioned pallet using a robot hand or the like, without using a handler.
The positions of the pads on the semiconductor device are automatically recognized using an optical device such as a camera, and the positions of the pads on each semiconductor device to be inspected are
, a method of aligning in the θ direction and inspecting the electrical characteristics with a prober has also been proposed.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, since the above-mentioned transport and positioning method in an IC handler mainly relies on the action of gravity, there is a problem that semiconductor elements may become jammed during transport by the mechanical end positioning mechanism. There was a problem that the yield rate of semiconductor inspection was poor due to friction, failure, etc. Also, with this IC handler, it was necessary to change the cylindrical magazine and inspection section to match the type of semiconductor element to be inspected. It took a lot of time and effort.

In addition, as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 57-147247, a prober is used during testing to test each semiconductor device to be tested.
, Z, and θ directions, there is a problem in that the throughput of the inspection apparatus inevitably decreases significantly, and it is difficult to adapt the method to suit the type of semiconductor device to be inspected.

The present invention was invented in view of the above-mentioned problems, and improves inspection accuracy by accurately positioning pallets that accommodate semiconductor devices to be tested in each compartment, and without reducing throughput in accordance with the types of semiconductor devices. It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device testing method that improves yield.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention accommodates a large number of packaged semiconductor devices in a predetermined position on a partitioned pallet, and uses a stylus to conduct electricity. In this method, a plurality of pieces of ID information and a position information confirmation signal are provided at appropriate positions on the pallet, and a position information confirmation signal is provided in the vicinity thereof, and the ID information or position information of the pallet is read to inspect the semiconductor elements in the pallet. We adopted a configuration that performs the following.

(Function) The position and type of the object to be inspected are automatically recognized from a plurality of pieces of ID information and position information provided at appropriate positions on the pallet, making it possible to carry out the selected inspection.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

Figure 1 shows a pallet used in the inspection method of this embodiment, where (a) is a schematic perspective view, (b) is a partially enlarged perspective view of its storage section, and Figure 2 is a pallet used in the inspection method of this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing the whole outline of the inspection device used.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes the main body of the inspection apparatus, 2 a pallet containing a large number of semiconductor elements 3 (for example, packaged ICs with chips mounted thereon, etc.), and 4
is a storage chamber into which the pallet 2 is divided, and each storage chamber 4
One each of the semiconductor elements 3 is housed inside. Generally, this pallet 2 is, for example, 450+++ meters long and 45 meters wide.
The storage chamber 4, which accommodates the IC to be tested, is 20 mm long at an interval of L mm from, for example, about 5 m++a from the periphery, which is an undivided portion.
, 21 x 40 = 840 recesses each having a width of 10 mm and a height of 5 mm are formed per pallet.

As shown in FIG. 1(b), in this embodiment, a plurality of ID
An ID information setting mechanism 5 consisting of a combination of a hole 5a and a pin 5b for setting information (for example, type of semiconductor element, content, pallet number, etc.) is provided, and position information is set across the ID information setting mechanism 5. 1 For example, three position information confirmation holes 6 (6a, 6
b.

6c) are provided so as to be positioned on a straight line at one interval. The ID information setting mechanism 5 and the position information confirmation hole 6 are specifically provided as shown in FIG. 3(a). In the figure, 6a and 6c are holes for confirming location information, 5a is a hole for setting multiple ID information, and 6b is a dummy hole for confirming location information (no holes are actually opened).
It is.

As schematically shown in FIG. 4, appropriate ID number setting bins 5b are arranged in the ID information setting hole 5a, and ID information is transmitted depending on the number and combination of the bins.
When detecting the position information confirmation holes 6a to 6c, only when the pallet 2 has no positional deviation, the corresponding I
It is configured to read D information. Note that the number of the position information confirmation holes 6 may be two as shown in FIG. 3(b), and the number can be increased or decreased as desired as long as it is at least two or more.

The above position information confirmation holes 6a to 6C are
) When detected by the detection mechanism of this example shown in
Information on 1゛ is as shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1 In this embodiment, the pallet 2 is assumed to be in an accurate position and the D information is read only when the detection result is the above. The above location information includes the number of holes,
It goes without saying that the arrangement of holes can be changed to provide various functions.

Next, an overview of the inspection method of this embodiment and the inspection apparatus used therein will be explained with reference to FIG. The inspection stage 7 on which the pallet 2 containing a large number of semiconductor devices 3 is placed is moved in the X and Y directions by motor drive.

Driving in the Z direction and 0 direction is possible. A probe card 8 is provided at a position facing the inspection stage 7.
The probe needles 9 of this probe card 8 are used to test the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor elements 3 in the pallet 2 on the test stage 7. In addition, in FIG. 2, 10 is a cassette containing a plurality of the above-mentioned pallets 2, 11 is a storage stand thereof, and 1
Reference numeral 2 denotes a motor, and the storage table 11 is configured to be movable up and down by the movement of a support shaft 13 connected to the motor 7.

In this inspection, first, the pallet 2 is conveyed from the cassette 10 onto the inspection stage 7 by a conveyance mechanism (not shown), and vacuum suction is carried out on the inspection stage 7. Next, the information of the ID information setting mechanism 5 and the position confirmation hole 6 formed in the non-divided portion of the pallet 2 is detected by an appropriate detection means as shown in FIG. 5, and the pallet 2 is aligned. here,
FIG. 5 shows an example of an optical detection means, which includes a light emitting section 14 and a light receiving section 15 consisting of a light receiving sensor, and detects by scanning with an optical sensor. Although not shown in the drawings, the detection unit including the probe pin is lowered and comes into contact with the predetermined pins A, C1 to 5b inserted into the holes 6a, 6c or the ID information setting hole 5a, respectively. Other detection means, such as detection by , may be used, and any detection means can be selected depending on the implementation. In this embodiment, based on the position information detected in this way, the inspection stage 7 is rotated in the θ direction by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the inspection stage 7 is driven in the X and Y directions and the pallet is driven in the X and Y directions. Positioning is performed by matching the Y direction. After aligning the pallet 2, the inspection stage 7 is relatively moved to the probe card 8 setting position, and here the inspection stage 7 is moved upward in the Z direction to check the electrodes of each semiconductor element 3 arranged on the pallet 2. The pin array, which is a terminal, is brought into contact with the probe needles 9 of the probe card 8 to test the electrical characteristics. In this case, the tester program, probe card 8, and peripheral circuits are selected in accordance with the type of the semiconductor device 3 to be tested that has been read from the ID information setting mechanism 5, and the appropriate one is selected according to the semiconductor device 3 to be tested. A thorough inspection will be carried out.

Next, to explain the operation of the present embodiment, the ID information setting mechanism 5 is made up of a combination of a plurality of ID information setting holes 5a and pins 5b provided in the undivided portion of the periphery of the pallet 2. Depending on the number and location, the pallet 2
Appropriate ID+n information, such as the type of semiconductor element 3 within, is displayed on the palette. Moreover, this information can be detected by a detection mechanism that also serves to detect the position confirmation holes 6 arranged in a straight line. In addition, this ID information setting hole 5a
Three (one of which is a dummy hole) holes 6a for confirming position information are provided at intervals in the vicinity of the position information confirmation hole 6a.

By detecting the positions of 6b and 6c,
, Y, and 0 directions can be obtained. Note that various mechanisms such as an optical detection mechanism and a mechanical detection mechanism may be used as the detection mechanism for the position information and ID information.

In the above example, an example was explained in which information was provided on a pallet, but by providing the information at the position of each object to be inspected within the pallet, measurements of various types within a packet can be automatically performed with ASIC compatibility. It is possible.

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the testing method of the present invention, it is possible to accurately position the pallet that accommodates the semiconductor devices to be tested in each compartment, and the throughput can be adjusted according to the type of semiconductor device. This has the effect that it is possible to improve inspection accuracy and yield without degrading the process.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows a pallet used in the inspection method of this example, where (a) is a schematic perspective view, (b) is a partially enlarged view, and the second
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the overall outline of the inspection device used in the inspection method of this embodiment, and Figure 3 is a plan view showing an example of the position confirmation hole formed in the pallet and the ID information setting mechanism.
(a) shows three holes for position confirmation, (b) shows two holes, Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the holes and pins for setting ID information, and Fig. 5 shows an optical detection mechanism. It is a schematic diagram showing an example. 1...Inspection equipment body, 2...Pallet, 3...
...Semiconductor element, 4...Accommodation chamber, 5...ID information setting mechanism, 5a...ID information setting hall, 6a
, 6b, 6c... hole for position confirmation, A1. C□
, 5b...pin, 7...inspection stage, 8...
...Probe card, 9...Probe needle. Figure 1 Figure 3 (b) Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A method in which a large number of packaged semiconductor devices are housed in predetermined positions on a partitioned pallet and their electrical characteristics are inspected using a stylus, in which a plurality of ID information and a plurality of ID information located in the vicinity are placed at appropriate positions on the pallet. 1. A method for testing semiconductor devices, comprising providing an information confirmation signal, reading ID information or position information of the pallet, and testing the semiconductor devices in the pallet.