JPH04228B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fixed probe board used primarily for testing and measuring monolithic semiconductor integrated circuit devices (semiconductor chips) completed on semiconductor wafers.

Advances in semiconductor integrated circuit technology have made it possible to miniaturize elements formed on semiconductor substrates, leading to higher integration. Additionally, the size of semiconductor chips has also increased accordingly.

Therefore, one semiconductor integrated circuit can have many circuit functions. For example, in a semiconductor integrated circuit device that constitutes a gate array, etc.
The number of terminals increases to over 100 to over 200. In this case, as the size of the semiconductor chip increases, the coefficient of thermal expansion in the periphery is affected, so the bonding pads are arranged closely in the center of the semiconductor chip.

The probes used for inspection and measurement on semiconductor wafers of such semiconductor integrated circuit devices are inevitably large in number and densely packed in proportion to the number of terminals mentioned above. This makes it impossible to observe. for example,
When probes are arranged in multiple layers at high density, as in "Utility Application No. 53-155955" related to the applicant's earlier application,
If the probes overlap each other, it becomes impossible to observe the mutual positional relationship between the surface of the semiconductor chip to be measured and the contact ends of the probes.

Therefore, a problem arises in that the needles cannot be aligned for electrical connection to the semiconductor chip to be inspected and measured.

An object of the present invention is to realize needle alignment on a fixed probe board having a plurality of probes arranged in such a manner that their contact ends cannot be observed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fixed probe board that can form alignment marks for needle alignment with high precision.

Further objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings.

Hereinafter, this invention will be explained in detail together with examples.

FIG. 1 shows a bottom (measurement side) view of an embodiment of a semi-finished stationary probe board according to the present invention. Note that, in this figure, the arrangement of the probes is partially omitted in order to make the lead lines of each component clear.

The fixed probe board of this embodiment has a large number of probes arranged at high density in a multilayer radial cone shape, as proposed in the above-mentioned "Utility Application No. 53-155955", although it is not particularly limited. It is something that exists. That is, the wiring board 1 is formed by a well-known printed wiring technique, and has printed wiring (not shown) extending from the electrode 3 at the insertion portion. This printed wiring terminates around the opening 2 formed approximately in the center. A support 4 for fixing probes is provided on the lower surface side of the wiring board 1 along the opening 2, and a large number of probes 5 (for example, about 100 to 200 probes) are mounted on the support surface.
are fixedly supported in multiple layers by a fixing layer, which will be described later, below the radial cone shape. At least the support surface of this support 4 is configured to have electrical insulation,
The fixing layer is also made of an insulating adhesive that is work-hardened. The bonded ends of these probes 2 are aligned with the electrodes (bonding pads) of the semiconductor chip to be measured and are arranged at high density as described above.

In this embodiment, in order to achieve needle alignment between the contact ends of the high-density probes and the electrodes of the semiconductor chip to be measured, openings 3a and 3 are provided in the wiring board 1.
b is formed. Then, the following alignment mask is attached to the position shown by the broken line in the figure.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of one embodiment of the alignment mask.

This alignment mask 6 is formed of a thin aluminum plate, although not particularly limited, and has an aluminum oxide film formed on its surface by well-known alumite treatment, so that it has substantially electrical insulation properties. be done.

Although not particularly limited, the following small hole groups 7a, 7b as positioning marks and wiring are placed at positions corresponding to the openings 3a, 3b and 2 shown in FIG. A group of small holes 7c is formed as a positioning means during attachment to the substrate 1. Each of these small hole groups has the same pattern as the electrode pattern (the contact end pattern of the probe) of the semiconductor chip to be measured. Although not particularly limited, these small hole groups are formed at high density by known photographic techniques or laser processing techniques using laser beams. The size of the small holes in the small hole groups 7a and 7b is the same as or slightly larger than the size of the electrode (usually 100 μm×100 μm) in order to observe the electrode. Further, the size of the small hole in the small hole group 7c is formed to be larger than the diameter of the contact end of the probe in order to allow the contact end of the probe to pass therethrough.

Further, the positional relationship between the corresponding small holes in each of the small hole groups 7a, 7b, and 7c is not particularly limited, but they are arranged in a straight line, and the distance between them is an integer number (N) of the size of one semiconductor chip. ) are formed with twice the spacing L1, L2.

In addition, relatively large openings are provided in the central and peripheral parts where the above-mentioned small hole groups 7a, 7b, and 7c are not formed, so that it is easy to confirm the rough position of the semiconductor chip during needle alignment with the semiconductor chip, which will be described later. It is convenient to do so.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a fixed probe board according to the present invention.

In the figure, the printed wiring formed on the wiring board 1 is omitted, and the lateral direction is partially omitted. That is, only the tip side of the probe 5 from the support body is shown, and the connection end side of the printed wiring and the connection portion are omitted.

Although not particularly limited, the probes are arranged in the radial cone shape and their contact ends are aligned using a predetermined positioning jig, and in this state, the fixing layer 4' is attached to the support surface of the support 4. Securely support it. This support body 4 is attached to the lower surface side of the wiring board 1 along the opening 2. Then, the connection end is connected to the connection end of the corresponding printed wiring by soldering or the like. In addition, in the same figure, the probes 5 are shown in a simplified manner as a representative probe, and in reality, they are arranged in multiple layers with high density.

Thereafter, the alignment mask 6 is attached to the lower surface of the wiring board 1 via a spacer 8. In this case, the contact ends of the probes corresponding to the small holes of the small hole group 7c are inserted so as to pass through them, and the tips thereof are made to protrude to the lower surface side of the alignment mask 6. This protrusion length is not particularly limited, but is configured to be approximately 200 μm.

Then, the wiring board 1 and the alignment mask are fixed to each other via the spacer 8 using a suitable fixing means.

In this embodiment, a wafer prober is loaded with a fixed probe port to which an alignment mask configured as described above is attached. This wafer prober is provided with a wafer chuck top attached to a stage mechanism on the lower side of the fixed probe board, and a microscope attached on the upper side. Therefore, when the surface of the semiconductor wafer to be measured placed on the wafer desktop is observed and aligned, it can be seen through the small holes (alignment marks) of the alignment mask 6. Thereby, needle alignment can be performed by operating the stage mechanism so that the small hole and the electrode of the semiconductor chip to be measured are aligned. For example, one semiconductor chip 9 integrally formed on a semiconductor wafer
When the electrode group a and the small hole group 7a match, the electrodes of the semiconductor chip 9 and the contact ends of the probes 5 will necessarily match at N intervals in the right direction. Alternatively, in order to bring the contact end of the probe 5 into contact with the semiconductor chip 9a corresponding to the small hole 7a, the semiconductor wafer may be moved to the left by N semiconductor chips.

This also applies when needle alignment is performed using the small hole group 7b in the same manner as described above. Therefore,
Even if the contact end of the probe cannot be observed through the opening 2, needle alignment can be performed indirectly by using the small hole as the alignment mark.

In this embodiment, the alignment marks on the alignment mask can be formed with high precision by the above-mentioned photographic technique or laser processing technique. Furthermore, by forming a small hole through which the contact end of the probe passes, the alignment mask can be attached to the wiring board 1 very easily and with the same high precision as the alignment mark. .

Furthermore, the small hole group 7c has a hardening effect that prevents the contact end of the probe from shifting when repeatedly pressed onto the electrode of the semiconductor chip, thereby increasing its durability.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, the small hole serving as the alignment mark may be provided for each representative electrode. Furthermore, the alignment mark and opening may be provided only at one location on the wiring board 1. Furthermore, the above-mentioned alignment mask may be constructed of a transparent plate, on which alignment marks are drawn.

The positional relationship between the alignment mark and the probe is determined by the size N (integer) of the semiconductor chip.
Although it is convenient to set individual measurements in actual measurement operations, the stage mechanism described above can control the position with an accuracy of several μm, so it can be set at any distance that is an integral multiple of the minimum moving distance of the stage mechanism. It may be something that you set.

Furthermore, since the alignment mask can be used to align the probe to the wiring board 1 using other alignment methods, the small hole through which the contact end of the probe passes is omitted. It may be.

Furthermore, an edge sensor extending from the upper surface of the wiring board 1 through the opening 2 to the surface of the semiconductor chip may be provided to provide a function of detecting the edge of the semiconductor wafer.

Further, the fixed probe board may be configured such that the probe is attached to a wiring board constituting a probe holder and loaded onto the wiring board by a plug-in method, as is known in the art.

Furthermore, in addition to forming a surface parallel to the surface of the wiring board, the alignment mask may form a tapered surface facing the surface of the wiring board within a tolerance range. It may be something that does. That is, the thickness of the spacer at the peripheral portion is made slightly smaller than the portion corresponding to the probe. This results in
It is possible to reduce the possibility that the lower surface of the spacer will come into contact with the surface of the semiconductor wafer during measurement.

In addition to the above-mentioned probes arranged in a radial cone shape, the present invention also includes, for example,
40789 (Utility Application No. 174247)", it can also be used for fixed probe boards that are arranged perpendicularly to the surface of the wiring board, making it impossible to observe the contact ends. It is possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a bottom (measurement surface) view of a semi-finished stationary probe board showing an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the alignment mask, and FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention. 1... Wiring board, 2, 3a, 3b... Opening, 3
...Printed wiring, 4...Support, 5...Probe, 6...Positioning mask, 7a, 7b, 7c
...Small hole, 8...Spacer, 9, 9a, 9b...
semiconductor chip.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A wiring board, and a contact end is aligned with the electrode of the semiconductor chip to be measured, and is arranged in a radial cone shape in a multilayered high-density manner at a predetermined position on the lower surface side of the wiring board, and is in contact with the wiring board. Unlike the plurality of probes made of thin wires whose ends are made unobservable from the top side, and the probe attachment part on the wiring board mentioned above,
Apertures are provided at predetermined distances corresponding to a plurality of semiconductor chips to be measured; and an alignment mask having alignment marks formed at intervals corresponding to a plurality of semiconductor chips in correspondence with a specific one, a plurality, or all of the contact ends of the probes. Fixed probe board. 2 The alignment mask is composed of a thin, monolithic aluminum plate whose surface is electrically insulated, and is provided with a small hole through which the contact end of one or more or all of the plurality of probes passes through. 2. The fixed probe board according to claim 1, wherein the alignment mark is formed by a small hole similar to the above.