JPH0697241A - Probing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to make easily an exchange of fuses provided interposingly between a multitude of probes provided on a probe card and a power supply in a probing device of a structure, wherein the probes on the probe card are brought into contact to electrode pads on a matter to be inspected, such as a semiconductor wafer, to inspect the electrical characteristics of the matter to be inspected. CONSTITUTION:Fuses 8 are made to interpose between probes 2 on a probe card 1 and a power supply and at the same time, a fuse holding body 9 for holding a plurality of the fuses 8 en block is detachably provided using screws 10 and the like. Thereby, by attaching or detaching the holding body 9, attachment or detachment of all the fuses 8 to or from the probe card 1 can be conducted en block.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe device, and more particularly, to a probe device for each electrode pad of an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) having a large number of integrated circuits formed thereon. The present invention relates to a probe device for inspecting the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected by bringing a stylus of a bucard into contact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as a probe device of this type,
As shown in FIG. 4, the wafer W is mounted horizontally (X, Y).
And a holding means 41 that is movable in the up and down (Z) direction, and a probing device that is arranged above the holding means 41 and has a large number of stylus (probe needles) 42 that come into contact with the electrode pads of the wafer W. -Probe device body 44 with probe card 43
And a test head 46 which is attached by a hinge 45 above the probe card 43 so as to be able to move up and down. Also, as another probe device,
There is also known a structure in which the test head is vertically movable by a manipulator arranged on the side of the probe apparatus main body 44 instead of the hinge 45.

In order to inspect the electrical characteristics of the wafer W by the probe apparatus constructed as described above, first, the test head 46 is moved to the upper surface side of the probe card W and attached to the test head 46. The contact 47 attached to the I / O pin 48 of the probe card 43, and
The probe needle 42 of the probe card 43 is brought into contact with each electrode pad of the integrated circuit chip of the wafer W whose position is adjusted by an alignment device (not shown), and power is supplied to the integrated circuit through the probe needle 42 and a test signal is supplied. Is performed to check whether or not each circuit can operate normally.

As a probe card used for this type of inspection, as shown in FIG. 5, the fixed end portion of the probe needle 42 is soldered to a conductor pattern 50 formed on the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the printed board 49. And the free end portion which becomes the probe tip 42a is concentrated in the central portion of the substrate 49 (transverse needle type),
As shown in FIG. 6, connect the probe tip 42a to the printed circuit board 5
1 through the central portion of the 1 and lead vertically to the lower surface side,
There are two types (vertical type) which are arranged in a bundle in a state where electrical contact is cut off from each other. Conventionally, a horizontal needle type probe card has been widely popular, but a horizontal needle type probe card has been widely used.
Since it is difficult to increase the degree of integration of the probe needles 42, a vertical type probe card suitable for high integration (multi-pin) of the probe needles 42 is used in the present day when the high integration of semiconductor integrated circuits is remarkable. It is becoming mainstream.

[0005]

By the way, as the degree of integration of semiconductor integrated circuits increases, the number of elements per chip increases and the switching speed also increases, so that the power consumption also increases. Thus, in a probe card for inspecting an integrated circuit having a high degree of integration and a large power consumption, not only a probe needle for making contact with a signal terminal of the integrated circuit, but also a probe needle for a power source. Will also be necessary. For example, in the case of a probe card in which the total number of probe needles is 1500, about 500 of them are used for power supply.

However, when an integrated circuit chip which consumes a large amount of power is inspected in a wafer state by using this kind of multi-pin probe card, there is a defect that the ground and the power supply of the integrated circuit are short-circuited. Then, a current concentrates on a specific power source probe needle, and the power source probe needle melts and is disconnected. If even one probe needle is damaged, the probe card becomes useless as a whole. Since a gold wire is generally used for the probe needle, it is necessary to replace an expensive probe card that uses many gold wires with a new probe card every time it is damaged, which leads to an increase in inspection cost.

Therefore, in recent years, in order to prevent the power source probe needle from melting due to an overcurrent, various probe devices having a fuse between the power source probe needle and the power source have been proposed. Proposed (for example, JP-A-63-31130 and JP-A-3-247)
No. 43). However, since all of these probe devices have a structure in which a fuse is interposed in the middle of a conductor pattern of a printed circuit board on which a probe needle is attached, When the fuse is disconnected, the workability of replacing the fuse is poor, and when the probe needle has a large number of pins as described above, mount a large number of fuses on the printed circuit board. Is impossible.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a probe device capable of easily exchanging a plurality of probes provided on a probe card and a fuse interposed between power supplies. It is intended to provide.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the probe device of the present invention is such that the probe pad of a probe card is brought into contact with the electrode pad of the object to be inspected to obtain the electrical characteristics of the object to be inspected. On the premise of a probe device for measuring a probe, a fuse is interposed between the probe needle and its power source, and a fuse holder for collectively holding a plurality of fuses is provided on the probe card. It is configured to be attachable to and detachable from.

[0010]

According to the probe device of the present invention constructed as described above, when an overcurrent flows through the probe needle, the fuse is immediately cut off due to the heat generated by the current and the fuse needle is disconnected. Since the energization is stopped, it is possible to prevent damage to the probe needle. Further, since the fuse holder is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the probe card, it is possible to attach and detach all fuses to and from the probe card by attaching and detaching the holder. Therefore, the cut fuse can be easily replaced.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a mounted state of a probe card of a probe device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of FIG. In this example,
Since the overall structure of the probe device is similar to that shown in FIG.
The description is omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 1, the probe card 1 is
The tip portion 2a of the probe needle 2 made of a gold wire penetrates through the central portion of the printed circuit board 3 and is guided vertically to the lower surface side, and the BBP block 4 fixed to the lower surface of the printed circuit board 3 makes electrical contact with each other. It is a vertical probe card that is arranged in a bundle in a folded state, and about 1,500 probe needles 2 are provided for both signal and power sources. However, only the probe needle 2 for power supply is shown here for simplicity.

A spacer 5 is erected on the upper surface of the probe card 1, and a large number of pogo pins 7 are planted in the middle of the spacer 5 with their movable terminals 7a facing upward. The terminal board 6 is attached, and at the upper end of the spacer 5,
A fuse holder 9 is attached to the lower side of the fuse holder 8 to hold the same number of fuses 8 as the pogo pins 7 in a retracted state. The base end of the probe needle 2 is connected to the fixed side of the pogo pin 7 provided on the terminal board 6. In this case, the terminal board 6 is completely fixed to the spacer 5 by a method such as adhesion, while the fuse holder 9 is a spacer.
It is detachably attached to the upper end of the support 5 by using a screw 10. Then, the probe card 1 has a fuse holder 9
After being attached to the spacer 5, the spacer 5 is attached to the head plate 20 of the probe apparatus main body via the insert ring 21 so that the spacer 5 is supported via the spacer 5 and the fuse holder 9. There is.

The fuse holder 9 has a disk-shaped printed circuit board 12 having a conductor pattern 11 formed on the lower surface thereof.
The main part is composed of a plurality of fuse housings 13 for separately holding the fuses 8 below the printed circuit board 12. Connectors 19 are provided at two positions on the upper surface of the printed circuit board 12 to be connected to the power supply side and the round side of the probe apparatus main body. These connectors 19 are
It is connected to the conductor pattern 11 on the lower surface of the substrate 12 through a through hole 18.

The fuse storage unit 13 is a printed circuit board 12.
A fixing member 14 having a large number of annular protrusions 14a on the lower side, and a substantially cylindrical shape that is detachably fitted to the annular protrusion 14a of the fixing member 14 to substantially store and hold the fuse 8. The mounting bracket 15 of FIG. Fixing member 14
The fuse 8 is provided on the inner surface of each annular protrusion 14a on the lower surface.
A conductor pad 16 that is in contact with the upper terminal of the. The conductor pad 16 is connected to the conductor pattern 11 on the lower surface of the printed board 12 via a through hole 17. The diameter of the lower opening 15a of the mounting bracket 15 is set to be slightly smaller than the fuse diameter in order to prevent the fuse 8 from falling off, and larger than the diameter of the movable terminal 7a of the pogo pin 7. That is, when the fuse holder 9 is attached to the spacer 5, the movable terminals 7a of the pogo pins 7 are inserted into the lower openings 15a of the attachment brackets 15 when the fuse holder 9 is attached to the lower end of the fuse 8. The fuse 8 is pushed up by the elastic force of the pogo pin 7 and its upper terminal comes into contact with the conductor pad 16. Thus, each probe needle 2 of the probe card 1 is connected to the power source of the probe apparatus main body through the fuse 8. In this example, the connector 19 is connected to the power supply terminal 24 and the power supply round 25 on the probe card 1 through the conductor cable 22, respectively. However, the power supply round may be provided on the head plate 20. It is possible.

According to the probe apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, even if an overcurrent is generated in the probe needle 2 for some reason when the wafer W is inspected, the problem will occur. Since the fuse 8 is immediately cut off by the heat generated by the electric current and the energization of the probe needle is stopped, the damage of the probe needle 2 can be prevented.

In order to replace the cut fuse 8, the conductor cable 22 is first removed from the connector 19 on the fuse holder 9, and then the fuse holder 9 is replaced with a probe card. 1 and the terminal board 6 are removed from the head plate 20 of the main body of the probe device. Then remove the screw 10,
The fuse holder 9 is removed from the spacer 5. As a result, all the fuses 8 are removed from the probe card 1. Then, the mounting bracket 15 of the fuse holder 9 is removed, the cut fuse 8 is replaced with a new fuse, and then the fuse holder 9 is attached to the spacer 5 again. As a result, all the fuses 8 are attached to the probe card 1. After fixing the fuse holder 9 to the spacer 5 by tightening the screw 10, the fuse holder 9 is fixed.
Is attached to the head plate 20, and finally, the conductor cable 22 is reconnected to the connector 19 to complete the fuse exchange. In this case, the fuse holder 9 and the fuse 8
It is also possible to integrate the above and the above into a unit and replace the unit child at the time of replacement.

As described above, the probe device of the present invention is
Since the fuse holder 9 is configured to be attachable / detachable to / from the probe card 1, by attaching / detaching the fuse holder 9, all fuses 8 are attached / detached to / from the probe card 1 at once. The workability of fuse replacement is extremely good. Further, since the probe card 1 provided with the probe needle 2 and the fuse holder 9 for holding the fuse 8 are separately arranged, the probe needle 2 has more pins. Even if the number of fuses 8 becomes large, a large number of fuses 8 can be mounted accordingly.

The probe apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the structure for attaching / detaching the fuse holder 9 is not limited to the screw 10 described above, and for example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the engaging groove 5a is slidably contacted with the inner peripheral portion of the upper end of the spacer 5 formed in a cylindrical shape, and the notches 5b are provided at several places, and the spacer 5 is engaged with the peripheral portion of the fuse holder 9. A piece 9a may be provided so that it can be attached and detached with one touch by bayonet connection.
A rotary hook member or the like may be provided at several places on the upper portion of the servicer 5, and these may be engaged with and disengaged from the peripheral portion of the fuse holder 9.

Further, the probe device of the present invention is a hub device.
By connecting a coaxial cable to the signal terminal of the holder 9, it is possible to apply to a high frequency response test and a noise test in addition to the normal circuit operation test.

When it is not necessary to increase the number of probe needles 2 so much, the vertical type probe card 1 is used.
Instead of this, a horizontal needle type probe card can be used.

[0023]

As described above, according to the rotation processing device of the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

1) When an overcurrent flows through the probe needle, the fuse is immediately cut off due to the heat generated by the current, and the energization of the probe needle is stopped. Can be prevented.

2) Since the fuse holder for holding a plurality of fuses at once is detachable from the probe card, the fuse holder can be attached to and detached from the probe card. All fuses can be installed / removed at once, and the fuses can be easily replaced.

3) Since the probe card provided with the probe needle and the fuse holder for holding the fuse are separated from each other, the probe card has a large number of probe needles. Even if it does, it is possible to mount a large number of fuses accordingly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a mounted state of a probe card of a probe device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing another embodiment of the structure for attaching and detaching the fuse holder.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a probe device.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a lateral needle type probe card.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a vertical probe card.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 probe card 2 probe needle (stylus) 7 pogo pin 8 fuse 9 fuse holder 10 screw 15 mounting bracket 19 power connector W wafer (inspection object)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A probe apparatus for inspecting the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected by contacting the electrode pad of the object to be inspected with a probe of a probe card, wherein a fuse is provided between the probe and a power source. A probe device, characterized in that a fuse holder for holding a plurality of fuses together is arranged to be removable from the probe card.