JPH08220139A - Inspection board probe - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In the probe of the inspection board, the contact resistance of the needle member protruding from the back surface of the inspection board to the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected is reduced to improve the accuracy of the characteristic inspection. To do. [Inspection] An inspection having a plurality of needle members 2 projecting from the back surface of a substrate for inspection, and the tip of the needle member 2 being in contact with an electrode pad 4 of a semiconductor device 3 to be inspected. In the probe of the substrate for use, the end face of the tip portion of the needle member 2 is formed so as to be substantially parallel to the upper face of the electrode pad 4 of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected. As a result, the tip end surface of the needle member 2 comes into contact with the upper surface of the electrode pad 4 substantially in parallel, and comes into contact with the electrode pad 4 over substantially the entire tip end surface thereof, so that the needle member 2 comes into contact with the electrode pad 4. It is possible to prevent an insulator such as alumina from adhering to the portion.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe for an inspection substrate for inspecting the characteristics of a semiconductor device to be inspected by using an inspection substrate called a probe card having a plurality of needle members protruding from its back surface. In particular, the present invention relates to a probe for an inspection substrate that can reduce the contact resistance of the needle member to the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected and improve the accuracy of the characteristic inspection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 1, a probe for a conventional inspection board is composed of a printed wiring board and is provided with a plurality of needle members 2 and 2 which are provided on a back surface of an inspection board 1 called a probe card. ,, and has this needle member 2, 2, ...
The tip of the electrode pad 4 of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected
It was configured to come into contact with 4, ... The tip end portions of the needle members 2, 2, ... Are the semiconductor devices 3 to be inspected.
When it touches the electrode pads 4, 4, ...
The electric signal conducted by the contact is guided to a conductor pattern (not shown) arranged in the inspection box 6 above the electric signal through the pins 5, 5, ... Connector of the inspection box 6 (not shown)
Then, the signal is sent to the tester 8 via the signal line 7, and the required inspection is performed by the tester 8. Here, the tip portion of the conventional needle member 2 is formed on a flat surface substantially orthogonal to the axial direction as shown in FIG.
It was formed into a hemisphere as shown in FIG.

In this state, when the inspection substrate 1 is lowered or the semiconductor device 3 is raised in FIG. 1 and the tip of the needle member 2 comes into contact with the electrode pad 4 of the semiconductor device 3, the needle member is removed. 2 is elastically deformed, the shoulder portion of the tip portion rubs in the direction of arrow A as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the hemispherical contact portion rubs in the direction of arrow B. At this time, the electrode pad 4
Consists of, for example, an aluminum pad, and the aluminum pad (4)
In some cases, the surface of the needle was scraped and the aluminum attached to the shoulder of the tip of the needle member 2 was transformed into alumina. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the needle member 2 as shown in FIG.
Is in contact with the electrode pad 4 only at the tip of the shoulder or hemispherical contact portion, the needle member 2 and the electrode pad 4 are not in contact with each other.
Alumina 10 accumulates in the contact portion with, and part of the end surface 9 of the needle member 2 may not contact the upper surface of the electrode pad 4. Since the alumina 10 acts as an insulator, the contact resistance between the needle member 2 and the electrode pad 4 is increased.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional probe for an inspection substrate, since the contact resistance values of the needle members 2 are all compared with the initial value, the change over time due to use is included. It was different from the contact resistance value. The initial value of the contact resistance value of the needle member 2 slightly changes depending on its material (for example, platinum palladium, beryllium kappa, tungsten, etc.), but the contact resistance value including a change with time due to use increases regardless of the material. It was a thing. In this case, since the tester 8 for inspecting the characteristics of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected is generally calibrated with the initial value of the contact resistance value of the needle member 2, the contact resistance value of the needle member 2 depends on the use. The accuracy of the characteristic inspection of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected deteriorates in the state where the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected has increased in the state of increase with time.

Therefore, the present invention addresses such a problem and reduces the contact resistance of the needle member to the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected to improve the accuracy of the characteristic inspection. The purpose is to provide a probe.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a probe for an inspection board according to the present invention has a plurality of needle members protruding from the back surface of the inspection board. In the probe of the inspection substrate configured such that the tip portion comes into contact with the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected, the tip portion of the needle member has its end face substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected. It is formed so that

The tip portion of the needle member is formed such that its end surface is substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected, and the tip surface of the needle member contacts the electrode pad. One or more grooves may be formed along the rubbing direction.

[0008]

The probe of the inspection substrate having the above-described structure is configured so that the end surface of the tip of the needle member formed so as to be substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected
Prevent the insulator such as alumina from adhering to the contact portion between the needle member and the electrode pad by contacting the upper surface of the electrode pad substantially in parallel and contacting the electrode pad over substantially the entire tip surface of the needle member. Can be As a result, the contact resistance of the needle member with respect to the electrode pad can be reduced and the accuracy of the characteristic inspection of the semiconductor device to be inspected can be improved.

The end surface of the tip of the needle member is formed to be substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected, and the tip surface of the needle member is in contact with the electrode pad. In the case where one or a plurality of grooves are formed along the rubbing direction, even if the electrode pad is slightly shaved at the tip surface of the needle member, the powder escapes into the groove and enters the needle member and the electrode pad. It is possible to prevent the insulator such as alumina from accumulating on the contact portion of. In addition, the contact resistance of the needle member to the electrode pad can be reduced by increasing the contact pressure with the electrode pad by the protruding portion of the groove.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a usage state of a probe of an inspection board according to the present invention. The probe of the inspection board is used to inspect the characteristics of a semiconductor device (for example, a semiconductor wafer) to be inspected using an inspection board called a probe card. In FIG. 1, the inspection board 1 is a printed wiring board. Has a plurality of needle members 2, 2, ...
The tip portions of 2, ... Contact the electrode pads 4, 4, ... Of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected. The material of the needle member 2 is, for example, platinum palladium, beryllium kappa, tungsten or the like, and the shape thereof is, for example, a thin round bar shape, and a lower portion thereof is bent to be elastically deformable. .

An inspection box 6 is attached above the inspection substrate 1. The inspection box 6 is for electrically connecting the inspection board 1 and a tester 8 described later, and is fixed by screws 11 at the peripheral portion of the inspection board 1, and is a pin called a pogo pin. 5,
5, the conductor layer formed on the inspection substrate 1 and the conductor layer formed on the inspection box 6 are connected to each other. A tester 8 is connected to the inspection box 6 via a signal line 7. The tester 8 is used for actually inspecting the required characteristics of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected, and includes a conductor pattern (not shown) and a connector (not shown) arranged in the signal line 7 and the inspection box 6. ) And is electrically connected to the inspection substrate 1 via

Here, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the end surface of the tip end portion of the needle member 2 is formed to be substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad 4 of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected. There is. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the tip end surface of the needle member 2 is formed as a flat surface that intersects the axial direction at a certain inclination angle, and is substantially parallel when it contacts the upper surface of the electrode pad 4. It is supposed to be. Therefore, even if the electrode pad 4 made of, for example, an aluminum pad is contacted,
Unlike the conventional case, the aluminum pad (4) is not scraped by the shoulder portion of the tip portion, but is contacted with almost the entire tip surface. The shoulder portion of the tip end surface of the needle member 2 is rounded and chamfered.

In such a state, in FIG. 1, the inspection substrate 1 is lowered or the semiconductor device 3 is raised so that the tips of the needle members 2, 2, ... The portion is brought into contact with the electrode pad 4 of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected. Then, the electrical signal conducted by this contact is conducted to the conductor pattern (not shown) provided in the inspection box 6 above the electrical signal through the pins 5, 5, ... Provided on the inspection substrate 1. Then, it is sent to the tester 8 via the connector (not shown) of the inspection box 6 and the signal line 7. Then, the required characteristic inspection is performed by the tester 8.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the end surface of the tip of the needle member 2 is formed so as to be substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad 4 of the semiconductor device 3 to be inspected.
As shown in (a), one or a plurality of grooves 12 are formed on the tip surface of the needle member 2 along the direction in which the electrode pad 4 is contacted and rubbed (direction of arrow C). That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the tip end surface of the needle member 2 is formed as a flat surface that intersects the axial direction at a certain inclination angle, and is substantially parallel when it contacts the upper surface of the electrode pad 4. In addition to the above, a plurality of grooves 12 are formed on the tip surface of the needle member 2 as shown in FIG. 3 (a).
As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, a plurality of grooves 12,
A plurality of ridges 13, 13, ... Are alternately formed between 12 ,. Therefore, the tip surface of the needle member 2 is the semiconductor device 3
Even if the electrode member 4 is contacted with the electrode pad 4 and the electrode member is slightly shaved, the powder escapes into the grooves 12, 12 ,.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the plurality of ridges 13, 13, ... Of the tip end surface of the needle member 2 are surely brought into contact with the upper surface of the electrode pad 4.

The shape of the groove 12 formed on the tip surface of the needle member 2 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 3B, but is formed as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C. May be. That is,
As shown in FIG. 4A, the groove may be formed in a continuous corrugation in a side view, or as shown in FIG. 4B, it may be formed in an intermittent semicircular groove. Further, as shown in FIG. 4C, one groove 12 may be formed in the central portion.

[0016]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
The end surface of the tip of the needle member formed to be substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected makes contact with the upper surface of the electrode pad in substantially parallel to the substantially entire front surface of the needle member. It becomes a state of contact with the electrode pad, and it is possible to prevent an insulator such as alumina from adhering to the contact portion between the needle member and the electrode pad. This allows
The contact resistance of the needle member to the electrode pad can be reduced to improve the accuracy of the characteristic inspection of the semiconductor device to be inspected.

The end surface of the tip of the needle member is formed to be substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected, and the tip surface of the needle member is in contact with the electrode pad. In the case where one or a plurality of grooves are formed along the rubbing direction, even if the electrode pad is slightly shaved at the tip surface of the needle member, the powder escapes into the groove and enters the needle member and the electrode pad. It is possible to prevent the insulator such as alumina from accumulating on the contact portion of. Therefore, the plurality of ridges formed on the tip surface of the needle member will surely contact the upper surface of the electrode pad. As a result, the contact resistance of the needle member with respect to the electrode pad can be reduced and the accuracy of the characteristic inspection of the semiconductor device to be inspected can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view showing a usage state of a probe of an inspection board according to the present invention and a conventional example.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view showing the shape of the tip of the needle member according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the present invention, (a)
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the shape of the tip end surface of the needle member, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory view showing the shape seen from the direction of arrow C shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a modification of the shape of the groove formed on the tip surface of the needle member.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged explanatory view showing the shape of the tip of a needle member according to a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged explanatory view for explaining a problem of a needle member according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inspection substrate 2 ... Needle member 3 ... Semiconductor device 4 ... Electrode pad 5 ... Pin 6 ... Inspection box 7 ... Signal line 8 ... Tester 12 ... Groove 13 ...

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An inspection board having a plurality of needle members projecting from the back surface of the inspection board, the tip of the needle member being in contact with an electrode pad of a semiconductor device to be inspected. In the probe of (1) above, the tip of the needle member is formed so that its end face is substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected. 2. The tip portion of the needle member is formed such that its end surface is substantially parallel to the upper surface of the electrode pad of the semiconductor device to be inspected, and the tip surface of the needle member contacts the electrode pad. The probe of the inspection substrate according to claim 1, wherein one or a plurality of grooves are formed along the rubbing direction.