JPS62298128A - Probe inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the inspection efficiency by a method wherein the positions of an element to be inspected on an inspecting stage and a probe card are identified to control the rotation of probe card in the theta direction making reference to the identification. CONSTITUTION:The specified surface of probe card 3 is image-picked up by an image senser 9 to transfer the image pick-up signal to a controller 8. On the other hand, the specified surface of semiconductor wafer 2 is also image picked up by another image senser 11 to transfer the image pick-up signal to the controller 8. The controller 8 detects any slippage between the probe card 3 and the semiconductor wafer 2 in the theta direction making referennce to the image pick-up signals. Through these procedures, a motor 7 is driving- controlled making reference to the slippage level so that the semiconductor wafer 2 may be controlled to make alignment with the probe card 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a technique that is particularly effective when applied to probe testing, such as probe testing for testing circuits on semiconductor wafers. It can be used for

[Conventional technology]

For probe inspection of semiconductor wafers, see Kogyo Kenkyukai Co., Ltd., November 15, 1980, 198
It is described in the 3rd year special issue "Electronic Materials 1984 Edition, VLSI Manufacturing/Testing Equipment Guidebook J, P195-P198.

The present inventor studied automatic positioning technology for a probe inspection device. Although the following is not a publicly known technique, it is a technique studied by the present inventor, and its outline is as follows.

That is, when performing a probe test on a semiconductor wafer, it is necessary to accurately align the half-quad wafer, which is the object to be tested, and the probe card. In other words, if the pad formed on the semiconductor wafer and the tip of the probe needle do not come into contact with each other in the correct position, not only will the inspection not be carried out properly, but it may also damage the surface of the semiconductor wafer. be.

The above positioning technique involves first moving the inspection stage to a predetermined position with the semiconductor wafer placed thereon, and then manually moving the probe card in the θ direction while observing the probe card above the inspection stage with a microscope. It is conceivable to align the probe card and the semiconductor wafer by rotating the probe card by a predetermined amount.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, with the above alignment technology, the alignment is performed manually by the operator, which does not improve inspection efficiency, and two different techniques are required to accurately grasp the amount of rotation of the probe card in the θ direction. there were.

The present invention has been made focusing on the above problems,
The purpose is to provide a probe inspection technique that can improve inspection efficiency.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[Means for solving problems]

A brief overview of typical inventions disclosed in this application is as follows.

In other words, the position Ey between the object to be inspected and the probe card! ,
This system automatically controls the motor that rotates the probe card in the θ direction based on this knowledge.

[Effect]

According to the above-described means, it is possible to automatically control position recognition and rotation by a predetermined amount in the θ direction to align the object to be inspected and the probe card, thereby improving probe inspection efficiency. .

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a probe inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial plan view showing a state in which a probe needle is in contact with a pad on a semiconductor wafer.

The probe inspection apparatus 1 of this embodiment is for inspecting a predetermined circuit formed on a semiconductor wafer 2, and the probe card 3 is connected to a host computer (not shown), and the probe inspection apparatus 1 is for inspecting a predetermined circuit formed on a semiconductor wafer 2. The structure is such that a predetermined signal is sent and received to and from.

The inspection stage 4 is placed on an XY table 5,
The operation of this XY table 5 allows for a predetermined value.

Fine adjustment in the X and Y directions is possible.

The semiconductor wafer 2 placed on the XY table S is
A predetermined circuit layer is formed on the surface thereof, and puff mud is formed at a predetermined position using aluminum (A1) or the like as shown in FIG. 2, for example.

The probe card 3 is rotated in the θ direction by a motor 7. This motor 7 is, for example, a DC pulse motor, and its rotation amount is controlled to a predetermined value by a control signal from a control section 8.

Above the probe card 3, for example, a CCD (Cha
An image sensor 9 such as an RGE coupled device is attached to take an image of a predetermined surface area of the probe card 3, and this image pickup signal is sent to the control unit 8.

On the other hand, a reflecting mirror 10 is attached above the semiconductor wafer 2 on the inspection stage 4, and a predetermined surface area of the semiconductor wafer 2 is inspected via the reflecting mirror 10 by an image sensor 11 attached laterally. It is now possible to see the face.

Note that the image signal of the semiconductor wafer 2 is also sent to the control section 8.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, the semiconductor wafer 2, which is an object to be inspected, is placed on the inspection stage 4 on the i! When placed, the image sensor 11 on the semiconductor wafer 2 side sends an imaging signal of the surface of the semiconductor wafer 2 to the control unit 8, and the control unit 8 detects the position of the semiconductor wafer 2 based on this imaging signal. .

Next, the probe card 3 that has been input in advance to the control unit 8
Based on the positional information of
activated by

In this way, XY table 50 system? Although the centers of the probe card 3 and the semiconductor wafer 2 coincide with each other when viewed from directly above, there is still some deviation in the θ direction at this stage.

Next, using the image sensor 9 of the three probe cards,
A predetermined surface of the probe card 3 is imaged, and this image signal is sent to the control section 8.

The control unit 8 calculates the amount of deviation between the probe card 3 and the semiconductor wafer 2 in the θ direction based on the imaging signal from the probe card 3 and the imaging signal from the semiconductor wafer 2. Then, based on this calculated value, the control unit 8 drives and controls the motor 7 to rotate the probe card 3 by a predetermined amount in the θ direction, so that the probe card 3 is in a position that matches the semiconductor wafer 2. be done.

Next, the inspection stage 4 is raised by a predetermined amount by a Z-axis drive mechanism (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the tip of the probe needle 12 protruding from the back surface of the probe card 3 is brought into contact with a predetermined pad 6 formed on the semiconductor wafer 2 to perform a probe test.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The position of the semiconductor wafer 2 on the inspection stage 4 and the probe card 3 is recognized by the imaging signal from the image sensor 9, and the motor 7 is driven based on this recognition information, so that the probe card 3 By rotating the semiconductor wafer 2 by a predetermined amount in the θ direction so as to coincide with the wafer 2, automatic alignment between the semiconductor wafer 2 and the probe card 3 becomes possible, and probe inspection can be performed with high precision and efficiency.

(2) According to (1) above, the pad 6 of the semiconductor wafer 2
Since the tip of the probe needle 12 can be brought into contact with the wire at an accurate position, it is possible to improve the bonding reliability between the wire and the band in the subsequent wire bonding process.

(3) According to (1) above, it is possible to bring the probe needle 12 into contact with the puff drop at an accurate position, so that damage to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 2 caused by the probe needle 12 can be prevented.

(4) With the above +11 to (3), it becomes possible to manufacture a semiconductor device with high reliability with high efficiency.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically explained above based on Examples, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the Examples and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. For example, although we have explained the case where an image sensor such as a COD is used as the position recognition mechanism, position recognition is also performed by using a laser beam and receiving this reflected light with a light receiving element such as a phototransistor. You can.

In the above description, the invention made by the present inventor is mainly applied to a probe inspection apparatus for semiconductor wafers, which is the field of use thereof, but the present invention is not limited to this.

〔Effect of the invention〕

A brief explanation of the effects obtained by typical inventions disclosed in this application is as follows.

In other words, there is an inspection stage that can be controlled horizontally with an object to be inspected placed thereon, a mechanism for recognizing the position of the object to be inspected on this inspection stage and the probe card, and a mechanism for recognizing the position of the probe card based on this position recognition mechanism. By using a probe inspection device consisting of a motor that controls rotation in the θ direction, position recognition and automatic control of rotation by a predetermined amount in the θ direction can be performed to align the object to be inspected and the probe card. As a result, probe inspection efficiency can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a probe inspection apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial plan view showing a state in which a probe needle is in contact with a pad on a semiconductor wafer in the above embodiment. . 1... Probe inspection device, 2... Semiconductor wafer, 3
...Probe card, 4...Inspection stage, 5...
・XY table, 6...pad, 7...motor, 8
...Control unit, 9...Image sensor, 10...Reflector, 11...Image sensor, 12...Probe needle. ℃

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A probe testing device that tests the quality of a circuit by bringing a probe needle protruding from a probe card into contact with a predetermined circuit formed on a substrate as an object to be tested, comprising: An inspection stage that can be controlled in the horizontal direction with an object to be inspected placed on it, a mechanism for recognizing the position of the object to be inspected on this inspection stage and the probe card, and a θ direction of the probe card based on this position recognition mechanism. A probe inspection device comprising: a motor that controls rotation of the probe; 2. The probe inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position recognition mechanism is a probe card or an image sensor that captures an image of the surface of the object to be inspected. 3. The probe inspection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the object to be inspected is a semiconductor wafer.