KR100403759B1 - Semiconductor Probe Module Using Semiconductor Probe Chip and Fabricating Method thereof, and Probe Station Using the Same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a semiconductor probe using a semiconductor probe chip that can easily manufacture a semiconductor probe module used in the probe station by assembling a semiconductor probe chip integrated with a plurality of probes of several tens of micrometer intervals to a PCB cable in a simple vibration bonding process A module and a method of manufacturing the same.

In the semiconductor probe module of the present invention, a plurality of conductive probes protruding in a bump shape are formed at the front end of the semiconductor probe module, each of which is separated from the top of one side of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, and extends from the rear end to the opposite side, respectively. A semiconductor probe chip formed and connected to a plurality of contact pads, a PCB cable each bonding pad is connected to a plurality of contact pads of the semiconductor probe chip, and mounted on the PCB cable to be connected through the respective semiconductor probe probes. A drive IC for applying a test signal to a plurality of electrode terminals of the test device, and a support block for supporting the probe module to the probe station while protecting the connection between the semiconductor probe chip and the PCB cable.

Description

Semiconductor Probe Module Using Semiconductor Probe Chip and Fabricating Method Eating, and Probe Station Using the Same}

The present invention relates to a semiconductor probe module using a semiconductor probe chip for LCD panel and semiconductor wafer inspection, and a method of manufacturing the same. The present invention relates to a semiconductor probe module using a semiconductor probe chip that can be easily manufactured by assembling a semiconductor probe module used in a probe station, a method of manufacturing the same, and a probe station using the same.

In the case of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or the like, a semiconductor wafer manufactured before attaching a lead frame or driving IC during the manufacturing process or after completion of the manufacturing process; The test is performed by applying an electrical signal to check whether the LCD liquid crystal panel is operating normally. The equipment used is a probe device (Probe Station).

In conventional probe equipment, a probe card having a plurality of tungsten or nickel alloy plate probe needles is used to give electrical signals to a plurality of electrical contacts (Pad) formed on semiconductor wafers, LCD panels, and the like. In this case, since the diameter of the tungsten needle is several hundred micrometers, at least 100 micrometers, it is impossible to measure the state of the internal circuit of the object through a plurality of contacts close to 100 micrometers or less, and uniformly to twenty hundred tungsten needles. This is difficult to arrange (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1999-68745, etc.).

In addition, by using micro-machining, a probe card having a uniform height and a higher density probe may be manufactured. In this case, a pointed probe may be formed at the end of the cantilever, so that the contact point and the probe of the device under measurement Efforts have been made to minimize the wear of the probe or the breakage of the contact of the device under test due to the elasticity of the cantilever, even if the contact is repeated (see, for example, JP-A-2000-17761).

In the case of a probe card having a probe formed at the end of the cantilever beam, a cantilever having a probe is manufactured by using a silicon single crystal wafer, and then bonded to the glass wafer using a method such as fusion bonding or anodic bonding. Use it.

However, when testing a semiconductor wafer or LCD panel using a tungsten needle structure or a pointed probe formed by micro-machining, the tip of the pointed probe may be damaged when the tip of the pointed probe contacts the pad. In many cases, the damage of the contact point of the test step causes a problem of poor connection at the time of wire bonding for packaging or assembling the contact of the device under measurement.

That is, conventionally, by using a probe card to check the microscope while inspecting the microscope, the probe under contact with the probe of the device under test, and the device under test is measured by several tens of micrometers along the length of the contact to check the contact state. The inspection was made while moving.

As a result, the groove 2 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is generated on the surface of the contact 1 as the probe contacts and moves. Therefore, when wire bonding is performed later using the wire 3 to the contact point 1, the risk of disconnection due to a poor connection of the bonding part of the wire 3 to be bonded to the groove 2 is very high.

In addition, in the production of cantilever probes using micromachining methods, most of the micro-machining methods are applied to silicon single crystal wafers and glass wafers, and they have to be fabricated and bonded to each other. The technical disadvantage is that wire bonding must be performed.

In the cantilever probe structure, since the arm between the tip and the support of the probe is made of a thickness of several tens of micrometers, there is a problem of causing plastic deformation due to repeated use of several hundred thousand times.

On the other hand, in addition to the probe structure described above, a probe structure that realizes a pitch of 50-100 micrometers by laser processing using FPC (Flexible PCB) is known, but this structure is difficult for the metal deposition process, and the line width is subsequently reduced. It has the disadvantage of not being able to respond.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to fabricate a semiconductor probe chip in which a plurality of probes of several tens of micrometers pitch is integrated by using a semiconductor on insulator (SOI) substrate to solve the above problems of the prior art. The present invention provides a semiconductor probe module using a semiconductor probe chip and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor probe chip which can be easily manufactured by assembling the semiconductor probe chip to a PCB cable by a simple vibration bonding process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a probe station which is simply configured using the semiconductor probe module described above.

1 is a partial plan view of a conventional LCD panel,

2 is a cross-sectional view of the wire bonding to the contacts of the LCD panel of FIG.

3 is a schematic plan view of a probe station fabricated using the semiconductor probe module according to the present invention;

4 is a perspective view of FIG.

5 is an enlarged plan view of FIG. 4;

6 is a plan view of a semiconductor probe chip according to the present invention;

7 is a bottom view of FIG. 6,

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 6;

9 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. 6;

10 is a perspective view of a semiconductor probe chip according to the present invention;

11 is a view for explaining a bonding process between a semiconductor probe chip and a PCB cable according to the present invention;

12 is an enlarged perspective view of the vibration welding apparatus used in the bonding process of FIG.

13A is a partial schematic plan view showing a state in which a probe of the present invention contacts a contact of an LCD panel;

13B is a plan view showing the traces left at the contact when the LCD panel is moved to inspect the LCD panel using the probe of the present invention;

14A-14D are cross-sectional views of contacts showing a melt bonding process between a semiconductor probe chip and a PCB cable in accordance with the present invention.

* Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings *

2a; Contact trace 10; Probe station

11; LCD panel 12; Contact

13; A liquid crystal display 14; Semiconductor probe module

20; Semiconductor probe chip 20a-20e; Semiconductor probe device

21; Support block 22; PCB cable

30; Probe 30a; Contact trace

31,33; Single crystal silicon layer 32; Insulation layer

34; SOI substrates 35,35a, 35b; Connection

36; Through hole 37; Contact pad

23; Metal bonding pads 23a and 37a; Oxide film

46a, 46b; Groove 50; Vibration Bonding Device

51; Piezo stack 52,53; Branch arm

52a, 53a; Inclined branches 52b, 53b; Straight branch

54a, 54b; Coupling protrusion 55a, 55b; Contact protrusion

56a, 56b; guide

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a plurality of conductive probes protruding in a bump shape at the front end in the state of being separated from each other on the upper side of each side of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate is formed, respectively A semiconductor probe chip extending to a rear end of the surface and connected to a plurality of contact pads, a PCB cable having respective bonding pads connected to the plurality of contact pads of the semiconductor probe chip, and mounted on the PCB cable to each of the semiconductor probes A drive IC for applying a test signal to a plurality of electrode terminals of the device under test, and a support block for supporting the probe module to the probe station while protecting a connection portion between the semiconductor probe chip and the PCB cable. A semiconductor probe module is provided.

In this case, the semiconductor probe chip includes a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate having a first single crystal silicon layer-insulating layer structure, and a plurality of elements separated by a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction over the insulating layer of the SOI substrate. A second single crystalline silicon layer of, a plurality of silicon probes each projecting in a bump shape at a leading end of the second single crystalline silicon layer, and a plurality of first single crystalline silicon layers corresponding to the plurality of separated second single crystalline silicon layers, respectively. A plurality of contact pads formed at an end and connected to an external terminal to which an inspection signal is applied, a plurality of first connection wires formed on surfaces of the plurality of silicon probes and a plurality of second single crystal silicon layers, respectively, Insulated from the first single crystalline silicon layer of the SOI substrate through a plurality of through-holes of the SOI substrate at the rear end of the first connection line, each of the plurality of contact pads Each of the plurality of second connection wires is connected.

In addition, each of the semiconductor probe modules may include a plurality of conductive probes protruding in a bump shape at the front end of the semiconductor probe module, each of which is separated from an upper portion of one side of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, and extending from the rear end of the semiconductor probe module. And preparing a semiconductor probe chip connected to the plurality of contact pads, and through the semiconductor probe probe at the other end of the PCB cable having a plurality of bonding pads at one end printed with a plurality of metal wires. Mounting a drive IC for applying a test signal to a plurality of electrode terminals, and a plurality of contact pads of the semiconductor probe chip are physically compressed to the plurality of bonding pads of the PCB cable in a longitudinal direction to the semiconductor probe chip; Generating a frictional heat by applying a single vibration of the melt to join the semiconductor probe chip to the PCB cable; Assembling a support block for connecting the semiconductor probe chip and the PCB cable to support the probe module to the probe station while protecting the.

The step of fusion bonding the plurality of contact pads of the semiconductor probe chip to each of the plurality of bonding pads of the PCB cable may be performed by coupling the coupling protrusion and the contact protrusion formed on the branch arm of the vibration bonding device to the groove and the upper surface of the semiconductor probe chip. Down to the bonding pad of the PCB cable, and the longitudinal single vibration of about the size of atoms / molecules is applied from the rear end of the vibration bonding device while applying a constant load in the downward direction using the vibration bonding device. Generated and transmitted to the semiconductor probe chip through the coupling protrusion of the branch arm to remove the oxide film through high-speed cyclic friction on the contact portion, and after the removal of the oxide film, the temperature of the contact portion is raised above the melting temperature. And contact bonding between the contact pad and the bonding pad.

In this case, the longitudinal single vibration is preferably generated using a plurality of piezo stack portions connected in series.

As described above, the semiconductor probe module of the present invention implements a semiconductor probe chip which can solve the problem of the probe card of the cantilever structure manufactured by the tungsten needle structure and the microfabrication method, and simply by the vibration bonding process using the vibration bonding device. Assembly on PCB cables makes it simple to manufacture semiconductor probe modules for use in probe stations.

(Example)

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a schematic plan view of a probe station fabricated using a semiconductor probe module according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of FIG. 4.

First, the probe station 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 is an LCD dedicated probe station for inspecting the LCD panel 11, and is an example manufactured using a plurality of semiconductor probe modules 14 according to the present invention. Accordingly, the semiconductor probe module 14 may also be applied to a wafer dedicated probe station for inspecting a semiconductor wafer.

Each of the semiconductor probe modules 14 includes a semiconductor probe chip 20 having a plurality of probes 30 integrally formed at a tip thereof as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the semiconductor probe module 14 is connected to the LCD panel 11 through the probe chip 20. A PCB cable 22 connected to a driver IC for applying a test signal and a probe module 14 for supporting the probe module 14 to the probe station 10 while protecting a connection portion between the probe chip 20 and the PCB cable 22. It is composed of a support block (21).

The plurality of probes 30 of the semiconductor probe module 14 are in a one-to-one contact state corresponding to the plurality of contacts 12 disposed at both sides of the liquid crystal display 13 when the LCD panel 11 is inspected. Keep it.

In this case, the probe chip 20 of the semiconductor probe module 14 may include a semiconductor on insulator (SOI) substrate 34 and one side surface of the SOI substrate 34 as illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 9. A plurality of probes 30 protruding with an elliptical contact surface at each of the front ends, a plurality of contact pads 37 connected to the PCB cable 22 at the rear end of the other side of the SOI substrate 34, and each of It is formed from a plurality of connection wirings 35 connected to the respective contact pads 37 through the SOI substrate 34 at the rear end of each connection wiring 35 formed after extending from one probe 30 to It is.

Since the semiconductor probe chip 20 of the present invention is manufactured only by a semiconductor process using the SOI substrate 34, the bonding process for bonding the silicon wafer and the glass wafer as in the prior art and the contact between the probe and the glass wafer formed on the silicon wafer are performed. The wire bonding process for connecting can be eliminated.

In the above-described semiconductor probe chip 20 of the present invention, a contact pad 37 connected to an external terminal is formed at the rear end of the opposite side of the probe 30, and Al is connected between the probe 30 and the contact pad 37. Poly-doped insulating films and impurities formed in the first connection wiring 35a made of a conductive metal made of Ti, Cr or Au, and the through hole 36 connecting the connection wiring 35a and the contact pad 37 It is connected by the second connection wiring 35b made of silicon wiring.

As a result, the semiconductor probe chip 20 of the present invention can directly bond the external terminal (ie, metal wiring of the PCB cable) and all the bonding pads 37 with only one vibration bonding as described below. That is, the manufacturing process can be simplified.

The pitch between the plurality of probes 30 formed on the semiconductor probe chip 20 may be set in order of several tens of micrometers so that the pitch between the contacts of the existing LCD panel, that is, 80-100 micrometers, is sufficiently applied. It is possible to reduce the pitch between the probes 30 by applying the circuit line width reduction technique even when the pitch between the contacts is reduced in the future.

Furthermore, the plurality of probes 30 formed on the semiconductor probe chip 20 may use an external mechanical elastic body instead of a cantilever structure so that the contact portion 30a of the probe 30 has an elliptical hemispherical bump structure. It is possible to be. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the conventional phenomenon of damage to the probe.

In addition, since the width of the contact portion 30a of the probe 30 is almost the same size as the width of the contact 12 of the device under measurement and the contact area is large, the contact resistance is small, and as a result, the data reliability of the test signal is improved. 13A and 13B, the contact traces 2a generated at the contact 12 are hardly generated due to the contact of the probe 30 even when moving for the inspection of the device under measurement, and thus the grooves formed It's very slight.

Therefore, in the present invention, even if a certain depth is formed in the groove of the diarrhea contact trace 2a, the area of the contact trace 2a is very large. Does not occur.

The semiconductor probe chip 20 is composed of a plurality of semiconductor probe devices (cells) 20a-20e arranged in parallel as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the plurality of semiconductor probe chips 20 are arranged by an arrangement process. ) Can be manufactured at the same time, so it can be manufactured at a low manufacturing cost.

In the semiconductor probe chip 20 of the present invention, the width of the first connection line 35a is 36 micrometers, the distance between the first connection line 35a is 29 micrometers, and the pitch between the first connection line 35a is approximately. It is possible to set it to 65 micrometers.

The pitch of the semiconductor probe chip 20 can be sufficiently applied to the pitch between the contacts of the existing LCD panel, and the wiring pitch and the probe pitch can be correspondingly applied even when the circuit line width of the LCD panel or the semiconductor wafer is reduced later. Reducing the pressure can be handled with the currently developed semiconductor process technology.

The semiconductor probe chip 20 manufactured according to the present invention described above is actually manufactured in the form as shown in FIG. 10 so as to be assembled as the semiconductor probe module 14, and about 500-600 semiconductor probe devices per chip ( Cells) are integrated.

In the present invention, when assembling the semiconductor probe chip 20 as the semiconductor probe module 14, first, the plurality of contact pads 37 and the PCB of the semiconductor probe chip 20 are formed using the vibration bonding device 50 as shown in FIG. 11. A plurality of metal wires 22a to 22n of the cable 22 are joined by melt bonding.

The vibration bonding device 50 includes a plurality of piezo-stacks (or piezo-tubes) for applying longitudinal longitudinal vibration to the rear end as enlarged in FIG. 12. 51 is provided, and a pair of branch arms each having an inclined branch portion 52a; 53a and a straight branch portion 52b; 53b at their front ends to distribute and transmit the single vibration of the piezo stack portion 51 to both sides. (52,53) are connected.

The branch arms 52 and 53 have a pair of coupling protrusions 54a and 54b necessary for coupling to a pair of grooves 46a and 46b formed at both sides of the semiconductor probe chip 20, and the straight branch portions 52b and 53b) respectively protrude inwardly and adjacent to the plurality of contact pads 37 to be in close contact with the plurality of metal wires 22a to 22n by applying downward force to the semiconductor probe chip 20. A pair of adhesion protrusions 55a and 55b protrude inwardly of the arm, respectively.

In this case, each of the adhesion protrusions 55a and 55b is located at the upper left and right surfaces of the semiconductor probe chip 20 when the coupling protrusions 54a and 54b are coupled to the semiconductor probe chip 20. It may be formed to a thickness relatively thinner than the engaging projection (54a, 54b).

Further, a pair of guides 56a and 56b are provided on the inclined branch portions 52a and 53a of the arms 52 and 53 to guide the straight motion of the arm when the vibration bonding device 50 performs the short vibration movement in the longitudinal direction. Is formed extending rearward.

The plurality of contact pads 37 of the semiconductor probe chip 20 and the plurality of metal wires 22a-22n of the PCB cable 22, specifically, the plurality of metals, are formed using the vibration bonding device 50 having the above-described structure. A process of melt bonding the metal bonding pads 23 formed at one end of the wirings 22a to 22n will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13D.

First, thin oxide films 37a and 23a are naturally formed on the contact pads 37 of the semiconductor probe chip 20 and the metal bonding pads 23 of the PCB cable 22 as shown in FIG. 13A.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the coupling protrusions 54a and 54b of the vibration welding device 50 and the contact protrusions 55a and 55b are physically coupled to the grooves 46a and 46b and the upper surface of the semiconductor probe chip 20. It is lowered in a fixed state to be in close contact with the metal bonding pad 23 of the PCB cable 22 as shown in FIG.

Subsequently, when an AC voltage of about 60 Khz is applied to the piezo stack unit 51 in a state in which a constant load is applied downward by using the vibration bonding device 50, longitudinal single vibration of atomic / molecular size is generated. When the contacting portions 54a and 54b of the arms 52 and 53 are transferred to the contact portions, the two contact surfaces are subjected to the high-speed repetitive friction through the process of FIG. 13C to raise the temperature of the contact portions of the oxide films 37a and 23a. (37a, 23a) are removed.

Subsequently, vibration force is applied to the contact pad 37 and the contact pad 37 of the semiconductor probe chip 20 and the metal bonding pad 23 of the PCB cable 22 rise above the melting temperature. Melt bonding is made between the metal bonding pads 23.

Therefore, in the present invention, by applying a short vibration of ultrasonic waves from the rear end of the vibration welding device 50, frictional heat is generated in the contact portion and melt bonding between the contact portions can be directly bonded in a single vibration bonding process without wire bonding. Do.

Thereafter, by joining the support block 21 to the junction to complete the semiconductor probe module 14 and configuring the probe station 10 with FIG. 13 using a plurality of semiconductor probe modules 14, the LCD panel 11 may be A dedicated probe station for checking the properties is completed.

In the above description of the embodiments, the LCD panel probe station suitable for the inspection of the LCD panel, the probe module and the semiconductor probe chip applied thereto have been described, but it is also applicable to the semiconductor wafer dedicated probe station and the probe card by using this.

As described above, the semiconductor probe module of the present invention implements a semiconductor probe chip which can solve the problem of the probe card of the cantilever structure manufactured by the tungsten needle structure and the microfabrication method, and simply by the vibration bonding process using the vibration bonding device. Assembly on PCB cables makes it simple to manufacture semiconductor probe modules for use in probe stations.

In the above, the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and is not limited to the spirit of the present invention. Various changes and modifications can be made by those who have

Claims (6)

Each of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate has a plurality of conductive probes protruding in a bump shape at the front end with the elements separated on top of one side of the substrate, respectively, extending from the rear end of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate to the plurality of contact pads. A connected semiconductor probe chip, PCB cables each bonding pad is connected to a plurality of contact pads of the semiconductor probe chip, A drive IC mounted on the PCB cable for applying a test signal to a plurality of electrode terminals of the device under test through the semiconductor probe probes; Comprising a support block for supporting the probe module to the probe station while protecting the connection between the semiconductor probe chip and the PCB cable, The semiconductor probe chip, A silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate having a first single crystal silicon layer-insulating layer structure, A plurality of second single crystal silicon layers separated by a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction over the insulating layer of the SOI substrate; A plurality of silicon probes each having a bump shape protruding from a tip of the second single crystal silicon layer, A plurality of contact pads formed at a rear end of each of the plurality of second single crystal silicon layers and the first single crystal silicon layer, each of which is separated from each other, and connected to external terminals for applying a test signal; A plurality of first connection wirings formed on surfaces of the plurality of silicon probes and the plurality of second single crystal silicon layers, respectively; Each of the plurality of second connection wires respectively formed to be insulated from the first single crystalline silicon layer of the SOI substrate through the plurality of through-holes of the SOI substrate at the rear end of the first connection wire and connected to the plurality of contact pads, respectively. A semiconductor probe module, characterized in that configured. delete Each of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate has a plurality of conductive probes protruding in a bump shape at the front end with the elements separated on top of one side of the substrate, respectively, extending from the rear end of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate to the plurality of contact pads. Preparing a connected semiconductor probe chip; Mounting a drive IC for applying a test signal to a plurality of electrode terminals of a device under test through the semiconductor probe probe at the other end of a PCB cable having a plurality of bonding pads at one end printed with a plurality of metal wires; Wow, Fusion bonding by generating longitudinal frictional heat by applying longitudinal vibration to the semiconductor probe chip while physically compressing the contact pads of the semiconductor probe chip to the plurality of bonding pads of the PCB cable; Coupling a support block for supporting the probe module to the probe station while protecting the connection portion of the semiconductor probe chip and the PCB cable to the connection portion of the semiconductor probe chip and the PCB cable. . 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of melt-bonding the plurality of contact pads of the semiconductor probe chip to each of the plurality of bonding pads of the PCB cable Coupling the coupling protrusion and the contact protrusion formed on the branch arm of the vibration bonding apparatus to the groove and the upper surface of the semiconductor probe chip to lower the physically fixed state and bringing it into close contact with the bonding pad of the PCB cable; In the state in which a constant load is applied downward by using the vibration bonding device, longitudinal vibration of the size of atoms / molecules is generated from the rear end of the vibration bonding device, and the vibration force is transmitted to the semiconductor probe chip through the coupling protrusion of the branch arm. Removing the oxide film through the high speed cyclic friction to the contact portion; And removing the oxide film to increase the temperature of the contact portion to a melting temperature or higher to melt-bond the contact pad and the bonding pad. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor probe module according to claim 4, wherein the longitudinal single vibration is generated by using a plurality of piezo stack portions connected in series. A plurality of semiconductor probe modules for inspecting a circuit connection state of the object under test by applying a test signal to a plurality of electrode terminals of the object under test; Comprising a support means for supporting the plurality of semiconductor probe module, Each of the semiconductor probe modules has a plurality of conductive probes protruding in a bump shape at the front end of the semiconductor probe module, each of which is separated from the top of one side of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, and extends to the rear end of the opposite side. A semiconductor probe chip formed and connected to the plurality of contact pads, PCB cables each bonding pad is connected to a plurality of contact pads of the semiconductor probe chip, A drive IC mounted on the PCB cable for applying a test signal to a plurality of electrode terminals of the device under test through the semiconductor probe probes; And a support block for fixing the probe module to the support means while protecting the connection between the semiconductor probe chip and the PCB cable.