KR20070075632A - Apparatus for testing character of thin film material and method for aligning position - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for testing properties of a thin film material and a position aligning method are provided to estimate mechanical and electric properties of the thin film material by efficiently performing a contact operation through a shape design of a tip tool. An apparatus for testing properties of a thin film material includes a position determining unit and a driver. The position determining unit includes a plurality of fixing portions(110a,110b,100c), a base plate(120), and a plurality of detection sensors(130a,130c). The base plate is connected to the fixing portions by respective elastic members. The plurality of detection sensors is any one of a gap sensor, a strain gauge, or an LVDT. The detection sensors are positioned at a lower portion of the elastic member. The elastic members are arranged at an interval of 120 degrees. The apparatus for testing properties of a thin film material further includes a driving unit, a probe unit(140), and a controller. The controller includes an amplifier.

Description

Apparatus for Inspecting Thin Film Materials and Aligning Method {APPARATUS FOR TESTING CHARACTER OF THIN FILM MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR ALIGNING POSITION}

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an apparatus for inspecting characteristics of a thin film material according to the present invention.

2 is a view showing a state in which the entire surface of the inspection object is pressed against each other by the inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

Figures 3a to 3c is a view showing the degree of deflection of the base plate by each elastic member when the entire surface of the inspection object is pressed against each other by the inspection apparatus according to the invention as shown in FIG.

4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the device for drying the characteristics of the thin film material according to the present invention shown in FIG.

5 is a view showing a state in which some surfaces of the inspection object is pressed against each other by the inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

6A to 6C are diagrams showing the deflection of the base plate by each elastic member when some surfaces of the inspection objects are pressed against each other by the inspection apparatus according to the present invention as shown in FIG. 4.

7a and 7b are views showing another modified embodiment for making the pressure point state more precisely by changing the structure of the inspection object to be inspected by the inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

8a and 8b are views showing another modified embodiment for making the pressure point state more precisely by changing the structure of the inspection object to be inspected by the inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

9 is a view schematically showing the overall configuration of a system to which the device for inspecting the properties of the thin film material according to the present invention is applied.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of aligning a position of a lower fixture in one embodiment of the alignment method according to the present invention.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of aligning a position in a probe direction according to an embodiment of the alignment method according to the present invention.

* Description of the main parts of the drawings *

100 ... inspection devices 110a, 110b, 110c ...

120 ... base plate 121 ... area limit

122a 122b, 122c ... elastic member 130a, 130b, 130c ... detection sensor

140 ... probe means 150 ... drive means

200 ... Inspection 210 ... Lower Instrument

220 ... upper fixture

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for inspecting properties of a thin film material and a method of aligning the same for evaluating various properties such as mechanical or electrical properties of a material such as a microstructure or a thin film device.

Conventionally, inspection equipment for inspecting various characteristics of micro devices such as semiconductor devices has been developed and used. Such equipment requires very high precision equipment because the object to be inspected is an element having a very small size, that is, a fine size, and the determination of the position such as the inspection position of the inspection object and the probe position of the inspection means is very precise. In order to check the state of the contact by the probe through the equipment of the precision optical system, or to determine the position of the probe, a precision instrument such as a micro stage is used.

In recent years, with the rapid expansion of the IT industry, as the research, application, and development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are active in various fields such as electricity, electronics, and telecommunications, the use of thin film materials constituting them has become widespread.

An example is an RF MEMS switch, which is a device that turns signals on and off by mechanical motion of a MEMS instrument. Types of such RF MEMS switches include a series type, a shunt type, and an SP3T type. Such various types of MEMS structures have various advantages such as miniaturization, low power consumption, various use frequency ranges, and isolation (isolation_ etc.) Power handling and high voltage driving in the application of the RF MEMS switch as described above. Along with the issues of high voltage drive, packaging and cost, the improvement of reliability and lift time is becoming very important.

As such, the inspection for evaluating the characteristics of the thin film material such as the semiconductor device as well as the MEMS structure is very difficult.

In particular, the apparatus for evaluating various characteristics of the thin film constituting the micro-mechanism not only aligns the inspection object to the correct position by the characteristics of the structure, but also aligns the micro-contacts. In the case of RF MEMS switches, the contact areas need to be tested under various conditions such as point contacts and small area contacts.

In order to satisfy such various conditions, in the related art, the inspection means of the inspection apparatus is adjusted to align the contact surface while measuring through an optical system such as a high performance camera or a microscope. That is, the position of the probe is adjusted by measuring the state of contact when the specimen is in contact with an external camera or a microscope of the optical system.

However, devices such as semiconductor devices or MEMS devices often have very close contact areas with small areas, and in addition, it is virtually impossible to monitor postures just before or just after a contact is made. .

In other words, when contact is made through a means such as a conventional optical system, the surface contacted with an inspection object through an instrument such as an optical system cannot be detected from the outside. In other words, it is impossible to confirm the exact contact state.

Therefore, in order to confirm a more accurate contact state in the prior art by observing from various angles through the optical system device to reduce the error of the contact state as much as possible, it is very difficult to confirm the contact state of the test object in this way, the time required Long, there is a problem that can not be seen as a measured value or a precise value accordingly.

Since the measured values are not reliable, the performance of the product is judged by the average value based on the values obtained through several measurements.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to evaluate the various mechanical and electrical properties of the thin film material that can improve the conditions, such as the reliability and lift time of structures having a fine size, such as semiconductor devices and MEMS structures It is to provide a method for aligning the position with the device.

Another object of the present invention is to make the contact effectively through the arrangement of the sensor or the shape design of the actuation tip mechanism without using an external camera or a microscope for micro device alignment and contact confirmation, and to apply a constant dynamic load It is to have operability.

Another object of the present invention is to adjust the position of the object to be measured by combining the position displacement value of each elastic member.

Still another object of the present invention is to align the contact state of the object to be measured by combining the position displacement value of each elastic member.

Another object of the present invention is to facilitate the alignment and contact confirmation, and to more accurately measure the value of the measured data in evaluating various characteristics of a thin film device such as a semiconductor device or MEMS structure It is to improve the reliability of the product.

It is still another object of the present invention to improve the conditions such as reliability and lift time by allowing the inspection apparatus to have a fast dynamic response in inspecting the properties of the thin film material, as well as measuring time in the measurement of an inspection object requiring repeated experiments. To shorten it.

The present invention includes a plurality of fixing parts; and a base plate connected to each of the plurality of fixing parts by each elastic member to solve the above problems and achieve the object according to the present invention; and a plurality of detection sensors; It provides a positioning means configured to.

The plurality of detection sensors constituting the positioning means may be a sensor such as a gap sensor, strain gauge or LVDT. The elastic member is preferably disposed at intervals of 120 degrees.

The inspection apparatus may further include a driving means and a probe means. Here, the driving means may be composed of a micro stage capable of rolling, pitch and yaw driving, and the probe means may have an actuator means. In addition, the actuator means may be composed of a piezo actuator.

The inspection apparatus may further include a control unit. The control unit may further include an amplifier, and may further include a current, voltage, and temperature measuring unit.

An upper instrument may be attached to the probe means, and a lower instrument may be positioned on the base plate, wherein the upper instrument and the lower instrument may have a circular contact surface or a small area.

In addition, the present invention is to solve the problems as described above and to achieve the object according to the present invention to detect the load position of the lower mechanism, and determine the current position to correct the error position of the lower mechanism to correct the position of the lower mechanism Provides a method of aligning positions.

Here, the alignment method is a load position detection step through the detection sensor; and determining the current position by the detection value of each sensor; And correcting the error range of the position. In addition, the detection sensor may use a gap sensor, a strain gauge, or an LVDT. Preferably, the displacement value detected by the sensor is a displacement value of the elastic member.

In addition, the present invention is to solve the above problems and to achieve the object according to the present invention to detect the position of the load through the contact of the lower mechanism and the lower mechanism, and determine the error position by determining the direction of the current load is applied. Provides a method of aligning probe orientations.

Here, the alignment method includes the steps of checking the contact position of the lower instrument and the upper instrument; and determining the current probe direction by the detection value of each sensor; And correcting an error range in the probe direction. In addition, the detection sensor may use a gap sensor, a strain gauge, or an LVDT. Preferably, the detected displacement value of the sensor is a displacement value of the elastic member. In addition, the correction of the error range in the probe direction may be performed by driving the driving means by the controller based on the detection value.

Hereinafter, a description will be given of the embodiment so that those skilled in the art can fully understand the characteristics inspection apparatus and the position alignment method of the thin film material according to the present invention as described above.

First, FIG. 1 shows an apparatus for inspecting characteristics of a thin film material according to the present invention. The inspection apparatus 100 comprises a positioning portion constituting the positioning means and a driving portion constituting a plurality of driving members.

The positioning means includes a plurality of fixing parts (110a, 110b, 110c), a base plate 120 and a plurality of detection sensors (130a, 130b, 130c). The base plate 120 has an area limiting portion 121 to facilitate the position of the lower mechanism 210 of the test piece 200 described below in the central portion thereof. The area limiting portion 121 serves to allow the lower mechanism 210 to be positioned closer to the home position, and does not necessarily have to be formed to protrude as shown, and may consist of only a simple area display. It may be.

In addition, the base plate 120 is connected to each fixing part 110a, and a plurality of elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c may be used as the connecting means. Appropriate members are used for the elastic members 112a, 122b and 1222c so that they may sag only when a load is applied to the base plate 120. That is, deflection occurs only when the lower mechanism 210 of the test piece 200 is placed on the base plate 120 or when the load is applied to the probe means 140 to be described below, and the load is released. It is preferably composed of a metal material or a synthetic resin material having an appropriate modulus of elasticity so as to be restored to. That is, the elastic members 112a, 122b and 1222c do not need to be made of the same material as the base plate 120.

The elastic members 112a, 122b and 1222c extend from one end of the base plate 120, respectively, and are connected to the fixing parts 110a, 110b and 110c, respectively.

A plurality of detection sensors 130a, 130b, and 130c are positioned at lower positions of the elastic members 112a, 122b, and 1222c, respectively. Each of the detection sensors 130a, 130b, and 130c detects the displacement of the changed position when a load is applied to the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c to change the positions of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c. Done. That is, the deflection values of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c are detected.

Each of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c may be formed at a 120 degree interval with respect to the central axis of the base plate 120. However, the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c are not necessarily formed at 120 degree intervals. That is, in view of the efficiency of the design, it is most preferable to form at intervals of 120 degrees.

As described above, a sensor such as a gap sensor, a strain gauge, or an LVDT may be used as the detection sensors 130a, 130b, and 130c that detect displacement values due to deflection of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c. In other words, the specification of the sensor can be selected according to the accuracy of the detected displacement value. That is, the sensor is determined in consideration of the measurement area, resolution, response speed, and the like. This configuration allows for repeated experiments up to several tens of kHz.

The driving unit located above the positioning means configured as described above includes a driving means 150 and a probe means 140.

The driving means 150 is configured to enable roll, pitch, and yaw driving so that the probe 140 can perform the probe to the correct position. As the driving means 150, a means such as a micro stage may be used.

The probe means 140 is coupled to the lower portion of the driving means 150. The probe means 140 is configured to be capable of driving in the longitudinal direction for the contact of the inspection object (200). The probe means 140 may be configured by means such as a piezo actuator. Through such a configuration, the probe means 140 can change the continuous on / off state of the switch mechanically like the MEMS device.

The inspection object 200 to be inspected through the configuration as described above is composed of the lower mechanism 210 and the upper instrument 220. Of these, the lower instrument 210 is located in the region limiting portion 121 of the base plate 120, the upper instrument 210 is coupled to the end of the probe means (140). Therefore, the upper mechanism 220 coupled to the end of the probe means 140 by the probe operation of the probe means 140 is the lower mechanism 210 located in the area limiting portion 121 of the base plate 120. It becomes a pressure point. In other words, the upper instrument 220 is in contact with the lower instrument 210 by the operation of the probe means 140.

First, the process of detecting the position displacement when a load is applied to the base plate 120 through the probe means 140 of the inspection device 100 will be described.

3A to 3C, the base plate is in contact with the entire surface of the lower instrument 210 by the operation of the inspection apparatus 100, that is, the operation of the probe means 140. A load is applied to the reference numeral 120 to indicate a state where position displacement occurs in each of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c.

1 and 2, when the lower instrument 210 is in the correct position, the entire surface of the upper instrument 220 is positioned at the correct position by the probe unit 140. When it comes into precise contact with the central part of, the displacement of the position is changed equally. That is, the position displacement value h is the same in each elastic member 122a, 122b, 122c. In other words, the position displacement value h1 of one elastic member 122a connected to the one fixing part 110a and the position displacement value h2 of another elastic member 122b connected to the other fixing part 110b and Position displacement value (h3) of another elastic member 122c connected to another one fixing portion (110c) are all the same.

However, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, if the lower mechanism 210 is in the correct position by the probe means 140, that is, some surface of the upper instrument 220 is the lower instrument When it comes into contact with a part of 210, the displacement of the position appears differently.

6A to 6C, the base plate is in contact with a part of the lower surface of the lower mechanism 210 by the operation of the inspection apparatus 100, that is, by the operation of the probe means 140. A load is applied to the reference numeral 120 to indicate a state where position displacement occurs in each of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c.

As shown in the figure, each position displacement value h shows a difference in each of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c. If the load is closest to the one elastic member 122a and slightly biased toward the other elastic member 122b, the position displacement value h1 of the one elastic member 122a connected to the one fixing part 110a is different. Two position displacement values h2 and h3 of the other two elastic members 122b and 122c connected to the two fixing parts 110b and 110c become larger. In addition, the position displacement value h2 generated in the other elastic member 122b is also larger than the position displacement value h2 generated in the another elastic member 122c.

Therefore, it is possible to determine the position (or direction) of the load issued by the probe means 140 through the position displacement value.

The detected value is fed back to control the driving means 150 while monitoring through the system 10 as shown in FIG. 9 to adjust the probe direction of the probe means 140. When the probe direction of the probe means 140 is adjusted, the probe means 140 is operated to operate the upper mechanism 220 again to be in contact with the lower instrument 210.

Even when the lower mechanism 210 of the test piece 200 is initially placed on the base plate 120 for inspection, the area limiting portion 121 of the base plate 120 of the lower tool 210 may be removed. Even when positioned in the center of the center can be confirmed by combining the position displacement value of each of the elastic members 122a, 122b, 122c through the detection sensor (130a, 130b, 130c) as described above.

If the lower mechanism 210 is in the correct position, the displacements of the positions of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c are equally changed. That is, the position displacement value h is the same in each elastic member 122a, 122b, 122c. In other words, the position displacement value h1 of one elastic member 122a connected to the one fixing part 110a and the position displacement value h2 of another elastic member 122b connected to the other fixing part 110b and Position displacement value (h3) of another elastic member 122c connected to another one fixing portion (110c) are all the same.

However, if the lower mechanism 210 is in an incorrect position, the displacement of the position appears differently. That is, each positional displacement value h will show a difference in each elastic member 122a, 122b, 122c.

If the lower mechanism 210 is located closest to the one elastic member 122a and slightly biased toward the other elastic member 122b, the position displacement value of the one elastic member 122a connected to the one fixing part 110a is provided. (h1) is greater than the two position displacement values (h2, h3) of the other two elastic members (122b, 122c) connected to the other two fixing parts (110b, 110c). In addition, the position displacement value h2 generated in the other elastic member 122b is also larger than the position displacement value h2 generated in the another elastic member 122c.

Therefore, it is possible to determine the position on which the lower mechanism 210 is placed through the position displacement value, and based on this, it is possible to determine in which position (or direction) to move.

That is, it is possible to align the position of the lower fixture 210 to the correct position while monitoring the system 10 as shown in FIG. 9 by feeding back the detected value.

7A to 8B illustrate embodiments in which the shape of the lower instrument 210 and the upper instrument 220 of the inspection object 200 is modified to enable point contact or contact of a small area of the thin film material.

When the shape of the upper mechanism 220 and the lower mechanism 210 in the shape of a semi-cylinder (or circular) as shown in Figure 7a, the state of the contact is a minute as shown in Figure 7b. That is, it is preferable to make it into such a shape and to measure for precise measurement.

And, when the shape of the upper mechanism 220 and the lower mechanism 210 in the trapezoidal shape as shown in Figure 8a, the state of the contact is a small area as shown in Figure 8b. That is, the precision of the measured value can be adjusted according to the size of the micro area.

The present invention as described above can be implemented through a system such as shown in FIG. The system 10 includes a main control unit 11 composed of a computer such as a general PC, a position control unit 13 for driving the driving unit 150 and the probe unit 140, the detection sensors 130a and 130b, Amplifier 12 for amplifying the data detected by 130c, current control unit 14 for operating the current source of the test piece 200, voltage control unit 15 for measuring the voltage value on the DMM and test piece 200 It includes a temperature measuring unit 16 for measuring the temperature of.

The system 10 in which the present invention is implemented has a configuration other than the conventional configuration except for the configuration according to the present invention. Therefore, detailed description of the system 10 will be omitted.

10 and 11 show a flow chart of the alignment method for inspecting the properties of the thin film material according to the invention described above.

10 and 11, the method and the probe means for aligning the position of the lower mechanism 210 by interworking with the control unit 11 of the system 10 through the flow chart shown in FIGS. The method of aligning the probe direction of 140) will now be described.

10 is a flow chart illustrating a method of aligning the position of the lower fixture 210. In order to perform the initial inspection, the lower mechanism 210 of the test piece 200 is placed on the area limiting portion 121 of the base plate 120. At this time, a load is generated in the base plate 120 so that each elastic member 122a, 122b, 122c sags downward. At this time, in the load position detection step (S1) it is to detect the position displacement value of each of the elastic members (122a, 122b, 122c).

Thereafter, in the same load determination step (S2), the detected position displacement value is sent to the main controller 11 through the amplifier 12 to determine the distribution of the load. In other words, it is determined which load is larger.

If the distribution of loads generated on the base plate 120 is not the same based on the determined position displacement value, the lower mechanism 210 moves by indicating a position where the load distribution is large through the positioning determination step S3. It will guide you in the direction (or location) that should be.

The inspector moves the position of the lower mechanism 210 through the identified direction (or position) information (S4). When the load position of the lower mechanism 210 moved as described above is determined again (S1, S2) and confirmed to be the same load, the position control unit 13 operates the probe means 140 under the control of the control unit 11. Let's go. In other words, the probe is started to inspect the inspection object 200 (S5).

In FIG. 11, the entire area of the upper instrument 220 is contacted with the surface of the lower instrument 210 by the probe means 140 operated through the probe performing step S5 (S). That is, it is to check whether the load is applied to the base plate 120 by the probe means (140). In other words, a load is generated on the base plate 120 so that each of the elastic members 122a, 122b, and 122c sags downward. In this case, in the contact position detecting step S, each of the elastic members 122a and 122b is used. A position displacement value of (122c) is detected.

Thereafter, in the same load determination step (S7), the detected position displacement value is sent to the main controller 11 through the amplifier 12 to determine the distribution of the load. In other words, it is determined which load is larger.

If the distribution of the loads generated in the base plate 120 is not the same based on the position displacement value determined as described above, the direction of the load to be corrected is indicated by indicating the position of the large load distribution through the load direction determination step (S8). Or location).

By the control of the control unit 11 according to the confirmed direction (or position) information, the position control unit 13 adjusts the driving means 150 to correct the probe direction (S9).

As such, when the probe direction (or position) of the probe means 140 is again determined through the modified probe direction (S6, S7), and the same load is confirmed, the control part 11 controls the inspection object 200. Start measuring the characteristic.

Although the present invention has been described through one embodiment as described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively make contact through the arrangement of the sensor or the shape of the actuation tip mechanism without using an external camera or a microscope for micro element alignment and contact confirmation, and by applying a constant dynamic load, There is an effect that can be operable.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is an effect that can adjust the position and the contact state of the object to be measured by combining the position displacement value of each elastic member.

In addition, according to the present invention, in evaluating various characteristics of a thin film device such as a semiconductor device or a MEMS structure, alignment and contact confirmation can be made easier, and the value of the measured data can be more precise. There is an effect that can improve the reliability of.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the conditions such as the reliability and lift time of the product and inspection data by making the inspection device have a fast dynamic response, as well as to reduce the measurement time in the measurement of the inspection object that requires repeated experiments. It works.

Claims (23)

A plurality of fixing parts; A base plate connected to each of the plurality of fixing parts by each elastic member; An apparatus for inspecting properties of thin film materials, comprising: positioning means comprising a plurality of detection sensors. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of detection sensors are any one of a gap sensor, a strain gauge, and an LVDT. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the detection sensor is positioned below the elastic member. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the elastic members are disposed at intervals of 120 degrees. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inspection apparatus further comprises a driving means and a probe means. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the driving means is a micro stage capable of driving a roll, a pitch, and a yaw. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the probe means comprises actuator means. 8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said actuator means is a piezo actuator.  2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inspection apparatus further comprises a control unit. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control unit further comprises an amplifier. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the inspection apparatus further comprises current, voltage and temperature detection means. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an upper instrument is attached to the probe means, and a lower instrument is positioned on the base plate. 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the upper and lower instruments are in contact with each other. 13. The apparatus for inspecting properties of thin film materials according to claim 12, wherein the upper and lower mechanisms have a small area in contact with each other. The position alignment method of the lower mechanism to sense the load position of the lower mechanism to determine the current position, and to correct the position of the lower mechanism based on the determination value. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the alignment method comprises: detecting a load position through a detection sensor; Determining a current position based on the detection value of each sensor; And correcting the error range of the position. The method of claim 16, wherein the detection sensor is any one of a gap sensor, a strain gauge, and an LVDT. The method of claim 16, wherein the detection value of the sensor is a position displacement value of the elastic member. Probe direction alignment method for detecting the position of the load through the contact of the upper mechanism and the lower mechanism to determine the direction in which the current load is applied, and corrects the error position based on the determination value. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the alignment method comprises the steps of: checking the contact positions of the lower and upper instruments; Determining the current probe direction based on the detected value of each sensor; and And correcting the error range in the probe direction. The method of claim 20, wherein the detection sensor is any one of a gap sensor, a strain gauge, and an LVDT. The method of claim 20, wherein the detection value of the sensor is a displacement value of the elastic member. 21. The alignment method according to claim 20, wherein the correction of the error range in the probe direction is performed by driving the driving means by the controller based on the detection value.

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