KR20100073584A - Probe equipment of semiconductor inspection equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A probe device in a semiconductor inspecting machine is provided to improve the transmission of electric signal by attaching detachable nonvolatile storage memory on the upper side of a probe card. CONSTITUTION: A prober(110) outputs up/down signal. The prober vertically and horizontally transfers an electrostatic chuck. Needles(160) are formed on the lower side of a probe card(140) in order to perform an electrical test by contacting a wafer. A counter is formed on the upper side of the probe card in order to count the number of touch down numbers between the needles and the wafer. The counter is composed of a nonvolatile memory which is detachable from the probe card. An automatic testing machine outputs electric test signal to the probe card.

Description

PROBE EQUIPMENT OF SEMICONDUCTOR INSPECTION EQUIPMENT}

The present invention relates to a prober device of a semiconductor inspection device.

In general, semiconductor devices are manufactured through a fabrication process of forming a pattern on a wafer and an assembly process of assembling the wafer on which the pattern is formed into each chip. do. Between the fabrication process and the assembly process, there is a process called Electrical Die Sorting (EDS), which inspects the electrical characteristics of each chip constituting the wafer. This process is performed to determine the defective chip among the chips, and in addition to selecting the quantity and defective products of each chip constituting the wafer, repairing a repairable chip among the defective chips or early problem in the fabrication process. To reduce the cost of assembly and inspection with feedback or early removal of defective chips. Basic elements of the above EDS process include a tester system, a probe system, a probe card, a tester program, and the like. Is a very thin needle fixed to a printed circuit board. The signal generated by the tester is transmitted through the performance board to the needle of the probe card, and the needle contacts the pad of the chip in the wafer. Allow electrical signals to be delivered to internal circuitry.

Then, the failure is determined by the signal checked from the applied electrical signal. The needle of such a probe card is judged for its life according to the number of touch down counts in contact with the wafer. However, conventional probe cards cannot receive electrical signals, so the touchdown cannot count itself. Therefore, it is impossible to know how much the touchdown has been performed since the new probe card was used for mass production, and how much touchdown was performed while testing a specific quantity of wafers. Needles also play a role in transferring electrical signals into the chip through friction with the pads on the chip. This friction results in wear of the diameter and length of the needle top. This wear interferes with the transmission of electrical signals from the tester to the chip, making accurate testing difficult and reducing product quality. For this reason, replacing the needle at an appropriate level is an important factor in the reliability and quality of the product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a probe device of a semiconductor inspection device for improving a probe card that cannot receive an electric signal.

In order to achieve the above object, a prober device of a semiconductor inspection apparatus according to the present invention outputs an up / down signal, a prober for moving an electrostatic chuck on which a wafer is seated in the north-west, north-west, and up-down directions, and a lower portion of the prober. A probe card having a needle in contact with and performing an electrical test, a counter card having a counter for counting the number of touchdowns in which the needle contacts the wafer, and an automatic test device for outputting and detecting an electrical test signal to the probe card; The counter is configured of a nonvolatile memory that can be attached and detached from the probe card, and can detect an up / down signal of the prober.

At this time, the prober and the automatic test apparatus have a built-in communication control unit, and the up / down signals between the prober and the automatic test apparatus can be exchanged with each other.

In addition, the counter is electrically connected to a communication control unit built in the prober by a cable, so that the counter can receive an up / down signal.

As described above, the prober device of the semiconductor inspection apparatus according to the present invention attaches a removable nonvolatile storage memory to the upper portion of the probe card, thereby providing a prober device of the semiconductor inspection apparatus including a probe card capable of receiving an electrical signal. Can be configured.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention.

Here, parts having similar configurations and operations throughout the specification are denoted by the same reference numerals.

1 and 2, there is shown a cross-sectional view of a prober device of a semiconductor inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a state in which a prober device of a semiconductor inspection apparatus is down is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 1, the prober device 100 of the semiconductor test apparatus includes a prober 110, a probe card 140, and an automatic test device 170.

The prober 110 outputs an up / down signal to move the electrostatic chuck 120 on which the wafer 130 is seated in the north-west, north-west, and vertical directions. At this time, the prober 110 is constituted by the electrostatic chuck 120 and the communication control unit 111 that can exchange the up and down signals with each other. The wafer 130 is placed on the electrostatic chuck 120, and may be fixed thereto. By the movement of the electrostatic chuck 120, the wafer 130 may be in contact with the needle 160 of the probe card 140 positioned on the prober 110. In addition, the communication control unit 111 located inside the prober 110 transmits an up / down signal of the prober 110 to the probe card 140 and the automatic test device located above the probe card 140. It plays a role that can exchange with 170.

The probe card 140 is a circuit board, the needle 160 in contact with the wafer 130 at the bottom to perform an electrical test, and the number of touchdowns in which the needle 160 is in contact with the wafer 130 at the top. It consists of a counter (150) to count (count).

Here, the circuit board (not shown) transmits a signal sent from the automatic test device 170 to each of the needle 160.

In addition, one side of the needle 160 is bonded to the epoxy 141 and is connected to the probe card 140, and the other side of the needle 160 is to be in contact with the wafer 130. Can be. In this case, the epoxy 141 is one of thermosetting plastics, and thus is mainly used for adhesives, reinforced plastics, molds, and protective coatings. At this time, the needle 160 is configured in an oblique straight line structure in which the distance between each other facing each other is gradually narrowed, it can be stably in contact with the wafer 130. The needle 160 may be made of tungsten, platinum, or the like, and may be made of a material having relatively few foreign substances attached thereto.

The counter 150 is configured as a nonvolatile memory that can be attached and detached to an upper side of the probe card 140, and can detect an up / down signal. In addition, the counter 150 is electrically connected to the prober 110, the automatic test device 170 and the cable 180, it is possible to send and receive each electrical signal. Herein, the electrical signal may be an up / down signal.

The automatic test device 170 is connected to a monitor (not shown) and the like, and outputs and detects an electrical test signal to the probe card 140. In other words, a communication control unit 111 is built in the automatic test device 170, and the communication control unit 111 is connected to the counter 150 and the communication control unit 111 of the prober 110 by a cable. It is possible to send and receive electrical signals with each other.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, a state in which a prober device of the semiconductor inspection apparatus is up is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 2, the prober 110 may be up, and the upper surface of the wafer 130 seated on the electrostatic chuck 120 may contact the needle 160. At this time, when the needle 160 is in contact with the upper surface of the wafer 130, that is, when the touch down (down touch), the signal is transmitted to the counter 150, this data is sent to the counter 150 The number of contacts of the needle 160 may be measured. Accordingly, the wear state of the needle 160 may be checked according to the number of times the needle 160 contacts the wafer 130. In other words, by periodically checking the number of touchdowns of the counter 150, the needle 160 may be replaced to present a management standard of the probe card 140, and proper life management may be performed. Since the communication control unit 111 inside the prober 110 is connected to the counter control unit 150 and the communication control unit 111 of the automatic test device 170 by the cable 180, up) It is possible to exchange signals with each other. What has been described above is just one embodiment for carrying out the prober device of the semiconductor inspection apparatus according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, as claimed in the following claims. Without departing from the gist of the invention, anyone of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention will have the technical spirit of the present invention to the extent that various modifications can be made.

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views showing a prober device of a semiconductor inspection device according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

100: prober device of semiconductor inspection device

110: prober 120: electrostatic chuck

130: wafer 140: probe card

150: counter 160: needle

170: automatic test device 180: cable

111,171: Communication control unit

Claims (3)

A prober which outputs an up-down signal and moves the electrostatic chuck on which the wafer is placed in the north-west, north-west, and up-down directions;  A probe card formed at a lower portion of the needle for contacting the wafer to perform an electrical test, and a counter at the upper portion for counting the number of touchdowns of the needle contacting the wafer; And, An automatic test device for outputting and detecting an electrical test signal to the probe card, And the counter comprises a nonvolatile memory that can be attached and detached from the probe card, and detects an up / down signal of the prober. The method of claim 1, The prober and the automatic test device A prober device of a semiconductor inspection apparatus, wherein a communication control unit is built in so that up / down signals between the prober and the automatic test device can be exchanged with each other. The method of claim 1, The counter A prober device of a semiconductor inspection apparatus, which is electrically connected to a communication control unit built in the prober and can receive an up / down signal.

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