KR20210044933A - Probe card needle with improved corrosion protection and heat dissipation - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a probe card needle with improved anti-corrosion and heat radiation and a method of treating the surface of the probe card needle and, more specifically, to a new surface treatment method wherein an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method is used as a surface treatment method for a probe card needle comprising one selected from a group comprising tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium and palladium to coat an aluminum oxide (Al2O3) or zirconium oxide (ZrO2) film very thinly and evenly, which can lead to an improvement in anti-corrosion, electric conductivity and heat radiation, thereby solving a deterioration in the reliability of a probe card caused by the thermal corrosion of a thinned needle.

Description

Probe card needle with improved corrosion protection and heat dissipation}

The present invention relates to a probe card needle and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a probe card needle having improved corrosion prevention and heat dissipation through surface treatment of the probe card needle, and a surface treatment method of the probe card needle.

Recently, probe cards are being used to inspect custom-made semiconductors and display driving semiconductors.

The probe card is equipped with a probe corresponding to the electrode pad formed on each chip on the IC wafer, and is used to check the electrical connection status of the pad (e.g., open inspection, short inspection) by pressing the probe against the electrode pad of the wafer chip. It is a manufactured circuit board for inspection.

Due to the high-performance microminiaturization of semiconductors, the spacing of the electrode pads was narrowed, and the size of the electrode pads was reduced to 10 um.

Recently, as IC chips are miniaturized, the number of chips to be inspected is greatly increased, and the probe needle diameter is getting smaller and thinner in accordance with the miniaturization of pads due to high integration.

At this time, electric current flows through the thin needle for semiconductor chip inspection, generating more heat than before, causing thermal corrosion of the needle, resulting in poor inspection reliability and shortening of lifespan.

The material used as the probe card needle must have a certain degree of hardness so that the tip of the probe does not become thick even in numerous contact with the semiconductor pad, and the electrical conductivity is high so that current can be transmitted without noise during semiconductor inspection.

Gold is not corrosive, but it is not suitable for use as a probe due to its strong ductility, and platinum is used a lot because it has a higher hardness than gold and is not corrosive, so it is used a lot for use as a probe, but it has a disadvantage of high price.

In the case of tungsten, copper-beryllium, etc., they have high hardness, and are good for use as a needle material because they are cheaper than gold or platinum, but there is a problem that corrosion is easily caused by heat.

The present inventors have made efforts to solve the thermal decay through the needle and the surface treatment in order by heat corrosion The thinner needle to fix the probe card, the reliability decreases, the needle and the surface of Al ₂ O ₃ or ZrO ₂ film ALD (Atomic layer deposition ) As a result of coating very thinly and evenly, the heat generated when current flows out quickly, does not cause thermal corrosion, and forms a film of less than 10 nm, which is very thin compared to the conventional ceramic sol coating method. By confirming that the effect of not increasing the electrical resistance can be obtained, the present invention was completed.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0825231 Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1715153

An object of the present invention is that the conventional _{coating method using a ceramic sol such as Al 2} O ₃ does not cover 100% of the probe card needle surface, and the size of the particles formed of the sol is also large, so that the thickness becomes thick during coating. Unlike the existing needle coating method, it is to provide a new probe card needle surface treatment method that covers 100% of the needle surface and forms a very thin film during coating so that the thickness does not increase.

Specifically, an object of the present invention is an ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) method as a surface treatment method _{of an Al 2} O ₃ or ZrO ₂ film of 30 nm or less to prevent thermal corrosion while having a heat dissipation effect on tungsten and copper-beryllium surfaces. To provide a method of manufacturing a probe card needle having a very thin and even coating on the surface of the needle to prevent thermal corrosion, improve electrical conductivity, and increase heat dissipation effect, and a probe card needle manufactured by the above manufacturing method.

To achieve the above object,

The present invention

i) disposing a probe card needle composed of any one selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, and palladium in the reaction chamber;

ii) supplying and adsorbing trimethylaluminum (trimethylamuminum) or tetrakis (ethylmethylamido) zirconium (tetrakis (Ethylmethylamino) Zirconium) vaporized metal precursors to the surface of the needle in the reaction chamber;

iii) supplying a purge gas to remove excess vaporized metal precursor from the reaction chamber;

_{iv) forming an aluminum oxide (Al 2} O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) thin film by supplying and reacting a reaction gas on the sample to which the metal precursor is adsorbed;

v) supplying a purge gas to remove excess reaction gas and reaction by-products from the reaction chamber; And

vi) sequentially repeating steps ii) to v) until an aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO _{2) thin film having a desired thickness is obtained; including,}

Provides a method for surface treatment of probe card needles using atomic layer deposition (ALD).

In addition, the present invention

_{An aluminum oxide (Al 2} O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) film is uniformly coated with a thickness of 10 to 30 nm on the needle surface consisting of any one selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, and palladium. , Provide probe card needles.

_{In the present invention, the Al 2} O ₃ or ZrO ₂ film is coated very thinly and evenly on the needle surface using ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) method as a surface treatment method, thereby quickly transmitting heat generated when current flows out, and heat You can prevent corrosion from occurring.

Conventional tungsten, nickel coating-tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, etc. have high hardness and are good for use as a probe card needle material because they are cheaper than gold or platinum, but there is a problem that corrosion easily occurs due to heat. .

_{On the other hand, in the present invention, by thinly coating Al 2} O ₃ or ZrO ₂ having a thickness of 30 nm or less to prevent thermal corrosion while having a heat dissipation effect on the surfaces of these tungsten, copper-beryllium, etc., a probe card needle having reliability Can be manufactured.

In the case of the conventional sol coating, the size of the sol particles is usually about 5 to 10 nm, and in order to uniformly coat it on the surface, the coating has been generally made to a thickness of 50 nm or more. In addition, in the case of the existing sol coating, there is a problem that the sol particles may fall off, so the probe card to which the sol particles are applied later has a problem that the coated particles may fall off the needle surface during the semiconductor performance evaluation, resulting in contamination of the semiconductor chip.

On the other hand, in the present invention, by forming a film having a minimum thickness of 30 nm or less and a maximum of 10 nm or less, which is much thinner than before, a coating thickness suitable for a thin needle can be formed, and an effect of not increasing electrical resistance can be obtained.

1 is a diagram showing the structure of a probe card needle according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing TEM analysis results of a tungsten wire, a tungsten-rhenium wire, and a palladium wire each coated with _{ZrO 2} according to the present invention.
3 is a diagram showing TEM analysis results of a tungsten wire, a tungsten-rhenium wire, and a palladium wire each coated with _{Al 2} O ₃ according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a diagram showing the coating thickness of the tungsten-rhenium wire each coated with _{ZrO 2} and Al ₂ O ₃ according to the present invention.
5 is a view showing the SEM surface observation result as a salt spray test result for the tungsten wire coated with _{Al 2} O ₃ according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

The present invention uses an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method on a probe card needle composed of any one selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, and palladium, and uses aluminum oxide (Al _{2 ).} O ₃ ) or a zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) film is coated very thinly and evenly, thereby providing a method of improving corrosion protection, electrical conductivity and heat dissipation.

In this regard, the ALD coating technology has not yet been applied to the probe card needle. Even in the field of conventional probe cards, as the semiconductor pad size decreases, the needles have to become thinner. As the required signal transmission speed increases, the guineas reach their limits, so the demand for a new needle surface treatment method has increased. Thus, the present invention was to introduce a new coating technology to the needle. Coating an oxide-based film with a high heat dissipation effect and a large film hardness can quickly remove heat generated by resistance when a signal current is transmitted to the needle. In addition, since the oxide film has already been coated, the possibility of oxidation in the air is low, and current interference between the needles can be reduced. In the present invention, it was found for the first time that the ALD technology can be used as a means to prevent oxidation by coating the surface of the needle and to prevent interference or short circuit between electric currents by coating the surface of the probe card needle.

Specifically, the present invention

i) disposing a probe card needle composed of any one selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, and palladium in the reaction chamber;

ii) supplying and adsorbing trimethylaluminum (trimethylamuminum) or tetrakis (ethylmethylamido) zirconium (tetrakis (Ethylmethylamino) Zirconium) vaporized metal precursors to the surface of the needle in the reaction chamber;

iii) supplying a purge gas to remove excess vaporized metal precursor from the reaction chamber;

_{iv) forming an aluminum oxide (Al 2} O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) thin film by supplying and reacting a reaction gas on the sample to which the metal precursor is adsorbed;

v) supplying a purge gas to remove excess reaction gas and reaction by-products from the reaction chamber; And

vi) sequentially repeating steps ii) to v) until an aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO _{2) thin film having a desired thickness is obtained; including, atomic layer deposition method} Provides a method for surface treatment of probe card needles using (Atomic Layer Deposition; ALD).

In the above method, the atomic layer deposition method (ALD) periodically repeats the supply of a precursor and a reactant that can cause a chemical reaction with each other to form a thin film through a self-saturation (self-limiting) surface reaction on the deposition target. Is how to form. Here, since the reaction of the precursors occurs only on the surface and deposits a thin film in cycle units, it has excellent step coverage and thickness control at the atomic level, and has excellent thin film properties and the advantage of suppressing the formation of impurities. have.

In the above method, the mechanism of atomic layer deposition (ALD) is as follows. The vapor of the film precursor is absorbed onto the substrate in a vacuum chamber. The vapor is then pumped out of the chamber and exits a thin layer (generally a substantially monolayer) of absorbed precursor on the substrate. Subsequently, the reactant is introduced into the chamber under thermal conditions to promote the reaction with the absorbed precursor to form the desired material layer. The reaction product is pumped from the chamber. Subsequent material layers may be formed by exposing the substrate to the precursor vapor again and repeating the deposition process.

In the above method, the purge gas in steps iii) and v) _{is preferably argon (Ar) gas or nitrogen (N 2} ) gas, but argon (Ar) gas is more preferred.

In the above method, the reaction gas in step iv) is preferably any one selected from the group consisting _{of O 3} , H ₂ O, H ₂ O ₂ and O _{2 , but O 3} is more preferable.

In the above method, it is preferable to perform one cycle from step ii) to step v) at 0.1 to 1 second, 10 to 60 seconds, 0.05 to 1 second, and 10 to 60 seconds, respectively, as one step. And, it is more preferable to perform one cycle in 0.5 to 1 second, 30 to 40 seconds, 0.1 to 0.5 seconds, and 30 to 40 seconds, respectively.

In the above method, the repetition in step vi) is preferably 10 to 30 cycles, and more preferably 20 to 25 cycles.

_{In addition, in the present invention, an aluminum oxide (Al 2} O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) film is 10 to 30 nm thick on the needle surface consisting of any one selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, and palladium. Provide a probe card needle uniformly coated with.

The probe card needle is made of any one selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, and palladium. Al ₂ O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) It can be prepared by coating a film very thinly and evenly.

The probe card needle is a thin coating of Al2O3 or ZrO2 with a thickness of 30 nm or less to prevent thermal corrosion while having a heat dissipation effect on the surface of tungsten, copper-beryllium, etc., thereby quickly sending heat generated when current flows to the outside. And prevent heat corrosion from occurring.

In particular, in the case of the existing sol coating, the size of the sol particles is usually about 5 to 10 nm, and in order to coat the surface uniformly, the coating is generally made with a thickness of 50 nm or more, and in the case of the conventional sol coating, the sol particles There is also a problem that the probe card to which it is applied later has a problem that the coated particles may fall off the surface of the needle during semiconductor performance evaluation, causing contamination of the semiconductor chip, whereas the probe card needle is at least 30, which is very thinner than before. By forming a film of less than or equal to 10 nm, a coating thickness suitable for a thin needle can be formed, and there is no problem of contamination of the semiconductor chip.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by the following examples and experimental examples.

However, the following Examples and Experimental Examples are merely illustrative of the present invention, and the contents of the present invention are not limited by the following Examples and Experimental Examples.

< Example 1>

The surfaces of each of the tungsten wire, tungsten-rhenium wire, and palladium wire were coated _{with Al 2} O ₃ and ZrO _{2 using atomic layer deposition (ALD).}

ALD coating was performed in the following process.

a) The wire was placed in the reaction chamber. At this time, the chamber temperature was set to 180°C _{for Al 2} O ₃ coating and 250°C for _{ZrO 2 coating.}

b) A precursor vaporized on the wire surface in the reaction chamber (Al ₂ O ₃ coating: TMA (trimethylamuminum, Al(CH ₃ ) ₃ ), ZrO ₂ coating: Tetrakis (Ethylmetylamino) Zirconium (TEMA Zr)) was administered for 0.5 seconds I did. At this time, the process pressure was maintained at 400 m torr.

c) The excess vaporized precursor excluding the precursor physically or chemically adsorbed on the wire surface was removed from the reaction chamber by supplying an argon (Ar) purge gas for 30 seconds.

_{d) Oxygen (O 3} ) was administered as a reaction gas to the wire on which the precursor was adsorbed for 0.1 seconds to react with the adsorbed precursor to form a thin film.

e) The excess reaction gas and reaction by-products were removed from the reaction chamber by supplying an argon (Ar) purge gas for 30 seconds.

f) The cycle was repeated up to 20 cycles, and Al ₂ O ₃ and ZrO ₂ were coated.

ALD test conditions Experimental conditions Al ₂ O ₃ coating ZrO ₂ coating Chamber temperature 180℃ 250℃ Purge gas Ar Ar process pressure 400 m torr 400 m torr Precursor TMA (trimethylamuminum, Al(CH ₃ ) ₃ ) Tetrakis (Ethylmetylamino) Zirconium (TEMA Zr) Reaction gas O ₃ O ₃ 1 cycle reaction time 0.1-30-0.5-30 s in 1 step with O3-Purge-TMA-Purge O3-Purge-TEMA Zr-Purge in 1 step 0.1-30-0.5-30 s repeat 20 cycles 20 cycles

< Experimental example 1> Check the coating thickness

FIB specimens were prepared for TEM analysis, and it was confirmed that the surface was evenly coated through TEM.

As a result, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it was confirmed that the Al ₂ O ₃ and ZrO ₂ coatings were uniformly formed with a very constant thickness on the surface.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, it was confirmed that the coating thickness was about 20 to 30 nm coating in the case _{of Al 2} O ₃ and about 10 to 15 nm coating in the case of _{ZrO 2.}

< Experimental example 2> Check the anti-corrosion effect

In order to see the anti-corrosion effect of the needle through ALD coating, uncoated tungsten wire, tungsten-lelium wire, palladium wire, and _{wires coated with Al 2} O ₃ and ZrO ₂ , respectively, were evaluated for corrosion through salt spray test.

In the salt spray test experiment, a 5% HCl solution was sprayed and _{supplied to a 35°C chamber through a carrier gas N 2} gas. After leaving for 72 hours, corrosion was confirmed through surface component analysis through surface SEM and EDS.

As a result, as shown in Table 2 and FIG. 5, it was confirmed that corrosion occurred significantly less after coating _{Al 2} O ₃ and ZrO _{2 on the surface.}

Salt spray test results no-coating Al ₂ O ₃ coating ZrO ₂ coating Salt spray
Before experiment Salt spray
After experiment Salt spray
Before experiment Salt spray
After experiment Salt spray
Before experiment Salt spray
After experiment Turnsten
wire W 87.0 wt%
O 5.5 wt%
Re 7.5 wt% W 75.6 wt%
O 6.2 wt%
Re 18.2 wt% W 85.8 wt%
Al 0.2wt%
O 6.2 wt%
Re 7.8 wt% W 84.6 wt%
Al 0.3 wt%
O 5.9 wt%
Re 9.2 wt% W 85.5 wt%
Zr 0.5 wt%
O 6.1 wt%
Re 7.9 wt% W 85.2 wt%
Zr 0.4 wt%
O 6.2 wt%
Re 8.2 wt% Tungsten-rhenium
wire W 72.6 wt%
O 6.2 wt%
Re 21.2 wt% W 51.6 wt%
O 8.2 wt%
Re 40.2 wt% W 72.9 wt%
Al 0.3 wt%
O 5.9 wt%
Re 20.9 wt% W 70.6 wt%
Al 0.3 wt%
O 6.1 wt%
Re 23.0 wt% W 71.3 wt%
Zr 0.6 wt%
O 6.4 wt%
Re 21.7 wt% W 68.7 wt%
Zr 0.4 wt%
O 6.3 wt%
Re 24.6 wt% Palazzo
wire Pd 97.2 wt%
O 2.8 wt% Pd 97.2 wt%
O 2.8 wt% Pd 97.2 wt%
Al 0.1 wt%
O 2.7 wt% Pd 97.9 wt%
Al 0.1 wt%
O 2.8 wt% Pd 97.4 wt%
Zr 0.1 wt%
O 2.5 wt% Pd 97.2 wt%
Zr 0.2 wt%
O 2.6 wt%

Claims (7)

i) disposing a probe card needle composed of any one selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, and palladium in the reaction chamber;
ii) supplying and adsorbing trimethylaluminum (trimethylamuminum) or tetrakis (ethylmethylamido) zirconium (tetrakis (Ethylmethylamino) Zirconium) vaporized metal precursors to the surface of the needle in the reaction chamber;
iii) supplying a purge gas to remove excess vaporized metal precursor from the reaction chamber;
_{iv) forming an aluminum oxide (Al 2} O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) thin film by supplying and reacting a reaction gas on the sample to which the metal precursor is adsorbed;
v) supplying a purge gas to remove excess reaction gas and reaction by-products from the reaction chamber; And
vi) sequentially repeating steps ii) to v) until an aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO _{2) thin film having a desired thickness is obtained; including,}
Surface treatment method of probe card needle using atomic layer deposition (ALD).
The method of claim 1,
The purge gas is argon (Ar) gas or nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas, characterized in that the surface treatment method of the probe card needle.
The method of claim 1,
The reaction gas is a surface treatment method of the probe card needle, characterized in that any one selected from the group consisting _{of O 3} , H ₂ O, H ₂ O ₂ and O _2.
The method of claim 1,
The probe card needle, characterized in that one cycle from step ii) to step v) is performed in 0.1 to 1 second, 10 to 60 seconds, 0.05 to 1 second, and 10 to 60 seconds, respectively, as one step. Surface treatment method.
The method of claim 1,
The repetition is a method of surface treatment of the probe card needle, characterized in that performing 10 to 30 cycles (cycle).
_{An aluminum oxide (Al 2} O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) film is uniformly coated with a thickness of 10 to 30 nm on the needle surface consisting of any one selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tungsten-rhenium, copper-beryllium, and palladium. , Probe card needle.
The method of claim 6,
The probe card needle is a probe card needle, characterized in that an aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) or zirconium oxide (ZrO ₂ ) film is coated on the surface of the needle through atomic layer deposition (ALD).

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