TWI466208B - Probe device - Google Patents

Description

Probe device

The present invention relates to a probe device in which a probe of a probe card is brought into contact with an electrode piece of a detected portion of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) to perform electrical measurement of the detected wafer.

A conventional probe device is such that a probe such as a probe needle of a probe card contacts a tip electrode of an IC wafer to perform a probe test for investigating electrical characteristics. The probe device includes: a loading cassette; the detecting unit includes a probe card and a mounting table; and the transfer chamber is provided with a wafer transfer mechanism capable of performing wafer transfer between the loading cassette and the detecting unit . Next, the wafer transfer mechanism is used to take out the wafer from the transfer container (wafer carrier) loaded into the loading cassette, and the pre-alignment mechanism in the transfer chamber or the wafer transfer mechanism is provided. The pre-alignment mechanism performs pre-alignment, and after the pre-alignment is completed, the wafer is transferred to the mounting table in the detecting unit.

As the wafer transfer mechanism, for example, two arm bodies (substrate support members) are used, and the wafer transfer mechanism can be used by one side of the arm body while the detection portion is performing the probe test of the wafer. The next wafer to be inspected is taken out and pre-aligned, and the wafer is placed in the transfer chamber until the wafer is detected in the detection unit. Next, after the wafer inspection in the detecting unit is completed, the detected wafer is taken out by the arm body on the other side, and the undetected wafer supported by the arm body on the one side is transferred to the mounting table.

However, when the probe needle is used as a probe, continuous probe test causes foreign matter such as slag of the electrode sheet to adhere to the tip end of the probe needle, so it is necessary to perform a so-called probe polishing process to the probe. The needle is ground to remove the foreign matter. The timing at which the probe polishing process is performed is mainly divided into two cases of managing the number of processed sheets and the case where the results of the probe test are continuously erroneous, and when the control unit detects a continuous error, an interrupt is issued. The processed command is used for probe grinding.

The probe polishing process places a wafer for polishing a probe needle composed of ceramics or the like (so-called probe polishing wafer) on a mounting table, and by contacting the probe needle with the probe polishing wafer. ongoing. At this time, the wafer transfer mechanism takes out the probe polishing wafer placed in the substrate storage portion inside the lower half of the transfer chamber in the transfer chamber and transports it to the detection portion, and then transfers the probe to the detection portion. The arm body on one side takes out the wafer that has been detected in the detecting portion, and delivers the probe polishing wafer of the arm body on the one side to the mounting table.

Therefore, when a request to interrupt the current process occurs, sometimes the undetected wafer is supported on the arm body of the one side. At this time, since the arm body on the other side is required to take out the wafer whose detection has been completed in the detecting portion, the probe polishing wafer cannot be taken out by the wafer transfer mechanism. Therefore, it is required to: temporarily transport the undetected wafer supported by the wafer transfer arm back to the carrier; take out the probe to polish the wafer; and grind the wafer to polish the probe needle; After the series of interrupt processing such as transferring the probe polishing wafer to the substrate storage portion is completed, the undetected wafer is again taken out from the carrier.

Further, when the detecting unit is a plurality of (for example, two) and the wafer transfer mechanism has three arm bodies, the two arm systems of the three arm bodies often support undetected wafers or have been completed. The wafer is inspected, and only one arm body is in an empty state. Therefore, even if the number of the arm bodies is increased, it is necessary to temporarily transport the wafer back to the carrier as in the case of the above-described wafer transfer mechanism having two arm bodies.

However, since the slot in the carrier is narrow, when the undetected wafer returns to the inside, the wafer will move on the arm body due to the outer edge of the wafer contacting the inside of the carrier, or When the wafer is placed on the scaffold of the carrier, the direction or center of the wafer is offset due to the contact between the carrier and the wafer. Therefore, when the pre-aligned wafer has been completed and returned to the carrier, the aforementioned pre-alignment is invalid, and as a result, after the interrupt processing is completed, the wafer must be re-aligned. Therefore, the time for performing the pre-alignment causes the standby time of the detecting portion to become long, causing a problem that the probe test yield is lowered.

In this regard, Patent Document 1 discloses a probe device in which a probe for mounting a probe is additionally provided in the detection portion of the probe device in addition to the probe test mounting table. A dedicated mounting table is mounted on the dedicated mounting table with a probe polishing wafer. When the probe device performs the probe polishing of the probe card, the probe test table is retracted, and the dedicated mounting table is moved to the lower region of the probe card, and the probe is used to polish the wafer and the probe. The probe needles of the card are in contact for probe grinding of the probe card. Therefore, even if the interrupt processing occurs, the probe card can be subjected to probe polishing while the wafer transfer arm supports the next wafer to be detected. However, in the probe device, it is necessary to additionally provide a mounting table dedicated to the probe polishing wafer in the detecting portion, which causes a problem that the probe device is increased in size. In recent years, the demand for miniaturization of probe devices has been increasing, so that the enlargement of devices is not a preferred method.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-128451 (paragraph symbols 0022, 0035)

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a probe device capable of suppressing a decrease in yield when a maintenance operation of a detecting portion is performed using a maintenance substrate.

In the probe device of the present invention, the electrode sheet placed on the substrate to be detected of the mounting table is brought into contact with the probe of the probe card to measure the electrical characteristics of the detected portion of the substrate, and is characterized in that: The loading container is configured to carry a transfer container in which a plurality of substrates are housed, and the substrate transfer mechanism performs the transfer of the substrate between the transfer container and the mounting table of the detecting unit mounted on the loading cassette. a plurality of substrate supporting assemblies independent of each other and freely advancing and retracting, when it supports the undetected substrate and stands by, there is an empty substrate supporting assembly; the transfer chamber is connected to the loading cassette and the detecting And the substrate transfer mechanism is movable inside; the pre-alignment mechanism is disposed in the transfer chamber, has a turntable capable of fixing the substrate and rotating, and detects a peripheral edge of the substrate on the turntable The omnidirectional portion positions the substrate and the center portion of the substrate taken out from the transfer container; the substrate accommodating portion is installed in the transfer chamber and is stored for maintenance of the detecting portion. The substrate for maintenance; the substrate holding device is provided in the transfer chamber and has a absorbing mechanism capable of receiving the substrate from the substrate transfer mechanism and performing absorbing and holding; and a control unit for controlling the substrate transfer mechanism When the substrate is placed on the mounting table of the detecting portion and the current processing is interrupted to perform the maintenance operation of the detecting portion, the substrate supported by the substrate supporting assembly can be held by the substrate holding device while The substrate supporting unit takes out the maintenance substrate in the substrate housing portion and exchanges the substrate on the mounting table.

Further, in the probe device of the present invention, for example, the maintenance substrate is a substrate exclusively for polishing the probe needle of the probe card. Further, in the probe device of the present invention, the substrate holding device may be disposed adjacent to the upper and lower sides of the substrate housing portion.

Further, in the probe device of the present invention, for example, a plurality of the detecting portions are provided, and the control portion is configured to carry out the substrate after the detection by the first detecting portion by the substrate supporting unit, and (2) When the detecting unit needs to interrupt the current processing to perform the maintenance work, the substrate supported by the substrate supporting unit and the completed substrate can be held by the substrate holding device to perform the maintenance operation. Further, in the probe device of the present invention, for example, in addition to the aforementioned pre-alignment mechanism, a pre-alignment mechanism is provided at the substrate holding device, and the substrate holding device has a function of a pre-alignment rotary table, and The substrate is pre-aligned against the substrate held thereon.

In the probe device of the present invention, the substrate transport mechanism for transporting the substrate between the loading cassette and the detecting unit has a plurality of substrate supporting members, and has a clear state when it stands by while supporting the undetected substrate. In the state of the substrate supporting member, when the substrate to be inspected is placed in the detecting portion, the current processing to interrupt the current processing and the maintenance portion of the detecting portion to perform the maintenance operation can be performed by the substrate having the absorbing mechanism. The device temporarily receives the un-detected substrate that has been pre-aligned by the substrate support assembly. Therefore, the undetected substrate can be held in the state of the posture (the center position and the direction of the substrate) when it is received from the substrate transfer mechanism, so that it is not necessary to perform the pre-alignment again, and it can be directly carried into the detection portion. Therefore, the standby time of the detecting portion can be shortened to suppress the decrease in the yield.

A probe device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 12 . As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the probe device includes a loading unit 1 for transferring a wafer W on which a plurality of substrates to be detected (detected portions) are arranged (refer to FIG. 6); and a probe device The body 2 performs probe probing on the wafer W. First, the overall arrangement of the loading unit 1 and the probe device body 2 will be briefly described.

The loading unit 1 includes a first loading cassette 11 and a second loading cassette 12, and is configured to carry a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) 100 of a sealed transport container (carrier) in which a plurality of wafers W are stored. The Y-direction (the horizontal direction in the drawing) is disposed opposite to each other; and the transfer chamber 10 is disposed between the loading cassettes 11 and 12. Each of the loading cassettes 11 (12) is provided with a housing 13 (14), and the FOUP 100 can be carried into the cabinet from the loading port 15 (16) provided on the X-direction side in the map of the loading cassette 11 (12). Within 13(14). After the loading, the FOUP 100 removes the cover by the cover opening and closing mechanism (not shown) provided in the loading cassette 11 (12), and fixes the cover in the loading cassette 11 (12). At the side wall, the FOUP 100 from which the cover has been removed is rotated so that the opening faces the transfer chamber 10 side.

The loading unit 1 is provided with a control unit 5 for controlling the probe device as shown in Fig. 2 . The control unit 5 is composed of, for example, a computer, and includes a data processing unit including a memory and a CPU, and a processing program such as a probe test processing program 50 and an interrupt control processing program 51. The probe test processing program 50 is used to control: the FOUP 100 is carried into the loading cassette 11 (12), and the wafer W is carried into the probe device body 2 from the FOUP 100 for probe testing, and then the wafer is tested. W moves back to the FOUP 100 and even consists of a wafer W transfer program until the FOUP 100 is carried out and a series of steps in which the various parts operate. also, The interrupt control processing program 51 is composed of a group of steps for controlling the operation of the probe device when the interrupt processing occurs in the probe test as will be described later. The processing programs (including processing programs such as input operations and displays for processing parameters) are stored in a memory medium such as a floppy disk, a compact disc (CD), an MO disc (a magneto-optical disc), or a hard disk, and are attached thereto. Control unit 5.

The probe device main body 2 is provided adjacent to the loading unit 1 in the X-axis direction in the drawing, and has a plurality of (for example, four) detecting portions 21 arranged in the Y-axis direction. In addition, FIG. 2 shows the detecting unit 21 in a state in which the upper plate 25 described later is removed.

The detecting unit 21 includes a housing 22 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , and a pedestal unit 24 and an upper imaging unit 9 are provided inside the housing 22 . The pedestal unit 24 is freely movable in the X, Y, and Z (up and down) axis directions, that is, it can freely move vertically and horizontally on the horizontal plane and can move freely in the height direction, and the upper portion can be rotated about the vertical axis. The upper portion of the pedestal unit 24 is placed on a mounting table for the wafer W, and a wafer cooker 4 having a vacuum absorbing function is stacked. Next, the side portion of the pedestal unit 24 is provided with a lower side imaging unit 8 provided with a micro camera or the like for capturing a probe card 6 which will be described later.

The wafer cooker 4 is freely movable between a transfer position at which the wafer W is transferred, a photographing position of the wafer surface, and a contact position (detection position) at which the probe needle 7 of the probe card 6 contacts the wafer W. mobile. Further, as shown in FIG. 3(b), a loading port 23 that connects the inside of the transfer chamber 10 and the inside of the casing 22 is formed on the side surface of the casing 22, that is, the side surface that is in close contact with the transfer chamber 10. Then, the wafer W can be transferred to the wafer cooker 4 in the casing 22 by the carry-in port 23. Next, the upper photographing unit 9 is provided with a micro camera or the like for photographing the wafer W placed on the wafer cooker 4.

As shown in FIG. 3(a), an upper plate 25 as a top portion of the frame 22 is provided above the moving area of the wafer cooker 4 and the upper image capturing unit 9, and the probe card 6 is attached and fixed thereto. Plate 25. A test head (not shown) is mounted on the upper side of the probe card 6, and the probe card 6 and the test head are electrically connected by a probe pin unit not shown. Further, on the lower surface side of the probe card 6, the arrangement of the electrode sheets corresponding to the wafer W is provided, and the probes (probe needles 7) each electrically connected to the upper side electrode group are provided, for example, to the probe card 6. On the whole face.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the transfer chamber 10 is provided with a wafer transfer arm 3 as a substrate transfer mechanism. The structure of the wafer transfer arm 3 is provided with a first arm body 35 and a second arm body 36 that can freely advance and retreat at a transfer base 30 that can freely rotate along a vertical axis and freely move up and down and can move freely in the Y direction in the drawing. Wait for 2 arm bodies (substrate support assembly). Here, reference numeral 33 is a base moving portion that can move along a guide rail extending in the Y direction in the drawing, and reference numeral 32 is a base lifting portion that can be raised and lowered with respect to the base moving portion 33, and a symbol 31 is provided at the base. The turning portion of the table lifting portion 32.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first arm main body 35 and the second arm main body 36 are formed with U-shaped notch portions 55 and 56 that face the distal end side. Then, on the upper and lower ends of the arm body 35 (36), two parallel guide rails 37 are provided on the left and right ends of the arm body 35, and the first arm body 35 and the second arm body 36 are each guided by the arm. The pieces 38, 39 are moved back and forth along the guide rails 37, 37.

Further, the transfer base 30 is provided with a pre-alignment mechanism 40 (refer to FIG. 4) for pre-aligning the wafer W placed on the first arm body 35 or the second arm body 36 to adjust The direction of the wafer W is simultaneously detected at its center position. As shown in FIG. 4, the pre-alignment mechanism 40 is provided with a cooker portion 41, a sensor spanner 42, a light sensor 43, and a light passage portion 44, and is disposed below the arm bodies 35, 36. The light emitting portion is displayed.

The cooker unit 41 is a turntable that can rotate the wafer W, and the center of rotation of the cooker unit 41 is set to correspond to the wafer W on the arm body 35 (36) in a retracted state on the transfer base 30. At the center of the location. The cooker portion 41 is provided with a lifting portion that can be raised and lowered in the Z-axis direction in the drawing, and can be lowered when the standby state is not pre-aligned, and stopped at a position that does not interfere with the advancement and retreat of the arm bodies 35 and 36. Next, when the pre-alignment is performed, the wafer W is lifted up from the arm bodies 35 and 36 to be rotated.

The upper surface of the transfer base 30 is provided with a sensor cross member 42 that does not interfere with the wafer W supported by the arm bodies 35 and 36. The sensor cross member 42 is mounted with an acceptable input from the figure. A light sensor 43 that emits light that penetrates and penetrates the wafer W by a light-emitting portion that is not shown. Next, the arm bodies 35 and 36 are formed with a light transmitting portion 44 extending in the X-axis direction in the drawing, and the light emitting portion is disposed below the light transmitting portion 44. Then, the light from the light-emitting portion passes through the light-transmitting portion 44, and is irradiated from below to a peripheral portion (end portion) region of the wafer W that is lifted from the arm bodies 35, 36 by the cooker portion 41.

Pre-alignment is performed by the pre-alignment mechanism 40 as will be described later. First, the first arm body 35 or the wafer W on the second arm body 36 is slightly lifted by the cooker portion 41, and the wafer W is rotated. Then, light is irradiated from the light-emitting portion to the peripheral portion (end portion) including the wafer W, and the light passing through the wafer W is detected by the light sensor 43 to transmit the detection signal to the control portion 5. The control unit 5 adjusts the position of the first arm main body 35 or the second arm main body 36 when the wafer W is eccentric based on the detection signal, and transfers the wafer W from the cookware unit 41 to the first arm. The main body 35 or the second arm body 36 corrects the offset of the eccentricity and then returns the wafer W to the cooker portion 41 to correct the eccentricity of the wafer W. Then, the cooker portion 41 is rotated to adjust the direction of the wafer W such that the wafer notch or the like faces the first arm body 35 or the specific direction on the second arm body 36. The position adjustment of the W direction and the center of the wafer is performed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the transfer chamber 10 is provided with a substrate housing portion 60, and the probe needle 7 of a plurality of probe cards 6, for example, ceramics, is placed in a stud manner for polishing. The probe grinds the wafer Wb (refer to FIG. 6). The substrate housing portion 60 is provided at a position below the loading cassette 11 (refer to each drawing) and allows the arm bodies 35 and 36 of the wafer transfer arm 3 to approach for access.

The substrate housing portion 60 includes a base 61 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and three carrier assemblies 62, 63, and 64 attached to the base 61. Each of the carrier members 62, 63, and 64 has a plurality of (for example, six) claw portions 65 which are formed by laminating in a Z-axis direction at a predetermined interval. Next, due to the gap between the claw portions 65, the cross-sectional shape of the carrier members 62, 63, 64 in the longitudinal direction (Z-axis direction) is formed into a comb shape. Further, between the respective load carrying members 62, 63, 64, the positions at which the claw portions 65 are formed in the Z-axis direction are approximately uniform.

When the forward and backward directions of the arm body 35 (36) are used as the front-rear direction, the load-carrying assemblies 62, 63, 64 are located on the upper side of the base 61, and a load-carrying assembly 62 is respectively mounted on the front and rear sides of the right side. 64, and a load carrying assembly 63 is mounted on the middle portion of the left side. Next, the probe polishing wafer Wb is placed by the claw portions 65 of the carrier members 62, 63, 64 so as to support the peripheral portion at three points. In other words, the substrate housing portion 60 forms a scaffold for accommodating the probe polishing wafer Wb or the like by the claw portions 65 of the respective cartridge assemblies 62, 63, and 64. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, for the sake of convenience of explanation, only one probe polishing wafer Wb is housed in the substrate storage unit 60. However, in the present embodiment, a plurality of probe polishing are also accommodated in other chassis. Wafer Wb.

Further, a substrate holding device 70 is provided above the substrate housing portion 60, and the wafer W being conveyed by the arm bodies 35 and 36 can be temporarily fixed. The substrate holding device 70 is located at one side of the rear side of the base 61, and is mounted with a support portion 71 that extends in the vertical direction to a position higher than the load carrying members 62, 63, 64. Then, a wrist portion 72 is horizontally extended from the support portion 71 toward the approximately central portion above the substrate housing portion 60. The front end of the wrist portion 72 is provided with a suction portion (vacuum cooker) 73 integrally formed with the wrist portion 72 for vacuum-absorbing the approximately disk-shaped wafer W, and the upper portion of the suction portion 73 In the aspect, a plurality of vacuum suction holes 74 are formed. Further, a recess 75 is formed between the arm portion 72 and the absorbing portion 73. Therefore, when the arm bodies 35, 36 approach the substrate holding device 70 for wafer W transfer, the arm bodies 35, 36 and the wrist portion 72 are provided. No interference will be formed. Further, the access position and the angle of the wafer transfer arm 3 at the time of advancement and retreat are set such that the arm body 35 (36) of the wafer transfer arm 3 can constantly move forward and backward toward the substrate holding device 70 at the same angle from the same position. Therefore, no matter how many times the forward and backward movements are repeated, the arm body 35 (36) and the substrate holding device 70 are not in contact with each other and interfere.

When the substrate holding device 70 sucks and holds the wafer W by the absorbing portion 73 and transfers the wafer to and from the wafer transfer arm 3, the wafer W can be held in a fixed state. Therefore, the wafer W can be kept from shifting in the center position and direction. Therefore, the substrate holding device 70 can be referred to as a posture holding device of the wafer W.

Next, the operation of the arm body 35 (36) when the wafer W is transferred from the wafer transfer arm 3 to the substrate holding device 70 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved so that the arm body 35 (36) of the wafer transfer arm 3 can be moved to a position where the substrate storage portion 60 can be accessed. Next, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the arm body 35 (36) supporting the wafer W is advanced toward the upper position of the absorbing portion 73. At this time, the arm body 35 (36) is moved in and out in the same direction as the substrate holding device 70 as described above. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the absorbing portion 73 relatively enters the notch portion 55 (56) of the arm body 35 (36), and the protruding portion of the arm body 35 (36) enters the concave portion 75, thereby causing the crystal The arm body 35 (36) is stopped at a position where the approximate central portion of the circle W coincides with the central portion of the absorbing portion 73. At this time, the wafer W and the absorbing portion 73 are only separated by a small gap.

Next, as shown in Fig. 7(b), the arm body 35 is lowered while the suction is performed by the suction passage (not shown) in the wrist portion 72 at the vacuum suction hole 74 (refer to Fig. 5). ) so that the wafer W is adsorbed to the absorbing portion 73 (vacuum suction). Therefore, the wafer W can be held by the substrate holding device 70 without moving (state in which the posture is maintained). Then, as shown in FIG. 7(c), the arm body 35 (36) is lowered and stopped at the region between the absorbing portion 73 and the carrier assemblies 62, 63, 64, and is retracted toward the transfer base 30. Thereby, the substrate holding device 70 can hold the wafer W supported by the arm body 35 (36) while maintaining its posture. Further, when the wafer W held by the substrate holding device 70 is received by the arm body 35 (36), the arm body 35 (36) is coordinated with the substrate holding device 70 to receive in the reverse order of the foregoing description. The wafer W.

Next, a series of processes for performing probe testing using the probe device will be briefly described. Here, for convenience of explanation, the detecting unit 21 shown in FIG. 2 is sequentially named as the first to fourth detecting units 21 from the detecting unit 21 on the side of the loading port 11 . Further, in the probe test, for convenience of explanation, the first arm body 35 is set to perform the pre-alignment of the wafer W.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the wafer W is carried out from the FOUP 100 placed in the loading cassette 11 by the wafer transfer arm 3, and the pre-set at the wafer transfer arm 3 is combined as described above. After the registration mechanism 40 performs the pre-alignment, the wafer W is transferred to the wafer cooker 4 of the first detecting unit 21. Then, the wafer W is sequentially transferred to the second to fourth detecting portions 21 in the same manner as the first detecting unit 21. The wafer W is carried in all of the detecting portions 21, and while all the detecting portions 21 are performing the probe test, the wafer transfer arm 3 is to be detected by the first arm body 35. The wafer W is carried out and pre-aligned, and is placed in the transfer chamber 10 for standby.

In the first detecting unit 21 in which the wafer W is loaded, the lower side imaging unit 8 is used to image the probe card 6, and the upper imaging unit 9 is used to image the wafer W on the wafer cooker 4 to obtain a probe. The photographic data of the position of the front end of the needle 7 and the position of the electrode sheet (not shown) on the surface of the wafer W, and then the contact coordinates for contacting the probe needle 7 with the electrode sheet are calculated based on the photographic data, and the crystal is The circle W moves to the contact coordinate. Then, the probe needle 7 was brought into contact with the electrode sheet to perform a probe test.

After the probe test is completed, the wafer cooker 4 moves to the vicinity of the carry-in exit 23. At this time, since the wafer W is not placed on the second arm body 36 of the wafer transfer arm 3, the wafer W that has been detected is taken out by the second arm body 36, and the first arm body 35 is placed. The undetected wafer W that is supported is delivered to the wafer cooker 4. Then, the wafer transfer arm 3 carries the wafer W that has been inspected back to the FOUP 100, and when the wafer W that has not been detected is stored in the FOUP 100, the wafer W to be detected is carried out. This series of steps is performed in the same manner in the other second to fourth detecting units 21. Through the above steps, the probe device of the present embodiment can sequentially transport the wafer W to the four detecting portions 21 by one wafer transfer arm 3 to perform the probe test.

The probe test system control unit 5 controls each unit based on the probe test processing program 50. Next, the control unit 5 determines whether or not to interrupt the current processing to perform the polishing of the probe needle 7 in accordance with the result of the probe test, and performs the interrupt processing for polishing the probe needle 7 in accordance with the interrupt control processing program 51 as needed. Next, a polishing process (probe polishing process) of the probe needle 7 for the interrupt processing will be described with reference to Figs. 8 to 12 .

In the case where the probe polishing process of the probe needle 7 is performed, two types of conditions can be considered. In the first state, the probe polishing process is performed when the wafer transfer arm 3 supports the undetected wafer W while waiting in the transfer chamber 10, and the second state is not detected by the first detection unit 21. Immediately after the exchange of the wafer W with the wafer W that has been detected, the probe W is processed by the second detecting unit 21. First, the first situation will be described with reference to Figs. 8 and 9 . In addition, in the first state, the undetected wafer system W1 placed on the wafer transfer arm 3, the wafer system W2 on which the wafer cooker 4 of the detecting unit 21 is mounted, and the substrate storage unit 60; The mounted probe is ground wafer Wb.

First, as shown in FIG. 8(a), when the wafer transfer arm 3 supports the undetected wafer W1 that has completed the pre-alignment and is subjected to the probe polishing process at the time of waiting in the transfer chamber 10, the crystal is transferred. The circular transfer arm 3 is moved to a position (arrow 1) at which the substrate storage unit 60 can be accessed. Next, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the undetected wafer W1 supported by the first arm body 35 is held by the substrate holding device 70, and then placed on the substrate by the first arm body 35. The probe polishing wafer Wb of the portion 60 is taken out (arrow 2). Then, similarly to the normal wafer W, the probe polishing wafer Wb is pre-aligned by the pre-alignment mechanism 40 of the wafer transfer arm 3, and the detection unit 21 for performing the probe polishing process is performed. The probe grinds the direction adjustment and center position of the wafer Wb. Then, the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to the front of the carry-in port 23 (refer to FIG. 3) of the detecting unit 21 to be subjected to the probe polishing process (arrow 3).

Next, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the wafer W2 that has been inspected is transferred from the wafer cooker 4 of the detecting unit 21 that needs to perform the probe polishing process to the second arm body of the wafer transfer arm 3. 36, while carrying out, the probe polishing wafer Wb supported by the first arm body 35 is carried into the wafer cooker 4 (arrow 4). Next, at the detecting portion 21, the wafer cooker 4 is moved and the probe polishing wafer Wb placed on the wafer cooker 4 is brought into contact with the probe needle 7 to perform the probe of the probe needle 7. Grinding treatment. On the other hand, during the probe polishing process of the probe needle 7, the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position where the FOUP 100 can be accessed, and the wafer W2 that has been detected is carried into the FOUP 100 ( Arrow 5).

As shown in FIG. 9( a ), after the wafer W2 is carried into the FOUP 100 , the unprocessed wafer W is not taken out from the FOUP 100 , and the wafer transfer arm 3 is directly moved to a position where the substrate storage unit 60 can be accessed ( Arrow 6). Next, the wafer W1 held by the substrate holding device 70 is received by the first arm body 35 (arrow 7), and the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to the probe polishing process as shown in FIG. 9(b). The detection unit 21 is moved in front of the inlet 23 (refer to FIG. 3) (arrow 8). After the probe portion 21 completes the probe polishing process, the probe polishing wafer Wb placed on the wafer cooker 4 is transferred to the second arm body 36 and carried out, and the first arm body 35 is supported. The wafer W1 is carried into the wafer cooker 4 (arrow 9).

Then, as shown in FIG. 9(c), the detecting unit 21 starts the probe test on the wafer W1 placed on the wafer cooker 4. Then, during the probe test, the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position where the substrate storage unit 60 can be accessed (arrow 10), and the probe polishing wafer Wb is carried into the substrate storage unit 60 ( Arrow 11). Thereby, a series of steps of the probe polishing process performed as the interrupt processing is completed, and then the probe test is continued based on the probe test processing program 50.

In the first state, when the probe test process is interrupted to perform the probe polishing process (interrupt process), the wafer W1 that has been pre-aligned by the wafer transfer arm 3 can be temporarily held in the substrate holding device 70. In the case of this, the probe polishing treatment is performed. Then, after the probe polishing process is completed, the wafer W1 is received from the substrate holding device 70 and carried into the detecting portion 21, and the substrate holding device 70 can maintain the posture of the wafer W1 as a self-propagating arm. Since the position of the three places is received, the wafer W1 taken out from the substrate holding device 70 by the wafer transfer arm 3 is still valid for the completed pre-alignment, so that it can be directly loaded into the detection without performing pre-alignment. In section 21.

Next, the second situation will be described with reference to Figs. 10 to 12 . In addition, in the second case, the wafer faucet system 4b of the first detecting unit 21b, the wafer faucet system 4c of the second detecting unit 21c, and the wafer faucet system 4d of the third detecting unit 21d; wafer transfer The wafer W3 of the completed inspection carried by the arm 3; the undetected wafer system W4 placed on the wafer cooker 4b; the wafer system W5 of the completed inspection carried by the wafer cooker 4c; The wafer W6 for inspection in the round cooker 4d; the wafer system W7 transported from the FOUP 100 to the wafer cooker 4d; and the wafer system W8 transported from the FOUP 100 to the wafer cooker 4c; The first detecting unit 21b exchanges the wafer W3 and the wafer W4 that have completed the probe test, and immediately performs the probe polishing process on the second detecting unit 21c.

When the wafer W3 that has been detected by the first detecting unit 21b is received by the wafer transfer arm 3 and the undetected wafer W4 is delivered to the wafer cooker 4b, the control unit 5 determines the second detecting unit 21c. When the probe polishing process is performed, first, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position (arrow 20) where the substrate storage portion 60 can be accessed, instead of the FOUP 100. Next, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the wafer W3 that has been inspected and supported by the second arm body 36 is held by the substrate holding device 70, and is placed in the substrate housing portion by the first arm body 35. The probe polishing wafer Wb of 60 is carried out (arrow 21).

Then, in the same manner as in the first case, the probe polishing wafer Wb is pre-aligned, and the direction of the probe polishing wafer Wb and the center position positioning are performed in association with the detecting portion 21c to be subjected to the probe polishing process. Then, as shown in FIG. 10(c), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to the front of the carry-in port 23 (see FIG. 3) of the detecting portion 21c to be subjected to the probe polishing process (arrow 22). Next, the wafer W5 that has been detected is transferred from the wafer cooker 4c of the detecting unit 21c that needs to perform the probe polishing process to the second arm body 36 of the wafer transfer arm 3, and the first arm body is carried out. The probe-supported wafer Wb supported by 35 is carried into the wafer cooker 4c (arrow 23). Then, in the detecting unit 21c, the wafer cooker 4c is moved to bring the probe polishing wafer Wb placed on the wafer cooker 4c into contact with the probe needle 7 to perform probe polishing processing of the probe needle 7.

On the other hand, when the detecting unit 21c performs the probe polishing process on the probe needle 7, as shown in FIG. 11(a), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position where the FOUP 100 can be accessed (arrow 24). The wafer W5 supported by the second arm body 36 is carried into the FOUP 100, and the wafer W7 is transferred from the FOUP 100 to the first arm body 35 to be carried out (arrow 25). Next, the wafer W7 is pre-aligned, and after the direction adjustment and the center position of the wafer W7 are performed by the matching detecting portion 21d, the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to the detecting portion 21d as shown in Fig. 11(b). Move in the front of the exit 23 (refer to Figure 3) (arrow 26). Then, the wafer W6 that has been detected is transferred from the wafer cooker 4d of the detecting unit 21d to the second arm body 36, and the wafer W7 supported by the first arm body 35 is carried into the wafer cookware. 4d (arrow 27). Then, the detecting unit 21d starts the probe test for the wafer W7.

On the other hand, when the detecting unit 21d performs the probe test on the wafer W7, as shown in FIG. 11(c), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position (arrow 28) where the FOUP 100 can be accessed. The wafer W6 supported by the second arm body 36 is carried into the FOUP 100, and the wafer W8 is carried out from the FOUP 100 by the first arm body 35 (arrow 29). Next, the wafer W8 is pre-aligned, and after the alignment detecting unit 21c performs the direction adjustment and the center position positioning of the wafer W8, as shown in FIG. 12(a), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to the stage. The detection portion 21c of the needle polishing process is carried in front of the outlet 23 (see FIG. 3) (arrow 30). After the probe polishing process of the to-be-detected portion 21c is completed, the probe polishing wafer Wb is transferred from the wafer cooker 4c to the second arm body 36, and the wafer W8 supported by the first arm body 35 is carried out. Move into the wafer cooker 4c (arrow 31). Then, the detecting unit 21c starts the probe test for the wafer W8.

Then, when the detecting unit 21c performs the probe test on the wafer W7, as shown in FIG. 12(b), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position where the substrate storage unit 60 can be accessed (arrow 32). The probe polishing wafer Wb supported by the second arm 36 is carried into the substrate housing portion 60, and the wafer W3 that has been detected and held by the substrate holding device 70 is taken out by the first arm body 35 (arrow 33). The wafer W3 is then carried into the FOUP 100 (arrow 34). Thereby, a series of steps of the probe polishing process for interrupting the second state performed in the current process is completed, and then the probe test is continued in accordance with the probe test processing program 50.

In the second state, when the probe test process is interrupted to perform the probe polishing process (interrupt process), the wafer W3 that has been detected is not returned to the FOUP 100, and is temporarily held in the substrate storage portion 60. The upper substrate holding device 70 is used to start the probe grinding process. Therefore, the time from the holding of the wafer W3 to the removal of the probe polishing wafer Wb can be shortened compared to when the wafer W3 that has been inspected is first carried into the FOUP 100 and the probe polishing wafer Wb is carried out. In addition, when the wafer W3 is moved back to the FOUP 100 and the probe polishing process is performed, the process is not effective as if the wafer transfer arm 3 is not supported by any wafer W. Since the wafer transfer arm 3 of the form is in a state in which the wafer W is often supported, it is expected that the workability can be improved by reducing the number of steps that are not effective.

In the probe device of the embodiment in which the probe polishing process is performed by the interrupt command in the first and second cases, the probe unit W is placed in the state where the wafer W that has been detected is placed. When the current processing (probe polishing process) is performed on the detecting unit 21 by using the probe polishing wafer Wb, the unprocessed wafer W that has been completed by the first arm body 35 is temporarily suspended. The substrate holding device 70 having the absorbing portion 73 is delivered to the ground. Therefore, the undetected wafer W can be held in the posture (wafer center position and direction) when it is received from the wafer transfer arm 3, so that it is not necessary to perform the pre-alignment again and can be directly carried into the detection unit 21. Therefore, the standby time of the detecting portion 21 can be shortened, and the decrease in the yield can be suppressed.

In addition, the substrate holding device 70 can be configured to hold and maintain one wafer W. Therefore, the structure of the substrate holding device 70 can be reduced, and the substrate holding device 70 can be placed in the transfer chamber 10 or the like. Extra space. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in size of the apparatus compared to the case of providing a wafer cooker dedicated to the probe polishing process.

(Second Embodiment) A probe device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 13 to 16 . The probe device of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except for the configuration of the substrate holding device 170. Therefore, the same portions or corresponding portions as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals for explanation. . In the first embodiment, the substrate holding device 70 can only suck and hold the wafer W. However, the substrate holding device 170 of the present embodiment can perform pre-alignment on the wafer W held therein as needed.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, in the present embodiment, an installation portion 168 is provided on the upper side of the base 61 of the substrate housing portion 60. The installation portion 168 has a flat plate 169 which is formed in a horizontal plane in a region above the substrate housing portion 60, and the substrate holding device 170 is disposed on the flat plate 169. Further, the distance between the substrate housing portion 60 and the flat plate 169 is set to a distance at which the probe polishing wafer Wb placed on the uppermost scaffolding of the substrate housing portion 60 can be taken out.

The setting portion 168 is provided with a cooker portion 171 of the substrate holding device 170, a sensor cross member 172, a light emitting portion 175, and the like, and the photo sensor 173 is attached to the sensor cross member 172. The cooker unit 171 has a function of rotating and absorbing (vacuum absorbing) the wafer W placed thereon, and has a function as a turntable that oscillates and holds the wafer W. Next, the cookware portion 171 is disposed at approximately the center of the flat plate 169, and when the arm bodies 35, 36 are advanced toward the substrate holding device 170, they are relatively entered into the notch portions 55, 56 of the arm body 35 (36). It does not interfere with the arm bodies 35, 36.

The sensor cross member 172 is disposed at a rear side of the setting portion 168, and a photo sensor 173 is mounted on the upper portion thereof and is horizontal with respect to the flat plate 169. Further, the light-emitting portion 175 is provided at a position below the peripheral edge portion of the wafer W held by the cooker portion 171, and irradiates light from below to a region including the peripheral portion (end portion) of the wafer W above it. The light passing through the wafer W is detected by the photo sensor 173. Therefore, the sensor cross member 172 mounted with the photo sensor 173 is formed to be able to fix the photo sensor 173 above the light emitting portion 175 and at a higher horizontal position than the wafer W held by the cooker portion 171. structure.

Then, the substrate holding device 170 can transfer the wafer W to the cooker portion 171 by moving the wafer transfer arm 3 forward and backward with respect to the absorbing portion 73 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The wafer W is delivered while being sucked. Further, since the photo sensor 173 and the light-emitting portion 175 are provided and have a function as a turntable for rotating the cooker portion 171, the wafer W can be pre-aligned similarly to the pre-alignment mechanism 40.

The probe device of the present embodiment having the substrate holding device 170 can perform pre-alignment with respect to the wafer W held by the substrate holding device 170. Therefore, when the probe polishing process is performed, for example, the probe is polished to the wafer Wb. When the wafer cooker 4 of the first detecting unit 21 is carried in, and the probe test at the second detecting unit 21 is completed, the wafer W held by the substrate holding device 170 can be pre-aligned and matched. The second detecting unit 21 performs wafer W direction adjustment and center position positioning, and carries the wafer W to the second detecting unit 21.

Next, a method of the probe polishing process will be described with reference to Figs. 15 and 16 . In the description, the wafer faucet system 4b of the first detecting unit 21b, the wafer faucet system 4c of the second detecting unit 21c, and the undetected wafer system W10 held by the substrate holding device 170; the wafer transfer arm 3 supported wafers W11 that have been tested; wafers W12 that have been tested on the wafer cooker 4c; wafers W13 that have been transported from the FOUP 100 to the wafer cookers 4b. When the wafer W11 that has been detected is carried out from the wafer cooker 4b of the detecting unit 21b and the probe polishing wafer Wb is carried into the wafer cooker 4b to start the probe polishing process, the second is performed. The probe test performed at the detecting portion 21c is completed (refer to Fig. 8(c)).

First, as shown in FIG. 15(a), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position (arrow 41) where the substrate storage unit 60 can be accessed. At this time, the substrate holding device 170 pre-aligns the wafer W10 held by the substrate holding device 170 to perform direction adjustment and center position positioning on the undetected wafer W10 held by the substrate holding device 170. Next, the wafer W10 is taken out from the substrate holding device 170 by the first arm body 35, and the completed wafer W11 supported by the second arm body 36 is held by the substrate holding device 170 (arrow 42). Then, as shown in FIG. 15(b), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to the front of the loading/unloading port 23 (refer to FIG. 3) of the detecting unit 21c (arrow 43), and the second arm body of the arm 3 is transported by the wafer. The wafer W12 that has been inspected is carried out from the wafer cooker 4c of the detecting unit 21c, and the probe polishing wafer Wb supported by the first arm body 35 is carried into the wafer cooker 4c (arrow 44). Next, in the detecting unit 21c, the wafer cooker 4c is moved and the wafer W10 placed on the wafer cooker 4c is subjected to a probe test.

On the other hand, when the detecting unit 21c performs the probe test on the wafer W10, as shown in FIG. 15(c), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position (arrow 45) where the FOUP 100 can be accessed, and The wafer W12 supported by the second arm body 36 is carried into the FOUP 100, and the wafer W13 is carried out from the FOUP 100 by the first arm body 35 (arrow 46). Next, the wafer W13 is pre-aligned, and after the wafer W13 direction adjustment and the center position are positioned by the matching detecting portion 21b, the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to progress as shown in FIG. 16(a). The detection portion 21b of the probe polishing process is carried forward (see FIG. 3) in front of the loading port 23 (arrow 47). After the probe polishing process of the to-be-detected portion 21b is completed, the probe polishing wafer Wb is transferred from the wafer cooker 4b to the second arm body 36, and the wafer W13 supported by the first arm body 35 is carried out. Move into wafer cooker 4b (arrow 48). Then, the probe test is started on the wafer W8 at the detecting portion 21b.

Then, as shown in FIG. 16(b), while the detecting unit 21b performs the probe test on the wafer W13, the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position where the substrate storage unit 60 can be accessed (arrow 49). The probe polishing wafer Wb supported by the second arm 36 is carried into the substrate housing portion 60, and the completed wafer W11 held by the substrate holding device 170 is taken out by the first arm body 35 (arrow 50) ). Then, as shown in FIG. 16(c), the wafer transfer arm 3 is moved to a position where the FOUP 100 can be accessed (arrow 51), and the wafer W11 is carried into the FOUP 100 (arrow 52). Thereby, a series of steps of the probe grinding process is completed, and then the probe test is continued according to the probe test processing program 50.

In the probe device of the present embodiment, the substrate holding device 170 is provided, and the undetected wafer W can be transferred to the wafer transfer arm 3 and maintained in the same manner as in the first embodiment (wafer center position) Since the direction is the same, it is not necessary to perform the pre-alignment again, and it can be directly carried into the detecting unit 21. Therefore, the standby time of the detecting unit 21 can be shortened, and the decrease in the yield can be suppressed. Moreover, the substrate holding device 170 can pre-align the wafer W held by the substrate holding device 170, so that the wafer W held by the substrate can be directionally changed and positioned at the center position to cooperate with the original wafer transfer arm 3 The other detecting unit 21, which is different from the detecting unit 21 carried in during standby, allows the wafer W to be moved to the other detecting unit 21 while maintaining its posture. Thereby, the standby time of the other detecting sections caused by the probe polishing process can be shortened, and the decrease in the yield can be suppressed more.

Further, in the present embodiment, the substrate storage unit 60 houses the probe polishing wafer Wb serving as a maintenance substrate. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, the probe test error for measuring the plurality of detection portions may be accommodated. A substrate for maintenance of related wafers.

Further, the pre-alignment mechanism 40 according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to being mounted on the wafer transfer arm 3, and may be provided in the movement area of the wafer transfer arm 3 in the transfer chamber 10 (accessible area) Internal), but each time the pre-alignment is performed, the wafer transfer arm 3 needs to be moved to the pre-alignment mechanism and the transfer of the wafer W must be performed between the pre-alignment workbench and the arm 3. The structure of this example is preferred. Further, examples of the position in which the pre-alignment mechanism 40 is disposed in the transfer chamber 10 may be, for example, a central portion in the direction of the transfer chamber 10Y in FIG. 2, and the wafer transfer arm 3 is not prevented from being transported. The position of the wafer W or the position below the load 埠 11 (12) and the like.

Further, the wafer transfer arm 3 of the present embodiment includes two arm bodies 35 and 36. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, for example, the substrate transfer mechanism may include three substrate support members. In the case of having three substrate supporting components, two of the three substrate supporting components are often supported by the wafer, so when performing the probe grinding process, the crystal supported by one of the substrate supporting components is required. Since the circular substrate is removed, the substrate holding device of the present embodiment can remove the wafer without returning to the carrier. Therefore, the standby time of the detecting portion 21 can be shortened and the decrease in yield can be suppressed.

Further, although the substrate holding devices 70 and 170 of the present embodiment are provided in the upper region of the substrate housing portion 60, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be provided as long as it is adjacent to the substrate housing portion. In the lower area or in the area on either side.

1. . . Loading department

2. . . Probe device body

3. . . Wafer transfer arm

4, 4b, 4c, 4d. . . Wafer cookware

5. . . Control department

6. . . Probe card

7. . . Probe needle

8. . . Lower side photography department

9. . . Upper photography department

10. . . Transfer room

11. . . 1st load埠

12. . . 2nd load埠

13, 14. . . Box

15,16. . . Move in

twenty one. . . Detection department

twenty two. . . framework

twenty three. . . Move into the exit

twenty four. . . Pedestal unit

25. . . On board

30. . . Transfer abutment

31. . . Turning part

32. . . Abutment lifting department

33. . . Abutment movement department

35. . . First arm body

36. . . Second arm body

37. . . guide

38, 39. . . Arm guide

40. . . Pre-alignment mechanism

41. . . Cookware department

42. . . Sensor beam

43. . . Light sensor

44. . . Light passage

50‧‧‧Probe test processing program

51‧‧‧Interrupt Control Processing Program

55, 56‧‧ ‧ gap

60‧‧‧Substrate storage unit

61‧‧‧Abutment

62, 63, 64‧ ‧ ‧ components

65‧‧‧ claws

70‧‧‧Substrate holder

71‧‧‧Support

72‧‧‧ wrist

73‧‧‧Sucking Department

74‧‧‧Vacuum suction hole

75‧‧‧ recess

100‧‧‧FOUP

168‧‧‧Setting Department

169‧‧‧ tablet

170‧‧‧Substrate holder

171‧‧‧Facilities Department

172‧‧‧Sensor beam

173‧‧‧Light sensor

175‧‧‧Lighting Department

W‧‧‧ wafer

Wb‧‧‧Probe Grinding Wafer

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a probe device of the embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of the probe device of the embodiment.

3(a) and 3(b) are schematic side views of the probe device of the embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the wafer transfer arm of the embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the substrate holding device of the embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a schematic side view of the substrate holding device of the embodiment.

7(a), 7(b) and 7(c) are explanatory views for explaining the function of the substrate holding device of the embodiment.

8(a), 8(b) and 8(c) are first explanatory views for explaining the first state of the probe polishing process of the embodiment.

Fig. 9 (a), (b) and (c) are second explanatory views for explaining the first state of the probe polishing process of the embodiment.

Figs. 10(a), (b) and (c) are first explanatory views for explaining a second state of the probe polishing process of the embodiment.

Fig. 11 (a), (b) and (c) are second explanatory views for explaining the second state of the probe polishing process of the embodiment.

Fig. 12 (a) and (b) are third explanatory views for explaining the second state of the probe polishing process of the embodiment.

Figure 13 is a schematic perspective view of a substrate holding device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 14 is a schematic side view of a substrate holding device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

15(a), (b) and (c) are first explanatory views for explaining the probe polishing process of another embodiment.

16(a), (b) and (c) are second explanatory views for explaining the probe polishing process of another embodiment.

35. . . First arm body

36. . . Second arm body

55, 56. . . Notch

61. . . Abutment

62, 63, 64. . . Loaded component

65. . . Claw

70. . . Substrate holding device

71. . . Support

72. . . Wrist

73. . . Sucking department

74. . . Vacuum suction hole

75. . . Concave

W. . . Wafer

Claims (6)

A probe device that contacts an electrode sheet of a substrate to be detected placed on a mounting table of a detecting portion with a probe of a probe card to measure electrical characteristics of a detected portion of the substrate, and is characterized in that: The loading container is configured to carry a transfer container in which a plurality of substrates are housed, and the substrate transfer mechanism performs the transfer of the substrate between the transfer container and the mounting table of the detecting unit mounted on the loading cassette. a plurality of substrate supporting components independent of each other and freely advancing and retracting, when it supports the undetected substrate and stands by, there is an empty substrate supporting component; the transfer chamber is connected to the loading port and the detecting portion And the substrate transfer mechanism is movable inside; the pre-alignment mechanism is disposed in the transfer chamber, and has a turntable capable of fixing the substrate and rotating, and a peripheral detecting unit that detects a peripheral edge of the substrate on the turntable. Positioning the direction and the center portion of the substrate taken out from the transfer container; the substrate storage portion is provided in the transfer chamber and stored for maintenance work of the detection portion a substrate for maintenance; a substrate holding device provided in the transfer chamber and having a absorbing mechanism capable of receiving the substrate from the substrate transfer mechanism and performing absorbing and holding; and a control unit for controlling the substrate transfer mechanism When the substrate is placed on the mounting table and the current processing is interrupted to perform the maintenance operation of the detecting portion, the substrate supported by the substrate supporting assembly can be held by the substrate holding device while the substrate is supported by the substrate. The support unit takes out the maintenance substrate in the substrate housing portion and exchanges the substrate on the mounting table. The probe device of claim 1, wherein the maintenance substrate is specifically for polishing a substrate of the probe needle of the probe card. The probe device of claim 1, wherein the substrate holding device is disposed adjacent to the upper and lower sides of the substrate housing portion. The probe device of claim 2, wherein the substrate holding device is disposed adjacent to the upper, lower, left and right sides of the substrate housing portion. The probe device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of the detecting portions are provided, and the control portion is used after the detection by the first detecting portion is completed by the substrate supporting assembly When the substrate is carried out, and the second detecting unit is interrupted to perform the maintenance work, the substrate supported by the substrate supporting unit can be held by the substrate holding device to perform the maintenance. Maintenance work. The probe device of claim 5, wherein in addition to the pre-alignment mechanism, a pre-alignment mechanism is provided at the substrate holding device, and the substrate holding device has a function of a pre-alignment rotary table. Pre-alignment can be performed on the substrate held thereon.