Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
  • G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
  • G01R1/02—General constructional details
  • G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
  • G01R1/067—Measuring probes
  • G01R1/073—Multiple probes
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
  • G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
  • G01R1/02—General constructional details
  • G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
  • G01R1/067—Measuring probes
  • G01R1/073—Multiple probes
  • G01R1/07307—Multiple probes with individual probe elements, e.g. needles, cantilever beams or bump contacts, fixed in relation to each other, e.g. bed of nails fixture or probe card
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
  • G01R3/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture or maintenance of measuring instruments, e.g. of probe tips
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
  • G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
  • G01R1/02—General constructional details
  • G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
  • G01R1/067—Measuring probes
  • G01R1/06711—Probe needles; Cantilever beams; "Bump" contacts; Replaceable probe pins
  • G01R1/06716—Elastic
  • G01R1/06727—Cantilever beams

Definitions

• the present invention generally relates to a nano-d ve for high resolution positioning and for positioning of a multi-point probe and further relates to the technique of testing electric properties on a specific location of a test sample and in particular the technique of probing and analysing semiconductor integrated circuits for example of LSI and VLSI complexity.
• An apparatus for creating very small movements comprises a support 1701 , a movable part 1703, a piezoelectric element 1705 and an inertial part 1707.
• the movable part 1703 is held against the support 1701 by means of gravitation or a spring-load.
• the piezoelectric element can be contracted or elongated by applying an electrical field to the element. If the contraction or elongation occur slowly, the frictional force between the support and the movable part will prevent any movement of the movable part.
• the conventional four-point probe technique typically has the points positioned in an in-line configuration
• a voltage can be measured between the two inner points of the four point probe
• the electric resistivity of the test sample can be determined through the equation
• the four-point probe generally consists of four tungsten or solid tungsten carbide tips positioned into contact with a test sample, being for example a semiconductor wafer
• An external positioning system places the four-point probe into physical contact with the semiconductor wafer by moving the four-point probe in a perpendicular motion relative to the wafer surface Pressure perpendicular to the wafer surface has to be applied to the four-point probe, in order to ensure that all
• SR Spreading Resistance
• US Patent No 5,347,226 hereby incorporated in this description by reference
• the SR probe consists of two probe tips situated on one cantilever arm
• the SR probe is brought into physical contact with wafer surface by an external positioning system, while monitoring the applied pressure such as to accurately control the physical contact to the uneven surface of a semiconductor wafer
• the tips are situated on the same cantilever beam the pressure monitored while monitoring the maximum pressure may possibly leave one tip with an inferior physical contact
• the prior art probes possess limitations as to miniaturisation of the testing technique as the probes hitherto known limit the maximum spacing between any two tips to a dimension in the order of 0.5 mm due to the production technique involving mechanical positioning and arresting of the individual testing pins or testing tips, in particular as far as the four-point probes are concerned, and as far as the SR-probes are concerned exhibit extreme complexity as far as the overall structure is concerned and also certain drawbacks as far as the utilisation of the SR-probe due to the overall structure of the SR-probe.
• An object of the present invention is to provide a novel testing probe allowing the testing of electronic circuits of a smaller dimension as compared to the prior art testing technique and in particular of providing a testing probe allowing a spacing between testing pins less than 0.5 mm such as in the order of 100 nm e.g. 1 nm -1 ⁇ m or even smaller spacing.
• a particular advantage of the present invention is related to the fact that the novel testing technique involving a novel multi-point probe allows the probe to be utilised for establishing a reliable contact between any testing pin or testing tip and a specific location of the test sample, as the testing probe according to the present invention includes individually bendable or flexible probe arms.
• testing probe according to the present invention may be produced in a process compatible with the production of electronic circuits, allowing measurement electronics to be integrated on the testing probe, and allowing for tests to be performed on any device fabricated by any appropriate circuit technology involving planar technique, CMOS technique, thick- film technique or thin-film technique and also LSI and VLSI production techniques
• said conducting probe arms originating from a process of producing said multi-point probe including producing said conductive probe arms on supporting wafer body in facial contact with said supporting wafer body and removal of a part of said wafer body providing said supporting body and providing said conductive probe arms freely extending from said supporting body
• the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention is implemented in accordance with the technique of producing electronic circuits, in particular involving planar techniques as the probe is produced from a supporting body, originating from a wafer body on which a first multitude of conductive probe arms are produced involving deposition, accomplished by any technique known in the art, such as chemical vapour deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD), electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) or sputtering, etching or any other production technique, for example high resolution lithographic methods such as electron-beam lithography, atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography or laser lithography, whereupon a part of the original supporting body is removed through mechanical grinding or etching producing the freely extending conducting probe arms characteristic to the present invention constituting the test pins of multi-point probes according to the first aspect of the present invention
• the above part, which is removed from the original wafer body, producing the body supporting the conductive probe arms may constitute a minor part or a major part of the original wafer body and, the supporting body may according to alternative embodiments of the multi-point probe according to the present invention dimensionally constitute a minor part or a major part as compared to the freely extending part of the conductive probe arms
• the conductive probe arms characteristic to the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention according to the basic realisation of the present invention allow the contacting of the multi-point probe in an angular positioning of the conductive probe arms in relation to the surface of the test sample to be tested as distinct from the above described four-point probe, which is moved perpendicularly in relation to the surface of the test sample
• the angular orientation of the conductive probe arms of the multi-point probe allows the flexible and elastically bendable conductive probe arms to contact any specific and intentional location of the test sample and establish a reliable electrical contact with the location in question
• the technique characteristic to the present invention of establishing the contact between the multi-point probe and the test locations of the test sample by utilising an angular positioning of the conductive probe arms in relation to the test sample for contacting in a bending or flexing of the conducting probe arms prevents the probe arms from mechanically destroying or deteriorating the test sample to be tested, which may be of crucial importance in specific applications such as LSI and VLSI circuitry
• the multi-point probe according to the present invention including a first multitude of conductive probe arms may be configured in any appropriate configuration due to the utilisation of the production tech- nique, allowing the conducting probe arms to be orientated in any mutual orientation in relation to one another and further in relation to the supporting body for complying with specific requirements such as a specific test sample to be tested
• the particular feature of the present invention namely the possibility of utilising a production technique compatible with the techniques used for producing electronic circuits, allows the multi-point probe to be readily configured in accordance with specific requirements through the utilisation of existing CAD/CAM techniques for micro-systems
• the first multitude of conductive probe arms are unidirectional constituting a multitude of parallel free extensions of the supporting body
• the first multitude of conductive probe arms on one surface of the multi-point probe consists of a multiple of 2, ranging from at least 2 conductive probe arms to 64 conductive probe arms, having four conductive probe arms positioned on one surface as the presently preferred embodiment
• Application of a test signal to the surface of the test sample between the two periph- erally positioned conductive probe arms provides a resultant test signal between the two inner conductive probe arms, including information of the electric properties of the test sample
• the first multitude of conductive probe arms of the multi-point probe have a rectangular cross section, with the dimensions defined as width being parallel to the plane of the surface of the supporting body of the multi-point probe, depth being perpendicular to the plane of the surface of the supporting body of the multi-point probe and, length being the length of the conductive probe arms extending freely from the supporting body of the multi-point probe
• the dimension ratios of the first multitude of conductive probe arms comprises ratios such as length to width within the range 500 1 to 5 1 , including ratios 50 1 and 10 1 , having the ratio of 10 1 as the presently preferred embodiment, width to depth ratio within the range of 20 1 to 2 1 , having the ratio of 10 1 as the presently preferred embodiment
• the length of the first multitude of probe arms is in the range of 20 ⁇ m to 2mm, having a length of 200 ⁇ m as the presently preferred embodiment
• the separation of distal end-points of the conductive probe arms ranges from 1 ⁇ m to 1 mm, having 20 ⁇ m, 40 ⁇ m and 60
• the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention further comprises, in accordance with specific requirements, a second multitude of conductive electrodes situated on co-planar, elevated or undercut areas between the first multi- tude of conductive probe arms on the supporting body
• the second multitude of conductive electrodes are suitable for active guarding of the first multitude of conductive probe arms to significantly reduce leakage resistance and, consequently, increase the measuring accuracy of the present invention
• the material of the supporting body of the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises ceramic materials or semi-conducting materials such as Ge, Si or combinations thereof Use of the semi-conducting materials Ge, Si or combinations thereof allows for the micro-fabrication technology in the manufacturing process of the multi-point probe, hence benefiting from the advantages of the micro-fabrication technology
• the conductive layer on the top surface of the first multitude of conductive probe arms and the conductive layer of the second multitude of conductive electrodes on the multipoint probe according to the first aspect of the present invention is made by conduc- ting materials such as Au, Ag, Pt, Ni, Ta, Ti, Cr, Cu, Os, W, Mo, Ir, Pd, Cd, Re, conductive diamond, metal sihcides or any combinations thereof
• a multi- point probe for testing electric properties on a specific location of a test sample and further comprising
• the third multitude of conductive tip elements may comprise a primary section and a secondary section, the conductive tip elements are connected to the conductive probe arms through respective primary sections thereof and the secondary sections defining free contacting ends This may provide several optional configurations and designs of the multi-point probe
• the multi-point probe according to the particular aspect of the present invention defines a first axial direction for each of the primary sections, the first axial direction constituting an increase of the total distance between the supporting body and the free contacting ends
• the axial direction of the primary section constitutes a decrease of separation between the free contacting ends of the third multitude of conductive tip elements or constitutes a decrease of separation between free contacting ends of the third multitude of conductive tip elements being adjacent
• a second axial direction is defined for each of the secondary sections, the second axial direction constituting an increase of the total distance between the supporting body and the free contacting ends
• the second axial direction of the secondary section constitutes a decrease of separation between the free contacting ends of the third multitude of conductive tip elements
• the secondary axial direction of the secondary section constitutes a decrease of separation between the free contacting ends of the third multitude of conductive tip elements being adjacent
• first axial direction of the primary sections extends in a direction parallel to the plane defined by the first surface of the supporting body or in a direction con- verging towards the plane defined by the second surface of the supporting body
• second axial direction of the secondary sections extend in a direction parallel to the plane defined by the first surface of the supporting body or in a direction converging towards the plane defined by the second surface of the supporting body
• the third multitude of conductive tip elements may be equal to the first multitude of conductive probe arms, less than the first multitude of conductive probe arms, or greater than the first multitude of conductive probe arms, the preferable application having third multitude of conductive tip elements being dividable with 2
• the third multitude of conductive tip elements have a separation of the free contacting ends of the conductive tip elements in the range of 1 nm - 100 nm, preferable apphca- tion having the separations of 2 nm, 5 nm, 10 nm, 20 nm, 50 nm, 100 nm
• the dimension of the conductive tip elements define an overall length as distance between the distal ends of conductive probe arms and the free contacting ends of the conductive tip elements, the overall length is in the range of 100 nm to 100 ⁇ m, the preferable application having the overall length in the ranges 500 nm to 50 ⁇ m and 1 ⁇ m to 10 ⁇ m, and define a diameter, the diameter being in the range of 10 nm to 1 ⁇ m, preferable application having the overall length in the ranges 50 nm to 500 nm
• the material utilised in producing the third multitude of conductive tip elements may mainly consist of carbon and further consist of a concentration of contaminants
• the third multitude of conductive tip elements may originate from a process of tilted electron beam deposition, a process of perpendicular electron beam deposition, or a process of a combination of tilted electron beam deposition and perpendicular electron beam deposition
• the metallization of the third multitude of conductive tip elements may originate from a process of in-situ metallic deposition or a process of ex-situ metallic deposition
• the method of producing the multi-point probe in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention may involve any relevant production technique allowing the pro-duction of the freely extending conductive probe arms extending freely in relation to the supporting body Techniques of relevance and interest are based on semiconductor micro-fabrication technology, thick-film technique, thin-film technique or combinations thereof
• Producing the third multitude of conductive tip elements comprises following steps
• the method of producing the multi-point probe in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention may furthermore the technique of applying a conductive layer to the third multitude of conductive tip elements extending from the distal end of the first multitude of conductive probe arms may involve metallization of the electron beam depositions
• the object of the present invention is to realize the known principle of motion in a much simpler way mechanically Specifically, in the present invention the frictional forces are caused by intrinsic elastic forces in the moving part and the substrate To achieve this the moving part and the substrate are machined with very high precision in diameters and surface roughness
• the invention has complete cylindrical symmetric thereby making it very insensitive to temperature variations 3
• the forces supporting the moving part in the invention are evenly distributed on the outer surface thereby giving a large support area which give an unparalleled mechanical stability
• the invention includes a minimum of moving parts
• a second object of the invention is to provide a means for positioning a specific point in space with very high precision For example, a microscopic probe could be attached to this point
• a third object of the invention is to provide new method of actuating the motion of the moving part using only harmonic signals This method is easy to control electrically and extends the lifetime of the actuator
• a fourth object of the invention is to provide a micro-pipette apparatus which can control extremely small volumes of gas or liquid
• a fifth object of the invention is to provide a micro-valve apparatus which can control flow of gas or liquid to extreme precision
• the present invention provides one or two inertial members fixed to the distal end of one or two electro-mechanical actuators, the actuators fixed to a movable member which is movably supported by a surrounding substrate in such a way that distributed intrinsic frictional forces exist be- tween the movable member and the substrate
• the distributed intrinsic frictional coupling between the moving member and the substrate provides a hydrody- namic seal
• a cylindrical nano-d ⁇ ve for in particular driving tools with high resolution comprising a supporting body defining an inner open ended cylindrical space having a first longitudinal axis and an inner cylindrical surface, a movable member defining an outer contact surface, a first mounting surface and a second mounting surface, said outer contact surface mating said inner open ended cylindrical space, said movable member being inserted into said inner open ended cylindrical space and said contacting surface of said movable member and said inner cylindrical surface of said inner open ended cylindrical space creating a sliding fit between said movable member and said supporting body, said sliding fit between said movable member and said supporting body being established along the entire area of contact between said inner cylindrical surface and said outer contact surface and being provided by said outer contact surface and said inner cylindrical surface defining therebetween a spacing of a dimension having a size at any
• the cylindrical nano-drive according to the third aspect of the present invention provides means for high resolution positioning and in particular positioning of a multi-point probe with a high level of accuracy.
• the supporting body of the cylindrical nano-drive according to the third aspect of the present invention is constructed from chemically inert and hard materials such as carbides and nitrides and defines an overall triangular, rectangular, elliptical, conical, cubical, spherical or cylindrical outer surface or any combinations thereof, preferably the supporting body defines an overall cylindrical outer surface.
• the cylindrical outer surface of the supporting body defines a third longitudinal axis substantially coaxial with the first longitudinal axis and the inner open ended cylindrical space defines a circular cross sectional area having an inner diameter.
• the movable member is constructed from chemically inert and hard materials such as carbides and nitrides and defines an overall triangular, rectangular, elliptic, cubical, spherical, conical or cylindrical outer shape or any combinations thereof.
• the movable member defines an overall solid cylindrical shape defining the first mounting surface at one end of the solid cylindrical shape and the second mounting surface at the other end of the cylindrical shape
• the first and the second mounting surface define a circular area having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the open ended cylindrical surface, so as to provide a sliding fit between the movable member and the supporting body
• the movable member defines an overall cylindrical cup shape having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the open ended cylindrical surface constituting a sliding fit between the movable member and the inner cylindrical surface of the supporting body
• the movable member defines a bottom inner cup surface constituting the first mounting surface and a bottom outer cup surface constituting the second mounting surface and has the fourth proximal end of the actuator mounted to the first mounting surface with the second longitudinal axis of the actuator being substantially parallel to the first longitudinal axis of the open ended cylindrical space
• the overall cylindrical cup shape has an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the cylindrical surface of the supporting body constituting a sliding fit between the movable member and the cylindrical
• the inertial body of the nano-drive according to the third aspect of the present invention is constructed from materials such as chemically inert and hard materials such as carbides and nitrides and defines an overall cubical, conical, triangular, rectangular, elliptic, spherical or cylindrical outer shape or any combinations thereof
• the inertial body defines an overall cylindrical shape having a third longitudinal axis connected at the first proximal end to the third proximal of the actuator having the third longitudinal axis and the first longitudinal axis substantially co-axial
• the inertial body may comprise probing means for performing electric measurements
• cylindrical is to be conceived in the mathematical sense defined as a surface generated by a line, which moves parallel to a fixed line so as to cut a fixed plane curve
• the actuator of the cylindrical nano-drive defines an overall triangular cubical, conical, rectangular, elliptic, spherical or cylindrical shape or any combinations thereof
• the actuator defines an overall cylindrical shape having circular cross sectional area and is constructed from piezoelectric materials such as quartz
• the actuator longitudinally and trans- versely contracts and extends providing a longitudinal movement of the movable member by operating the actuator electrically, magnetically, mechanically, hydrau- hcally or pneumatically or any combinations thereof, preferably by operating the actuator electrically
• the actuator further comprises electrodes mounted onto inner and/or outer surfaces of the actuator for operation of the actuator to longitudinally and transversely contraction and extension by applying electrical signals to the electrodes
• the electrical signals are constituted by DC signals and/or AC signals such as alternating square wave signals, alternating triangularly shaped signals or sinusoidal signals or any combina- tions thereof
• the supporting body defines the inner cylindrical space in communication with an inner space comprising at least two apertures, the movable member movable into the inner space controlling passage between the at least two apertures thereby constituting a micro-valve
• This embodiment provides means for controlling flow of fluids or gases in a wide variety of tubular elements
• micro-valve and the micro-pipette may have physical dimensions allowing for usage of the micro valve in microscopic robotics or microscopic medico techniques or any other microscopic processing technology
• the cylindrical nano-dnve further comprises a second inertial body defining a distal end and a seventh proximal end and a second actuator defining a fifth proximal end, a sixth proximal end and a fourth longitudinal axis
• the fifth proximal end of the second actuator is connected to the seventh proximal end of the second inertial body and the fifth proximal end of the second actuator is connected to the second mounting surface of the movable member
• the fourth longitudinal axis of the second actuator is substantially parallel to the first longitudinal axis of the open ended cylindrical space so as to provide a substantially continuous motion of the movable member
• a multi-point testing apparatus for testing electric properties on a specific location of a test sample, comprising
• a multi-point probe comprising (a) a supporting body, (b) a first multitude of conductive probe arms positioned in co-planar relationship with surface of said supporting body, and freely extending from said supporting body, giving individually flexible motion of said first multitude of conductive probe arms, and
• said conducting probe arms originating from a process of producing said multi-point probe including producing said conductive probe arms on supporting wafer body in facial contact with said supporting wafer body and removal of a part of said wafer body providing said supporting body and providing said conductive probe arms freely extending from said supporting body,
• nano-dnving means for reciprocating said multi-point probe relative said test sample so as to cause said conductive probe arms to be contacted with said specific location of said test sample for performing said testing of electric properties thereof
• the multi-point testing apparatus basically includes a multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention, which multi-point probe, constituting a component of the multi-point testing apparatus according to fourth aspect of the present invention, may be implemented in accordance with any of the above features of the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention
• the multi-point testing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes a cylindrical nano-dnve according to the third aspect of the invention, which cylindrical nano-drive, constituting another component of the multi-point testing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, may be implemented according to the third aspect of the present invention
• the multi-point testing apparatus includes electric properties testing means for testing the test sample comprising an electric generator means providing a test signal to the surface of the test sample, that being current or voltage, pulsed signal or signals, DC or AC having sinusoidal, squared, tnangled signal contents or combinations thereof, ranging from LF to RF including HF, in accordance with specific requirements such as measurements of resistance, induct
• the multi-point testing apparatus also includes nano-dnving means for reciprocating and holding a multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention, and positioning of the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention relative to the test sample so as to cause the conductive probe arms to obtain physical contact with a specific location on the surface of the test sample for performing the testing of the electric properties, and for recording the specific location of the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention relative to the test sample, having a resolution in the range of 1 nm to 0 1 ⁇ m in all spatial directions
• An object of having full manoeu- vrabihty in all spatial directions, that being co-planar to the surface of the test sample or perpendicular to the surface of the test sample, is to allow for multiple point measurements utilising one calibrated multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention on a full surface of a test sample, hence avoiding inaccuracies due to a multiple of calibration discrepancies
• the multi-point testing apparatus further includes means for sensing physical contact between the surface of the test sample and the multiple of conductive probe arms of the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention insuring non-destructive testing of the test sample and hence avoiding the destruction of possible devices on the surface of the test sample
• means for sensing physical contact between the surface of the test sample and the multiple of conductive probe arms of the multi-point probe according to the first aspect of the present invention insuring non-destructive testing of the test sample and hence avoiding the destruction of possible devices on the surface of the test sample
• Figure 1 provides an overall illustration of the conventional four-point probe measurement technique on a test sample
• FIG 2 shows a detailed illustration of the measurement technique depicted in figure 1 .
• Figure 3 depicts the substrate after patterning a deposited support layer
• Figure 4 illustrates the formation of the cantilevers by removal of part of the substrate
• Figure 5 depicts the etching of the substrate to undercut the pattern in the support layer
• FIG. 6 depicts the deposition of an electrically conducting layer
• Figure 7 depicts a set-up for measuring a test sample using a multi-point probe made in accordance with the present invention
• Figure 8 illustrates a set-up having a multi-point probe made in accordance with the present invention mounted on an optical microscope
• Figure 10 shows a principal diagram of the circuit used for performing measurements, comprising an electrometer and a current source
• Figure 11 shows an electron beam deposition (a), shows a perpendicular electron beam disposition and (b), shows a tilted electron beam deposition either on the substrate or as continuation on top of an previously produced tip
• Figure 12 shows metallization of tip (a), shows in-situ metallization of tip applying conducting contaminants and (b), shows ex-situ metallization of tip applying subsequent metallization
• Figure 13 shows probe geometry having tips extending from probe arms
• Figure 14 shows general tip configurations (a), shows 2-t ⁇ p, (b), shows 4-t ⁇ p having non-uniform tip spacing, (c), shows 4-t ⁇ p, (d)-(f), shows (a)-(c) having secondary tips,
• Figure 15 shows tip fabrication of probe (a), shows initial view A tip is grown on probe arm 1 (b), shows the sample rotated/tilted hereby obtaining a mirrored view A tip is grown on probe arm 2 on the pointing line of tip 1 (c)-(d), shows the result of repeating the procedure until the gap G is slightly larger than the intended gap G' (e), shows the sample rotated to obtain a frontal view, however additionally tilted to obtain the chosen angle ⁇ ' of the secondary tips (f)-(g), shows the secondary tips grown on both tip ends (h), shows the intended gap G' and the lengths tuned by repeating steps
• Figure 16 shows scanning electron microscope pictures of the fabrication sequence (identical to figure 15) (a)-(c), shows initial growth of tip 1 and 2 (d)-(f), shows second iteration (g)-(l) shows third iteration resulting in gap G' of 300 nm 0), shows initial growth of secondary tips (k), shows the secondary tips after narrowing in the gap and fine tuning the lengths to within 10 nm (I) Overview picture of finished probes,
• Figure 17 illustrates the conventional apparatus for effecting fine movement
• Figure 18(a)-(c) are views of embodiments of the nano-positioning apparatus according to the present invention.
• Figure 19(a)-(b) are views of a micro-pipette apparatus according to the present invention.
• Figure 20(a)-(b) are views of a micro-valve apparatus according to the present inven- tion
• Figure 21 (a)-(c) are views of embodiments of the positioning apparatus according to the present invention
• Figure 22(a)-(c) are curve-forms illustrating the electrical fields to be applied to a single electro-mechanical actuator on the moving member of the present invention for effecting movement of said member
• Figure 23(a)-(b) are curve-forms illustrating the electrical fields to be applied to two electro-mechanical actuators fixed at opposing sides of the moving member of the present invention for effecting movement of said member,
• Figure 24 is a view schematically showing a micro-pipette apparatus according to the present invention.
• Figure 25 is a view schematically showing a micro-valve apparatus according to the present invention.
• Figure 26(a)-(b) are views schematically showing embodiments of a nano-positioning apparatus according to the present invention
• a preferred embodiment is directed toward making a multi-point probe and is described with respect to figures 3-6
• Figure 3 shows a wafer 10, for example a section of a semiconductor wafer, in intermediate state of fabrication It shows a surface 16 of a substrate 12 covered by a support layer 14, being electrically isolating, such as silicon oxide
• the deposition of the support layer 14 can be accomplished by any technique known in the art, such as chemical vapour deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD), electron cyclo- tron resonance (ECR) or sputtering
• CVD chemical vapour deposition
• PECVD plasma enhanced CVD
• ECR electron cyclo- tron resonance
• the support layer 14 is patterned and etched to form beams with tapered end-points 14a-d
• the beams are not limited to any particular form or symmetry, they can be of any geometry with suitable end-points
• the pattern is formed by forming a photoresist pattern (not shown in figure 3) which defines the four beams on the top surface of the support layer 14
• the photoresist pattern is formed by conventional photolithographic photoresist formation, exposure, development and removal techniques
• the support layer is then etched using any technique known in the art, such as dry etching or wet etching, until the unmasked parts of the support layer 14 are removed from the top surface of the substrate
• the four beams or part of them can be defined using high-resolution lithographic methods such as electron-beam lithography, atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography or laser lithography
• the substrate is partially removed to release the patterned support layer, forming four cantilevers with sharpened end- points 14a-d, as illustrated in figure 4
• the substrate is removed by depositing a protective layer (not shown in figure 4) of silicon nitride on top and bottom surface of the substrate 12
• a photoresist pattern is formed on the bottom surface of the substrate by conventional photolithographic photoresist formation, exposure, development and removal techniques
• the nitride layer is then removed in the unmasked areas on the bottom surface of the substrate using Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) in a plasma containing SF 6 and O 2 or similar reagents, and the substrate is etched using an etching chemistry comprising potassium hydroxide (KOH) or a similar chemistry until the freely extending probe arms are exposed
• RIE Reactive Ion Etch
• KOH potassium hydroxide
• the protecting layer of nitride is removed from the top surface of the substrate using RIE, or using wet etching with a chemistry comprising phosphoric acid (H 3 PO ) or a similar chemistry
• FIG. 5 illustrates the etching of the substrate 12 to undercut the support layer 14
• this etching step is performed with a dry etching method, such as an isotropic RIE etch
• the final stage of fabrication is shown in figure 6, and involves the deposition of an electrically conducting layer 18 on the top surface of the wafer
• the conducting layer is made of conducting materials like Au, Ag, Pt, Ni, Ta, Ti, Cr, Cu, Os, W, Mo, Ir, Pd, Cd Re, conductive diamond, metal sihcides or combinations thereof
• the conducting layer can be made of a highly doped semiconducting material
• the conducting layer can be deposited using electron-beam evaporation, or any other similar technique known in the art Due to the undercutting of the support layer 14, the electrically conducting layer will not create conducting paths between the four beams made in the support layer, and thus four isolated electrodes are formed on the top surface of the support beams and thus points 18a-d can be connected through the beams to an external positioning and measuring device (not shown in figure 6)
• the deposition of the conducting layer creates electrodes on the substrate
• these electrodes are used for active guarding of the conductive probe arms to significantly reduce leakage resistance and, consequently, increase the measuring accuracy of the invention
• the minimum probe end-point separation s is approximately 1 ⁇ m
• the minimum probe end-point separation is however determined by the current state of the art in micro-fabrication technology and not any limitation of the present invention Thus, as micro-fabrication technology produces smaller and smaller devices, the minimum probe end-point separation s can also be reduced
• an external positioning device places a multi-point probe made according to the present invention into physical contact with the surface of the test sample Once electrical contact between the surface of the test sample and all four conductive probe arms has been achieved, a current is applied to two of the conductive probe arms and a corresponding voltage is measured between the two other conductive arms
• the method for applying the current and detecting the voltage can be any method known in the art
• the preferred embodiment of the multi-point testing apparatus of the present invention is shown in figure 7
• the figure depicts a multi-point testing apparatus 100, a test sample 110 is mounted on a stage 112 with an XYZ positioning mechanism This mechanism can be controlled automatically or manually
• a multi-point probe made ac- cording to present invention 102 is mounted above the surface of the test sample on a probe holder 104 which can be moved in the Z direction with a resolution of 0 1 ⁇ m or better
• the probe holder 104 can be controlled with similar spatial resolution in the X and Y directions
• the set-up 100 is similar to that of an AFM or a Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM) Connections 114 from the probe end-points are input to a controller 106, which can move the multi-point probe with respect to the test sample 110
• a connection 116 from the test sample 110 can also be input to the controller 106
• the controller 106 can be a computer or a programmed micro-controller By monitoring the four point resistance
• Figure 8 illustrates a similar apparatus 200 where the test sample stage consists of a XY positioned 222 on a standard optical microscope 214
• a multi-point probe made in accordance to the present invention 202 is placed on a probe holder 204, which is mounted on a microscope objective 212, allowing the operator to identify features on the test sample surface and perform four point probe measurements at these features
• ⁇ m sized test sample features such as single microelectronic devices or polycrystalhne grains can be probed in a controlled fashion
• the four leads 218 from the probe are input to a controller 206 as well as a lead 216 connecting to the test sample, the controller outputs signals 220 controlling the movement of the probe holder, and the con- trailer 206 analyses and presents the measurement data on display 208
• FIG. 9 pictures a detachable multi-point probe in a semi-conducting wafer
• a wafer can consist of several multi-point probes, which are detachable from the wafer
• This production technique provides an extremely repeatable and safe method of fabrication of multi-point probes
• Figure 10 shows a principal diagram of the circuit used for performing measurements, comprising an electrometer and a current source
• Figure 11 shows such an electron beam deposition grown from a surface 1105 of a probe arm having the electron beam 1103 in a perpendicular relation to the surface thus creating a primary tip 1101 having an axis perpendicular to surface plane
• a tilted electron beam deposition grows either on the surface 1113 of substrate as a primary tip 1111 or as a secondary tip 1109 in continuation on top of a previously produced tip 1107 perpendicular to the surface 1113
• the electric properties of the tips may be modified by applying contaminants 1203 to a tip 1201 utilising an injection of metallo-organic compound at low partial pressure, hereby obtaining tips with resistances as low as 900 ⁇ (in-situ metallization)
• the electric properties of the tips may also be modified by applying a metallic cloud or evaporation 1209 creating metallic layers 1205,1207 on the tip 1201 and on the sur- face 1105 subsequent to finalising the tip growth (ex-situ metallization)
• a good metallic coverage of the tip 1101 and the surface 1105 are achieved, thus providing useful tips 1101 Figure 12, shows both methods for metallization of tips
• the geometry of a probe is shown in Figure 13 in top view, side view and front view
• the probe is shown having to probe arms 1301 on to which primary tips 1303 have been grown by utilising electron beam deposition
• the primary tips 1303 create an angle 1307 ( ⁇ 1) between direction of axial length of the probe arm 1301 and direction of axial length of primary tips 1303
• Secondary tips 1305 extend from the primary tips 1303 on the probe arms 1301
• the primary tips 1303 furthermore have an inclination 1309 ( ⁇ 1 ) and the secondary tip 1305 and additional inclination 1311 ( ⁇ 2) in relation to the direction of the axial length of the probe arm 1301
• FIG 14 shows four parallel probe arms, two outer probe arms 1401 and the two inner probe arms 1301 having two primary tips 1303 positioned on the two inner probe arms 1301
• the two primary tips 1303 create an angle in relation to axial direction of the inner probe arms 1301 such that the primary tips 1303 point a common orientation
• Figure 14 (b) shows the four parallel probe arms 1301,1401 having four primary tips 1303,1403 positioned so that the end point have equal tip separations
• Figure 14 (c) shows the four probe arms 1301,1401 each having primary tips 1303,1403 extending from distal end
• Figures 14 (d) to (f) show secondary tips 1305,1405 added to the primary tips 1303,1403
• FIG 15 shows the two probe arms 1301 having distal ends defined as 1501 and 1505
• the electron beam is aimed at a corner 1503 of the surface of the distal end 1505, hereby producing the primary tip 1303
• the electron beam is subsequently aimed at a corner 1507 of the surface of the distal end 1501 , hereby producing the second primary tip 1301
• This procedure is repeated until the separation between the two primary tips 1301 is slightly larger than the intended gap G' between the primary tips 1301
• the primary tips 1303 create an angle in relation to axial direction of probe arms 1301 and an angle in rela- tion to the surfaces of the distal ends 1501,1505 such that the primary tips 1303 point away from the supporting body of the multi-point probe
• the secondary tips 1305 furthermore create an angle in relation to axial direction of the primary tips 1303 In order to achieve this secondary angling of the secondary tips 1305 in relation to the primary tips 1301 the multi-point probe is rotate
• Figure 16 shows electron microscope pictures of the fabrication scheme presented above and in figure 15
• a preferred embodiment of the cylindrical nano-drive includes a cylindrical movable member 1803 movably supported in a surrounding substrate 1801
• An electro-mechanical actuator 1805 is fixed on the movable member, and an inertial member 1807 is fixed in the distal end of said actuator
• a distributed intrinsic frictional force exists between the movable member and the support This frictional force originates from the internal elastic forces of the movable member and the support, and appears because of a high-precision machining of the movable member and the support
• the support and the movable member is machined to fit within a tolerance of the diameter of less than one micrometer This fit can be performed using milling, drilling, etching, honing, polishing, lapping, or any other known technique for machining of materials
• the movable member and the support consists of chemically inert, hard materials such as semiconductor carbides or nitrides
• the electro-mechanical actu- ator has at least two electrodes to allow it to be moved in
• the movable member in the cylindrical nano-drive according to the invention is a hollow tube which is closed in one end, as shown in figure 18b
• the electro-mechanical actuator is fixed to the bottom of the tube
• the movable member in the cylindrical nano-drive according to the invention is a hollow tube which is closed in one end, and is movably supported on the inside of the tube as shown in figure 18c
• Figure 19a shows an embodiment of a micro-pipette 1901 according to the invention
• the micro-pipette consists of a cylindrical nano-dnve according to the invention, which has a movable member 1907 movably supported inside a tube 1903, said tube having an opening 1913 through which very small amounts of liquid or gas can be dispensed or acquired
• An electro-mechanical actuator 1909 is fixed to the movable member, and an inertial member 1911 is fixed to the distal end of the actuator
• the position of the movable member is controlled by electrical signals applied to the electro-mechanical actuator in such a way that the volume of gas or liquid in the tube is controlled with very high accuracy
• Figure 19b shows a sectional view of the micro-pipette
• Figure 20a shows an embodiment of a micro-valve 2001 according to the invention
• the micro-valve consists of a cylindrical nano-drive according to the invention, which has a movable member 2007 movably supported inside a tube 2003 which has two openings through which a gas or liquid 2005 is flowing
• the movable member can completely or in part block said flow by applying electrical signals to the electro-mechanical actuator 2009 which is fixed to the movable member, and thus the flow can be controlled with a very high degree of accuracy
• Figure 20b shows a sectional view of the micro-valve
• Figure 21a shows an embodiment of a nano-positioner 2101 according to the invention
• the nano-positioner consists of a cylindrical nano-drive according to the invention with a movable member movably supported by a tubular substrate 2103
• the position of the substrate can be changed by applying electrical signals to the electro-mechanical actuator 2105
• a probe 2109 which is also the inertial member of the cylindrical nano-dnve
• the probe can be moved in all directions relative to a material 2111 by applying electrical signals to the electro-mechanical actuator
• Figure 21 b shows a sectional view of the nano-positioner
• Figure 21c shows an alternative embodiment of the nano-positioner where the movable member has two actuators fixed at opposing sides
• the additional actuator 2107 has an inertial member 2113 fixed at the distal end
• the actuator 2113 can be controlled independent of the actuator 2105 which allows the probe to be move continuously over distances of millimeter in the direction of movement of the movable member relative to the material
• the electrical fields necessary to achieve this are
• Figures 22a-c shows curve-forms for electrical signals to control the movement of the movable member in a cylindrical nano-dnve according to the invention in which the actuator can be moved in both transverse and longitudinal directions
• the longitudinal movement of the actuator is controlled by a harmonic oscillating signal as shown in figure 22a
• a harmonic oscillating signal as shown in figure 22a
• the movable member will be displaced either up or down
• curve-forms are shown in figures 22b-c
• FIG. 24 shows schematically a complete micro-pipette apparatus 2401 according to the invention
• the micro-pipette is constructed as described above with reference to figure 19, with the movable member 2405 movably supported inside a tube 2403 which is tapered into a pipette tip 2423
• an electro-mechanical actuator 2407 which has an inertial member 2409 fixed to the distal end
• the electrodes on the electro-mechanical actuator are connected to a control-box 2411 through amplifiers 2417 - 2421 with electrical wires 2415
• the control box can include a computer, a microprocessor or discrete digital or analog components.
• the control box can be controlled remotely by a computer or with a panel 2413 on which the speed and direction of the movable member can be selected.
• the micro- pipette is attached to a manual or motorized stage, in such a way that the micro-pipette tip can be moved relative to the media in which gas or liquid is to be dispensed or extracted.
• a manual or motorized stage an automatic micro- pipette system is realized, in which the micro-pipette and perform movements synchronized with dispensing or extracting fluid or gas.
• FIG 25 shows schematically a complete micro-valve apparatus 2501 according to the invention.
• the micro-valve is constructed as described above with reference to figure 20, with a movable member 2505 movably supported inside a tube 2503 in which a transverse flow of gas or liquid 2513 is present.
• On the movable member is fixed an electro-mechanical actuator 2507 which has an inertial member 2509 fixed to the distal end.
• the electrodes on the electro-mechanical actuator are connected to a control-box 2511 through amplifiers 2517 - 2521 with electrical wires 2515.
• the control box can include a computer, a microprocessor or discrete digital or analog electronic components.
• Figure 26a shows schematically a complete nano-positioner apparatus 2601 according to the invention.
• the nano-positioner apparatus is constructed from an embodiment of the cylindrical nano-drive according to the invention in which the inertial member 2609 comprises a microscopic probe, for example a very sharp electrode.
• the nano-positioner apparatus can move the probe relative to a sample 2611.
• An electrical connection 2619 from the probe can be sent though an amplifier 2617 to a control box 2613.
• An electrical connection 2621 can also be made between the sample and the control box.
• the control box contains a feedback system which uses the electrical signal from the microscopic probe to adjust the position of the microscopic probe relative to the sample.
• the position of the probe is controlled by at least one electrical connection 2623 between the control box and the electro-mechanical actuator 2607 on the movable member 2605 of the cylindrical nano-drive, which is movably supported in a surrounding substrate 2603.
• the electrical signal to the actu- ator can pass through an amplifier 2625 - 2629.
• the actuator comprises a piezoelectric tube with electrodes allowing transversal and longitudinal movement of the microscopic probe with respect to the sample In this way a scan of the sample material can be obtained as a function of position, and the obtained data can be presented on a display 2615 connected to the control box
• Figure 26b shows an alternative embodiment of the nano-positioner apparatus, further comprising a second electro-mechanical actuator 730 fixed to the movable member of the cylindrical nano-drive according to the invention
• a inertial member 732 is fixed to the distal end of the electro-mechanical actuator
• the electrical signal can pass though an amplifier 2633 - 2637
• the probe chips (illustrated in figure 9) are broken out of the wafers and are mounted on ceramic dies (5mm x 10mm) with four big thick-film electrode pads, using epoxy
• the conductive probe arms on the silicon chips are connected to the pads on the ceramic dies by bonding 25 ⁇ m thick gold wires between them, using a Kuhcke-Soffa wedge-bonding machine
• the ceramic chips are fixed mechanically and contacted electrically on an aluminium mount, which is machined to fit around a microscope objective on a Karl-Suss probe station
• the mount allows the conductive probe arms of the multi-point probe to be in focus in the middle of the field of view of the microscope
• the test sample can then be moved into focus using the normal vertical stage of the microscope When the test sample is in focus the multi-point probe will contact the test sample and a measurement can be performed
• This set-up is similar to the general illustration in figure 8
• the principal diagram of the circuit is shown in figure 10
• the two inner conductive probe arms of the multi-point probe are connected to an electrometer (an instrumentation amplifier) with an input impedance of more than 10G ⁇ and an amplification factor of 5000
• the peripheral two conductive probe arms of the probe are connected to the current source (a differential voltage to current converter) which delivers an adjustable output in the range of 10nA to 1 ⁇ A
• the current output is proportional to the voltage difference V1-V2
• a measurement is performed by sampling the voltage of the electrometer for both polarities of the current, taking the average of the two values This averaging procedure is useful for eliminating thermal drift in the electronics
• a multi-point probe for testing electric properties on a specific location of a test sample comprising (a) a supporting body defining a first surface,
• said conducting probe arms originating from a process of producing said multipoint probe including producing said conductive probe arms on supporting wafer body in facial contact with said supporting wafer body and removal of a part of said wafer body providing said supporting body and providing said conductive probe arms freely extending from said supporting body
• the multi-point probe according to points 1-4 wherein said first multitude of conductive probe arms have a substantially rectangular cross section defining the dimension of width as a distance between the lines of said rectangular cross section perpendicular to the plane of said first surface of said supporting body, the dimension of depth as a distance between the lines of said rectangular cross sec- tion parallel to the plane of said first surface of supporting body, and the dimension of length as a distance from said proximal end of said conductive probe arms to said distal end of said conductive probe arm
• 500 1 to 5 1 such as ratios 50 1 and 10 1 , preferable application having the ratio of 10 1
• the multi-point probe according to points 1-12 further comprising a second multi- tude of conductive electrodes being position on second multitude of areas defined on said first surface between said first multitude of conductive probe arms, and comprising an insulating spacing between said electrodes and said conductive probe arms, said second multitude of conductive electrodes especially being suitable for active guarding
• the multi-point probe according to points 13-16, wherein said second multitude of areas are combinations of swaged, elevated and co-planar in relation to the plane of said first surface of said supporting body The multi-point probe according to points 13 and 17, wherein said second multitude of swaged areas undercut said first multitude of conductive probe arms on said supporting body providing a supporting surface of said supporting body smaller than the surface of said conductive probe arms facing said supporting body
• CVD chemical vapour deposition
• PECVD plasma enhanced CVD
• ECR electron cyclotron resonance
• sputtering mechanical grinding, etching
• high resolution lithographic methods such as electron-beam lithography, atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography or laser lithography
• the multi-point probe according to point 23 wherein said conductive layer comprising conductive materials such as Au, Ag, Pt, Ni, Ta, Ti, Cr, Cu, Os, W, Mo, Ir, Pd, Cd, Re, conductive diamond, metal sihcides or any combinations thereof 25.
• each of said third multitude of conductive tip elements comprises a primary section and a secondary section, said conductive tip elements being connected to said conductive probe arms through respective primary sections thereof and said secondary sections defining free contacting ends.
• each of said conductive tip elements define an overall length as distance between said distal ends of conductive probe arms and said free contacting ends of said conductive tip elements, said overall length being in the range of 100 nm to 100 ⁇ m, preferable application having said overall length in the ranges 500 nm to 50 ⁇ m and 1 ⁇ m to 10 ⁇ m
• each of said conductive tip elements define a diameter, said diameter being in the range of 10 nm to 1 ⁇ m, preferable application having said overall length in the ranges 50 nm to 500 nm
• a method of producing a multi-point probe comprising the following steps (i) producing a wafer body,
• a cylindrical nano-drive for in particular driving tools with high resolution and comprising a supporting body defining an inner open ended cylindrical space having a first longitudinal axis and an inner cylindrical surface, a movable member defining an outer contact surface, a first mounting surface and a second mounting surface, said outer contact surface mating said inner open ended cylindrical space, said movable member being inserted into said inner open ended cylindrical space and said contacting surface of said movable member and said inner cylindrical surface of said inner open ended cylindrical space creating a sliding fit between said movable member and said supporting body, said sliding fit between said movable member and said supporting body being established along the entire area of contact between said inner cylindrical surface and said outer contact surface and being provided by said outer contact surface and said inner cylindrical surface defining therebetween a spacing of a dimension having a size at any specific area of said area of contact of no more than 1 to 5 orders of power of atomic dimensions, preferably 1 to 3, 3 to 5 or 2 to 4, an inertial body having a first proximal end and second proximal end and providing counter weight
• inertial body is constructed from materials such as chemically inert and hard materials such as carbides and nitrides
• said inertial body defining an overall cubical, conical, triangular, rectangular, elliptic, spherical or cylindrical outer shape or any combinations thereof, preferably said inertial body defining an overall cylindrical shape having a third longitudinal axis connected at said first proximal end to said third proximal of said actuator having said third longitudinal axis and said first longitudinal axis substantially co-axial
• said actuator further comprising electrodes mounted onto inner and/or outer surfaces of said actuator for operation of said actuator to longitudinally and transversely contraction and extension by applying electrical signals to said electrodes
• the cylindrical nano-drive according to point 69 wherein said electrical signals are constituted by DC signals and/or AC signals such as alternating square wave signals, alternating triangularly shaped signals or sinusoidal signals or any combinations thereof
• cylindrical nano-dnve according to any of the points 54 to 72, wherein said cylindrical nano-dnve further comprising a second inertial body defining a distal end and a seventh proximal end and a second actuator defining a fifth proximal end, a sixth proximal end and a fourth longitudinal axis, said fifth proximal end of said second actuator being connected to said seventh proximal end of said second inertial body and said fifth proximal end of said second actuator being connected to said second mounting surface of said movable member, said fourth longitudinal axis of said second actuator being substantially parallel to said first longitudinal axis of said open ended cylindrical space so as to provide a substantially continuous motion of said movable member
• a multi-point testing apparatus for testing electric properties on a specific location of a test sample, comprising means for receiving and supporting said test sample, electric properties testing means including electric generator means for generating a test signal and electric measuring means for detecting a measuring signal, a multi-point probe, comprising a supporting body, a first multitude of conductive probe arms positioned in co-planar relationship with a surface of said supporting body, and freely extending from said supporting body, giving individually flexible motion of said first multitude of conductive probe arms, and said conducting probe arms originating from a process of producing said multi-point probe including producing said conductive probe arms on supporting wafer body in facial contact with said supporting wafer body and removal of a part of said wafer body providing said supporting body and providing said conductive probe arms freely extending from said supporting body, said multi-point probe communicating with said electric properties testing means, and nano driving means for reciprocating said multi-point probe relative said test sample so as to cause said conductive probe arms to be contacted with said specific location of said test sample for performing said testing of electric properties thereof
• the multi-point testing apparatus according to point 74, wherein said nano-dnving means comprises the features according to points 54 to 73 76

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Testing Or Measuring Of Semiconductors Or The Like (AREA)
• Measuring Leads Or Probes (AREA)
• Ultra Sonic Daignosis Equipment (AREA)
• Measuring Pulse, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure Or Blood Flow (AREA)
• Testing Of Individual Semiconductor Devices (AREA)
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