WO2012008484A1

WO2012008484A1 - Contact state detection device, contact state detection method, computer program for contact state detection, electrical conductivity measurement system provided with contact state detection device, and electrical conductivity measurement method involving contact state detection method

Info

Publication number: WO2012008484A1
Application number: PCT/JP2011/065959
Authority: WO
Inventors: 太岩田; 俊夫塩見; 康司鈴木
Original assignee: 国立大学法人静岡大学
Priority date: 2010-07-14
Filing date: 2011-07-13
Publication date: 2012-01-19
Also published as: JPWO2012008484A1; JP5849335B2

Abstract

Disclosed are a contact state detection device with a simple structure capable of accurately detecting, without damaging a contact body (such as a probe) or a contacted body, the pressing state of the contact body pressing on the contacted body; also disclosed is an electrical conductivity measurement system provided with the contact state detection device. The contact detection device suitable for an electrical conductivity measurement system (100) is provided with a contact body approach unit (123), a probe light source (131), an imaging element (135), and a computer device (140). The contact body approach unit (123) is displaced towards the contacted body (WK) while holding the contact body (110) oriented so as to intersect the contacted surface of the contacted body (WK). The probe light source (131) irradiates light towards the contact body (110) which is displaced towards the contacted body (WK). The imaging element (135) images the illuminated contact body (110) and outputs to the computer device (140) contact body captured image information. The computer device (140) detects the pressing state of the contact body (110) pressing on the contacted body (WK) on the basis of changes in the contact body captured image information.

Description

Contact state detection device, contact state detection method, computer program for contact state detection, electrical conductivity measurement system provided with contact state detection device, and electrical conductivity measurement method including contact state detection method

The present invention provides a contact state detection device, a contact state detection method, a contact state detection program, and a contact state detection device for detecting that a contact body that is deformed by contact with the contacted object contacts the contacted object. The present invention relates to an electrical conductivity measurement method including a conductivity measurement system and a contact state detection method.

Conventionally, in order to measure the volume resistivity (electric conductivity) of the surface of a thin film such as an electronic device, micro four-terminal electric conductivity measurement has been performed. The micro four-terminal electric conductivity measurement is to measure the volume resistivity of the part by bringing four very small probes of several μm to several tens of μm into contact with the part to be measured and flowing current. In this case, a tunnel current detection method or an optical lever method is used to detect contact between the four probes and the portion to be measured.

In the tunnel current detection method, a tunnel current generated when a probe is brought close to a measured part to about 1 nm with a bias voltage applied between the probe and the measured part is detected. A contact is detected. On the other hand, in the optical lever method, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, for example, the back surface of the contact portion of the cantilever (corresponding to a probe) is irradiated with laser light and the reflected light from the back surface of the cantilever is divided into two (or 4 (Division) The light is received by a photodetector and the contact between the probe and the part to be measured is detected using the change in the light receiving position.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-258068

However, in the tunnel current detection method, there is a case where an insulating region is formed by a natural oxide film or the like generated in the measured part and the current cannot be detected accurately, and the probe is strongly pressed against the measured part and the probe and the measured object The part may be damaged. The optical lever method requires positioning of the laser beam on the cantilever and optical components and alignment adjustment for positioning the reflected light from the cantilever on the photodetector, complicating the device configuration and detecting accuracy. There has been a problem that maintenance work for maintenance is extremely complicated.

The present invention has been made to address the above problems, and its purpose is to accurately detect the contact state of the contact body with the contact object with a simple configuration without damaging the contact body such as a probe or the contact object. An object of the present invention is to provide a contact state detection device, a contact state detection method, and a contact state detection computer program.

In order to achieve the above object, a feature of the present invention described in claim 1 is that light irradiation means for irradiating light to a region including a deformed portion due to the contact in a contact body that deforms by contacting an object to be contacted, An imaging unit disposed outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object among the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit, imaging the deformed portion of the contact body, and outputting contact body captured image information; and contact Contact state detecting means for detecting a pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object using a region change of the reflected light from the deformed portion represented by the body captured image information. In this case, the detection of the pressing state detects the degree (degree) of the contact body pressing against the contacted object, and does not necessarily detect the magnitude (amount) of the pressing force itself.

According to the characteristic of the present invention described in claim 1 configured as described above, the contact state detection device emits light in a region including a deformed portion of the contact body that is deformed by being displaced toward the object to be contacted. , And the pressed state of the contact body against the contacted object is detected using the region change of the reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information obtained by imaging the deformed portion. That is, the contact state detection device detects a change in the region of reflected light from the deformed portion due to the contact body being deformed in contact with the contact object by detecting a change in the contact object captured image information, thereby detecting the contact object of the contact object. The pressing state is detected. In this case, the deformed portion of the contact body to which the light irradiation means irradiates light is a portion whose shape or direction has changed from before the contact due to the contact body coming into contact with the contacted object. This corresponds to the range from the contact portion of the body to the contacted object to the deformed portion due to the contact. In this case, the region change of the reflected light is a change in the two-dimensional plane of the reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information, for example, a change in area, position, shape, and the like. In addition, detection of reflected light from the contact body is also performed by imaging the region including the deformed portion of the contact body with various imaging elements such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) image sensor and a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor. Is done. That is, it is not necessary to strictly adjust the irradiation position of the irradiated light and the light receiving position of the reflected light. This makes it possible to reduce the number of optical parts and alignment adjustment work required for positioning the light irradiation position on the contact body and positioning the reflected light from the contact body with respect to the light receiving element, thereby simplifying the device configuration. In addition, the burden of maintenance work for maintaining detection accuracy can be reduced. Further, since the imaging means for imaging the deformed portion of the contact body is disposed outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object, the contact state detecting means detects the area change of the deformed portion on the surface of the contacted object. Can be detected accurately without being affected by the reflected light from the light. In addition, since the contact state detection device detects the pressing state of the contact body based on the mechanical deformation of the contact body, an insulating region such as an oxide film is formed on the contacted portion of the contacted object that the contact body contacts. Even if it is formed, the pressed state of the contact body can be detected with high accuracy. Thereby, damage to a contact body and a to-be-contacted object by a contact body being strongly pressed on a to-be-contacted object can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to accurately detect the pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object with a simple configuration without damaging the contact body or the contacted object.

According to another aspect of the present invention as set forth in claim 2, in each of the contact state detecting devices, the contact state detecting means uses the change in the area of the reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information to cover the contact body. It is to detect the pressing state against the contact object. In this case, the contact state detection device can also detect the pressed state of the contact body using a change in the amount of reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information instead of or in addition to the area change.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 2 configured as described above, the contact state detection device detects the pressing state of the contact body using the area change of the reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information. ing. Thereby, the contact state detection apparatus can detect the contact state of a contact body easily from the area change of reflected light.

Further, in place of the contact state detection device according to claim 1, as shown in claim 11, the contact body in a direction in which the contact body is brought into contact with the contacted object while holding the contact body that is deformed by contacting the contacted object. A contact body displacing means for relatively displacing the contact object with respect to the contacted object, a light irradiating means for irradiating light to a region including a deformed portion due to contact with the contacted object in the contact body, and a light irradiating means An imaging unit that is arranged outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object, images the deformed portion of the contact body, and outputs contact body captured image information; and contact body captured image information output by the imaging unit It is good to provide the picked-up image display means which displays a picked-up image based on this.

According to the characteristic of the present invention described in claim 11 configured as described above, the contact state detection device emits light in a region including a deformed portion of the contact body that is deformed by being displaced and contacted toward the contacted object. The contact body captured image obtained by imaging the deformed portion is displayed by the captured image display means. Thereby, the operator who detects the contact of the contact body with the contacted object using the contact state detection device visually confirms the pressed state of the contact body against the contacted object by visually recognizing the captured image display means. And the displacement of the contact body to the contacted object can be immediately stopped based on the detection result. In this case, since the imaging means for imaging the deformed portion of the contact body is disposed outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object, the operator can display the area of the deformed portion displayed on the captured image display means. The change can be accurately detected without being affected by the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object. That is, also by the contact state detection device according to the eleventh aspect, the same effect as that of the contact state detection device can be expected.

According to another aspect of the present invention as set forth in claim 3, in each of the contact state detection devices, the contact state detection means uses a part of the deformed portion represented by the contact body captured image information. The purpose is to detect the pressing state of the contacted object.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 3 configured as described above, the contact state detection device uses a part of the deformed portion of the contact body represented by the contact body captured image information to contact the contact body. A pressing state against an object is detected. Thereby, the influence of the noise in the captured image information can be removed to detect the pressed state with high accuracy (improvement of the SN ratio), and the detection of the pressed state can be performed by setting the region used for detecting the pressed state. It is possible to arbitrarily set the position, the range, the detection sensitivity of the pressed state, and the pressing force of the contact body on the contacted object WK.

According to another aspect of the present invention as set forth in claim 4, in each of the contact state detection devices, the contact state detection means binarizes the contact body captured image information according to the amount of light, and binarizes the contact body image information. It is to detect the pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object in accordance with the contact body captured image information.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 4 configured as described above, the contact state detection device uses the contact body captured image information obtained by capturing the contact body in accordance with a predetermined light amount (also referred to as luminance or brightness). The pressed state of the contact body is detected using the binarized contact body captured image information. According to this, it is possible to quickly detect the pressed state of the contact body against the contacted object with a small calculation processing load using the contact body imaging information representing the captured image of the contact body.

According to another aspect of the present invention as set forth in claim 5, in each of the contact state detection devices, the imaging means is disposed on a reflection angle of light applied to an area including the deformed portion of the contact body. There is.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 5 configured as described above, the image pickup means in the contact state detection device is disposed on the reflection angle of the light applied to the deformed portion of the contact body, The reflected light from the body can be imaged with high accuracy. Thereby, the detection precision of the press state of the contact body by a contact state detection apparatus can be improved. Moreover, by using light with high directivity (for example, LED), reflected light can be efficiently guided by the imaging means, and the detection accuracy of the pressed state of the contact body by the contact state detection device can be further improved. .

According to another aspect of the present invention as set forth in claim 6, in each of the contact state detection devices, the contact body is held while being held in a posture that intersects the surface including the contacted portion of the contacted object with the contacted body. The object is to provide contact body displacing means for displacing the contact object.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 6 configured as described above, the contact state detection device holds the contact body in a posture that intersects the surface of the contacted object including the contacted part with the contacted object. However, contact body displacing means for displacing toward the contacted object is provided. That is, the light irradiation portion of the contact body and the surface including the contacted portion on the contacted object with which the contact body contacts are not parallel. For this reason, even when a part of the light irradiated from the contact body irradiation means is irradiated onto the contacted object, both the reflected light from the contact body and the reflected light from the contacted object are both in the imaging means. Incident light is prevented. Thereby, only the reflected light from a contact body can be imaged accurately, and the detection accuracy of the press state of the contact body by a contact state detection apparatus can be improved.

According to another aspect of the present invention as set forth in claim 7, in each of the contact state detecting devices, the contact body displacing means includes a contact body along a surface including a contacted portion of the contacted object with the contacted body. The relative displacement is to be made with respect to the contacted object.

According to another feature of the present invention according to claim 7 configured as described above, the contact state detection device can displace the contact body along the surface of the contacted object by the contact body displacement means. Thereby, the contact state detection apparatus can detect the pressed state of the contact body at an arbitrary position on the contacted object, and can expand the application and application range of the contact state detection apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the contact state detecting device further includes contacted object irradiating means for irradiating the contacted object with light, and the imaging means detects the contacted object. The object is to take an image and output image information of the contacted object.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 8 configured as described above, the contact state detection device includes contacted object irradiating means for irradiating the contacted object with light, and the imaging means detects the contacted object. The captured object captured image information is output. Thereby, the contact state detection apparatus can specify the position of the contact body on the contacted object using the contacted object captured image information, and can expand the application and application range of the contact state detection apparatus.

Further, another feature of the present invention described in claim 9 resides in that each of the contact state detection devices further includes captured image display means for displaying a captured image captured by the imaging means.

According to another aspect of the present invention according to claim 9 configured as described above, the contact state detection device includes captured image display means for displaying a captured image captured by the imaging means. Thus, an operator who performs contact detection of the contact body using the contact state detection device can visually check the pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object and the positional relationship of the contact object against the contacted object. Usability of the state detection device is improved.

According to another aspect of the present invention as set forth in claim 10, in each of the contact state detection devices, an electrical contact for detecting an electrical contact between a contact object and a contact body each made of a conductor. It is in providing a detection means. In this case, the electrical contact detection means, for example, applies a voltage between the contacted object and the contact body to detect a current value flowing between the contacted object and the contact body. Forming two contacts to which voltage can be applied and detecting the electrical value between the two contacts and the contacted object by detecting the current value flowing through the contacted object. can do.

According to the other characteristic of this invention which concerns on Claim 10 comprised in this way, a contact state detection apparatus is an electrical contact which each detects the electrical contact with the to-be-contacted object comprised with the conductor, and a contact body. A detection means is provided. Thereby, the contact state detection apparatus can perform the contact detection of the contact body with respect to a to-be-contacted object by detecting a physical contact and an electrical contact, respectively. As a result, when the contact body comes into physical or electrical contact with the contact object, or when the contact body comes into physical and electrical contact with the contact object, the contact body comes into contact with the contact object. The contact detection of the body can be performed, and the use and application range of the contact state detection device can be expanded.

Further, the present invention can be implemented not only as an invention of a contact state detection device, but also a contact state detection method and a computer program for contact state detection used in the contact state detection device, an electrical conductivity measurement system including the contact state detection device, and a contact It can also be implemented as an invention of an electrical conductivity measurement method including a state detection method.

Specifically, as shown in claim 12, for example, from a light irradiation step of irradiating light to a region including a deformed portion due to the contact in a contact body that is deformed by contact with an object to be contacted; An imaging step of imaging the deformed portion of the contact body from a position outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object of the irradiated light and outputting contact body captured image information, and contact body captured image information It is good to provide the contact state detection step which detects the press state to the to-be-contacted object of a contact body using the area | region change of the reflected light from the said deformation | transformation part represented by these.

Further, as shown in claim 13, more specifically, for example, the contact body is changed to the contact object in a direction in which the contact body is deformed by being in contact with the contact object in a state of holding the contact body. Contact body displacement means for relative displacement, light irradiation means for irradiating light to a region including a deformed portion due to contact with a contacted object in the contact body, and the contact among the light irradiated from the light irradiation means An image pickup means arranged outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the object and imaging the deformed portion of the contact body and outputting contact body imaged image information to detect a contact state of the contact body with the contacted object A contact state detection program for use in a contact state detection device, wherein the computer includes the contact state detection device in a state in which light is irradiated to a region including the deformed portion of the contact body by light irradiation means. The held contact body is displaced relative to the contacted object in a direction in which the held contact body is brought into contact with the contacted object by the displacing means, and the deformed portion of the contacted body is imaged by the imaging means to output the contacted body captured image information. It is preferable to detect the pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object using the region change of the reflected light from the deformed portion represented by the contact body captured image information.

Further, as shown in claim 14, more specifically, for example, the contact state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 and a contact body in the contact state detection device are connected. Electrical conductivity measurement provided with electrical conductivity measuring means for measuring electrical conductivity of the contacted object by bringing the contacted body into contact with the contacted object that is a contact state detection target in the contact state detection device It is a system, Comprising: An electrical conductivity measurement means is good to perform the electrical conductivity measurement of a to-be-contacted object according to the detection result of the press state to the to-be-contacted object of a contact body by a contact state detection apparatus. According to this, the electrical conductivity of the contacted object can be measured while obtaining the same effect as that of the contact state detecting device.

In this case, as shown in claim 15, for example, in the electrical conductivity measurement system, a voltage that is further connected to the contact body and causes dielectric breakdown between the contact body and the contacted object is set. It is good to provide the voltage application means to apply. According to this, when the insulating film is formed on the surface of the contacted object and the contact body is physically in contact with the contacted object but not in electrical contact, the insulating film is broken by the voltage applying means. Thus, an electrical contact state between the contact body and the contacted object can be ensured.

Further, as shown in claim 16, more specifically, for example, each step in the contact state detection method according to claim 12 is connected to the contact body in the contact state detection method, and the contact body is in the contact state. An electrical conductivity measurement method comprising: an electrical conductivity measurement step for measuring electrical conductivity of an object to be contacted by bringing the object into contact with the object to be contacted in the detection method. In the step, the electrical conductivity of the contacted object may be measured in accordance with the detection result of the pressed state of the contact body against the contacted object by the contact state detecting device. According to this, the electrical conductivity of the contacted object can be measured while obtaining the same effect as that of the contact state detection method.

It is the block diagram which showed typically the structure of the electrical conductivity measuring system containing the contact state detection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a bottom view which shows typically the contact body hold | maintained at the contact state detection apparatus shown in FIG. (A), (B) has shown the optical path of the light irradiated from the workpiece | work light source in the contact state detection apparatus shown in FIG. 1, (A) is a schematic diagram which shows the optical path of the light irradiated to the contact body, (B) is a schematic diagram which shows the optical path of the light irradiated to the to-be-contacted object. (A) to (C) are diagrams for explaining a state when light is irradiated from a probe light source in the contact state detection apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and (A) shows an optical path of light irradiated to a contact body. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an optical path of light irradiated on an object to be contacted, and FIG. 3C is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display image of a display device when light is irradiated from a probe light source. . It is a flowchart of the approach program which the computer apparatus which comprises the contact state detection apparatus shown in FIG. 1 performs. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the setting of the contact detection area | region on the display apparatus which comprises the contact state detection apparatus shown in FIG. (A), (B) is a figure for demonstrating the process of the contact detection of the contact body in the contact state detection apparatus shown in FIG. 1, (A) begins to contact the surface of a to-be-contacted object. (B) is an explanatory view showing a display image of the display device when the contact body starts to contact the surface of the contacted object. (A), (B) is a figure for demonstrating the process of the contact detection of the contact body in the contact state detection apparatus shown in FIG. 1, (A) is the contact to the surface of the to-be-contacted object of a contact body. It is a schematic diagram which shows the advanced state, (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the display image of a display apparatus when the contact to the surface of the to-be-contacted object of a contact body advances. (A), (B) is a figure for demonstrating the state at the time of irradiating light from a probe light source in the contact state detection apparatus which concerns on the modification of this invention, (A) is the light irradiated to the contact body. It is a schematic diagram which shows the optical path of this, and (B) is a schematic diagram which shows the optical path of the light when a contact body contacts the to-be-contacted object. It is the block diagram which showed typically the structure of the electrical conductivity measuring system containing the contact state detection apparatus which concerns on the other modification of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the use condition at the time of irradiating light from a probe light source in the stylus type roughness meter containing the contact state detection apparatus which concerns on the other modification of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the use condition at the time of irradiating light from a probe light source in the micromanipulator containing the contact state detection apparatus which concerns on the other modification of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a contact state detection apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an electrical conductivity measurement system 100 including a contact state detection device according to the present invention. Note that the drawings referred to in this specification are schematically shown by exaggerating some of the components in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention. For this reason, the dimension, ratio, etc. between each component may differ. The electrical conductivity measurement system 100 is an inspection apparatus that measures the volume resistivity (electric conductivity) of the surface of the contacted object WK that is a measurement target using a four-probe measurement method. Here, the four-probe measurement method is to measure the original volume resistivity (electric conductivity) of a sample by bringing four needle-shaped probes arranged in a line into contact with the sample. More specifically, a constant current is passed between the two outer probes of the four probes, and the voltage is measured by the inner two probes inside the two probes, so-called wiring resistance or The original volume resistivity (electrical conductivity) of the sample excluding contact resistance is measured.

(Configuration of contact state detection device)
The electrical conductivity measurement system 100 holds the contact object WK that is a volume resistivity measurement target by the electrical conductivity measurement system 100 and also holds an approach stage device 120 that holds the contact body 110 that is in contact with the contact object WK. It has. In this case, the contacted object WK is a sample capable of measuring the electrical conductivity of the surface (for example, various layers such as ingots, wafers, ion implantation layers and diffusion layers made of various materials, metal thin films, silicon thin films, etc. The thin film is not particularly limited. In the present embodiment, a sample in which a metal thin film is formed on a plate-like semiconductor is used as the contacted object WK.

Further, the contact body 110 is appropriately formed according to the purpose of bringing the contact body 110 into contact with the contacted object WK, but is in contact with the contacted object WK and a pressed state (hereinafter simply referred to as “pressed state”). ) Is made of a material that deforms by contacting the contacted object WK. In the present embodiment, the contact body 110 is composed of a probe for measuring the volume resistivity of the contacted object WK by a four-probe measurement method. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the contact body 110 is formed by projecting four thin plate-like probes 113 on the left end of the substrate 112 on which the electronic circuit wiring 111 is formed. Has been. These four probes 113 are formed by applying a titanium coating to a silicon oxide cantilever having a protruding amount from the substrate 112 of about 50 μm, a width of about 6 μm, and a thickness of about 1 μm. Each probe 113 is connected to the electronic circuit wiring 111 at the front end portion of the substrate 112 in the width direction at a pitch of about 10 μm. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the contact body 110 is viewed from the bottom, and each probe 113 is exaggerated.

The approach stage device 120 mainly includes a work stage part 121, a drive base part 122, and a contact body approach part 123. The work stage unit 121 is a plate-like mounting table that holds the contacted object WK in a detachable manner. The work stage unit 121 is supported by the drive base unit 122 in a posture in which the upper surface is horizontal. The drive base portion 122 is a drive device that displaces in the illustrated X axis direction and the Y axis direction orthogonal to the X axis direction in a state where the work stage unit 121 is supported.

Specifically, the drive base unit 122 includes an X-axis direction actuator and a Y-axis direction actuator (not shown) whose operation is controlled by a computer device 140 to be described later, and the workpiece is controlled by operating the actuator for each axis direction. The stage unit 121 is displaced in the illustrated X-axis direction and Y-axis direction, respectively. These X-axis direction actuator and Y-axis direction actuator are each composed of an electric motor for coarse driving and a piezoelectric element made of PZT (lead zirconate titanate) for fine driving. Coarse feed (mm / s) and fine feed (nm / s) can be performed for each axial direction.

The contact body approach portion 123 is a driving device that displaces in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction in the figure) perpendicular to the illustrated X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction while holding one end of the contact body 110 to be brought into contact with the contacted object WK. Yes, it is mainly composed of the contact body holding portion 123a and the support column 123b. The contact body holding portion 123 a is formed to extend in the horizontal direction in the figure, and is in a posture where the contact body 110 intersects the upper surface of the work stage portion 121, that is, the contacted object WK placed on the work stage portion 121. This is a member that is detachably held in a slanting posture with respect to the upper surface. Moreover, the support | pillar 123b is a drive device which displaces to the Z-axis direction (illustrated up-down direction) of the illustration in the state which supported the one end part (illustration right-side end part) of the contact body holding | maintenance part 123a.

Specifically, the column 123b is provided with a Z-axis direction actuator (not shown) whose operation is controlled by the computer device 140, and the contact body holding portion 123a is moved in the Z-axis direction by the operation control of the Z-axis direction actuator. Displace. This Z-axis direction actuator is composed of an electric motor for coarse driving and a piezoelectric element made of PZT (lead zirconate titanate) for fine driving, similar to the X-axis direction actuator and Y-axis direction actuator. Thus, the contact body holding portion 123a can be coarsely fed (mm / s) and precisely fed (nm / s) in the Z-axis direction shown in the figure.

The 4-probe measurement circuit 124 is provided on the support 123b of the contact body approach portion 123. The four-probe measurement circuit 124 includes an electric circuit for detecting contact of the contact body 110 and measuring the electric conductivity of the contacted object WK. Specifically, a DC power source for flowing current to the two outer probes 113 in the four probes 113, an ammeter for measuring the current value flowing in the two probes 113 on the same, and the two probes 113 on the inner side. And a voltmeter for measuring a potential difference therebetween. The operation of the four-probe measurement circuit 124 is controlled by the computer device 140 and outputs each measurement value to the computer device 140.

A probe light source 131 and a beam splitter 132 are provided above the work stage 121 of the approach stage device 120, respectively. The probe light source 131 is an illuminating device for illuminating the contact body 110 by irradiating light toward the probe 113 that is displaced toward the surface of the contact object WK on the work stage unit 121, and is operated by the computer device 140. Be controlled. In the present embodiment, the probe light source 131 is configured by an LED. The probe light source 131 is supported obliquely above the work stage unit 121 by a probe light source support mechanism (not shown) that can change the light irradiation position to an arbitrary position by changing the orientation and posture of the probe light source 131.

The beam splitter 132 is an optical component that transmits a part of the incident light and reflects another part of the incident light in a direction orthogonal to the incident direction. A work light source 133 is provided on the optical axis of the beam splitter 132 in the Z-axis direction shown in the figure. The work light source 133 is a lighting fixture for illuminating the surface of the contacted object WK placed on the work stage unit 121, and its operation is controlled by the computer device 140. In the present embodiment, the work light source 133 is configured by an incandescent light bulb.

On the other hand, a condensing lens 134 and an image sensor 135 are provided on the optical axis in the X-axis direction of the beam splitter 132 in the figure. The condensing lens 134 is an optical element for condensing the light guided through the beam splitter 132 on the image sensor 135. The imaging element 135 is an optical element that is disposed at the condensing position of the condensing lens 134 and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the image formed on the light receiving surface to the computer device 140. In the present embodiment, the image sensor 132 is constituted by a CCD image sensor. The beam splitter 132, the work light source 133, the condenser lens 134, and the imaging element 135 can be integrally displaced to arbitrary positions on the work stage unit 121 by an imaging optical system support mechanism (not shown). Is supported above.

The computer device 140 is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, and the like. The approach stage device 120 is executed by executing a control program (not shown) according to instructions from the input device 141 including a keyboard and a mouse. The operations of the four-probe measurement circuit 124, the probe light source 131, the work light source 133, and the image sensor 135 are controlled. In addition, the computer device 140 includes a display device 142 formed of a liquid crystal display, and appropriately displays an operation state of the computer device 140, an execution state of the control program, an image captured by the image sensor 135, and the like. That is, in the present embodiment, the computer apparatus 140 is assumed to be a personal computer for personal use (so-called personal computer).

Further, the computer apparatus 140 executes the approach program shown in FIG. 5 to displace the contact body 110 held by the contact body holding section 123a of the contact body approach section 123 toward the contacted object WK. In this case, the computer device 140 can display the captured image output from the image sensor 135 on the display device 142 as it is, and the captured image information representing the captured image has a luminance (lightness) corresponding to the amount of received light for each pixel. In other words, binarization is performed, specifically, a portion where the luminance of the captured image information for each pixel is a predetermined value or more is converted into a white image and a portion where the luminance is less than the predetermined value is converted into a black and white image. To display. The control program including this approach program is stored in the hard disk in advance by an operator. The computer device 140 may be any type of computer device as long as it can control the operation of the approach stage device 120, the four-probe measurement circuit 124, the probe light source 131, the work light source 133, and the image sensor 135. Good.

(Operation of contact state detection device)
Next, the operation of the electrical conductivity measurement system 100 including the contact state detection device configured as described above will be described. In this description of the operation, an operation is described for the process of bringing the probe 113 of the contact body 110 into contact with the contacted object WK, which is a part directly related to the present invention, and the operation related to measuring the electrical conductivity of the contacted object WK. Since is an electric conductivity measurement technique by a general four-probe method, description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

First, the operator sets the contact object WK to be measured for electrical conductivity on the work stage unit 121 in the approach stage device 120, and the contact body 110 on the contact body holding unit 123a of the contact body approach unit 123. Hold. In this case, the operator sets the contacted object WK on the work stage unit 121 with the surface on the side to measure the electrical conductivity of the contacted object WK facing the contact body holding unit 123a. In addition, the operator holds the contact body in a state where the probe 113 of the contact body 110 is opposed to the contact object WK set on the work stage unit 121 in an oblique posture in the figure so as to cross the upper surface of the contact object WK. Held in the part 123a.

Next, the operator positions the tip of the probe 113 of the contact body 110 held by the contact body holding part 123a above the measurement position of the electrical conductivity on the contacted object WK. Specifically, the operator turns on the work light source 133 by operating the input device 141 of the computer device 140 and starts the operation of the image sensor 135 to display the captured image on the display device 142. In this case, the operator instructs the computer device 140 to display the image captured by the image sensor 135 on the display device 142 as it is. Thereby, on the display screen of the display device 142, the images of the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK existing in the field of view of the image sensor 135 are displayed. Next, the worker positions the image of the probe 113 of the contact body 110 held by the contact body holding section 123a at a substantially central portion of the display screen of the display device 142. Specifically, the operator manually adjusts the positions of the beam splitter 132, the work light source 133, the condenser lens 134, and the imaging element 135 by manually operating an imaging optical system support mechanism (not shown).

In this positioning operation, the light emitted from the work light source 133 irradiates the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK via the beam splitter 132, respectively. Among these, as shown in FIG. 3A, the light WL applied to the contact body 110 is inclined with respect to the central axis of the work light source 133, as shown in FIG. Most of the irradiated light WL is reflected in a direction different from that of the beam splitter 132. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, the light WL irradiated to the contacted object WK is orthogonal to the central axis of the work light source 133, as shown in FIG. Most of the irradiated light WL is reflected toward the beam splitter 132 and guided to the image sensor 135. Thereby, on the display screen of the display device 142, the surface of the contacted object WK is displayed brightly, and the contact body 110 is displayed in a dark shadow shape. That is, captured image information representing a captured image obtained by capturing the contact object WK illuminated by the work light source 133 with the image sensor 135 corresponds to the contact object captured image information according to the present invention. In FIG. 3B, the probe 113 is shown by a broken line for convenience of explanation.

Then, the operator directly looks at the contact body 110 held by the contact body holding portion 123a and also looks at the display screen of the display device 142, and the image of the probe 113 of the contact body 110 at the substantially central portion of the display screen. The position of the beam splitter 132, the work light source 133, the condensing lens 134, and the image sensor 135 is integrally positioned by operating an imaging optical system support mechanism (not shown) so that is positioned. Next, the worker positions the contact body 110 with respect to the contacted object WK. Specifically, the operator illustrates the work stage unit 121 by directly viewing the contact body 110 held by the contact body holding unit 123a and operating the input device 141 while viewing the display screen of the display device 142. The position of the tip of the probe 113 of the contact body 110 is positioned by displacing in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. Thereby, the tip part of the probe 113 of the contact body 110 held by the contact body holding part 123a is positioned above the measurement position of the electrical conductivity on the contacted object WK.

Next, the worker positions the probe light source 131. As shown in FIG. 4A, the probe light source 131 is positioned by irradiating most of the emitted light PL from the probe light source 131 to the probe 113 of the contact body 110 and reflecting light from the probe 113. The probe light source 131 is positioned at a position guided to the beam splitter 132. The operator operates the input device 141 of the computer device 140 to turn off the work light source 133 and turn on the probe light source 131. In addition, the operator operates the input device 141 of the computer device 140 to switch the captured image display on the display device 142 to black and white binary image display.

Thereby, the reflected light emitted from the probe light source 131 and reflected by the contacted object WK and / or the contact body 110 is guided to the image sensor 135. Therefore, the image sensor 135 outputs captured image information corresponding to the guided reflected light to the computer device 140. The computer device 140 binarizes the input captured image information according to the luminance of each pixel. As a result, on the display screen of the display device 142, light of a predetermined amount or more out of the light guided to the image sensor 135 is displayed in white. Therefore, the operator operates the probe support mechanism (not shown) so that the shape of the probe 113 is displayed as a white image on the display screen while visually observing the display screen of the display device 142. Adjust the position. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4A, as a result, the probe is arranged such that the beam splitter 132 is positioned at a reflection angle equal to the incident angle of the light PL emitted from the probe light source 131 and applied to the contact body 110. The position of the light source 131 is adjusted.

On the other hand, an object other than the contact body 110 emitted from the probe light source 131, specifically, the light PL mainly irradiated on the surface of the contacted object WK, as shown in FIG. Since most of the irradiated light PL is reflected in a direction different from that of the beam splitter 132, the surface is non-parallel to the probe 113 of the contact body 110. That is, the image sensor 135 is disposed at a position where the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object WK does not directly enter the light PL emitted from the probe light source 131, in other words, outside the optical path of the reflected light. Therefore, on the display screen of the display device 142, as shown in FIG. 4C, the portion of the probe 113 of the contact body 110 is displayed in white, and the portion other than the probe 113, specifically, The surface portion of the contact object WK is displayed in black. In FIG. 4B, the probe 113 is indicated by a broken line for convenience of explanation. In FIG. 4C, reference numerals of the substrate 112, the probe 113, and the contacted object WK are attached to the display image portions corresponding to the substrate 112, the probe 113, and the contacted object WK, respectively.

Next, the worker performs a contact operation of the contact body 110 to the contacted object WK. Specifically, the operator operates the input device 141 of the computer device 140 to cause the computer device 140 to perform the contact process of the contact body 110 with the contacted object WK. In response to this instruction, the computer apparatus 140 starts an approach program for bringing the contact body 110 shown in FIG. 5 into contact with the contacted object WK in step S100, and sets the contact detection area SE in step S102. Encourage workers.

The setting of the contact detection area SE is output from the image sensor 135 in order to define the detection sensitivity of the pressed state of the contact body 110 against the contacted object WK and the pressing force of the contact body 110 on the contacted object WK. The picked-up image information used for contact detection of the contact body 110 is selected from the picked-up image information. That is, the setting of the contact detection area SE is to set which part of the deformed parts of the contact body 110 due to contact with the contacted object WK is used to detect the pressed state of the contact body 110. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the worker displays the position and size of the frame-shaped contact detection area SE displayed on the display screen of the display device 142 on a white image of the contact body 110 (not shown). Adjust and set using (pointing device). In the present embodiment, in a state including the tip portions of the four probes 113, a white portion of about half from the tip portion of the white probe 113 displayed on the display screen of the display device 142 is included in the region. An area with a selectivity of about 50% is set as the contact detection area SE.

Next, the computer device 140 applies a contact detection voltage to the probe 113 of the contact body 110 in step S104. Specifically, the computer device 140 applies a predetermined voltage to the two outer probes 113 of the four probes 113 of the contact body 110 by controlling the operation of the four-probe measurement circuit 124. The 4-probe measurement circuit 124 starts the operation of the built-in ammeter and outputs a current measurement value to the computer device 140.

Next, in step S <b> 106, the computer device 140 controls the operation of the image sensor 135 to start the image capturing process by the image sensor 135. Thereby, the image sensor 135 outputs contact body imaged image information representing a captured image obtained by imaging the surface of the contact body 110 illuminated by the probe light source 131. In this case, since the light emitted from the probe light source 131 is irradiated not only on the probe 113 of the contact body 110 but also on the contact object WK, the contact body captured image information includes the target object other than the probe 113 of the contact body 110. A captured image of the surface of the contact object WK is also included. However, since the reflected light of the light irradiated to the probe 113 of the contact body 110 is mainly guided to the image sensor 135, the contact body captured image information includes a portion in which the contact body 110 represents the surface of the contacted object WK. It is expressed with higher brightness.

Next, in step S108, the computer apparatus 140 starts binarization processing of the contact body captured image information. Specifically, the computer device 140 binarizes the contact body captured image information input from the image sensor 135 according to the amount of received light (brightness) for each pixel, and more specifically, captured image information for each pixel. Is converted into a monochrome image in which a portion where the luminance is greater than or equal to a predetermined value is white and a portion where the luminance is less than the predetermined value is black. As a result, of the contact body captured image information, the contact body captured image information corresponding to the contact body 110 is represented in white, and the contact body captured image information representing the other part (mainly the surface of the contacted object WK) is black. (See FIG. 4C and FIG. 6).

Next, in step S110, the computer device 140 displaces the contact body 110 toward the contacted object WK. Specifically, the computer device 140 starts the operation of a Z-axis direction actuator (not shown), and moves the contact body holding portion 123a along the column 123b in the lower portion of the drawing, that is, on the work stage portion 121. Displace toward WK.

Next, in step S112, the computer device 140 detects the pressing state of the contact body 110 against the contacted object WK. Specifically, the computer device 140 monitors the current measurement value output from the four-probe measurement circuit 124, and when the current measurement value becomes larger than 0 A (ampere), or is output from the image sensor 135. The contact body 110 is contacted when substantially all of the imaged image information in the contact detection area SE (in the present embodiment, about 90% of the entire image) of the binarized contact body imaged image information becomes black. It determines with having contacted the thing WK and having been in the press state.

In the pressed state detection processing of the contact body 110, when the current measurement value output from the four-probe measurement circuit 124 is greater than 0A, the current is due to the electrical contact between the two outer probes 113. This means that the two outer probes 113 are in contact with the surface of the contacted object WK, respectively. In addition, when almost all of the captured image information in the contact detection area SE among the contact body captured image information output from the image sensor 135 is black, the image sensor 135 reflects from the probe 113 of the contact body 110. This means that the light is no longer incident. This is because the probe 113 is in contact with the surface of the contacted object WK and presses the surface to bend and deform to change the traveling direction of the reflected light. I mean.

The process in which the captured image information in the contact detection area SE of the contact body captured image information changes to black will be described in more detail. When the probe 113 of the contact body 110 is not in contact with the surface of the contacted object WK, the overall shape of the probe 113 is displayed on the display screen of the display device 142 as shown in FIGS. Displayed as a white image. This is because most of the reflected light reflected by the probe 113 of the contact body 110 is guided to the image sensor 135.

Thereafter, when the probe 113 is displaced toward the contacted object WK and the tip of the probe 113 starts to contact the surface of the contacted object WK, as shown in FIG. A contact portion with the surface of the object WK is bent and deformed. As a result, the traveling direction of reflected light from the deformed portion of the probe 113 is changed and is not guided to the beam splitter 133. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, the deformed portion (probe) displayed on the display device 142 is displayed. The captured image corresponding to the tip portion 113 of 113 changes to black.

Then, when the probe 113 is further displaced toward the surface of the contacted object WK, the probe 113 presses the surface of the contacted object WK as shown in FIG. The contact portion deformed parallel to the surface of the surface increases. Thereby, the reflected light guided from the probe 113 to the image sensor 135 is further reduced, and as shown in FIG. 8B, the white portion of the captured image of the probe 113 in the contact detection area SE displayed on the display device 142 is displayed. Most of the color turns black. That is, the computer device 140 detects the pressing state of the contact body 110 using the area change of the light receiving portion (region) of the reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information.

Therefore, the computer device 140 determines that the current measurement value output from the four-probe measurement circuit 124 is greater than 0 A or the contact body captured image information output from the image sensor 135 in the determination process of step S112. Until substantially all of the captured image information in the contact detection area SE becomes black, the determination process of step S112 is repeatedly performed while determining “No”. While the determination process in step S112 is repeatedly performed, the computer apparatus 140 detects the current measurement value output from the 4-probe measurement circuit 124 and the contact body imaging for each pitch at which the contact body 110 is sent to the contacted object WK side. Image information monitoring processing is executed.

On the other hand, when the current measurement value output from the four-probe measurement circuit 124 becomes larger than 0 A in the determination process of step S112, the computer device 140 indicates the contact object captured image information output from the image sensor 135. When substantially all of the captured image information in the contact detection area SE is black, it is determined that the contact body 110 has come into contact with the contact object WK and is in a pressed state, and the process proceeds to step S114. In addition, while performing the press state determination process by this step S112, the operator can detect the abnormal contact of the contact body 110 by monitoring the display screen of the display apparatus 142. FIG. For example, when only one probe 113 of the four probes 113 changes to black, it is considered that the same probe 113 is in contact with something and is deformed. The contact operation of the contact body 110 to the contacted object WK can be interrupted immediately by operating the. That is, the contact state detection device according to the present invention can detect not only the presence / absence of the contact of the contacted object WK of the contact body 110 but also the state of the contact.

Next, in step S114, the computer device 140 executes an interruption process for detecting the pressed state of the contact body 110. Specifically, the computer 140 stops the operations of the Z-axis direction actuator (not shown), the four-probe measurement circuit 124, and the image sensor 135, respectively. Thereby, the displacement of the contact body holding part 123a, the voltage application to the two outer probes 113, and the imaging process of the contact body 113 are interrupted. Further, the computer device 140 interrupts the binarization processing of the contact body captured image information and displays on the display device 142 that the probe 113 of the contact body 110 is in contact with the surface of the contacted object WK and is in a pressed state. . In this case, the computer device 140 detects the cause of detection of the pressing state of the contact body 110 against the contacted object WK, that is, whether the pressing state of the contact body 110 is detected by a change in the current measurement value, or the contact body captured image information. The display device 142 displays whether it has been detected by the change. Then, the computer apparatus 140 ends the execution of this approach program in step S116.

After confirming the display content displayed on the display device 142, the worker performs work according to the cause of detection of the pressed state of the contact body 110. That is, when the pressing state of the contact body 110 to the contacted object WK is detected by a change in the current measurement value, the probe 113 of the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK are in electrical contact with each other. The operator operates the input device 141 of the computer device 140 and continues to measure the electrical conductivity of the contacted object WK. On the other hand, when the pressing state of the contact body 110 against the contacted object WK is detected by a change in the contact body captured image information, the probe 113 of the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK are in physical contact. Since it is considered that they are not in electrical contact with each other, the work of measuring the electrical conductivity of the contacted object WK cannot be performed. For this reason, the operator identifies the cause of the contact body 110 not being in electrical contact with the contacted object WK and performs a countermeasure, and then executes the approach program again. This prevents the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK from being damaged by the probe 113 being strongly pressed against the contacted object WK in a state where the electrical connection state between the probe 113 and the contacted object WK is not detected. be able to.

As can be understood from the above operation description, according to the above embodiment, the contact detection device applied to the electrical conductivity measurement system 100 is applied to the deformed portion of the contact body 110 that is deformed by contacting the contacted object WK. A pressing state of the contact body 110 to the contacted object WK using a change in reflected light represented by contact body captured image information obtained by irradiating the light PL and capturing the contact body 110 that is displaced toward the contacted object WK. Is detected. That is, the contact state detection device detects the change in the reflected light from the deformed portion due to the deformation of the contact body 110 in contact with the contacted object WK by the change in the contact object captured image information, thereby detecting the object to be contacted of the contact body 110. The pressing state to the contact object WK is detected. In this case, the detection of the reflected light from the contact body 110 is performed by imaging an area including the deformed portion of the contact body 110 with the image sensor 135 formed of a CCD image sensor. That is, it is not necessary to strictly adjust the irradiation position of the irradiated light PL and the light receiving position of the reflected light. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the number of optical parts necessary for positioning the irradiation position of the light PL on the contact body 110 and positioning the reflected light from the contact body 110 with respect to the light receiving element, and the alignment adjustment work man-hour. And the burden of maintenance work for maintaining detection accuracy can be reduced. Further, since the contact state detection device detects the pressed state of the contact body 110 based on the mechanical deformation of the contact body 110, an oxide film or the like is formed on the contacted portion of the contacted object WK that the contact body 110 contacts. Even when the insulating region is formed, the pressed state of the contact body can be detected with high accuracy. Thereby, damage to the contact body 110 and the to-be-contacted object WK by the contact body 110 being strongly pressed on the to-be-contacted object WK can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to accurately detect the pressing state of the contact body 110 against the contacted object WK with a simple configuration without damaging the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK.

(Various modifications)
Furthermore, in carrying out the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the object of the present invention. In the following description of the modification, the same or corresponding reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the above-described embodiments in each of the referenced drawings, and description thereof will be omitted.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the contact body 110 is configured to detect the pressed state of the contact body 110 by setting the contact detection area SE with a selection rate of about 50% in the contact body captured image information obtained by imaging the contact body 110. . However, the size and position of the contact detection area SE can be appropriately set according to the purpose of detecting the pressed state of the contact body 110. For example, by increasing the size of the contact detection area SE (increasing the selection rate), the white portion used for detecting the pressed state of the contact body 110 increases, so that the sensitivity of detecting the pressed state can be reduced. This also means that the force with which the contact body 110 presses the contacted object WK when the pressed state of the contact body 110 is detected can be increased. Therefore, by using the spring constant of the material constituting the contact body 110, the pressing force with which the contact body 110 presses the contacted object WK can be defined, and the pressing force of the contact body 110 based on the contact body captured image information. Can also be specified. Then, by reducing the size of the contact detection area SE (decreasing the selection rate), the white portion used for detecting the pressed state of the contact body 110 is reduced and the S / N ratio is improved, so the sensitivity of detecting the pressed state is increased. Can be sharpened.

On the other hand, the sensitivity of detection of the pressed state of the contact body 110 can be sharpened by positioning the position of the contact detection area SE at the tip of the contact body 110 (probe 113), while the position of the contact detection area SE is touched. By positioning the body 110 (probe 113) on the rear end side, the sensitivity of detecting the pressed state of the contact body 110 can be reduced. Furthermore, by adjusting the size and position of the contact detection region SE, a part of the contact body 110 (for example, only one probe 113) can be used for detecting the pressed state. Furthermore, two or more contact detection areas SE can be provided, and the position and size can be set respectively. For example, the pressing state can be detected for each of the four probes 113 by setting the contact detection region SE for each of the four probes 113. That is, by appropriately setting the size, position, and number of the contact detection area SE on the deformed portion of the contact body 110 represented by the contact body captured image information, the detection range of the pressed state, the sensitivity of the contact detection, and the contact The pressing force of the body 110 on the contacted object WK can be arbitrarily set.

Further, in the above embodiment, the pressed state of the contact body 110 is detected using a part of contact body captured image information obtained by imaging by the image sensor 135 (selection rate of about 50% in the above embodiment). It was configured as follows. However, as a matter of course, it is possible to detect the pressed state of the contact body 110 using all of the contact body captured image information output from the image sensor 135 without providing the contact detection area SE.

In the above embodiment, substantially all of the captured image information in the contact detection area SE (approximately 90% of the whole in the above embodiment) of the contact body captured image information output from the image sensor 135 is black. When it became, it determined with the contact body 110 having been in the press state with respect to the to-be-contacted object WK. That is, the contact state detection device detects the pressed state of the contact body using the area change of the reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information. However, the rate of change (amount) from the white image to the black image in the contact body captured image information, which is a criterion for determining the detection of the pressed state of the contact body 110, is appropriately determined according to the pressed state detection accuracy of the contact body 110. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiment. That is, if a small change rate (amount) is used as a criterion for determination of detection of the pressed state of the contact body 110, the pressed state detection accuracy of the contact body 110 is increased, and if a large change rate (amount) is used, the pressed state detection accuracy is decreased. Become.

Also, the detection of the pressed state of the contact body can use a change in position and shape in addition to a change in the area of reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information. That is, the contact state detection device uses a change in the reflected light area such as the area, position, and shape of the reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information, in other words, a change in a two-dimensional plane occupied by the reflected light. Thus, the pressed state of the contact body can be detected. The contact state detection device can also detect the pressed state of the contact body using a change in the amount of reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information.

In the above embodiment, an LED is used as the probe light source 131 and an incandescent bulb is used as the work light source 133. However, the light sources of the probe light source 131 and the work light source 133 are light sources that emit light PL and WL that can capture the captured image information by capturing the contact body 110 and the contact object WK with the image sensor 135. It is not limited. For example, as a light source of the probe light source 131 and the work light source 133, an LED, an incandescent bulb, a fluorescent lamp, a halogen lamp, an HID lamp, or a laser beam can be used. The probe light source 131 only needs to be able to irradiate at least the contact body 110 with the light PL, and thus a light source with high directivity (for example, LED or laser light) is preferable. On the other hand, the work light source 133 is only required to illuminate the contact area of the contacted object WK with the contact body 110, and a wide range of light sources can be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the contact light W 133 is irradiated with the light WL and the contact W W irradiated with the light WL is imaged by the image sensor 135 and the contact object captured image information is captured. Acquired. However, when there is no need to confirm the position of the contact object WK itself or the positional relationship of the contact body 110 on the contact object WK, the acquisition process of the contact object captured image information by the work light source 133 and the image sensor 135 is performed. , Not always necessary. The configuration of the contact state detection apparatus can be simplified by omitting the acquisition process of the contact object captured image information by the work light source 133 and the image sensor 135.

In the above embodiment, the beam splitter 132 is disposed on the contact body 110 at a reflection angle equal to the incident angle of the light PL emitted from the probe light source 131. That is, the imaging element 135 is disposed substantially at a reflection angle equal to the incident angle of the light PL emitted from the probe light source 131 and incident on the contact body 110. Thereby, the image sensor 135 can efficiently receive the reflected light emitted from a light source (for example, LED) having a particularly high directivity and reflected by the contact body 110, and the contact body captured image information with high accuracy. Can be obtained. However, the arrangement position of the image sensor 135 does not necessarily have to be on the reflection angle as long as it is a position where the contact body 110 can be imaged to acquire contact body captured image information. In particular, when a light source with low directivity is used as the probe light source 131, the image sensor 135 can be arranged relatively freely in a range in which the reflected light from the contact body 110 can be received.

In the above embodiment, a CCD image sensor is used as the image sensor 135. However, the image sensor 135 may be an image sensor other than a CCD image sensor, for example, various image sensors such as a CMOS image sensor, as long as the image of the contact body 110 can be captured to acquire contact body captured image information. The present invention can reduce the number of necessary optical elements and alignment (optical axis adjustment) man-hours by detecting the pressed state of the contact body 110 using contact body captured image information obtained by imaging the contact body 110 in a relatively wide range. Is one of the features.

In the above embodiment, the computer device 140 detects the pressed state of the contact body 110 using the contact body captured image information obtained by binarizing the contact body captured image information input from the image sensor 135. However, the contact body captured image information does not necessarily need to be binarized, and the pressed state of the contact body 110 can be detected using the contact body captured image information input from the image sensor 135 as it is. For example, the pressing state of the contact body 110 can be detected using a change in luminance (also referred to as lightness) corresponding to the received light amount of the contact body captured image information input from the image sensor 135.

In the above embodiment, the contact body 110 is held by the contact body holding section 123a of the contact body approach section 123 in a posture that intersects the surface including the contacted portion of the contacted object WK. For this reason, even when the light emitted from the probe light source 131 is irradiated on the surface of the contacted object WK, the reflected light from the contact body 110 and the reflected light from the contacted object WK are both applied to the image sensor 135. It is prevented from being guided. Thereby, the image sensor 135 can accurately capture only the reflected light from the contact body 110, and as a result, the contact detection accuracy of the contact body 110 can be improved. That is, the image sensor 135 is disposed at a position where the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object WK does not directly enter in the light PL irradiated from the probe light source 131, in other words, outside the optical path of the reflected light. That's fine.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the contact body approach part 123 which hold | maintains the contact body 110 and approaches the to-be-contacted object WK is a component which comprises the electrical conductivity measuring system 100, and is a structure essential to a contact state detection apparatus. It is not an element. However, by using the contact body approach portion 123 as a constituent element of the contact state detection device, the above-described effects can be exhibited in the contact state detection device. In addition, the work stage unit 121 and the drive base unit 122 that hold the contacted object WK and displace the contact body 110 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction with respect to the contact body 110 also have electrical conductivity similar to the contact body approach section 123. It is a component which comprises the measurement system 100, and is not an essential component for a contact state detection apparatus.

However, by using the work stage unit 121 and the drive base unit 122 as components of the contact state detection device, the pressed state of the contact body 110 can be detected at an arbitrary position on the contacted object WK. The application and application range of the detection device can be expanded. That is, the approach stage device 120 corresponds to the contact body displacement means according to the present invention. In this case, the approach stage device 120 only needs to relatively displace the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK, and does not necessarily need to be configured to displace only one of them. That is, the approach stage device 120 may displace one or both of the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK. Further, the pressed state of the contact body 110 can be detected even when the posture of holding the contact body 110 is parallel to the surface including the contacted portion of the contacted object WK. In this case, it is preferable that the contact body 110 is mainly irradiated with light and the contacted object WK is not irradiated with light as much as possible.

In the above embodiment, the display device 142 is used to display a captured image captured by the image sensor 135. That is, the display device 142 corresponds to the captured image display unit according to the present invention. Thereby, the operator can work while visually confirming the contact state of the contact body 110 and the state around the contacted portion of the contacted object WK. Therefore, when it is not necessary to visually recognize these, the display device 142 is unnecessary. That is, since the detection of the pressed state of the contact body 110 is performed by a calculation process by the computer device 140, the pressed state of the contact body 110 can be detected without necessarily displaying the pressed state of the contact body 110. .

On the other hand, when the operator detects the pressed state of the contact body 110, some display means is necessary for the operator to confirm the pressed state of the contact body 110. In this case, since the operator itself detects the pressed state of the contact body 110, the calculation process by the computer device 140 for detecting the pressed state, that is, the contact state detecting means is not necessary. Specifically, the operator visually checks the change in the white image of the contact body 110 displayed on the display device 142, and the contact body 110 is pressed against the contacted object WK in an appropriate change state of the white image. The displacement of the contact body 110 is stopped by operating the input device 141 after determining that the contact has occurred. Also by this, the pressing state of the contact body 110 can be detected.

In the above-described embodiment, the current measurement value output from the four-probe measurement circuit 124 and the contact body captured image information output from the image sensor 135 are used to detect the pressed state of the contact body 110. Thereby, when the contact body 110 is physically or electrically in contact with the contacted object WK, the contact body can be detected as being in contact with the contacted object. It is also possible to detect the pressed state of the contact body assuming that the contact body is pressed against the contacted object when 110 is physically and electrically in contact with the contacted object WK. As a result, the use and application range of the contact state detection device can be expanded. However, it is natural that the pressed state of the contact body 110 can be detected using only the contact body captured image information output from the image sensor 135.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the contact body 110 of the contact body 110 is utilized by utilizing the fact that the reflected light from the contact body 110 is not guided to the image sensor 135 when the contact body 110 is pressed and deformed against the contacted object WK. It was comprised so that a press state might be detected. However, if the present invention is configured to detect the contact of the contact body 110 using the change in the traveling direction of the reflected light caused by the contact body 110 being pressed and deformed against the contacted object WK, It is not limited to the embodiment.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the probe light source 131 can be configured to irradiate the light PL in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the contact body 110. According to this, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the probe 113 comes into contact with the contacted object WK and is buckled, a part of the reflected light from the probe 113 is not guided to the image sensor 135. . Therefore, the computer device 140 detects the pressing state of the contact body 110 by detecting a black portion generated by buckling deformation of the probe 113 on the side surface portion of the contact body 110 represented in white in the contact body captured image information. be able to. That is, the probe light source 131 irradiates the contact body 110 with the light PL to a region including a portion before deformation or a portion after deformation due to contact with the contacted object WK, that is, a region including a deformation portion due to contact in the contact body 110. What is necessary is just to be comprised.

9A and 9B, in place of or in addition to the beam splitter 132, the condenser lens 134, and the image sensor 135, the probe 113 is in contact with the contacted object WK. An imaging element 136 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in the drawing) similar to the imaging element 135 can be provided in the traveling direction of the reflected light reflected from the buckled deformation part. According to this, a part of the reflected light from the probe 113 is guided to the image sensor 136 by the probe 113 coming into contact with the contacted object WK and being buckled and deformed. Therefore, the computer device 140 detects the pressing state of the contact body 110 by detecting a white portion generated by buckling deformation of the probe 113 on the side surface portion of the contact body 110 represented in black in the contact body captured image information. be able to.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, when the press state to the to-be-contacted object WK of the contact body 110 is detected by the change of contact body picked-up image information, the measurement operation | work of the electrical conductivity of the to-be-contacted object WK is not performed. It was configured as follows. This is because it is considered that the insulating film is formed on the surface of the contacted object WK and the probe 113 of the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK are not in electrical contact. Therefore, in such a case, the electrical conductivity measurement system 100 includes a voltage application device 137 that applies a voltage for causing dielectric breakdown between the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK, as shown in FIG. It is good to provide in the state connected to the contact body 110. FIG. According to this, the electrical conductivity measurement system 100 or the operator operates the voltage application device 137 when the pressing state of the contact body 110 against the contacted object WK is detected by the change in the contact body captured image information. By doing so, the insulating film formed on the surface of the contacted object WK can be destroyed, and a state where the probe 113 of the contact body 110 and the contacted object WK are in electrical contact can be ensured. Therefore, the electrical conductivity measurement system 100 or the operator can perform the work of measuring the electrical conductivity of the contacted object WK as it is after destroying the insulating film formed on the surface of the contacted object WK. As described above, the electrical conductivity measurement system 100 continues the measurement of the electrical conductivity of the contacted object WK as it is according to the detection result of the pressed state of the contact body 110 against the contacted object WK by the contact state detection device. The measurement of the electric conductivity can be temporarily interrupted.

In the above embodiment, the contact state detection device is applied to the electrical conductivity measurement system 100. However, the contact state detection device can be widely applied as a contact state detection device that detects that a contact body that is displaced toward and comes into contact with the contacted object contacts the contacted object. For example, the present invention can be applied to probe control in a probe microscope, contact control in a stylus type roughness meter, contact control in a micromanipulator, measurement of contact force of a MEMS component, mechanical property evaluation, contact detection of a micro switch, and the like. it can.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the contact state detection device can be applied to a stylus roughness meter 200. In this case, a control device (not shown) in the stylus roughness meter 200 (corresponding to the computer device 140) is connected to the probe 113 in a state where the tip of the probe 113 is pressed against the surface of the contacted object WK with a predetermined pressing force. The object to be measured WK is relatively displaced in the X-axis direction in the figure. The control device in the stylus roughness meter 200 can measure the surface roughness of the contacted object WK using the contact body captured image information output from the image sensor 135.

For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the contact state detection device can be applied to the micromanipulator 300. In this case, the probe 113 is configured by a plate-like body having a substantially triangular shape in plan view with a sharp tip. Then, a control device (not shown) (not shown) in the micromanipulator 300 moves the tip of the probe 113 to the contacted object WK (corresponding to the operation of the input device (not shown) shown by the operator). For example, pressing the surface of the cell tissue on the preparation) with a predetermined pressing force, or relatively displacing the probe 113 and the object WK to be measured in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction shown in the drawing. Thus, the contacted object WK can be processed or displaced. In this case, the control device or the operator in the micromanipulator 300 uses the contact body captured image information output from the image sensor 135 or the display content of the probe 113 by the display content on the display device (not shown) (corresponding to the display device 142). The pressing state against the contact object WK can be recognized and the pressing state can be appropriately adjusted.

In this case, the pressing state of the probe 113 against the contacted object WK widely includes a pressing state due to a pressing force acting on the probe 113 from all directions. Specifically, in the pressing state of the probe 113 against the contacted object WK, for example, the probe 113 is not in the state of pressing the surface of the contacted object WK in the Z-axis direction in the figure, but the probe 113 is touched by the contacted object WK. This includes a twisted state generated in the probe 113 when the surface is displaced in the X-axis direction and / or the Y-axis direction (that is, in the XY axis plane) while being pressed in the Z-axis direction.

100 ... Electric conductivity measurement system,
110 ... Contact body, 111 ... Electric circuit, 112 ... Substrate, 113 ... Probe,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 120 ... Approach stage apparatus, 121 ... Work stage part, 122 ... Drive base part, 123 ... Contact body approach part, 123a ... Contact body holding part, 123b ... Support | pillar, 124 ... 4 probe measuring circuit,
131 ... Probe light source, 132 ... Beam splitter, 133 ... Work light source, 134 ... Condensing lens, 135, 136 ... Image sensor, 137 ... Voltage application device,
140 ... Computer device, 141 ... Input device, 142 ... Display device,
200 ... stylus roughness meter,
300: Micromanipulator.

Claims

A light irradiating means for irradiating light to a region including a deformed portion due to the contact in the contact body that is deformed by contacting the contacted object;
Imaging means arranged outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object among the light irradiated from the light irradiating means, imaging the deformed portion of the contact body, and outputting contact body captured image information When,
Contact state detecting means for detecting a pressing state of the contact body against the object to be contacted using a region change of reflected light from the deformed portion represented by the contact body captured image information. To detect contact state.
In the contact state detection device according to claim 1,
The contact state detection unit detects a pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object using an area change of the reflected light represented by the contact body captured image information.
In the contact state detection device according to claim 1 or 2,
The contact state detection device detects a pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object using a part of the deformed portion represented by the contact body captured image information.
In the contact state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The contact state detecting means includes
The contact body captured image information is binarized according to the amount of light, and the pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object is detected according to the binarized contact body captured image information. Contact state detection device.
In the contact state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The contact state detection apparatus, wherein the imaging unit is disposed on a reflection angle of the light irradiated to an area including the deformed portion of the contact body.
In the contact state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Contact state characterized by comprising contact body displacing means for displacing the contact body toward the contacted object while holding the contacted body in a posture that intersects a surface including the contacted part of the contacted object with the contacted body. Detection device.
In the contact state detection apparatus according to claim 6,
The contact body displacement means relatively displaces the contact body with respect to the contacted object along a surface including a contacted portion of the contacted object with the contacted body.
The contact state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:
A contact object irradiation means for irradiating the contact object with light;
The contact state detection device, wherein the imaging means images the contacted object and outputs contacted object captured image information.
The contact state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:
A contact state detection apparatus comprising: a captured image display unit that displays a captured image captured by the imaging unit.
The contact state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:
A contact state detection device comprising an electrical contact detection means for detecting electrical contact between the contacted object and the contact body, each of which is made of a conductor.
Contact body displacing means for relatively displacing the contact body with respect to the contacted object in a direction in which the contacted object is brought into contact with the contacted object in a state in which the contact body deformed by contacting the contacted object is held;
A light irradiating means for irradiating light to a region including a deformed portion due to contact with the contacted object in the contact body;
Imaging means arranged outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object among the light irradiated from the light irradiating means, imaging the deformed portion of the contact body, and outputting contact body captured image information When,
A contact state detection apparatus comprising: a captured image display unit configured to display a captured image based on the contact body captured image information output by the imaging unit.
A light irradiation step of irradiating light to a region including a deformed portion due to the contact in a contact body that is deformed by contacting a contacted object; and
An imaging step of imaging the deformed portion of the contact body from a position outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object out of the light emitted from the light irradiation means and outputting contact body captured image information; ,
A contact state detecting step of detecting a pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object using a region change of reflected light from the deformed portion represented by the contact body captured image information. To detect contact state.
Contact body displacing means for relatively displacing the contact body with respect to the contacted object in a direction in which the contacted object is brought into contact with the contacted object in a state in which the contact body deformed by contacting the contacted object is held;
A light irradiating means for irradiating light to a region including a deformed portion due to contact with the contacted object in the contact body;
Imaging means arranged outside the optical path of the reflected light from the surface of the contacted object among the light irradiated from the light irradiating means, imaging the deformed portion of the contact body, and outputting contact body captured image information A contact state detection program for use in a contact state detection device for detecting a contact state of the contact body to the contacted object,
A computer provided in the contact state detection device in a state where light is irradiated to a region including the deformed portion of the contact body by the light irradiation unit,
By the contact body displacing means, the held contact body is relatively displaced with respect to the contacted object in a direction to contact the contacted object,
The imaging means images the deformed portion of the contact body and outputs contact body captured image information,
A contact state detection program for detecting a pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object using a region change of reflected light from the deformed portion represented by the contact body captured image information.
The contact state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
Electrical conduction connected to a contact body in the contact state detection device and measuring the electrical conductivity of the contact object by bringing the contact body into contact with the contact object that is a contact state detection target in the contact state detection device An electrical conductivity measuring system comprising a degree measuring means,
The electrical conductivity measuring means includes
An electrical conductivity measurement system that performs electrical conductivity measurement of the contacted object according to a detection result of a pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object by the contact state detecting device.
The electrical conductivity measurement system according to claim 14, further comprising:
An electrical conductivity measurement system comprising voltage applying means for applying a voltage connected to the contact body and causing dielectric breakdown between the contact body and the contacted object.
Each step in the contact state detection method according to claim 12,
Electrical conduction that is connected to the contact body in the contact state detection method and measures the electrical conductivity of the contact object by bringing the contact body into contact with the contact object that is a contact state detection target in the contact state detection method An electrical conductivity measurement method including a degree measurement step,
The electrical conductivity measuring step includes
An electrical conductivity measurement method, comprising: measuring electrical conductivity of the contacted object according to a detection result of a pressing state of the contact body against the contacted object by the contact state detecting device.