KR20030001830A - Probe system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A probe system is provided to maintain a horizontal state of a wafer prior to a probe test by using a jig for checking the horizontal state of the wafer. CONSTITUTION: A jig(50) includes a printed circuit board(52). The printed circuit board(52) is loaded on a probe card holder. The printed circuit board(52) is not bent by heat of a main chuck since the printed circuit board(52) is formed with an aluminous material. A pattern film(54) is formed on a surface of the one side of the printed circuit board(52). The pattern film(54) is formed with an insulating material in order to protect the printed circuit board(52) from signals of a probe card and various circuits of a probe system. Four or more needles(58) are formed on a surface of the other side of the printed circuit board(52). The needle(58) is fixed by a pin guide block(56). A connector(60) is formed on a surface of the pattern film(54) in order to check a zero point of the main chuck and measure an electrical signal of the needle(58). A couple of handles(62) are installed on both sides of an upper portion of the pattern film(54).

Description

Probe system

The present invention relates to a probe device, and more particularly, to a probe device including a jig for checking the horizontal degree of the wafer before the probe test.

Before the wafer in which the integrated circuit is formed is packaged in a chip form, a test process is performed to examine the electrical characteristics of the integrated circuits in the wafer. This test process is carried out in the probe apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 and 2, the probe apparatus pre-aligns the wafer W and simultaneously receives the wafer W from the loader chamber 1 and the loader chamber 1 for sending the wafer W. And a probe chamber 2 for inspecting the electrical characteristics thereof. At this time, the probe card 7 is detachably attached to a head plate 8 that defines the upper surface of the prober chamber 2. Here, the unexplained reference numeral "C" is a wafer carrier.

As shown in FIG. 2, the loader chamber 1 is provided with a tweezer (fork) 3 and a sub chuck 4. The wafer W is pre-aligned with respect to its orientation flat by the sub chuck 4. The probe chamber 2 is provided with an alignment mechanism 6 having a main chuck 5 and up and down cameras 6A and 6B. The main chuck 5 on which the wafer W is mounted moves in the X, Y, Z and θ directions, and the electrodes formed on the wafer W together with the alignment mechanism 6 and the probe terminals of the probe card 7 Align 7A). After this alignment process is performed, the main chuck 5 is raised, so that the electrode on the wafer W mounted on the main chuck 5 and the probe terminal 7A are electrically contacted. The test head T connected to the probe terminal inspects the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor element formed on the wafer W.

Here, the main chuck 5 is fixed to the X-Y stage 9 which reciprocates in the X direction and the Y direction as shown in FIG. 1, and is lifted in the Z direction by the lifting mechanism. At this time, the lifting distance of the main chuck 5 is measured using, for example, the top and bottom cameras 6A and 6B and the target 6C of the alignment mechanism 6, and the lifting mechanism 10 is driven based on this measurement data. do. That is, the probe terminal 7A, the target 6C, and the wafer W are respectively imaged using the up-and-down cameras 6A and 6B, and the above-mentioned lifting distance is calculated based on the respective position coordinate data.

Here, before aligning the probe terminals 7A, it is usually checked whether the wafer W is placed horizontally. A horizontal jig 10 for horizontal checking of the wafer is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal jig 10 includes a body 12 placed on a predetermined portion of the wafer W, and a stand 14 fixed to an upper end of the body 12. On the stand 14, a bar bar: 16 is fixed by the up / down adjusting screw 17 so as to be substantially perpendicular to the stand 14. The predetermined point portion of the bar 16 is provided with a zero adjustment screw 18, the end of the bar 16 is provided with a needle 19 in contact with the wafer (W), the end of the bar 16 and the needle ( The gauge 20 is provided between 18). Here, the zero adjustment screw 18 is a screw for adjusting the needle 19 to be exactly in contact with the surface of the wafer (W), the gauge 20 is the height change when the needle 18 is in contact with the four different points Displays minutes.

The horizontal check process using the horizontal check jig 10 is as follows.

First, the body 12 of the jig 10 is placed on a predetermined portion of the wafer W with the head plate 8 of the probe device open. Thereafter, the up / down adjustment screw 16 is adjusted to bring the needle 19 into contact with a predetermined portion of the wafer W, and then the zero point is adjusted with the zero adjustment screw 18. Thereafter, the jig 10 is manually operated to move to another part of the wafer W, and then contacted with the other three parts of the wafer W again. At this time, if the wafer W is placed horizontally, the gauge 20 does not change and it is determined that the wafer W is placed horizontally. Otherwise, the wafer W is aligned again, and then the test process is performed. do.

However, the conventional horizontal check jig 10 has the following problems.

First, when the conventional horizontal check jig 10 contacts different portions of the wafer W, a process member moves by hand. Accordingly, during manual operation, the zero point of the zero adjustment screw 20 tends to change. For this reason, the value displayed on the gauge 20 is not accurate.

In addition, the horizontal check process above proceeds with the head plate 8 of the probe device open, and then closes the head plate 8 and proceeds with the probe test process. At this time, when the head plate 8 is closed, the wafer W moves due to the load of the plate 8, and a horizontal error occurs.

For this reason, it is difficult to arrange | position the wafer W on the main chuck 5 in a horizontal state.

Accordingly, the technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a probe device that allows the wafer to be accurately leveled before the probe test.

1 is a front view of a conventional probe device.

2 is a plan view of the probe apparatus of FIG. 1.

3 is a view showing a conventional wafer horizontal check jig.

4 is a view showing a wafer horizontal check jig according to the present invention.

(Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing)

52: Printed Circuit Board 56-pin Guide Block

58: needle

Other objects and novel features thereof, together with the objects of the present invention, will be apparent from the description and the accompanying drawings.

Among the inventions disclosed herein, an outline of representative features is briefly described as follows.

Probe device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a probe card having a plurality of probes located on the upper surface of the space for testing the electrical characteristics of the wafer, and the distance between the probe and the wafer while grasping the position of the probe of the probe card It includes a camera for measuring, the jig for the wafer horizontal check jig including a plurality of needles is installed on the probe card, the camera is characterized in that for measuring the horizontal error by measuring the distance between the needle and the wafer of the wafer horizontal check jig. .

Here, the wafer horizontal check jig includes a printed circuit board, an insulating pattern film disposed on one surface of the printed circuit board, and a pin guide block on which a plurality of needles disposed on the other surface of the printed circuit board are fixed. .

In addition, the wafer horizontal check jig may further include a connector for checking a zero point on the surface of the insulating pattern film, and a handle to move the printed circuit board on both sides of the connector.

In addition, the printed circuit board may be formed of aluminum, and the needle of the jig for wafer horizontal check may be formed of tungsten.

(Example)

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Here, the embodiments of the present invention can be modified in many different forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shape and the like of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated to emphasize a more clear description, and the elements denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings means the same elements. In addition, where a layer is described as being "on" another layer or semiconductor substrate, a layer may exist in direct contact with the other layer or semiconductor substrate, or a third layer therebetween. Can be done.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the jig for wafer horizontal check according to the present invention.

1, 2 and 4, the wafer horizontal check jig 50 of the present invention is formed in the form of a board, and is mounted on the probe card 7 installed in the head plate 8 of the probe device.

This jig 50 includes a printed circuit board 52. This printed circuit board 52 is mounted on a holder (not shown) of the probe card 7 more specifically, and has a flat surface. In addition, it is formed of, for example, aluminum (Al) material so that warpage is prevented due to the heat of the high temperature main chuck 5.

On one surface of this printed circuit board 52, a substrate protective pattern film 54 is formed. At this time, the pattern film 54 serves to protect the printed circuit board 52 from a signal flowing from the probe card 7 and other circuits in the probe device, and may be formed of, for example, an insulating material. have.

The other surface of the printed circuit board 52 is provided with at least four or more needles 58 which directly check the horizontal degree of the wafer surface, and these needles 58 are fixed by the pin guide block 56. That is, the pin guide block 56 is attached to the back side of the printed circuit board 52, and a plurality of needles 58 are mounted on the pin guide block 56. Here, the needle 58 may be formed of a material having little variation in environmental stress such as external pressure, temperature, and humidity, and having little fluidity, for example, a tungsten material.

On the other hand, the surface of the pattern film 54 is provided with a connector 60 for measuring the electrical signal of the needle 58 while checking the zero point of the main chuck 5. A handle 62 may be installed on the pattern film 54 on both sides of the connector 60 to facilitate the mounting of the printed circuit board 52 and to stably work.

The wafer horizontal check jig 50 of the present invention operates as follows.

First, the horizontal check jig 50 of the present invention is mounted in the probe card 7 provided in the head plate 8 of the probe apparatus, so that the horizontal check process proceeds with the head plate 8 closed. Furthermore, since it is mounted in the probe card 7, the horizontal check process is performed in the same manner as the probe test process of the probe card 7.

That is, when the operator selects the position of the wafer W to check the level of horizontalness, the up-and-down cameras 6A and 6B for aligning the probe terminal 7A and the wafer W automatically move during the probe test. At this time, the upper and lower cameras 6A and 6B are generally designed to move to the position when the position where the probe terminal 7A is to be contacted is determined during the probe test. Thereafter, the top and bottom cameras 6A and 6B image the needle 58 of the jig 50 instead of the probe terminal 7A in the same manner as the probe test process, and measure the distance between the needle 58 and the wafer W. FIG. Here, since the jig 50 of the present invention has a plurality of needles 58, the horizontal error is calculated by measuring the distance between each needle 58 and the wafer (W). That is, the upper and lower cameras 6A and 6B have a function of measuring the distance between the probe and the wafer by imaging the probe terminal 5A during the probe test as described above. The upper and lower cameras 6A and 6B are similarly applied.

Accordingly, the horizontal check jig 50 of the present invention can automatically obtain the horizontal error by the cameras 6A and 6B inside the probe apparatus without manual operation. In addition, since the horizontal jig 50 is mounted in the probe card 7, the horizontal degree is checked with the head plate 8 closed. Therefore, problems such as horizontal abnormality due to the head plate 8 are cured.

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the horizontal check jig is formed in the form of a board, and the jig is attached to the holder of the probe card. Then, the distance between the needle of the horizontal check jig and the wafer is automatically measured using a camera used for the probe test. Accordingly, since the jig does not need to be manually operated, an error due to manual operation can be reduced. In addition, since the horizontal jig for checking is mounted on the probe card, the horizontal degree is checked with the head plate closed. Therefore, the problem that the position of the wafer is changed by the load due to the head plate can be cured.

Other changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims (5)

A probe device comprising a probe card having a plurality of probes located on an upper surface of a space for testing electrical characteristics of a wafer, and a camera for measuring a distance between the probe and the wafer while determining the position of the probe of the probe card. The probe card is provided with a jig for checking the wafer horizontal including a plurality of needles, The camera measures a horizontal error by measuring a distance between the needle of the jig for wafer horizontal check and the wafer. According to claim 1, The wafer horizontal check jig, Printed circuit boards, An insulation pattern film disposed on one surface of the printed circuit board; And a pin guide block having a plurality of needles fixed to the other surface of the printed circuit board. According to claim 2, wherein the wafer horizontal check jig, Probe apparatus further comprises a connector for checking a zero point on the surface of the insulating pattern film, the handle is installed on both sides of the connector to move the printed circuit board. The probe device of claim 2, wherein the printed circuit board is formed of aluminum. The probe apparatus of claim 2, wherein the needle of the wafer horizontal check jig is formed of tungsten.