JPH0360141A - Probe equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a probe device used for inspecting chips formed on a semiconductor wafer.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, in order to inspect and measure chips formed on semiconductor wafers, a probe card is constructed by soldering the rear end of a probe needle to a conductive pattern on a printed circuit board. The tester measures various electrical characteristics by bringing a needle into contact with the electrode pads of each chip formed on a semiconductor wafer.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, according to the above-mentioned conventional example, with the recent increase in density and integration of semiconductor integrated circuits.

A high density of probe needles is required, which makes it difficult to incorporate the probe needles into the probe card, and the positioning of the probe needles must be performed with high precision.Poor positioning can lead to a decrease in measurement accuracy. There was a demand for the development of a probe card with high connectivity and high density. In addition, since the probe needle may become misaligned during use,
Probe cards using probe needles were not suitable for high-density probes.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and focuses on the technology of flexible printed circuit boards (hereinafter referred to as FPC), and by applying this FPC to a probe device, the measurement contact part of the electrode pad can be changed to FPC. The purpose is to significantly improve the positioning accuracy of the measurement contact part by integrating it with the above, and thereby to be able to apply it to a high-density probe device.

Toyotoshi Misato (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus for forming a probe card using a flexible printed circuit board, in which the flexible printed circuit board is curved. A contact protrusion is formed, and grooves are formed on both side edges of the contact protrusion.

(Function) Therefore, according to the present invention, first, an FPC is patterned into a film such as a polyimide film or a polyester film through a normal manufacturing process, and a conductor pattern made of a material such as copper foil is formed on the film through an etching process. 1. Next, a contact measurement part for contacting and measuring the electrode pad of the wafer on the FPC is plastically deformed by heating and pressure treatment to integrally form a contact protrusion. Furthermore, grooves are formed on both side edges of the contact protrusion to impart spring properties to the contact protrusion, absorbing height differences in the measurement position and improving measurement accuracy. When actually making measurements by contacting the electrode pads of the wafer, it becomes possible to measure the electrical characteristics of the wafer by bringing the contact protrusions of the FPC into contact with the electrode pads.

In this case, the conductor pattern and contact projections of the probe device can be formed based on FPC manufacturing technology, so
Suitable for high-density wafer probes.

(Example) Examples of the probe device according to the present invention are shown in Figures 1 to 7.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

In order to form the thin film probe card 1 in the probe device, the FPC 2 is manufactured by a normal manufacturing process.

A film 3 such as a polyimide film or a polyester film is patterned, and a conductor pattern 4 made of a material such as copper foil is formed on the film 3 (FPC insulator base) by an etching process.Next, the electrode pads of the wafer (Fig. A contact measuring portion (not shown) for contacting and measuring is plastically deformed by heating and pressure treatment to form a contact protrusion 5.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 7, the FPC 2 is placed on a concave formwork 6, and a heating section 8 having a convex portion 7 is heated and pressurized from above to, for example, about 200° C. to form a part of the FPC 2. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a large number of contact protrusions 5 are formed by plastically deforming them into a convex shape. This contact protrusion 5 is a contact measurement part for contacting and measuring the electrode pad of the wafer, and the length direction of the contact protrusion 5 is 70μ, the distance between the tops of the contact protrusions 5 is 70μ, and the height is , 40μ. Furthermore, cut grooves 9 are formed on both side edges of the contact protrusion 5. This kerf 9 has a length of 100μ and a width of 20μ.

Therefore, the contact protrusions 5 are formed integrally with the FPC 2, and the gaps between the contact protrusions 5 can be formed using semiconductor photolithography technology, so that a high-density contact measuring section can be formed with high precision.

Cut grooves 9 are formed on both side edges of the contact projection 5 to impart spring properties to the contact projection 5, and 81! The measurement accuracy is improved by absorbing the difference in height between the I pointer and the pad to be measured.

This FPC 2 is bonded to a glass substrate 11 via an adhesive layer 10, and the lower surface of the contact protrusion 5 is formed into a cavity 12 without the adhesive layer 10 provided therein.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

When measuring by actually contacting the electrode pads of the wafer, the probe card 1 is attached to the probe device by normal means, and then the contact protrusion 5 of the probe card is connected to the electrode pad by a tester (not shown) via a cable. By bringing the wafer into contact with the wafer, it becomes possible to measure the electrical characteristics of the wafer. In this case, since the cut grooves 9 are formed on both sides of the contact protrusion 5, the contact protrusion 5 is given appropriate elasticity, and the contact protrusion 5 having this elasticity is able to adjust the height difference commensurately when it comes into contact with the electrode pad. The contact protrusion 5 and the FPC 2 are integrated, so there is no risk of the probe needle shifting as in the past.Furthermore, it is based on FPC manufacturing technology. In addition, the conductor pattern and contact projections of the probe device can be formed, making it extremely suitable for high-density wafer probes.

As is clear from the above, the present invention has the following excellent effects.

By applying FPC to a probe device, the measurement contact part of the electrode pad can be integrated with the FPC, and semiconductor photolithography technology can be used, so positioning accuracy can be significantly improved, and high-density probe devices can be used. It has such effects that it can be applied to

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the probe device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view of a probe card, FIG. 2 is a front view of the same, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of part a of FIG. 1. Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of Fig. 3,
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 3, and FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing a process of heating and pressurizing the contact portion of the FPC. 1... Probe card 2... FPC 3... FPC insulator base 4... Conductor pattern 5... Contact protrusion 6... Formwork 7...
Convex part 8... Heating part 9... Cut groove 10... Adhesive layer 11... Glass substrate 12... Cavity Patent applicant Tokyo Electron Ltd. Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 3 Figure 6 2 Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an apparatus for forming a probe card using a flexible printed circuit board, a probe characterized in that a contact protrusion is formed by curving the flexible printed circuit board, and grooves are formed on both sides of the contact protrusion. Device.