JPH0652749B2 - Probe device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a probe device.

(Prior Art) A probe apparatus, for example, a semiconductor wafer prober is actually developed in Sho 60-1.
It is a well-known one described in Japanese Patent No. 30646.

That is, the probe needle is brought into contact with the semiconductor chip pad formed on the positioned wafer, and the pin electronics board of the test head is brought into contact with the other probe needle to measure the electrical performance. At this time, the wafer is moved to the stage on which the wafer is placed, and the needle of the probe card is brought into contact with the semiconductor chip for measurement. A prober with such a configuration requires an insert ring that holds a detachably configured probe card to be attached to the part of the head plate that corresponds to the measurement part of the head plate on which the test head is required. Accordingly, there is one that is rotated about one end and connected to the measuring portion of the head plate, such as that disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-163743. In this way, when connecting the test head by rotating it around one end as needed and connecting it to the measurement part of the head plate, the operator conventionally pushed down the test head and connected this test head to the measurement part of the head plate. After confirming the above, it was fixed with a lever clamp or the like in order to maintain this connection state.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional technique described above, the operator pushes down the test head, and the operator uses a lever clamper to maintain the connection state between the test head and the measurement unit of the head plate. Since it is fixed, it takes time and labor, and further, there is a problem that the semiconductor manufacturing process and the inspection process, which are ideal, cannot be completely automated.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a probe device capable of connecting and fixing a test head and a measuring portion of a head plate by complete automation, which is an ideal semiconductor manufacturing process and inspection process. Is.

[Structure of Invention]

(Means for Solving Problems) The present invention provides a prober main body and a test in which one end is rotatably supported by the prober main body and is rotationally driven from a vertical state to a horizontal state to be connected to a measured object measuring unit. A head, a drive cylinder and a speed control cylinder provided on the prober main body for rotationally driving the test head, and a free end portion of the test head provided on the prober main body are brought into contact with each other to keep the test head in a parallel state. It is provided with a detector for detecting that the stopper and the test head are in contact with the stopper, and a clamp mechanism provided on the prober body for fixing the test head to the prober body by pressing the test head against the stopper. .

(Function) The test cylinder is driven to rotate by the driving cylinder, and at the same time, the test head is rotated from the vertical state to the horizontal state while adjusting the rotation speed by the speed control cylinder, and the free end of the test head contacts the stopper. Then, the detector detects this. Next, the clamp mechanism operates to press the test head against the stopper to fix the test head to the prober body.

(Example) An example in which the device of the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer inspection process will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the test head automatic fixing mechanism in the semiconductor wafer probe apparatus will be described. A rotary shaft (3) is provided at the end of the probe device (1) via a bearing (2), and two arm parts of a test head (4) corresponding to high frequency measurement are provided at both ends of the rotary shaft (3). (5) is rotatably supported so that the above test head
The cylinder mechanism (4) is provided so as to rotate in the forward and reverse directions about the rotary shaft (3) by the operation of the cylinder mechanism. Then, while extending the connecting shaft (6) protruding outward to both arm parts (5) of the test head (4), the prober body (1)
A pair of fixed shafts (7) and (8) for pivotally mounting a cylinder, which will be described later, are provided on both sides of the end of each of the two with their positions vertically displaced. The lower end of the air cylinder (9) is pivotally attached to one fixed shaft (7) of the pair of fixed shafts, and the piston rod (9a) of each air cylinder (9) is connected to the two fixed shafts (7). Arm part (5)
Rotatably attached to the connecting shafts (6) provided on the other side, and the lower end of the hydraulic cylinder (10) is attached to the other fixed shaft (8), and the piston of each hydraulic cylinder (10) is attached. Rod (10
Similarly, a) is attached to the connecting shaft (6) so as to be rotatable. Thus, on both sides of the end of the prober body (1), one driving air cylinder (9) and one speed adjusting hydraulic cylinder (10) are juxtaposed in a paired relationship. .

And a test head provided so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions.
Means for automatically fixing the test head (4), for example, an air clamp mechanism (11), is provided when the (4) rotates forward and is positioned parallel to the upper surface of the probe device (1). A drive shaft (12) is provided on a central shaft extending vertically of the air clamp mechanism (11), and a clamp arm (13) is pivotally mounted on the drive shaft.

The clamp arm (13) axially attached to the drive shaft (12) is driven by air. At this time, when the drive shaft (12) is extended, that is, when pneumatic pressure is applied at the uppermost position, the drive shaft (12) descends while rotating to the right or left and turns 90 ° and then descends vertically. Then, when the air pressure is switched, the drive shaft (12) is vertically lifted upward and is rotated 90 ° to be lifted and returned to its original position. The clamp arm (13) operates in the same manner in conjunction with the operation of the drive shaft (12). The clamp arm (13) has an L-shape, one end of which is attached to the drive shaft (12) at an angle of 90 ° from the one end and the other end of which is the drive shaft.
It is provided in parallel with (12). The other end is provided with a bolt screw (14) in parallel with the drive shaft (12).

Also, rotate the test head (4) in the forward
(1) A stopper (15) for adjusting the height is provided so as to maintain the parallel state with the upper surface. Furthermore, this stopper (1
A microswitch (16) as a detector is provided so that the switch is turned on when the test head (4) comes into contact with the test piece (5).

Next, an automatic fixing method in the above-described test head automatic fixing mechanism will be described.

In FIG. 4, a test head, which is a heavy object, includes an air cylinder (9) for driving and a hydraulic cylinder (10) for speed adjustment.
(4) is rotated by electrical control. An air source (17) and a valve (18) are connected to the air cylinder (9), and a speed control orifice (19) is connected to the hydraulic cylinder (10) to control the speed control orifice (19). Has a configuration utilizing a hydraulic cylinder (10). The test head (4) is rotated in the forward and reverse directions using such a driving device.

First, when measuring the high frequency characteristics of an object to be measured, such as a semiconductor wafer, mounted on a mounting table (not shown) in the probe device (1) main body, the probe head
(4) Electrical control of rotation In other words, a drive signal, that is, a forward rotation signal is sent to the valve (18). As a result, the valve 18 is set so as to conduct the forward direction rotational drive air, and the air generated from the air source 17 flows into the two air cylinders 9 for driving. And this cylinder
The piston rod (9a) of (9) and the piston rod (10a) of the hydraulic cylinder (10) extend to rotate the test head (4) in the forward direction, that is, the probe device (1) body side, and measure the measured object. It is possible to measure a semiconductor wafer mounted on the mounting table described above by connecting to the section. In this case, each air cylinder
Even if the load on the test head (4) suddenly changes from positive to negative due to the drive of (9), the hydraulic cylinder (10) for speed regulation causes the test head (4) to drop rapidly or operate suddenly. Is effectively suppressed, so that the test head (4) is always guaranteed to rotate at a constant speed.

Then, the test head (4) is connected to the probe device as described above.
(1) It is rotated toward the main body side, and when it comes into contact with the stopper (15), the above rotation is stopped by electrical control. At this point, the measurement object is in the connected state. At this time, the height of the stopper (15) is adjusted in advance so that the position where the test head (4) comes into contact with the stopper (15) and stops is parallel to the upper surface of the probe device (1). In this state, it is possible to perform high frequency measurement of the semiconductor wafer mounted on the mounting table, but the test head (4) may move, so the test head (4) is fixed by the fixing means. To do. At this time, the test head (4) is in parallel with the upper surface of the probe device (1) and is in contact with the stopper (15), or the micro switch (1) provided at the same height as the stopper (15).
Detect by 6). When it is determined that the micro switch (16) is in the contact state, the test head (4) is fixed by the fixing means. This fixing means, such as an air clamp,
Air is supplied from an air source (not shown) with a valve connected to the air clamp mechanism (11) at a pressure of, for example, 4 kgf / cm ² , and the valve is automatically set so that the drive shaft (12) descends air. And lower the drive shaft (12). At this time, when the drive shaft (12) descends, for example, while rotating to the right and turns 90 °, it descends vertically and presses the test head (4) with the bolt screw (14) provided on the clamp arm (13). At this time, consider the thickness of the contact part of the bolts (14) of the test head (4) and the stroke of the drive shaft (12), etc.
Adjust the bolt screws (14) above.

And when rotating the test head (4) in the opposite direction,
When the valve is switched, the drive shaft (12) rises vertically upward, makes a 90 ° turn, rises, and returns to its original position. Further, a negative rotation signal is sent from the probe device (1) body to the valve (1
Send to 8). As a result, the valve setting is switched so that the valve (18) conducts the negative direction rotational drive air, and the air source (17)
2 air cylinders for driving the air generated from
The piston rod (9a) and the piston rod (10a) of the hydraulic cylinder (10) contract to (9), and the test head (4) is rotationally driven in the negative direction. In this case as well, the action of the hydraulic cylinder (10) effectively suppresses the rapid drop and sudden movement of the test head (4).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the test head is automatically fixed after the rotation, so that the number of working steps can be significantly reduced.

Further, the time required for the fixing work can be greatly shortened and the production cost can be reduced.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the test head that is connected to the DUT measurement unit is rotatably driven on the prober main body from the vertical state to the horizontal state, and the test head is driven by the drive cylinder. By controlling the speed with the cylinder for speed control, the test head, which is a heavy object, can be smoothly rotated at a constant speed, and the clamp mechanism that fixes the test head to the prober body by pressing the free end of the test head against the stopper. By providing the above, there is an effect that the test head can be reliably fixed to the measured part of the object to be measured. Further, the semiconductor manufacturing process and the inspection process, which are ideal, can be fully automated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a probe device for explaining an embodiment of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram of a test head drive mechanism,
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining one embodiment of the fixing means of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a circuit for driving the test head. 4 …… Test head, 11 …… Air clamp mechanism 12 …… Drive shaft, 13 …… Clamp arm 16 …… Microscope

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A prober main body, a test head which has one end rotatably supported by the prober main body, is rotatably driven from a vertical state to a horizontal state, and is connected to a measured object measuring portion, and the prober main body is provided. A drive cylinder and a speed control cylinder for rotationally driving the test head, a stopper provided on the prober body for keeping the test head in a parallel state by contacting the free end of the test head, and the test head contacting the stopper. A probe device comprising: a detector for detecting that the prober body is provided, and a clamp mechanism provided on the prober body for pressing the test head against a stopper to fix the test head to the prober body.