JPH081444B2 - Probe assembly - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

This invention relates to integrated circuits (ie,
The present invention relates to a probe assembly used for inspecting IC), and particularly to a probe assembly suitable for inspecting a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of IC chip portions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the inspection of electric characteristics of ICs, for example,
In the withstand voltage characteristic inspection of the insulating film, as shown in FIG.
Multiple vertical and horizontal ICs formed on a semiconductor wafer
To inspect each probe on the chip by contacting each probe at the same time,
It was not possible because the contact state between the inspected part and the probe could not be observed from the upper surface of the wafer. In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, even if a board is manufactured in which the probes are simultaneously brought into contact with a plurality of inspection points arranged in a vertical row or a horizontal row, the step of inspecting by shifting the position of the board in the horizontal or vertical direction It has to be repeated several times, and the inspection efficiency is extremely poor.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the positional relationship between a probe and a portion to be inspected can be easily confirmed, and the portions to be inspected of a plurality of IC chip portions consecutive in one inspection step are inspected. An object of the present invention is to provide a probe assembly that can be used.

[0004]

The probe assembly of the present invention is
A substrate made of an electrically insulating material and a plurality of probes arranged at intervals on the substrate, the substrate extending at a distance from each other and penetrating the substrate in a thickness direction thereof. Each probe has a hole, penetrates the substrate in the thickness direction of the probe at a position between adjacent holes of the substrate, and the tip end reaches a position facing the hole. It is bent to.

At the time of inspection, the tip of each probe is brought into contact with a predetermined portion to be inspected, and an electric signal for inspection is applied in that state. The positional relationship between the tip of the probe and the location to be inspected can be confirmed through the hole formed in the substrate.

According to the present invention, since a plurality of probes are provided on the substrate, it is possible to simultaneously inspect a plurality of inspected portions existing in the vertical and horizontal directions in one inspection step. Further, since the substrate has a hole and each probe is bent so that the tip of each probe reaches a position facing the hole, it is possible to easily confirm the positional relationship between the tip of the probe and the inspection location. can do.

The elongated holes are preferably elongated holes extending substantially parallel to each other. With this, it is possible to confirm a plurality of inspection points with one elongated hole, and thus it is possible to more easily confirm the positional relationship between the tip portion of the probe and the inspection points. Further, a plate-shaped insulator disposed on one surface of the substrate opposite to the tip portion is included, and the insulator includes the probe and the hole on one surface of the substrate. A first region having an opening formed in a region corresponding to a region including a region, and a second region having a plurality of terminals formed in a region different from the first region, wherein each probe is It is preferably electrically connected to the terminal. With this configuration, each probe can be connected to the inspection circuit by using the terminal and the wiring material connected to the terminal. Therefore, compared with the case where each probe is directly connected to the inspection circuit by the wiring material, the wiring work and the The probe assembly is easy to handle.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a probe assembly 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a substrate 12 made of an electrically insulating material, and a plurality of probes 14 provided at intervals on the substrate 12 so as to penetrate the substrate 12 in its thickness direction (vertical direction in the illustrated example). , A plate-shaped insulator 1 disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 12
6 and.

The substrate 12 has a plurality of elongated holes 18 which extend substantially parallel to each other at intervals and penetrate the substrate 12 in the thickness direction thereof. Each probe 14 is located in a region between adjacent holes of the substrate 12 and penetrates the substrate 12 in the thickness direction thereof. The insulator 16 has a first region having a rectangular opening 20 formed in a region corresponding to a region including the probe 14 and the elongated hole 18 on the upper surface of the substrate 12, and a first region.
And a second region having a plurality of terminals 22 formed in a region different from the region.

As shown in FIG. 4, each probe 14 is bent so that its tip end 24 reaches a position facing the elongated hole 18, and a resin 26 having heat resistance and high insulation properties is provided.
It is fixed to the substrate 12 by. Each probe 14
It is connected to a predetermined terminal 22 by a wiring member 28 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 which is connected to the upper end of this.

At the time of inspection, although not shown, each terminal 22 is connected to the inspection circuit by another wiring material. The tip portion 24 of each probe 14 is brought into contact with a portion to be inspected of a predetermined IC chip portion 32 of the semiconductor wafer 30 and receives a voltage or current for inspection in that state.

According to the probe assembly 10, since the tip end portion 24 of each probe 14 reaches the position facing the elongated hole 18, a plurality of IC chip portions 32 existing vertically and horizontally are inspected once. Can be inspected at the same time in the inspection process,
The positional relationship between the tip portion 24 of the probe 14 and the inspected portion of the IC chip portion 32 can be easily confirmed by a microscope or the like from the upper surface of the wafer through the elongated hole 18 of the substrate 12. In addition, a plurality of IC chip parts 32
The probe 1 can be checked because
It is possible to more easily confirm the positional relationship between the tip portion 24 of No. 4 and the inspected portion of the IC chip portion 32. Furthermore, since each probe can be connected to the inspection circuit by using the terminal 22 and the wiring member 28 connected to the terminal 22, as compared with the case where each probe 14 is directly connected to the inspection circuit by the wiring member 28, Wiring work and handling of the probe assembly are facilitated.

It should be noted that each probe 14 may correspond to an inspected portion of one IC chip portion 32 of the semiconductor wafer 30 which is an inspection object, or may correspond to an inspected portion of a plurality of IC chip portions 32. Good. In the former case, the probe assembly 10 has the same number of probes 14 as the number of inspected portions of the semiconductor wafer 30. On the other hand, in the latter case, it is necessary to make each probe 14 correspond to a plurality of IC chip parts adjacent to each other and move the probe assembly by the arrangement pitch of the IC chip parts each time one inspection is performed. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a probe assembly.

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is an enlarged view showing a cross section of a part of the probe assembly shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 10 probe assembly 12 substrate 14 probe 16 insulator 18 elongated hole 20 opening 22 terminal 24 tip of probe 26 resin 28 wiring material 30 semiconductor wafer 32 IC chip portion

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A probe assembly for use in inspecting an integrated circuit, comprising a substrate made of an electrically insulating material and a plurality of probes arranged at intervals on the substrate, the substrates being spaced apart from each other. Has a plurality of holes extending through and penetrating the substrate in the thickness direction thereof, each probe is located in a region between adjacent holes of the substrate, and the substrate is arranged in the thickness direction thereof. A probe assembly, which is pierced through and is bent so that a tip portion thereof reaches a position facing the hole. 2. The probe assembly according to claim 1, wherein the elongated holes are elongated holes extending substantially parallel to each other. 3. A plate-shaped insulator disposed on one surface of the substrate opposite to the tip portion, wherein the insulator is one of the surfaces of the substrate. A first region having an opening formed in a region corresponding to the region including the probe and the hole; and a second region having a plurality of terminals formed in a region different from the first region, The probe assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the probes is electrically connected to the terminal.