Method of cleaning a probe

Abstract

A probe having a tip is cleaned with a cleaning sheet having a base sheet, a foamed layer of a porous material including non-fibrous abrading particles and air bubbles on the base sheet and a polishing layer formed on the foamed layer by causing a surface of the polishing layer to be pressed against the tip of the probe and the tip of the probe to penetrate the polishing layer and further to be inserted into the foamed layer having abrading particles dispersed inside. Such a cleaning sheet may be produced by preparing a paint having air bubbles dispersed inside by mechanically foaming a foaming material containing a foaming resin material and abrading particles, forming on the base sheet a foamed layer having abrading particles dispersed inside by coating a surface of the base sheet with this paint and drying it, and forming a polishing layer on the foamed layer.

Description

[0001] This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 11 / 218,932 filed Sep. 2, 2005, now pending, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10 / 298,310 filed Nov. 14, 2002, which is a continuation of International Application No. PCT / JP02 / 03335 filed Apr. 3, 2002, which claims priority on Japanese Patent Application 2001-135090 filed May 2, 2001.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to a method of removing foreign substances attached to the tip and side surfaces of a probe used for inspecting a planar target object such as a semiconductor device having integrated circuits installed thereon. [0003] Chips are produced by installing semiconductor elements and integrated circuits on a semiconductor wafer through various wafer-producing processes. The chips thus produced on a semiconductor wafer are cut off from the wafer after a current-passing test and are packaged. Tests with a current are carried out also before and after the packaging to separate fault...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The cleaning sheet simultaneously and effectively removes foreign substances from both the tip and side surfaces of the probe, improving the accuracy of electrical measurements by reducing contact resistance.

Problems solved by technology

If such a metal is oxidized, the electrical contact resistance between the probe and the electrodes on the chip becomes larger, making it impossible to carry out accurate electrical measurements.

If a cleaning device of the type with a polishing layer formed on an elastic member is used, on the other hand, the tip of the probe penetrates the polishing layer and cannot be cleaned sufficiently.

It was therefore both cumbersome and time-consuming to clean a probe.

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