Probe card cleaning device

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, especially probe card cleaning device, including base, be provided with the boss on the base, be provided with a plurality of cleaning grooves on the boss, each cleaning groove is configured to correspond with the probe of probe card one to one, grinding assembly is set up in each cleaning groove, including grinding stick, the first power part of drive grinding stick rotates around the axis of corresponding probe and the second power part of drive grinding stick rotates around the axis of itself, and grinding stick is obliquely arranged and is configured to at least partially fit with the circumferential side wall of probe, drive assembly is set up in the base, is used for driving the rotation of first power part in each cleaning groove. The utility model can solve the problem that the size of perpendicular probe card needle tip becomes big and leads to poor test effect, improve the needle cleaning efficiency, and can reduce the repair frequency of perpendicular probe card, reduce the maintenance cost of probe card, increase its service life.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and in particular to a probe card cleaning device. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, a prober is typically used to perform functional testing on wafers. The prober has a built-in probe card with multiple probes. During the functional testing of the chip, there are usually pads on the wafer. During the test, the probes on the probe card need to contact the pads on the dicing path of the wafer under test (pinning) to perform electrical testing.

[0003] During testing, high-voltage current testing and high-frequency probe penetration generate continuous heat, causing the probe tip to wear down during the melting process. Metal shavings from the pads also melt and adhere to the tip, gradually thickening it and increasing the contact area. This leads to abnormal test data, affecting the yield of functional tests and even causing wafer scrapping, requiring return for repair in severe cases. Therefore, probe cleaning is necessary at regular intervals.

[0004] Most existing needle cleaning methods involve placing a needle cleaning sheet with a polymer coating (with a certain degree of roughness) on the machine and performing the same needle piercing action as the test to clean the needle tip surface of the probe card. However, for vertical probes, only the tip can be cleaned, and the surrounding area cannot be cleaned. This method has limited effectiveness in removing metal shavings and cannot solve the problem of the needle tip becoming thicker. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a probe card cleaning device to solve the problem that the existing technology has limited effectiveness in removing metal shavings with vertical probes and cannot solve the problem of the probe tip becoming thicker.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this utility model is achieved through the following technical solution: This utility model provides a probe card cleaning device for mounting on a probe machine platform, the probe card cleaning device comprising: A base, on which a boss is provided, and a plurality of cleaning grooves are provided on the boss, each of the cleaning grooves being configured to correspond one-to-one with the probes of the probe card; The grinding assembly is disposed in each of the cleaning tanks and includes a grinding rod, a first power component that drives the grinding rod to rotate about the axis of the corresponding probe, and a second power component that drives the grinding rod to rotate about its own axis. The grinding rod is inclined and configured to at least partially fit against the peripheral sidewall of the probe. A drive assembly, disposed within the base, is used to drive the first power component within each of the cleaning tanks to rotate.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning grooves are arranged in at least one row at intervals on the protrusions.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the grinding assembly further includes a sleeve coaxially disposed with the cleaning tank, the top end of the sleeve being flush with the top end of the cleaning tank, the bottom end of the sleeve being fixedly connected to the output end of the first power component, and the grinding rod being inclinedly disposed on the outer side wall of the sleeve.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the sleeve has an internal cavity for accommodating the probe, and a grinding groove is formed on the outer wall of the sleeve corresponding to the grinding rod. The grinding rod is at least partially exposed in the grinding groove and extends into the cavity.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the cavity includes at least a first forming section, the inner diameter of which gradually decreases in the direction away from the top of the sleeve.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the cavity further includes a second forming section, which is connected to the upper part of the first forming section, and the second forming section is cylindrical.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, a first mounting bracket and a second mounting bracket are fixedly provided on the outer side wall of the sleeve, and the top and bottom ends of the grinding rod are rotatably connected to the first mounting bracket and the second mounting bracket, respectively.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the inner wall of the cleaning tank is provided with a ring of oblique internal teeth along the circumference, the second power component is connected between the bottom end of the grinding rod and the second mounting bracket, the second power component is a helical gear, and the helical gear meshes with the oblique internal teeth.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the outer wall of the grinding rod is provided with a plurality of raised ridges spirally, or the outer wall of the grinding rod is provided with a plurality of raised dots, or the outer wall of the grinding rod is provided with a plurality of oblique lines.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, the drive assembly includes a drive motor, a drive pulley, and a transmission belt. The output end of the drive motor is connected to the transmission belt through the drive pulley, and the transmission belt is connected to a first power component in each of the cleaning tanks. The first power component is a driven pulley.

[0016] In summary, the probe card cleaning device provided by this utility model has the following unexpected effects: by setting a base with multiple cleaning slots on the probe machine platform, each cleaning slot corresponds one-to-one with the probes on the probe card, and each cleaning slot is inclinedly arranged with a grinding rod, when the needle tip enters the cleaning slot, the circumference of the needle tip is ground and metal shavings are removed by the rotation of the grinding rod around the probe axis and the rotation of the grinding rod around its own axis. This solves the problem of poor testing results caused by the increased size of the vertical probe card needle tip, improves the needle cleaning efficiency, reduces the frequency of vertical probe cards being sent for repair, reduces the maintenance cost of the probe cards, and increases their service life.

[0017] Of course, any product implementing this utility model does not necessarily need to achieve all of the advantages described above at the same time. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0019] In the attached diagram: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the probe card cleaning device provided in one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cleaning tank arrangement provided in one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 for Figure 2 A magnified view of A in the middle.

[0020] The attached figures are labeled as follows: 100 - Probe card; 110 - Probe; 10-Base; 11-Boss; 12-Cleaning groove; 121-Hedge-patterned internal teeth; 20 - Grinding assembly; 21-Sleeve; 211-Cavity; 211a-First forming section; 211b-Second forming section; 212-First mounting bracket; 213-Second mounting bracket; 22-Grinding rod; 23-First power component; 24-Second power component; 30-Drive assembly; 31-Drive motor; 32-Drive pulley; 33-Transmission belt. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of this utility model. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this utility model from the content disclosed in this specification. This utility model can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments. Various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of this utility model. In the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0022] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic representations of the basic concept of the present invention. The drawings only show the components related to the present invention and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape and size of the components. In actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the layout of the components may also be more complex.

[0023] In the following description, numerous details are explored to provide a more thorough explanation of embodiments of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other embodiments, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form rather than in detail to avoid obscuring embodiments of the present invention.

[0024] Existing probe cleaning machines mostly use a polymer cleaning pad with a certain degree of roughness to clean the probe tip surface of each probe on the probe card by performing the same needle-piercing action as the test. That is, the probe cleaning machine drives the cleaning pad to move upward and contact and rub against each probe. However, for vertical probes, this method can only remove the metal shavings at the tip of the needle, but it is difficult to remove the metal shavings melted around the tip and restore the tip to its original size.

[0025] Based on this, please refer to Figures 1 to 3 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a probe card cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The probe card cleaning device is used to be installed on a probe machine. The probe card cleaning device includes: a base 10, a grinding component 20, and a driving component 30. The base 10 is provided with a boss 11, and a plurality of cleaning grooves 12 are formed on the boss 11. Each cleaning groove 12 is configured to correspond one-to-one with a probe 110 of the probe card 100. The grinding component 20 is disposed in each cleaning groove 12 and includes a grinding rod 22, a first power member 23 for driving the grinding rod 22 to rotate around the axis of the corresponding probe 110, and a second power member 24 for driving the grinding rod 22 to rotate around its own axis. The grinding rod 22 is inclined and configured to at least partially fit against the peripheral sidewall of the probe 110. The driving component 30 is disposed in the base 10 and is used to drive the first power member 23 in each cleaning groove 12 to rotate.

[0026] Specifically, the probe card 100 cleaning device is installed on the probe 110 machine, so that the needle cleaning operation can be carried out directly in the environment where the probe card 100 is working normally, without having to remove the probe card 100 from the machine and transport it to a special cleaning equipment for cleaning, which greatly saves operation time and labor costs and improves production efficiency.

[0027] The base 10 is mounted on the support platform of the probe 110 machine. A boss 11 is located in the center of the base 10, and multiple cleaning grooves 12 are formed on the boss 11. The number and arrangement of the cleaning grooves 12 are the same as those of the probes 110 on the probe card 100 to be cleaned, thus ensuring that one probe 110 corresponds to one cleaning groove 12. During the cleaning operation, the multiple probes 110 on the probe card 100 are respectively inserted into their corresponding cleaning grooves 12. Since each cleaning groove 12 has an inclined abrasive rod 22, when the tip of the probe 110 ( Figure 3 The diagram shows the state of probe 110 before grinding (the tip of probe 110 is thickened due to metal adhesion). After entering the cleaning tank 12, the grinding rod 22 is at least partially attached to the peripheral wall of probe 110, and the grinding rod 22 can rotate around the axis of probe 110 under the drive of the first power member 23, and at the same time rotate around its own axis under the drive of the second power member 24, so as to grind the thickened peripheral wall of probe 110 and restore the tip of probe 110 to its initial size.

[0028] The first power component 23 drives the grinding rod 22 to rotate around the axis of the corresponding probe 110. This rotation allows the grinding rod 22 to clean the circumferential sidewall of the probe 110 tip from a circumferential direction, ensuring thorough cleaning. The second power component 24 drives the grinding rod 22 to rotate around its own axis, enhancing the grinding effect and ensuring the efficiency of the grinding rod 22 in cleaning the probe 110.

[0029] The grinding rod 22 is tilted and at least partially in contact with the peripheral sidewall of the probe 110, so that the contact area between the grinding rod 22 and the probe 110 is more reasonable, the grinding effect is more uniform, and the situation of local over-grinding or inadequate cleaning is avoided.

[0030] The drive assembly 30 is located inside the base 10, making the entire device more compact. The drive assembly 30 drives the first power component 23 in each cleaning tank 12 to rotate, realizing centralized control and synchronous drive of the grinding action in multiple cleaning tanks 12, ensuring the consistency and coordination of the cleaning process of each probe 110.

[0031] In some embodiments, the cleaning grooves 12 are arranged in at least one row on the bosses 11. Specifically, the cleaning grooves 12 can be arranged in one row on the bosses 11 of the base 10, or they can be arranged in multiple rows and columns. Arranging the cleaning grooves 12 in a single row or multiple rows allows for the simultaneous cleaning of one or more rows of probes 110, which helps to shorten the overall cleaning time and significantly improves cleaning efficiency.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the grinding assembly 20 further includes a sleeve 21 coaxially arranged with the cleaning tank 12. The top end of the sleeve 21 is flush with the top end of the cleaning tank 12, and the bottom end of the sleeve 21 is fixedly connected to the output end of the first power member 23. The grinding rod 22 is inclinedly arranged on the outer wall of the sleeve 21. Specifically, the sleeve 21 is located inside the cleaning tank 12 and coaxially arranged with the cleaning tank 12. The top end of the sleeve 21 is flush with the top end of the cleaning tank 12 to ensure the flatness of the end face of the cleaning tank 12, while not affecting the insertion depth of each probe 110 on the probe card 100. Under the driving action of the first power member 23, the sleeve 21 can rotate synchronously with the first power member 23, so that the grinding rod 22 arranged on the sleeve 21 also rotates synchronously with the sleeve 21.

[0033] The axis of the grinding rod 22 forms a certain angle with the axis of the sleeve 21, so that the metal shavings on the outer periphery of the probe 110, which extends into the sleeve 21, are ground away by the grinding action of the grinding rod 22. The inclined grinding rod 22 can cover the area of ​​the peripheral wall of the probe 110 during movement, and the grinding force on each point of the peripheral wall of the probe 110 is consistent, thus ensuring uniform cleaning and avoiding localized over-grinding or inadequate cleaning.

[0034] Understandably, the sleeve 21 has an internal cavity 211 for accommodating the probe 110. A grinding groove is formed on the outer wall of the sleeve 21 corresponding to the grinding rod 22, with the grinding rod 22 at least partially protruding from the grinding groove and extending into the cavity 211. Specifically, the cavity 211 inside the sleeve 21 provides precise accommodating space for the probe 110. During cleaning, the probe 110 can be accurately inserted into the cavity 211, allowing the grinding rod 22 to clean the outer periphery of the probe 110's tip. Furthermore, by providing a grinding groove on the outer wall of the sleeve 21, the grinding groove's position is adapted to the position of the grinding rod 22, allowing the grinding rod 22 to protrude through the grinding groove into the cavity 211 for grinding the probe 110 extending into the cavity 211.

[0035] It should be noted that the cavity 211 includes at least a first forming section 211a, the inner diameter of which gradually decreases in the direction away from the top of the sleeve 21. The first forming section 211a is conical, serving both as a guide for the insertion of the probe 110 and facilitating the cleaning of the probe tip. When the probe 110 reaches the appropriate cleaning position, its tip is constrained by the inner wall of the second forming section 211b. Because the probe 110 is stably positioned within the cavity 211, the grinding rod 22 can thoroughly clean the probe 110 along a predetermined trajectory, avoiding cleaning dead zones caused by probe position deviation and ensuring that metal shavings on the probe 110 surface are completely removed, thus improving the cleaning effect.

[0036] Understandably, the cavity 211 also includes a second forming section 211b, which is connected to the upper part of the first forming section 211a, and the second forming section 211b is cylindrical. The cylindrical structure of the second forming section 211b is adapted to the probe 110, which helps to provide guidance for the insertion of the probe 110.

[0037] In the above embodiment, a first mounting bracket 212 and a second mounting bracket 213 are fixedly disposed on the outer side wall of the sleeve 21. The top and bottom ends of the grinding rod 22 are rotatably connected to the first mounting bracket 212 and the second mounting bracket 213, respectively. Specifically, the first mounting bracket 212 and the second mounting bracket 213 are arranged vertically offset on the sleeve 21 so that the axis of the grinding rod 22 has a certain angle with the axis of the sleeve 21. The grinding rod 22 is rotatably connected to the first mounting bracket 212 and the second mounting bracket 213. The first mounting bracket 212 and the second mounting bracket 213 constrain the top and bottom ends of the grinding rod 22, respectively, to ensure the axial and radial stability of the grinding rod 22. This ensures that the grinding rod 22 can grind the probe 110 according to a predetermined trajectory during rotation. Simultaneously, the grinding rod 22 can rotate around the axis of the probe 110 along with the sleeve 21, and under the action of the second driving member, the grinding rod 22 can rotate around its own axis.

[0038] It is worth mentioning that the inner wall of the cleaning tank 12 is provided with a ring of helical internal teeth 121 along the circumference. The second power component 24 is connected between the bottom end of the grinding rod 22 and the second mounting bracket 213. The second power component 24 is a helical gear, and the helical gear meshes with the helical internal teeth 121. The position of the helical internal teeth 121 corresponds to the height of the second power component 24. The helical internal teeth 121 are arranged in a ring on the inner wall of the cleaning tank 12, providing a meshing track for the second power component 24 (helical gear) to ensure that the second power component 24 can always maintain the meshing state with the helical internal teeth 121, so that the second power component 24 will make a circular motion along the helical internal teeth 121. By setting a second power component 24 between the bottom end of the grinding rod 22 and the second mounting bracket 213, when the grinding rod 22 rotates around the axis of the probe 110 together with the sleeve 21, the second power component 24 will mesh with the helical internal teeth 121, thereby causing the second power component 24 to rotate, and thus enabling the grinding rod 22 to rotate around its own axis, ensuring the stability of the grinding rod 22 grinding the peripheral wall of the probe 110.

[0039] Understandably, the outer wall of the grinding rod 22 may have multiple spiral ridges, multiple raised dots, or multiple diagonal grooves. Specifically, the multiple spiral ridges increase the contact area between the grinding rod 22 and the metal shavings. Compared to a smooth surface, the ridges allow more metal shavings to rub against the grinding rod 22 within the same time frame, thus accelerating the grinding speed. Alternatively, multiple raised dots on the outer wall of the grinding rod 22 can alter the surface roughness, increasing the friction between the metal shavings and the grinding rod 22, and facilitating fine grinding. Or, multiple diagonal grooves at a certain angle on the outer wall of the grinding rod 22 can guide the flow of metal shavings, allowing them to flow orderly within the cleaning tank 12.

[0040] See Figure 2In the above embodiment, the drive assembly 30 includes a drive motor 31, a drive wheel 32, and a transmission belt 33. The output end of the drive motor 31 is connected to the transmission belt 33 via the drive wheel 32, and the transmission belt 33 is connected to the first power member 23 in each cleaning tank 12. The first power member 23 is a driven wheel. The drive assembly 30 can be disposed inside the base 10. The output end of the drive motor 31 is connected to the drive wheel 32, and the drive wheel 32 is connected to each first power member 23 (driven wheel) via the transmission belt 33, thereby driving each first power member 23 to move synchronously, realizing the cleaning operation of the probes 110 in each cleaning tank 12. Thus, by connecting a single transmission belt 33 to the driven wheels in multiple cleaning tanks 12 simultaneously, one drive motor 31 simultaneously drives the first power members 23 in multiple cleaning tanks 12 to rotate synchronously, ensuring that components such as the grinding rod 22 in each cleaning tank 12 can operate in the same motion mode, guaranteeing the consistency of cleaning treatment of each probe 110 in each cleaning tank 12, and improving cleaning efficiency.

[0041] In summary, the probe card 100 cleaning device provided by this utility model has the following unexpected effects: by setting a base 10 with multiple cleaning grooves 12 on the probe 110 machine, each cleaning groove 12 corresponds one-to-one with the probe 110 on the probe card 100, and each cleaning groove 12 is inclinedly arranged with a grinding rod 22, when the needle tip enters the cleaning groove 12, the circumference of the needle tip is ground to remove metal shavings by rotating the grinding rod 22 around the axis of the probe 110 and around its own axis. This solves the problem of poor testing results caused by the increased size of the vertical probe card 100 needle tip, improves the needle cleaning efficiency, reduces the frequency of repair of the vertical probe card 100, reduces the maintenance cost of the probe card 100, and increases its service life.

[0042] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of this utility model and are not intended to limit the scope of this utility model. Any person skilled in the art can modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of this utility model. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concept disclosed in this utility model should still be covered by the claims of this utility model.

Claims

1. A probe card cleaning device, for mounting on a probe machine platform, characterized in that, include: A base, on which a boss is provided, and a plurality of cleaning grooves are provided on the boss, each of the cleaning grooves being configured to correspond one-to-one with the probes of the probe card; The grinding assembly, disposed in each of the cleaning tanks, includes a grinding rod, a first power component that drives the grinding rod to rotate about the axis of the corresponding probe, and a second power component that drives the grinding rod to rotate about its own axis. The grinding rod is inclined and configured to at least partially conform to the peripheral sidewall of the probe. A drive assembly, disposed within the base, is used to drive the first power component within each of the cleaning tanks to rotate.

2. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cleaning tanks are arranged in at least one row at intervals on the boss.

3. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The grinding assembly also includes a sleeve coaxially arranged with the cleaning tank, the top end of the sleeve being flush with the top end of the cleaning tank, the bottom end of the sleeve being fixedly connected to the output end of the first power component, and the grinding rod being inclinedly arranged on the outer wall of the sleeve.

4. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The sleeve has an internal cavity for accommodating the probe, and a grinding groove is formed on the outer wall of the sleeve corresponding to the grinding rod. The grinding rod is at least partially exposed in the grinding groove and extends into the cavity.

5. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The cavity includes at least a first forming section, the inner diameter of which gradually decreases in the direction away from the top of the sleeve.

6. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cavity further includes a second forming section, which is connected to the upper part of the first forming section, and the second forming section is cylindrical.

7. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 3, characterized in that, A first mounting bracket and a second mounting bracket are fixedly provided on the outer side wall of the sleeve, and the top and bottom ends of the grinding rod are rotatably connected to the first mounting bracket and the second mounting bracket, respectively.

8. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The inner wall of the cleaning tank is provided with a ring of oblique internal teeth along the circumference. The second power component is connected between the bottom end of the grinding rod and the second mounting bracket. The second power component is a helical gear, and the helical gear meshes with the oblique internal teeth.

9. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer wall of the grinding rod is provided with multiple spiral ridges, or multiple protrusions, or multiple diagonal lines.

10. The probe card cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive assembly includes a drive motor, a drive pulley, and a transmission belt. The output end of the drive motor is connected to the transmission belt through the drive pulley, and the transmission belt is connected to a first power component in each of the cleaning tanks. The first power component is a driven pulley.

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