Chuck

Abstract

This invention provides a chuck. [Solution] The chuck includes a support plate, a support shaft, and a thermal insulation member. The support plate is for placing a test wafer on. The support shaft is located below the support plate and supports the support plate. The thermal insulation member is provided between the support plate and the support shaft. The chuck of the present invention prevents thermal energy from being transferred to the support shaft while simultaneously preventing the removal of thermal energy supplied to the test wafer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a chuck, and particularly to a chuck having a heat insulating member.

Background Art

[0002] In semiconductor processes, generally, wafer testing is required to identify and sort defective wafers in real time. Wafer testing is performed by a probe card that generates an interface by connecting a contact probe between a test system and a wafer. The wafer is supported below the probe card and heated to an appropriate test temperature. Wafer testing is usually performed within a temperature range of -60°C to 300°C, and may even be performed at more extreme temperatures. However, taking high-temperature testing as an example, in the test process, generally, the wafer is heated. However, when the high temperature is transmitted to the support shaft of the wafer mounting unit, the support shaft thermally expands, affecting the alignment operation of the support shaft. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the high temperature from being transmitted to the support shaft.

[0003] In the prior art, generally, a cooling pipe or screw cooling method is adopted to cool the wafer mounting unit with a coolant. However, the coolant is easily affected by the environment, difficult to maintain a low temperature, and has poor stability. Therefore, the cooling effect is not satisfactory, and the cost is also high.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a chuck made in view of the drawbacks of the prior art.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] To solve the above problems, the means employed in the present invention is a chuck comprising a support plate for placing a test wafer, a support shaft provided below the support plate for supporting the support plate, and an insulating member provided between the support plate and the support shaft. The insulating member comprises at least one first insulating member, at least one second insulating member, and at least one cavity that generates a fluid path and is surrounded by the first insulating member and the second insulating member. The first insulating member is provided above the second insulating member and adjacent to the support plate. The thermal conductivity of the first insulating member is greater than that of the second insulating member, and the insulating member generates at least one insulating block between the support plate and the support shaft. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the chuck provided in the present invention, through the technical means of "a support plate for placing a test wafer," "a support shaft provided below the support plate for supporting the support plate," and "a heat insulating member provided at the connection portion between the support plate and the support shaft," prevents thermal energy from being transferred from the support plate to the support shaft while simultaneously not removing thermal energy to be supplied to the wafer W. Furthermore, the heat insulating member of the present invention is made of a material with good thermal conductivity, so that the thermal energy of the support plate is sent upward to the wafer and not sent downward to the support shaft, and there is no need to add a heat insulating layer or insulating layer to the support plate of the present invention, thus reducing process costs. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1a] This is a schematic side view of a chuck according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 1b] This is a schematic side view of a chuck modified according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2a] This is a schematic side view of a chuck according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2b] This is a schematic side view of a chuck modified to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a schematic side view of a chuck according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a schematic perspective view of a chuck according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a schematic side view of a chuck according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a schematic side view of the wafer testing apparatus of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] [First Embodiment] Referring to Figure 1a, which is a schematic side view of a chuck 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, the chuck 100 may include a support plate 101, a support shaft 102, and a heat insulating member 103. The support plate 101 is for mounting a wafer W as a test wafer. The support shaft 102 is provided below the support plate 101 and is for supporting the support plate 101. In the embodiment, the support shaft 102 may include a vertical drive unit and a horizontal drive unit to move the support plate 101 vertically or horizontally to perform alignment of the probe card and the wafer W. Preferably, the width of the heat insulating member 103 may be greater than or equal to the width of the support shaft 102 so that it is stably provided between the support plate 101 and the support shaft 102.

[0009] Furthermore, the support plate 101 may have a temperature control unit inside for heating or cooling the wafer W, and the temperature of the wafer W may be adjusted by the heater or cooler of the temperature control unit. However, in order to prevent the heat applied to the wafer W from being transferred to the support shaft 102, a heat insulating member 103 may be provided between the support plate 101 and the support shaft 102. The heat insulating member 103 may partially separate the support plate 101 and the support shaft 102. Preferably, the heat insulating member 103 separates the support plate 101 and the support shaft 102 so that the support plate 101 does not come into contact with the support shaft 102.

[0010] Therefore, as shown in the schematic side view of Figure 1a, the width of the heat insulating member 103 may be greater than the width of the support shaft 102. Also, in order to achieve the effect of separating the support plate 101 and the support shaft 102 and to avoid increasing the manufacturing cost of the heat insulating member 103, the ratio of the width of the heat insulating member 103 to the width of the support shaft 102 may be 1:1 to 2:1.

[0011] In another embodiment, the surface area of ​​the upper surface of the heat insulating member 103 is equal to the surface area of ​​the bottom surface of the support plate 101 that is in contact with the heat insulating member 103. In other words, the upper surface of the heat insulating member 103 and the bottom surface of the support plate 101 are in close contact. That is, the contact surfaces of the heat insulating member 103 and the support plate 101 do not have any through holes.

[0012] In order for the heat insulating member 103 to prevent the thermal energy of the support plate 101 from being transmitted to the support shaft 102 while simultaneously not removing the thermal energy supplied to the wafer W, the heat insulating member 103 may be made of a high thermal conductivity material with a thermal conductivity (thermal conductivity coefficient) greater than 10 W / m·K, such as 34 W / m·K, 35 W / m·K, 60 W / m·K, 70 W / m·K, 80 W / m·K, 237 W / m·K, 401 W / m·K, etc. For example, the heat insulating member 103 may be made of a high thermal conductivity ceramic, iron, or copper, but the above examples are only a part of the feasible embodiments and do not limit the present invention. In the embodiment, the thermal conductivity of the heat insulating member 103 is greater than 10 W / m·K and less than 420 W / m·K. On the other hand, the insulating member 103 may be made of an insulating material with a thermal conductivity (thermal conductivity coefficient) less than 2 W / m·K, such as glass (thermal conductivity of 1.4 W / m·K) or low thermal conductivity ceramic (thermal conductivity of 2 W / m·K or less), but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0013] In the embodiment, the thermal insulation member 103 has at least one cavity S that generates at least one thermal insulation block. Specifically, the thermal insulation member 103 may have multiple cavities and insulate together with air (thermal conductivity 0.026 W / m·K). Furthermore, the cavity S is for containing and circulating a cooling fluid. Specifically, the cavity S may be used directly as a guide channel, or as a guide pipe (not shown), so that a cooling gas or cooling liquid flows through the thermal insulation member 103 via the guide pipe in the space passing through the thermal insulation member 103, removing the thermal energy transmitted to the thermal insulation member 103 and improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the thermal insulation member 103. When viewed from the side in cross-section, the direction in which the cooling gas or cooling liquid flows is different in the cross-section of two adjacent guide pipes. In another embodiment of the present invention, the thermal insulation member 103 may be a Peltier cooler.

[0014] Based on the above, the heat insulating member 103 of the present invention may have a configuration that has a heat conduction effect on its own, or a configuration that has a heat insulating effect on its own, or a configuration that combines both a heat conduction effect and a heat insulating effect. Specifically, the heat conduction effect is for transferring heat from the support plate 101 to the support shaft 102 to the heat insulating member 103, and removes thermal energy in combination with methods such as water cooling or air cooling, but does not remove excessive thermal energy from the support plate 101 so as not to affect the heating efficiency of the wafer W. The heat insulating effect prevents thermal energy from being transmitted to the support shaft 102 by the heat insulating member 103, or makes it difficult for thermal energy to be transmitted to the support shaft 102.

[0015] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 1b, the thermal insulation member 103 may have at least a first thermal insulation member 103a adjacent to the support plate 101 and a second thermal insulation member 103b adjacent to the support shaft 102. In other words, the first thermal insulation member 103a is provided above the second thermal insulation member 103b and generates at least one cavity S as a thermal insulation block. Preferably, the first thermal insulation member 103a may be made of a different material from the second thermal insulation member 103b. For example, by making the thermal conductivity of the first thermal insulation member 103a greater than that of the second thermal insulation member 103b, thermal energy from the support plate 101 can be easily removed by the thermal insulation member 103 and at the same time less likely to be transmitted to the support shaft 102.

[0016] [Second Example] In another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2a is a schematic side view of a chuck 200 of a second embodiment of the present invention. The chuck 200 may include a support plate 201, a support shaft 202, and a heat insulating member 203. In the second embodiment, parts that are the same as in the first embodiment will not be repeated. In this embodiment, the heat insulating member 203 may have a cavity S for containing clean dry air or coolant. The heat insulating member 203 further includes a fluid inlet 2031 and a fluid outlet 2032 to introduce clean dry air or coolant into or out of the cavity S to promote the flow of clean dry air or coolant. In the embodiment of the present invention, the horizontal height of the fluid inlet 2031 and the fluid outlet 2032 is the same. The material of the pipeline between the fluid inlet 2031 and the fluid outlet 2032 may be a metal material such as iron or an alloy to achieve a superior cooling effect. Furthermore, the flow rate of the clean dry air or coolant can be determined by the inspection temperature of the wafer W, and in this specification, flow rate means the volume of gas flowing per unit time.

[0017] Specifically, the cavity S may be directly used as a space through which clean dry air or a coolant flows, or a fluid path may be provided in the cavity S so that the clean dry air or the coolant flows through the fluid path. When introducing the clean dry air or the coolant from the fluid inlet 2031 into the cavity S, it has a first temperature, and when导出 the clean dry air or the coolant from the cavity S to the fluid outlet 2032, it has a second temperature. In this case, the second temperature is greater than the first temperature, indicating that the clean dry air or the coolant effectively removes thermal energy from the cavity S. For example, the clean dry air may be oxygen gas, nitrogen gas, argon gas, hydrogen gas, or the like. The coolant may be a liquid having a cooling effect such as deionized water or silicone oil. However, the above examples are only a part of the feasible embodiments and do not limit the present invention.

[0018] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2b, the heat insulating member 203 may have at least a first heat insulating member 203a adjacent to the support plate 201 and a second heat insulating member 203b adjacent to the support shaft 202. In other words, the first heat insulating member 203a is provided above the second heat insulating member 203b to generate at least one cavity S as a heat insulating block. Preferably, the first heat insulating member 203a may be made of a material different from that of the second heat insulating member 203b. For example, by making the thermal conductivity of the first heat insulating member 203a greater than the thermal conductivity of the second heat insulating member 203b, the thermal energy from the support plate 201 can be easily removed by the heat insulating member 203 and at the same time it is difficult to be transmitted to the support shaft 202.

[0019] It should be noted that there is an unclear expression "导出" in the translation of , which may need to be further clarified according to the accurate meaning in the original text.Furthermore, the first heat insulating member 203a and the second heat insulating member 203b may be made of a high thermal conductivity material having a thermal conductivity (thermal conductivity coefficient) greater than 10 W / m·K, such as, for example, 34 W / m·K, 35 W / m·K, 60 W / m·K, 70 W / m·K, 80 W / m·K, 237 W / m·K, 401 W / m·K, etc. For example, the first heat insulating member 203a and the second heat insulating member 203b may be made of high thermal conductivity ceramic, iron, copper, or the like. However, the above examples are only a part of the feasible embodiments and do not limit the present invention. In an embodiment, the thermal conductivities of the first heat insulating member 203a and the second heat insulating member 203b may be different. For example, the thermal conductivity of the first heat insulating member 203a may be 35 W / m·K and the thermal conductivity of the second heat insulating member 203b may be 80 W / m·K. On the other hand, the first heat insulating member 203a and the second heat insulating member 203b may be made of a heat insulating material having a thermal conductivity (thermal conductivity coefficient) less than 2 W / m·K, such as, for example, glass (thermal conductivity of 1.4 W / m·K) or low thermal conductivity ceramic (thermal conductivity of 2 W / m·K or less), but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0020] [Third Embodiment] In another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the chuck 300 of the third embodiment of the present invention. The chuck 300 may include a support plate 301, a support shaft 302, and a heat insulating member 303. In the third embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment will not be repeatedly described. In this embodiment, as a heat insulating block, the heat insulating member 303 may include a plurality of fins 303f to generate a plurality of cavities S in the heat insulating member 303.

[0021] Similar to the above embodiments, the cavity S may be directly a space through which clean dry air or a coolant flows, or a fluid path may be provided in the cavity S so that clean dry air or a coolant flows through the fluid path. In other words, as shown in FIG. 3, clean dry air or a coolant can flow between the plurality of fins 303f to remove heat energy from the cavity S.

[0022] Furthermore, the thermal insulation member 303 may have at least a first thermal insulation member 303a adjacent to the support plate 301 and a second thermal insulation member 303b adjacent to the support shaft 302. In other words, the first thermal insulation member 303a is provided above the second thermal insulation member 303b and generates at least one cavity S as a thermal insulation block. Preferably, the first thermal insulation member 303a may be made of a different material from the second thermal insulation member 303b. For example, by making the thermal conductivity of the first thermal insulation member 303a greater than that of the second thermal insulation member 303b, thermal energy from the support plate 301 can be easily removed by the thermal insulation member 303 and at the same time less likely to be transmitted to the support shaft 302.

[0023] [Fourth embodiment] In another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a chuck 400 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 5 is a schematic side view of the chuck 400 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The chuck 400 may include a support plate 401, a support shaft 402, and a heat insulating member 403. The heat insulating member 403 prevents the support plate 401 and the support shaft 402 from coming into direct contact, and prevents the thermal energy of the support plate 401 from being transmitted to the support shaft 402. Furthermore, the heat insulating member 403 may have a cavity S as a space through which clean dry air or coolant flows. The heat insulating member 403 may also further include a fluid inlet 4031 and a fluid outlet 4032 to introduce clean dry air or coolant into or out of the cavity S, thereby promoting the flow of clean dry air or coolant.

[0024] In embodiments of the present invention, the heat insulating member 403 may include one fluid inlet 4031 and at least two fluid outlets 4032. The horizontal heights of the fluid inlet 4031 and the fluid outlets 4032 may also be different. For example, the fluid inlet 4031 may be provided on the main body of the heat insulating member 403, and the fluid outlets 4032 may be provided adjacent to the support plate 401. In other words, the fluid inlet 4031 is located below the fluid outlets 4032. That is, the clean dry air or coolant can maintain a low temperature before entering the cavity S because it is not adjacent to the support plate 401, and when the clean dry air or coolant flows to the fluid outlet 4032, it comes into direct contact with the support plate 401, thereby improving the heat dissipation efficiency in removing thermal energy from the support plate 401.

[0025] Specifically, there is a first temperature when clean dry air or coolant is introduced into the cavity S from the fluid inlet 4031, and a second temperature when the clean dry air or coolant is discharged from the cavity S to the fluid outlet 4032. In this case, the second temperature is greater than the first temperature, indicating that the clean dry air or coolant effectively removes thermal energy from the cavity S.

[0026] [Fifth Example] Furthermore, the chucks 100, 200, 300, and 400 of the present invention can be used in wafer testing apparatus. Taking the chuck 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention as an example, as shown in Figure 6, the wafer testing apparatus may include a case 10, a test unit 20, and the chuck 100. The space enclosed by the case 10 may be a test chamber 11 for testing the wafer W. The test unit 20 is provided on top of the case 10 and is located inside the test chamber 11.

[0027] The test unit 20 may include a test head 21, a port 22, a probe card 23, and probes 24. The test head 21 applies an electrical signal when the wafer W and the probe card 23 come into contact, and inspects the state of the wafer W based on the wafer W's response to the input electrical signal. The port 22 provides space for electrically connecting the probe card 23 and the test head 21. The probe card 23 has a plurality of probes 24.

[0028] When testing the wafer W, the wafer W may be placed on the support plate 101 using a transport device, and the position of the wafer W in the vertical and horizontal directions may be adjusted using the support shaft 102 to align the probe card 23 with the wafer W. Then, the wafer W is brought into contact with the multiple probes 24 of the probe card 23, and an electrical signal is applied by the test head 21 to test the wafer W.

[0029] [Beneficial effects of the examples] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the chuck provided in the present invention, through the technical means of "a support plate for placing a test wafer," "a support shaft provided below the support plate for supporting the support plate," and "a heat insulating member provided at the connection portion between the support plate and the support shaft," prevents thermal energy from being transferred from the support plate to the support shaft while simultaneously not removing thermal energy to be supplied to the wafer W. Furthermore, the heat insulating member of the present invention is made of a material with good thermal conductivity, so that the thermal energy of the support plate is sent upward to the wafer and not sent downward to the support shaft, and there is no need to add a heat insulating layer or insulating layer to the support plate of the present invention, thus reducing process costs. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0030] 100, 200, 300, 400 Chucks 101, 201, 301, 401 Support Plates 102, 202, 302, 402 Support shaft 103, 203, 303, 403 Insulation material 2031, 4031 Fluid inlet 2032, 4032 Fluid outlet 10 cases 11 Test Chamber 20 test units 21 Test Head 22 ports 23 Probe Card 24 probes 103a, 203a, 303a First insulation member 103b, 203b, 303b Second insulation member 100 wafer testing machine 303f Fin W wafer S Cavity

Claims

1. A support plate for placing the test wafer, A support shaft is provided below the support plate to support the support plate, A heat insulating member provided between the support plate and the support shaft, Includes, The aforementioned heat insulating member is A first thermal insulation member is provided below the support plate and adjacent to the support plate, A second insulating member is provided below the first insulating member and adjacent to the support shaft, A fluid path is generated, and at least one cavity surrounded by the first insulating member and the second insulating member, Includes, The thermal conductivity of the first insulating member is greater than that of the second insulating member. The aforementioned heat insulating member generates at least one heat insulating block between the support plate and the support shaft, A chuck characterized in that at least some of the support shafts support the support plate with the heat insulating member.

2. The aforementioned heat insulating member is Connected to the cavity is at least one fluid inlet for introducing a cooling fluid into the cavity, The chuck according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one fluid outlet connected to the cavity for discharging the cooling fluid from the cavity.

3. The chuck according to claim 2, characterized in that the horizontal height of the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet are the same.

4. The chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that the first heat insulating member has a plurality of fins.

5. A support plate for placing the test wafer, A support shaft is provided below the support plate to support the support plate, A heat insulating member provided between the support plate and the support shaft, Includes, The aforementioned heat insulating member is First insulating member and A second insulating member having the same thermal conductivity as the first insulating member, A fluid path is generated, and at least one cavity surrounded by the first insulating member and the second insulating member, Includes, The chuck is characterized in that the heat insulating member generates at least one heat insulating block between the support plate and the support shaft.

6. The aforementioned heat insulating member is Connected to the cavity is at least one fluid inlet for introducing a cooling fluid into the cavity, Multiple fluid outlets connected to the cavity for discharging the cooling fluid from the cavity, It further includes, The chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that the fluid inlet is located below the fluid outlet.

7. The chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that the width of the heat insulating member is greater than or equal to the width of the support shaft.

8. The chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that the heat insulating member has a plurality of fins.

9. The chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that the first insulating member and the second insulating member are made of the same material.

10. The chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that the first insulating member and the second insulating member are a single member.

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