Probe card holder for inspecting wafer

Abstract

The present invention relates to a probe card holder capable of maintaining a self-position by fixing a probe card and a wafer together as one unit for inspecting a wafer, the probe card holder comprising: a first body part (110) having a probe card (111) in the center and a guide hole (112) vertically penetrating around the probe card (111); a second body part (120) having a wafer chuck (121) on which a wafer is mounted in the center and a magnet holder (122) corresponding to the guide hole (112); a weight ring (130) having a magnet chuck (131) inserted into the guide hole (112) to be fixed to the magnet holder (122) by a magnetic force, and assembled with the second body part (120) at an upper portion of the first body part (110); and a clamping part (140) provided between the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130) to fix a gap between the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130).

Description

Probe card holder for wafer inspection

[0001] The present invention relates to a probe card holder capable of maintaining a magnetic position by fixing a probe card and a wafer together for wafer inspection.

[0002] Semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuit elements of semiconductor devices, can generally be formed by repeatedly performing a series of processing processes on a wafer. For example, semiconductor devices can be formed on a wafer by repeatedly performing a deposition process to form a film on the wafer, an etching process to form patterns having electrical characteristics on the deposited wafer, an ion implantation process or diffusion process to implant or diffuse impurities into the patterns, and a cleaning and rinsing process to remove impurities from the wafer on which the patterns have been formed.

[0003] After semiconductor devices are formed through this series of processes, an electrical testing process can be performed to examine the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor devices. The testing process is performed by a probe station including a probe card with multiple probes and a tester connected to the probe card to provide electrical signals.

[0004] Typically, a probe station includes an inspection chamber, a chuck positioned within the inspection chamber to support a wafer, a chuck transport device for driving the chuck, a probe card having a plurality of probes configured to contact semiconductor elements formed on the wafer, and a tester connected to the probe card to perform a test.

[0005] In this conventional technology, a chuck transport device transports a chuck on which a wafer is mounted to an inspection chamber, and uses a vision sensor, such as a CCD camera, to identify the positions of the contact electrode on the wafer and the probe of the probe card. Based on the identified position information, the chuck transport device is controlled to bring the contact electrode on the wafer into contact with the probe, thereby electrically connecting them. Ideally, the probe station maintains uniform contact between the wafer mounted on the chuck and the probe card by applying appropriate pressure through overdriving control.

[0006] However, it is very difficult for the probe station to maintain perfect contact between the wafer and the probe card mounted on the chuck due to errors in mechanical precision and disturbances, and even if the chuck is raised to a height corresponding to a predetermined amount of overdrive, a specific part of the wafer may be pressed too deeply, causing damage to the wafer, or a specific part may not be pressed properly, causing an 'open fail' in which the probe and the contact electrode do not make contact, making normal inspection impossible.

[0007] The present invention is an alternative for efficiently inspecting a large number of wafers by breaking away from the wafer inspection process of the prior art, and is intended to perform wafer inspection by modularizing the probe card and the wafer into one. To this end, a probe card holder capable of maintaining a precise magnetic position of the probe card and the wafer during the transport process has been developed and is being filed.

[0008] [Prior Art Literature]

[0009] [Patent Document]

[0010] Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0130540 (Publication date: December 13, 2010)

[0011] The present invention aims to provide a probe card holder for wafer inspection, which modularizes a probe card and a wafer into one for wafer inspection and is capable of maintaining the magnetic positions of the probe card and the wafer.

[0012] To achieve the above object, the wafer inspection probe card holder of the present invention comprises: a first body part having a probe card provided at the center and a guide hole formed vertically through the periphery of the probe card; a second body part having a wafer chuck provided at the center on which a wafer is placed and a magnet holder provided corresponding to the guide hole; a weight ring having a magnet chuck inserted into the guide hole and capable of being fixed by magnetic force with the magnet holder, the weight ring being assembled with the second body part at the upper portion of the first body part; and a clamping part provided between the first body part and the weight ring to fix a gap between the first body part and the weight ring.

[0013] Preferably, at least two of the magnet chucks are provided at the lower portion of the weight ring, more preferably, at least two of the clamping portions are provided between the first body portion and the weight ring, and even more preferably, at least one of the clamping portions is provided between the magnet chucks.

[0014] Preferably, the clamping portion includes a shaft having one end fixed to the weight ring or the first body portion; and a pneumatic driving portion fixed to the weight ring or the first body portion and fixed to the shaft by a pneumatic signal.

[0015] Preferably, the first body part and the weight ring further include a guide member for guiding the assembly position.

[0016] The probe card holder for wafer inspection of the present invention comprises a first body part having a probe card provided in the center and a guide hole formed vertically through the periphery of the probe card, a second body part having a wafer chuck provided in the center on which a wafer is placed and a magnet holder provided corresponding to the guide hole, a weight ring assembled with the second body part at the upper part of the first body part having a magnet chuck that is inserted into the guide hole and can be fixed by magnetic force with the magnet holder, and a clamping part provided between the first body part and the weight ring to fix the gap between the first body part and the weight ring, thereby modularizing the wafer and the probe card into one body part and having the effect of maintaining a precise magnetic position during the transport process of the module.

[0017] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a probe card holder for wafer inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a probe card holder for wafer inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 is a plan view of a probe card holder for wafer inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figures 4 (a) and (b) are front and side views, respectively, of a probe card holder for wafer inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional diagram of line AA of Figure 3.

[0022] The specific structural and functional descriptions presented in the embodiments of the present invention are merely illustrative for the purpose of explaining embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may be implemented in various forms. Furthermore, they should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein, but should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

[0023] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a probe card holder for wafer inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a probe card holder for wafer inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a probe card holder for wafer inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 (a) and (b) are a front view and a side view, respectively, of a probe card holder for wafer inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a probe card holder for wafer inspection (hereinafter also referred to as “probe card holder”) (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first body part (110), a second body part (120), a weight ring (130), and a clamping part (140).

[0026] The first body part (110) is provided with a probe card (111) at the center, and guide holes (112) are formed vertically through the periphery of the probe card (111). In the present embodiment, the first body part (110) is shown as a member having approximately four sides in a square shape, and the guide holes (112) are arranged at each of the four corners of the first body part (110), but the shape of the first body part and the number and positions of the guide holes can be variously modified. Preferably, the first body part (110) is formed with at least two or more guide holes (112).

[0027] The first body part (110) may be provided with a plurality of freely rotatable rollers (113) at both ends for transport, and these rollers may be provided by a cam follower having a low coefficient of friction and excellent rotational performance, but are not limited thereto.

[0028] The second body part (120) is provided with a wafer chuck (121) in the center on which a wafer is seated, and a magnet holder (122) is provided corresponding to the guide hole (112) of the first body part (110). The magnet holder (122) can be provided by a known material (e.g., a ferromagnetic material) that can exert an attractive force by magnetic force on the magnet chuck (121). In the present embodiment, four magnet holders (122) are provided at positions corresponding to the guide hole (112). The wafer chuck (121) is provided with an air fitting (121a) for fixing the seated wafer by vacuum suction.

[0029] The weight ring (130) has a square ring shape and is provided with a magnet chuck (131) at the bottom. The magnet chuck (131) is provided with the same number as the magnet holder (122) of the second body part (120). The magnet chuck (131) may be provided by a permanent magnet or an electromagnet, and is preferably provided by a permanent magnet.

[0030] Preferably, a plurality of guide pins (132) may be provided at the lower portion of the weight ring (130), and a hole (114) may be formed on the upper surface of the first body part (110) corresponding to each guide pin (132), so that when each guide pin (132) is inserted into the hole (114) during the assembly process of the weight ring (130) and the first body part (110), the assembly positions of the weight ring (130) and the first body part (110) may be aligned. Meanwhile, although the guide pin (132) is illustrated as being provided on the weight ring (130) in the present embodiment, a guide member may be provided in which a plurality of guide pins are provided on the first body part and a plurality of holes are formed corresponding to each guide pin on the weight ring to guide the assembly positions of the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130).

[0031] The clamping part (140) is provided between the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130) to fix the gap between the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130). Preferably, a plurality of clamping parts (140) are provided between the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130).

[0032] This clamping part (140) includes a shaft (141) whose upper end is fixed to the lower part of the weight ring (130), and a pneumatic driving part (142) that is fixed to the first body part (110) and fixes the shaft (141) by a pneumatic signal. Drawing reference numeral 143 is an air fitting for supplying pneumatic pressure.

[0033] Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram of line AA of Fig. 3. To aid understanding, only the first body part, weight ring, and clamping part are shown, and the sizes and proportions of the components are exaggerated.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 5, the clamping part (140) includes a shaft (141) whose upper end is fixed by a weight ring (130) and a first bolt (144), and a pneumatic driving part (142) whose lower end is fixed by a first body part (110) and a second bolt (145) to fix the shaft (141), and the shaft (141) moves up and down within the pneumatic driving part (142) or its position (height) is fixed according to a pneumatic signal applied to the pneumatic driving part (142).

[0035] Preferably, the pneumatic drive unit (142) is a clamping mechanism in a NC (Normal Close) state, and while a pneumatic signal is applied to the pneumatic drive unit (142), the shaft (141) can move up and down in the pneumatic drive unit (142). On the other hand, when a pneumatic signal is not applied to the pneumatic drive unit (142), the shaft (141) is fixed by the pneumatic drive unit (142), and the gap between the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130) is fixed.

[0036] This clamping part (140) can be provided by a clamping mechanism of the RBPS series sold as a 'clamping and braking element' by Zimmer, but is not limited thereto.

[0037] The probe card holder (100) of the present invention configured as described above is assembled such that a wafer (not shown) is placed on a wafer chuck (121), a first body part (110) and a weight ring (130) are stacked on top of a second body part (120), and the magnet chuck (131) and the magnet holder (122) are fixed by magnetic force, so that the first body part (110), the second body part (120), and the weight ring (130) are fixed to each other. Meanwhile, during the assembly process of the first body part (110), the second body part (120), and the weight ring (130), a pneumatic signal is applied to the clamping part (140), so that the shaft (141) can move up and down in the pneumatic driving part (142). Afterwards, when the air pressure supplied to the clamping part (140) is finally cut off, the gap between the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130) is fixed by the clamping part (140), which allows the magnetic positions of the wafer and the probe card to be fixed.

[0038] In this way, the probe card and wafer are modularized and precisely maintained in their magnetic positions by the probe card holder (100), and can be transported to the inspection chamber for inspection.

[0039] In Fig. 3, the intervals (H1-H4) at each position between the first body part (110) and the weight ring (130) fixed by four clamping parts are shown as an example with arrows. To help understanding, the intervals (H1-H4) at each position are expressed exaggeratedly, and it was confirmed that the present invention can precisely clamp by maintaining the interval within a precise range of less than 10㎛ not only in a horizontal state (H1=H2=H3=H4) but also in a tilted state (H1≠H2≠H3≠H4) by employing a magnet chuck and a clamping part using a pneumatic signal.

[0040] Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, a probe card holder having four magnetic chucks and four clamping parts is described as an example, but the arrangement and number of the magnetic chucks and clamping parts may vary depending on the size of the wafer.

[0041] The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the attached drawings, and it will be apparent to a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that various substitutions, modifications, and changes are possible within a scope that does not depart from the technical spirit of the present invention.

[0042] [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 100: Probe card holder 110: First body part

[0044] 111: Probe Card 112: Guide Ball

[0045] 120: Second body part 121: Wafer chuck

[0046] 122: Magnet holder 130: Weight ring

[0047] 140: Clamping part 131: Magnet chuck

Claims

1. A first body part having a probe card provided in the center and a guide hole formed vertically through the periphery of the probe card; A second body part having a wafer chuck on which a wafer is placed in the center and a magnet holder corresponding to the guide hole; A weight ring that is assembled with the second body part at the upper part of the first body part and has a magnet chuck that is inserted into the guide hole and can be fixed by magnetic force with the magnet holder; A wafer inspection probe card holder including a clamping portion provided between the first body portion and the weight ring to fix the gap between the first body portion and the weight ring.

2. A wafer inspection probe card holder according to claim 1, characterized in that at least two magnetic chucks are provided at the lower portion of the weight ring.

3. A wafer inspection probe card holder, characterized in that in the second paragraph, at least two clamping parts are provided between the first body part and the weight ring.

4. A wafer inspection probe card holder, characterized in that in the third paragraph, at least one clamping member is provided between the magnetic chucks.

5. In the first paragraph, the clamping part, A shaft having one end fixed to the weight ring or the first body part; A wafer inspection probe card holder including a pneumatic driving unit fixed to the weight ring or the first body part and fixed to the shaft by a pneumatic signal.

6. A wafer inspection probe card holder according to claim 1, further comprising a guide member interposed between the first body portion and the weight ring to guide an assembly position.

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