JP2004170267A - Dolly for carrying probe card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dolly for carrying probe cards capable of reducing labor for replacing the probe cards of a prober apparatus, and enhancing the efficiency in replacing work. <P>SOLUTION: The probe card carrying dolly 1 used for replacing a probe card 2 is provided with a placement part 4 on which new/old, before and after replacement, probe cards are placed, a lifting mechanism 6 for lifting, up and down, the placement part, a slide mechanism 5 for sliding the placement part to and fro, a storing part 7 for temporarily storing the new/old probe cards, and a caster 8 for moving the carrying dolly to and fro/right and left. A guide part 64 is also provided for guiding vertical movement of the placement part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a probe card transport trolley used when exchanging a probe card of a probe device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Many semiconductor devices on which the same electric element circuits are formed are formed on the surface of the wafer. Before cutting the electric element circuits into individual semiconductor devices (chips), the electric characteristics of each electric element circuit are determined. In order to inspect for defects, the quality is determined by a probe device. This probe device generally has a stylus corresponding to each semiconductor device on a wafer, and sequentially associates a probe card connected to a tester with each semiconductor device on the wafer, and puts a stylus on an electrode pad of the semiconductor device. It is configured to make electrical measurement by making contact.
[0003]
By the way, a probe card having a stylus is formed corresponding to an electric element circuit of a semiconductor device, and it is necessary to use another probe card for a different semiconductor device. That is, the probe card is exchanged according to the type of wafer. For this reason, conventionally, as known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-280431, a probe device is provided with a probe card storage section holding various types of probe cards, and a probe card corresponding to a wafer to be measured is taken out and automatically read. It was supported by wearing it.
[0004]
However, as the degree of integration of wafers has increased in recent years, the measurement contents of the probe device have become more complicated, and the time required for measurement has increased. In addition, the diameter of a wafer has been increased to improve production efficiency, the number of chips per wafer has also increased, and a considerable time has been required to inspect one wafer. For this reason, many factories are arranged and used in parallel in factories having a semiconductor production scale of a certain level or more.
[0005]
On the other hand, the types of wafers to be measured hardly change one after another due to the semiconductor production process, and the actual situation is that there is no need to replace the probe card for a considerably long time after the probe card is mounted. . Therefore, in the above-described prober device provided with the probe card storage unit of the related art, each prober device needs to store a large number of probe cards, and needs to have a huge number of probe cards as a whole. Moreover, many of them are not used, and there is a problem that the use efficiency of the probe card is low. In addition, since each probe device is provided with a probe card storage unit, there is a drawback that the devices are correspondingly large and costly.
[0006]
Therefore, at present, a probe card stocker that centrally manages the probe card at a location away from the probe device is arranged, and when replacing the probe card, the old probe card is removed from the probe device and carried to the stocker, and the new probe The card is removed from the stocker, carried to the probe device, and attached. In this case, the position of the probe device is far away from the position of the stocker, and it requires labor to transport the probe card manually. Particularly, in the replacement operation of the probe card, since the probe card has a structure in which the probe card is detachably attached to the probe device by a card holder (holding ring), it is necessary to handle the probe card and the card holder together, and to handle the 8 inch. For a (about 20 cm) wafer, the total weight of a probe card and a card holder used for the wafer is about 10 kg, whereas for a recent 12 inch (about 30 cm) wafer, this is about 30 kg, and the work is The labor was extremely demanding and the solution was a pressing issue.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a probe card transport trolley that can greatly reduce the labor for replacing a probe card of a prober device and can improve the efficiency of the operation. It is.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a probe card transport trolley described in each claim as means for solving the above-mentioned problem.
The probe card transport trolley according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with a storage unit that allows the mounting unit for mounting the probe card to be vertically movable and slidable back and forth, and that temporarily stores new and old probe cards. It is provided. As a result, the labor for replacing the probe card of the prober device particularly when the diameter of the wafer is increased can be reduced, and the time for the replacement can be reduced. Also, when transporting the probe card, the mounting portion can be transported at a stable position of the lowered position, and when transferring to the probe device, the mounting portion is set to the raised position and advanced, so that the probe card can be moved forward. Transfer work can also be easily performed. Furthermore, since the storage unit for temporarily storing new and old probe cards is provided, the number of times of movement between the probe card storage shelf and the probe device can be reduced.
[0009]
The probe card transport cart according to claim 2 is further provided with a guide section for guiding the vertical movement of the placing section, whereby the vertical movement of the placing section can be performed stably.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a probe card carrier, wherein the lifting mechanism for vertically moving the mounting section includes a cam, and the mounting section is vertically moved by the rotation of the cam. The mounting part can be moved up and down with.
[0010]
The probe card transport cart according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes a shock-absorbing portion that buffers the downward movement of the mounting portion, and a shock absorber that mitigates a collision before and after the mounting portion with the forward and backward movements of the mounting portion. Further, it is possible to alleviate the impact accompanying the movement of the mounting portion and prevent damage.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the storage section has at least two storage shelves on which a card case for accommodating the probe card is placed. The number of times of movement to the shelf can be reduced, and the replacement work of the probe card can be performed efficiently.
[0011]
In the probe card transport cart according to the sixth aspect, the storage unit has a drawer from which the card case can be pulled out, so that a new / old probe card can be easily taken in and out of the card case. I can do it.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a probe card carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic overall configuration of a probe card carrier according to the present invention. A probe card carrier 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a carrier) has a mounting portion 4 on which a probe card 2 and a holding ring (card holder) 3 are mounted, and a slide mechanism for moving the mounting portion 4 in the front-rear direction. 5, a lifting / lowering mechanism unit 6 for vertically moving the mounting unit 4 up and down, a storage unit 7 for temporarily storing the replacement probe card 2 and the replacement probe card 2 and the probe carrier 1 in front, rear, left and right directions. It is composed of a caster 8 to be moved. The holding ring 3 has an annular shape, and an annular shelf 31 is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. The probe card 2 is placed on the annular shelf 31.
[0013]
FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the transport trolley 1, and FIG. 3 is a view taken along line AA of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the mounting section 4.
As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting portion 4 on which the holding ring 3 for housing and holding the probe card 2 is mounted has an upper surface cut into a substantially semicircular shape to form a concave portion 41. The holding ring 3 is held by the peripheral edge of the concave portion 41 so that the stylus of the probe card 2 does not abut on the mounting portion 4 to be deformed. The mounting section 4 can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism section 6 and slidable in the front-rear direction by a slide mechanism section 5. A shock absorber 42 for buffering the collision of the mounting portion 4 is provided before and after the mounting portion 4.
[0014]
The lifting mechanism 6 can employ a known appropriate lifting mechanism. In FIGS. 2 and 3, a cam 61 is used. That is, the mounting portion 4 is moved up and down by the undulation of the cam 61 that contacts the lower surface of the mounting portion 4. The cam 61 is fixed to a handle 63 rotatably supported by a support member 62 fixed on a slide member described later. Accordingly, by rotating the handle 63, the cam 61 is rotated, and the mounting portion 4 moves up and down between a rising position indicated by a solid line and a descending position indicated by a broken line in FIG. The slide member is provided with a guide portion 64 for guiding the mounting portion 4 up and down. The guide portion 64 is a normal linear guide mechanism provided upright along both side surfaces of the mounting portion 4. An engaging portion 65 having a hole for loosely fitting the guide portion 64 is provided on both side surfaces of the mounting portion 4, and the engaging portion 65 slides along the guide portion 64. In addition, a buffer 66 is provided on the slide member to buffer the downward movement of the mounting unit 4. The buffer 66 includes, for example, a generally well-known cylinder 66a, a piston 66b, and a spring 66c.
[0015]
As the slide mechanism 5 for moving the mounting portion 4 in the front-rear direction, a well-known appropriate linear moving mechanism can be adopted. In FIGS. 2 and 3, a linear guide mechanism is adopted. On the upper surface of the upper member of the storage unit 7, two shaft members 51 are provided so as to extend in parallel, and a slide member 52 is provided so as to be slidably supported by the shaft members 51. ing. That is, the ball 53 is interposed between the shaft member 51 and the through hole of the slide member 52. On the slide member 52, a guide portion 64 for guiding the vertical movement of the mounting portion 4, a support member 62 of the handle 63 and a buffer portion 66 are fixedly provided. Therefore, when the placing section 4 is pushed or pulled by a person by hand, the placing section 4 connected to the slide member 52 via the guide section 64 can slide back and forth.
[0016]
The storage unit 7 for temporarily storing the old and new probe cards 2 before and after the replacement includes four columns 71 and an upper member 72, an intermediate member 73 as a storage shelf, and a lower member 74 also as a storage shelf. It is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. On the upper surface of the upper member 72, four support portions 72a for fixing and supporting the two parallel shaft members 51 are provided. As shown in FIG. 5, a drawer 75 for mounting the card case 21 for accommodating the new or old probe card 2 is provided on an intermediate member 73 located substantially between the upper member 72 and the lower member 74. The drawer 75 can be pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the front-back movement of the mounting section 4. Similarly, a drawer 75 for mounting the card case 21 for housing the probe card 2 is provided on the lower member 74, and can be pulled out in the same direction as the drawer 75 on the intermediate member 73. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the sliding mechanism of the drawer 75 includes a groove 73a (74a) provided in both sides of the intermediate member 73 and the lower member 74 in the pulling direction, and a protrusion 75a of the drawer 75. Are slidably engaged with each other. Further, a rolling material may be provided in the groove 73a (74a) to improve sliding. Although two drawers 75 are provided in the storage unit 7 in the above description, the number of drawers may be further increased as necessary.
[0017]
Casters 8 are attached to the four corners on the lower surface of the storage unit 7, and the carrier 1 can be manually moved back and forth, right and left.
[0018]
The operation procedure (operation) of the probe card transport trolley 1 having the above configuration will be described. First, the card case 21 containing the new probe card 2 before replacement is placed on one drawer 75 of the transport trolley 1 from the storage shelf containing the probe card 2. An empty card case 21 is placed on the other drawer 75. Next, the carriage 1 is carried to the probe device. The old probe card 2 removed together with the holding ring 3 from the probe device is placed on the tray of the probe device and stands by. The mounting portion 4 of the transport carriage 1 is raised to a raised position by rotating the handle 63, and is advanced by being pushed by hand, and is carried to a position adjacent to the tray of the probe device. Next, the holding ring 3 on the tray and the old probe card 2 are transferred onto the mounting portion 4 of the transport trolley 1 manually or by a transfer mechanism. Here, the old probe card 2 is removed from the holding ring 3 and stored in the empty card case 21 on the other drawer 75.
[0019]
Next, the new probe card 2 before replacement is taken out of the card case 21 on one drawer 75 and attached to the holding ring 3 on the mounting portion 4. The holding ring 3 to which the new probe card 2 is attached is manually or manually transferred from the mounting portion 4 of the carrier 1 to the tray of the probe device. The new probe card 2 on the tray is set on the probe device together with the retaining ring 3. The mounting section 4 of the transport carriage 1 is retracted to the original position and returned to the lowered position by the slide mechanism section 5 and the elevating mechanism section 6. The transport trolley 1 is moved to the storage shelf, and the card case 21 in which the old probe card 2 is stored is stored in the storage shelf.
[0020]
In the above description, the mechanisms such as the elevating mechanism, the slide mechanism, the guide mechanism, and the shock absorbing mechanism are described with reference to the drawings. In addition, all of these mechanisms are manual, but a mechanism that automatically operates as needed can be adopted.
As described above, in the present invention, the labor for replacing the probe card in the probe device can be reduced, and the replacement can be performed quickly. In addition, by providing storage shelves for the old and new probe cards, the number of times the transport trolley moves can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic overall configuration of a probe card carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial side view of a mounting portion, a slide mechanism, and an elevating mechanism of the probe card carrier according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a mounting section.
FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a drawer sliding mechanism of a storage section of the probe card transport cart according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Probe card carrier (transporter)
2 Probe card 3 Holding ring 4 Mounting section 42 Shock absorber 5 Slide mechanism section 51 Shaft member 52 Slide member 53 Ball 6 Lifting mechanism section 61 Cam 62 Support member 63 Handle 64 Guide part 65 ... engaging part 66 ... buffer part 7 ... storage part 71 ... support column 72 ... upper member 73 ... intermediate member 74 ... lower member 75 ... drawer 8 ... caster

Claims (6)

The probe card transport trolley used for the probe card replacement work of the probe device,
A mounting section for mounting new and old probe cards before and after replacement,
An elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the placing section,
A sliding mechanism for sliding the mounting section back and forth,
A storage unit for temporarily storing the new and old probe cards,
Casters for moving the probe card carrier trolley back and forth, left and right,
A probe card transport trolley comprising: 2. The probe card transport trolley according to claim 1, further comprising a guide section for guiding the up and down movement of the placement section. 3. The probe card transport trolley according to claim 1, wherein the lifting mechanism includes a cam, and the placement unit moves up and down by rotation of the cam. 4. It is further provided with a buffering part for buffering the downward movement of the mounting part, and a shock absorber for mitigating a collision before and after the mounting part with the forward and backward movements of the mounting part. The probe card transport trolley according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The probe card transport trolley according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the storage unit has at least two storage shelves on which a card case accommodating a probe card is placed. The probe card transport trolley according to claim 5, wherein the storage unit has a drawer from which the card case can be pulled out.

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