JP3334659B2 - Probe card - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe card used in an inspection process of a semiconductor substrate, and more particularly, to a technique for aligning a semiconductor substrate with a probe card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a semiconductor substrate has been inspected by using a prober device and measuring terminals (PAD, referred to as "pads") of a semiconductor chip formed in the semiconductor substrate and needles (probe needles) of a probe card. After checking the needle trace of the probe card in contact with the pad on the monitor screen of the prober device and performing alignment, the pad and the needle of the probe card are brought into contact again, and the semiconductor substrate is inspected by taking conduction. Is going.

[0005] The alignment of a semiconductor substrate using a conventional probe card will be described below. 8 to 10
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a conventional probe card, a semiconductor chip, and a probing method thereof. Figure 8 of these
(A) is a side view of a conventional probe card. As shown, the probe card is composed of an insulating substrate 43 and a measuring needle 4.
And 1.

FIG. 8B shows a semiconductor substrate 44 (wafer).
2 is a plan view showing a semiconductor chip 45 formed on a semiconductor substrate 44. FIG. As shown in FIG.
Semiconductor chip 45 partitioned by scribe lines 46 on 4
Is provided with a measuring pad 48 around it.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a conventional probing method, and is a side view showing a state in which a semiconductor chip is probed by a probe card.

The alignment between the semiconductor substrate 44 shown in FIG. 8 (b) and the probe card shown in FIG. 8 (a) is performed in advance by using a prober device to determine the chip size of the semiconductor substrate to be inspected. By inputting the chip information, a specific chip is automatically selected, and after confirming the position to some extent, in a manual operation, as shown in FIG.
The measurement needle 41 is brought into contact with the measurement pad 48 provided on the semiconductor chip 45, and the needle trace of the measurement needle 41 attached to the measurement pad 48 is observed on the screen (monitor screen) of the display device of the prober device. , Fine adjustment of the alignment.

FIG. 10 shows that, when the semiconductor substrate and the probe card are aligned, an overdrive is applied to the measuring pads 48 so that the probing measuring pads 48 are provided.
It is explanatory drawing which expanded and showed the part.

Referring to FIG. 10, the elasticity is increased by applying an overdrive of several tens of micrometers in the direction of arrow A (ie, toward the semiconductor substrate) from the point where the measuring pad 48 and the measuring needle 41 come into contact. Measurement needle 4
The tip of 1 moves so as to slide in the direction of arrow B on the surface of the measuring pad 48, and makes a needle mark 49 (marking mark) for positioning on the measuring pad 48.

The confirmation of the needle trace for alignment is performed at each point (for example, about 5 chips) of the semiconductor substrate 44, and the entire semiconductor substrate 44 and the probe card are aligned.

In general, the measuring pad 48 is formed in consideration of the contact with the measuring needle 41 of the probe card, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a structure is provided in which a measuring pad 48 is provided around a semiconductor chip 45.

In recent semiconductor integrated circuits, which continue to be highly integrated and highly functional with the progress of miniaturization technology, various systems are mounted in a chip, and the number of pins per chip increases (multiple pins). And the number of pins determines the chip size.

Therefore, in order to realize a multi-pin chip without increasing the chip size, chips having a super multi-pin structure in which pads are spread over the element formation surface (entire chip surface) are increasing.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are views showing the configuration of a probe card for inspecting a semiconductor substrate on which such a chip having a super multi-pin structure is formed. FIG. 11 (a)
FIG. 1 is a side view of a conventional probe card compatible with a very large number of pins, and includes a plurality of measurement needles 51 vertically arranged with respect to an insulating substrate 53 as shown.

FIG. 11B is a plan view of a semiconductor chip having a super multi-pin structure. Pads 58 are arranged in an array on the entire surface of the semiconductor chip 55 on the element forming surface (main surface).

FIG. 12 is a side view for explaining a conventional probing method that supports a large number of pins.

The alignment between the semiconductor substrate and the probe card is performed in the same manner as in the method shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12, the probe card shown in FIG. 1A has a structure in which the measurement needle 51 is in vertical contact with the measurement pad 58, so that the needle mark is hardly formed.

For this reason, in the case of a semiconductor substrate compatible with a very large number of pins, the amount of overdrive during probing is increased, and the measuring needle 51 is repeatedly attached to the measuring pad 58 until a needle mark for alignment is confirmed. By contacting,
Positioning is being performed.

[0018]

By the way, the above-mentioned conventional probe card having a super multi-pin structure has the following problems.

The first problem is that it is difficult to align the semiconductor substrate with the probe card.

The reason is that the probe card has a structure in which the needle of the probe card comes into vertical contact with the pad, so that it is difficult for the pad to have a needle mark for positioning, and a needle mark for positioning is formed. This is because it is necessary to bring the measuring needle into contact with the measuring pad many times until it can be confirmed.

The second problem is that the device may be destroyed during the inspection process, leading to a reduction in yield.

The reason for this is that, in order to avoid the first problem described above, since the amount of overdrive during probing is increased to form a needle mark, excessive stress is applied to the pad as compared with normal probing. For this reason, cracks and the like are formed in the pad, and the possibility that the element provided immediately below the pad is broken is increased.

As a publication related to a probe card, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 03-106048 discloses a method in which a measuring probe needle that is obliquely provided from a substrate is bent to make it easy to identify a needle that has come into contact with the probe card from above. A measurement probe having a tip portion oriented substantially perpendicular to the wafer surface is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-09035.
No. 9 discloses an alignment electrode formed on a semiconductor wafer,
A configuration in which a probe card is provided with a positioning needle is disclosed.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a probe which facilitates alignment between a semiconductor substrate and a probe card without applying excessive stress to pads. To provide a card. Other objects, features, advantages, and the like of the present invention will become more apparent in the following description.

[0025]

According to the present invention, there is provided a probe card for measuring a semiconductor chip, a positioning needle for positioning a probe card and a semiconductor substrate, When performing the alignment, the tip of the alignment needle, before the measurement needle, the needle mark confirmation mark provided on the semiconductor substrate corresponding to the alignment needle. It is configured to abut.

In the present invention, the positioning needle is further extended on the side of the semiconductor substrate to be inspected than the measuring needle.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the positioning needle is bent at at least one position between the base and the tip, or the positioning needle is fixed at a predetermined position at the base. You may comprise so that it may be protrudedly provided in the state inclined by angle and may extend as it is.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described. In a preferred embodiment, the probe card of the present invention has a measuring needle (1 in FIG. 1) for measuring a semiconductor chip and a positioning needle (FIG. 1 in FIG. 1) used for positioning the probe card and the semiconductor substrate. 2) the alignment needle is provided so that, when performing alignment, the tip of the alignment needle is provided on the semiconductor substrate corresponding to the alignment needle before the measurement needle. It is configured to contact the mark (7 in FIGS. 2 and 3).

[0029] In a preferred embodiment of the probe card of the present invention, the positioning needle has a larger size than the measuring needle.
It extends further longer toward the surface of the semiconductor substrate to be inspected facing the probe card.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the positioning needle may be provided so as to protrude from the probe card substrate side in the vertical direction of the substrate and to extend longer than the measuring needle. Good. Alternatively, when the alignment needle is positioned from the probe card substrate side to the tip, at a predetermined angle so that the needle mark is easily made on the mark for checking the needle mark on the semiconductor substrate. It may be bent at at least one place so as to be in contact (see FIG. 6). Alternatively, the alignment needle protrudes at a predetermined angle from the probe card substrate side so that the alignment needle comes into contact with the needle trace confirmation mark on the semiconductor substrate at a predetermined angle when the alignment is performed. It may be configured to extend to the tip as it is (see FIG. 7).

In the embodiment of the present invention, the mark for confirming the needle mark on the semiconductor substrate comprises a positioning pad (7 in FIG. 2) provided on the semiconductor chip. On the semiconductor substrate, no element is formed immediately below the alignment pad (7 in FIG. 2).

Alternatively, the mark for checking the needle mark on the semiconductor substrate may be constituted by a mark for checking the needle mark (10 in FIG. 5) provided on the scribe line of the semiconductor substrate.

In a preferred embodiment, the probing method of the present invention comprises a measuring needle for measuring a semiconductor chip, and a positioning needle used for positioning a probe card and a semiconductor substrate. The positioning needle disposed on the card substrate side is a probe card and a positioning card, which are further extended on the semiconductor substrate side to be inspected than the measurement needle. When aligning with a semiconductor substrate having a needle mark confirmation mark at a corresponding position, first, the tip of the alignment needle of the probe card is placed before the measurement needle, The needle trace confirmation mark provided on the substrate is brought into contact with the needle trace confirmation mark with a predetermined overdrive amount, and after the alignment is completed, the alignment needle is moved. In a state in contact with the Kihariato confirmation mark is obtained so as to initiate a test by contacting the measuring pad of the the measuring needle the semiconductor chip by increasing the overdrive amount.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the needle used for positioning provided on the probe card is longer than the needle for measurement, the needle for measurement does not contact the pad for measurement at the time of positioning. For this reason, at the time of alignment, the overdrive amount at the time of probing can be increased so that excessive stress is not applied to the measuring pad and the mark used for needle mark confirmation has a needle mark for alignment.
The alignment between the semiconductor substrate and the probe card can be easily performed.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A first embodiment of the present invention will be described. First,
The configuration of the probe card and the semiconductor substrate (chip) will be described.

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a side view of the probe card, and FIG. 1 (b) is a plan view thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1, the probe card has a plurality of measuring needles 1 of the same length attached to one surface of an insulating substrate 3 perpendicular to the substrate surface of the insulating substrate 3. At the four outermost corners of one surface of the needle 1, positioning needles 2 whose length is longer than the measurement needle 1 are arranged.
The positioning needle 2 is, for example, 50u more than the measuring needle 1.
m (micrometer) is set longer.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a semiconductor chip used in one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, a plurality of measurement pads 8 are provided on a main surface of a semiconductor chip 5 formed on a semiconductor substrate 4 (wafer), and positioning pads 7 are provided at four corners.

FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining probing of a semiconductor substrate and a probe card in one embodiment of the present invention.

Positioning needle 2 and positioning pad 7
Will be described in more detail.

The positioning needle 2 is set to be, for example, about 50 μm longer than the measuring needle 1, and when positioning the semiconductor substrate 4 with the probe card, the positioning needle 2 is used.
Is in contact with the positioning pad 7, but the measuring needle 1
Since there is no contact with the measurement pad 8, the alignment can be performed without applying stress to the measurement pad 8.

Further, in this embodiment, the positioning needle 2
Are arranged at the four corners of the probe card, it is possible to prevent deviation during measurement.

The material of the measuring needle 1 depends on the material to be measured. However, when a soft material such as beryllium copper or palladium is used, the positioning needle 2 is longer than the measuring needle 1. Needle wear during probing is severe.

Therefore, by using a material harder than the measuring needle 1, for example, rhenium tungsten, tungsten, etc., for the positioning needle 2, the same life as the measuring needle 1 can be secured.

Next, the pad structure of the positioning pad 7 and the measuring pad 8 is used in a semiconductor substrate manufacturing process.
The measurement pad 8 has a different configuration. The measurement pad 8 has an element formed immediately below the pad, and has a double pad structure from the viewpoint of moisture resistance and bonding strength.

On the other hand, the positioning pad 7 is a mark for confirming a needle mark. Since excessive stress is applied during probing, the formation of elements is prohibited immediately below the pad. The thickness of copper is increased.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a needle mark confirmation mark provided on a scribe line.

As shown in FIG. 2, the needle mark confirmation mark is not limited to the configuration in which the alignment pad 7 is provided on the semiconductor chip 5, and, for example, as shown in FIG. A needle mark confirmation mark made of aluminum may be provided in the scribe line 6. In this case, since it is not necessary to provide a positioning pad in the chip, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the above embodiment without increasing the chip size.

Next, a probing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

By inputting chip information such as a chip size into the prober device in advance, the prober device automatically performs a certain degree of positioning, finely adjusts the positioning manually, and then performs a semiconductor operation. Inspection of the substrate starts.

As shown in FIG. 3, since the positioning needle 2 and the positioning pad 7 are in one-to-one correspondence, the amount of overdrive during probing is increased, and a needle mark for positioning is formed. be able to.

The amount of overdrive during probing is
Although it depends on the pad structure, generally 50
When an overdrive of um or more is added, cracks occur in the pads, leading to destruction of the element immediately below the pads.

FIG. 4A is a side view at the time of probing.
FIG. 4B is a plan view showing needle marks on the pad portion after probing.

In one embodiment of the present invention, no element is formed immediately below the positioning pad 7 on the semiconductor substrate, and the positioning pad 7 has a thick aluminum or copper film. Even if the overdrive amount during probing is set to 50 μm, the positioning pad 7
The element immediately below is not broken, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the needle mark 9 for alignment can be attached to the alignment pad 7 by the alignment needle 2.

The needle mark 9 attached to the positioning pad 7
Is checked on the monitor screen of the prober device, and fine adjustment of the alignment is performed.

The fine adjustment of the alignment is performed at each point (about 5 chips) of the semiconductor substrate 4 in order to align the entire semiconductor substrate.

In one embodiment of the present invention, after the positioning is completed, the position of the positioning needle 2 is kept in contact with the positioning pad 7 and the overdrive amount is further increased by about 20 μm. Pad 8 and measuring needle 1
Can be contacted to start the measurement, so that the semiconductor substrate and the probe card can be inspected without displacement.

In this embodiment, since there is a difference of 50 μm in the length between the positioning needle 2 and the measuring needle 1 of the probe card, in order to make a needle mark on the positioning pad 7 at the time of positioning, A 50um overdrive can be added.

At this time, the measuring needle 1 does not come into contact with the measuring pad 8, and the positioning pad 7 is provided with a needle mark 9 for accurate positioning, thereby facilitating the positioning.

Further, at the time of measurement, an overdrive of about 20 μm is further applied to bring the measurement needle 1 into contact with the measurement pad 8.

As described above, 50 μm is applied to the measuring pad.
When the above-mentioned overdrive is applied, an abnormality occurs in the pad. However, in the present embodiment, since only about 20 μm or less of the overdrive of 50 μm or less is applied to the measurement pad 8, generation of a pad crack or the like is reliably avoided. .

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the structure of a probe card according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 (a) is a side view and FIG. 6 (b) is a plan view.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
The tip of the positioning needle 22 is bent so as to contact the needle mark confirmation mark at an angle of 30 degrees.

As in the case of the conventional probe card 41 shown in FIG. 9, the tip of the positioning needle 22 having elasticity slides when overdrive is applied during probing, similarly to the measuring needle 41 of the conventional probe card shown in FIG. The needle mark can be added to the needle mark confirmation mark.

Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, confirmation of the needle trace can be easily recognized, and there is no need to apply an excessive amount of overdrive. Positioning can be performed.

FIG. 7A is a side view of a probe card in which positioning needles are set at a predetermined angle on an insulating substrate as a modification of the second embodiment of the present invention.
(B) is a plan view thereof. As shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the alignment needle 32 is positioned 30 degrees from the needle mark confirmation mark.
The positioning needle 32 is arranged at an angle with respect to the insulating substrate 34 so as to make contact at a certain degree.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

The first effect of the present invention is that, at the time of positioning the probe card, it is possible to surely make a needle mark without breaking the measuring pad (product pad) on the semiconductor substrate, and to facilitate the positioning. That is,

The reason is that, in the present invention, when performing positioning, the needle used for positioning the probe card comes into contact with the positioning pad before the measuring needle,
This is because the amount of overdrive is adjusted by using the positioning pad, and the needle mark can be reliably formed without breaking the measuring pad (product pad).

A second effect of the present invention is that the reliability of the bonding strength in the assembling process is improved.

The reason for this is that, in the present invention, when the positioning is performed, the positioning needle used for positioning that comes into contact before the measuring needle is used. This is because there is no contact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention;
(A) is a side view of the probe card, and (b) is a plan view.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a semiconductor chip used in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining probing of a semiconductor substrate and a probe card in one embodiment of the present invention.

4A and 4B are views for explaining probing in one embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A is a side view at the time of probing, and FIG. 4B is a plan view of a needle mark after probing.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a semiconductor substrate provided with a needle mark confirmation mark on a scribe line as a modification of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention;
(A) is a side view of the probe card, and (b) is a plan view.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modification of the second embodiment of the present invention;
(A) is a side view of a probe card in which positioning needles are arranged at an angle on an insulating substrate, and (b) is a plan view.

FIG. 8A is a side view of a conventional probe card,
(B) is a plan view of a conventional semiconductor chip.

FIG. 9 is a side view for explaining probing of a semiconductor substrate by a conventional probe card.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a state of a pad when an overdrive is applied during positioning of a conventional probe card.

11A and 11B are diagrams showing a configuration of a conventional probe card compatible with an ultra-high pin count, in which FIG. 11A is a side view and FIG. 11B is a plan view of a conventional semiconductor chip compatible with an ultra-high pin count.

FIG. 12 is a side view for explaining probing using a conventional ultra-high pin count compatible probe card.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 21, 41, 41 Measurement needle 2, 22, 42 Positioning needle 3, 23, 43, 43, 53 Insulating substrate 4, 44, 44 Semiconductor substrate 5, 45, 45 Semiconductor chip 6, 46, 46 Scribe Line 7 Positioning pad 8, 48, 48 Measurement pad 9, 49 Needle mark 10 Needle mark confirmation mark

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01R 1/06-1/073 G01R 31/26 H01L 21/64-21/66

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A measuring needle for measuring a semiconductor substrate to be inspected, and a positioning needle used for positioning with the semiconductor substrate, wherein the measuring needle is used for positioning. Prior to contacting the measurement terminal of the semiconductor substrate, the tip of the positioning needle abuts a needle mark confirmation mark provided on the semiconductor substrate corresponding to the positioning needle. A probe card characterized by being configured as follows. 2. The probe card according to claim 1 , wherein
The probe card, wherein the positioning needle extends from the probe card substrate side to the semiconductor substrate surface side of the inspection target longer than the measurement needle. 3. The probe card according to claim 1 , wherein
The probe card, wherein the positioning needle projects from the probe card substrate side in a direction substantially perpendicular to the substrate surface, and is longer and extends than the measuring needle.