WO2011021567A1

WO2011021567A1 - Electrical conduction pattern inspection apparatus and inspection method

Info

Publication number: WO2011021567A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/063705
Authority: WO
Inventors: 秀嗣山岡
Original assignee: 株式会社エフカム
Priority date: 2009-08-17
Filing date: 2010-08-12
Publication date: 2011-02-24
Also published as: JP2011038962A; KR101384518B1; CN102472788A; TW201132996A; JP4723664B2; TWI474012B; KR20120056256A

Abstract

Provided is a means for promptly and easily identifying defect locations in a plurality of electrical conduction patterns formed on a board. An electrical conduction pattern inspection apparatus (10) is provided with a supply unit (20) which supplies electrical signals to electrical conduction patterns (17) via a first electrode (12); a receiving unit (13) whereby electrical signals applied by the supply unit (20) are all detected from the electrical conduction patterns (17) via a plurality of second electrodes (14) that are disposed, starting from near the first electrode (12), at specified intervals along several electrical conduction patterns (17); an operation unit (24) which scans the first electrode (12) and the second electrodes (14), starting with the first electrical conduction pattern (17) and proceeding to the Nth electrical conduction pattern (17); and a control unit (23) whereby on the basis of electrical signals that are supplied to all electrical conduction patterns (17) and are detected by the receiving unit (13), there are determined the ordinal number of the electrical conduction pattern (17) having a broken wire and the location of the broken wire in the aforementioned electrical conduction pattern (17).

Description

Conductive pattern inspection apparatus and inspection method

The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus and an inspection method for detecting an electrical defect of a conductive pattern formed on a substrate.

In recent years, with the miniaturization and weight reduction of electronic devices, circuit boards have been miniaturized and the conductive patterns on the circuit boards have been densified. Due to the increase in the density of the conductive pattern, defects such as short circuits and disconnections are likely to occur. For this reason, research has been conducted on methods and apparatuses for inspecting fine conductive patterns. There are roughly two methods for inspecting the short-circuit state and the disconnection state of the conductive pattern.

The first is a method using a probe card. A pair of inspection styluses are formed on the probe card so as to contact both ends of the conductive pattern for each conductive pattern. At the time of inspection, a probe card is placed on the circuit board so that each inspection stylus is in exact contact with both ends of the corresponding conductive pattern. An electrical signal is sent from the probe card to the inspection stylus that contacts one end of the conductive pattern. The electrical signal is transmitted to the other end through the conductive pattern, and the electrical signal is transmitted from the other end to the probe card. By this method, the presence or absence of defects in the conductive pattern is inspected.

The second method is to scan the probe. An electrode plate is disposed at one end of the conductive pattern on the circuit board. The electrode plate has such a width that electrostatic coupling can be established with all of one end of the conductive pattern on the circuit board through the circuit board. The probe is disposed on the other end side of the conductive pattern. The tip of the probe is formed so as to contact only one of the conductive patterns on the circuit board. An electrical signal is sent from the probe to the conductive pattern, and is transmitted through the conductive pattern to the electrode plate. As a result, a conductive test or the like of the conductive pattern is performed. Moreover, a conductive test is performed for each conductive pattern by scanning the probe (Patent Document 1). In this method, a sensor unit can be installed at the end of the conductive pattern opposite to the probe instead of the electrode plate (Patent Document 2). The sensor unit is disposed on the conductive pattern in a non-contact manner. The sensor section is scanned in synchronism with the probe, and the presence or absence of a defect is inspected for each conductive pattern as described above. It is also possible to scan the probe in two directions (Patent Document 3).

JP 2003-344474 A JP 2006-300665 A JP 2008-281576 A

In the first method described above, the inspection stylus is formed so as to contact both ends of the conductive pattern. By this method, the presence or absence of a short circuit or the like is detected, but it is impossible to specify the position of the detected defect.

In the second method described above, a defective conductive pattern can be specified by unidirectional scanning of the probe. However, the position of the defect on the conductive pattern cannot be specified. In order to specify the position, it is necessary to scan again with a probe or a camera. Further, since the direction in which the probe or the like is moved in two dimensions increases, the control function of the probe or the like becomes complicated and time is required. When a camera is used, the camera itself and a control device for operating the camera are required. When detection is performed using an image taken by a camera, the image quality is determined by pixels having color information (tone and gradation). A pixel is the smallest unit having color information, and there is a limit to its fineness. For this reason, there is a limit to detection via an image in a circuit board with a high density.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide means capable of quickly and easily specifying defect positions of a plurality of conductive patterns formed on a substrate.

A conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for inspecting the state of N linear conductive patterns formed in parallel on a substrate, and an electric signal is transmitted to one of the conductive patterns via a first electrode. And an electric signal applied by the applying means from the conductive pattern, respectively, via an applying means for supplying a plurality of second electrodes arranged at a predetermined interval from the first electrode along the conductive pattern. Based on the electrical signal of each conductive pattern detected by the detection means, the scanning means for scanning the first electrode and the second electrode from the first conductive pattern toward the Nth conductive pattern And a disconnection determining means for determining the number of the conductive patterns having the disconnection and the position of the disconnection on the conductive pattern.

The detection means detects the electric signal from the conductive pattern to which the electric signal is applied by the first electrode and the conductive pattern adjacent to the conductive pattern via the second electrode, and the detection means Short circuit determination means for determining the number of conductive patterns having a short circuit may be further provided based on the detected electrical signal.

The first electrode is preferably in contact with the conductive pattern, and the second electrode is preferably non-contact with the conductive pattern. .

The disconnection determining means is configured to detect the kth conductive pattern when at least one of the electrical signals detected from the kth conductive pattern via the second electrode is smaller than a preset first reference value. May be determined to be disconnected.

The disconnection determining means is configured to determine, based on the position of the second electrode where an electrical signal smaller than the first reference value is detected in each electrical signal detected from the kth conductive pattern via the second electrode. The disconnection position in the main conductive pattern may be determined.

The short-circuit determining unit is configured to detect the k-th conductivity when the electrical signal obtained from the second electrode via the k-th conductive pattern detected by the detection unit is greater than a preset second reference value. It may be determined that the pattern is short-circuited.

In the inspection of the substrate in which another conductive pattern is provided on the conductive pattern via an insulating layer with respect to the conductive pattern, the short-circuit determining unit uses the kth conductive pattern detected by the detecting unit. When at least one of the respective electrical signals obtained from the second electrode is greater than a preset third reference value, the kth conductive pattern and the other conductive pattern are short-circuited. It may be determined.

The short-circuit determining means is configured based on the position of the second electrode at which an electrical signal larger than the third reference value is detected for each electrical signal detected via the second electrode from the kth conductive pattern. The short-circuit position in the kth conductive pattern may be determined.

A conductive pattern inspection method according to the present invention is a method for inspecting the state of N linear conductive patterns formed in parallel on a substrate, and an electric signal is transmitted to one of the conductive patterns via a first electrode. And detecting an electrical signal applied by the applying means from the conductive pattern through a plurality of second electrodes arranged at predetermined intervals from the first electrode along the conductive pattern. A scanning step of scanning the first electrode and the second electrode from the first conductive pattern toward the Nth conductive pattern, and an electrical signal of each conductive pattern detected in the detection step A disconnection position specifying step of specifying the number of conductive patterns having a disconnection and the position of the disconnection on the conductive pattern.

The detecting step is a step of detecting the electric signal from the conductive pattern to which the electric signal is applied by the first electrode and the conductive pattern adjacent to the conductive pattern via the second electrode. In the detecting step, A short-circuit determining step of determining the number of conductive patterns having a short circuit based on the detected electrical signal.

The first electrode is preferably in contact with the conductive pattern, and the second electrode is preferably non-contact with the conductive pattern.

When at least one of the electrical signals detected from the kth conductive pattern through the second electrode is smaller than a preset first reference value, the kth conductive pattern is disconnected. You may judge.

In each electrical signal detected from the kth conductive pattern via the second electrode, the disconnection in the kth conductive pattern based on the position of the second electrode where the electrical signal smaller than the first reference value is detected. The position may be determined.

When the electrical signal obtained from the second electrode through the kth conductive pattern detected by the detection means is greater than a preset second reference value, the kth conductive pattern is short-circuited. You may judge.

In the conductive pattern inspection method, in the inspection of the substrate in which another conductive pattern is provided on the conductive pattern via an insulating layer, each electric current obtained from the second electrode via the kth conductive pattern is provided. When at least one of the signals is larger than a preset third reference value, it may be determined that the k-th conductive pattern and the other conductive pattern are short-circuited.

For each electrical signal detected via the second electrode from the kth conductive pattern, the kth conductive pattern based on the position of the second electrode where an electrical signal greater than the third reference value is detected. The short-circuit position at may be determined.

According to the present invention, the first electrode and the plurality of second electrodes are scanned with respect to the N conductive patterns formed on the substrate with respect to the respective conductive patterns, whereby the number of the disconnected conductive patterns and The position can be specified.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conductive pattern inspection apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the conductive pattern inspection apparatus 10. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the conductive pattern inspection method. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing determination of disconnection / short circuit. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical signal detected from the normal conductive pattern 17. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical signal detected from the conductive pattern 17 having a disconnection. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical signal detected from the conductive pattern 17 having a disconnection. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical signal detected from the conductive pattern 17 having a short circuit. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical signal detected from the normal conductive pattern 17. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical signal detected from the conductive pattern 17 having a short circuit with the second conductive pattern 47.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Note that each embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Outline of Conductive Pattern Inspection Apparatus 10]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conductive pattern inspection apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, in FIG. 2, the first electrode support member 18 described later is omitted.

The conductive pattern inspection apparatus 10 mainly includes a supply unit 20, a first electrode 12, a receiving unit 13, a signal processing unit 21, a control unit 23, an operation unit 24, and a support base 30. The support table 30 is a base that holds an inspection target. The first electrode 12 and the receiving portion 13 are provided on the surface on which the inspection target of the support base 30 is held. The first electrode 12 is connected to the supply unit 20 by a conducting wire 26. The receiving portion 13 has a plurality of second electrodes 14 on the surface facing the support base 30. The second electrode 14 is connected to the signal processing unit 21 via a conducting wire 27. The supply unit 20 is connected to the control unit 23 via a conducting wire 28. Further, the control unit 23 is electrically connected to the signal processing unit 21 and the operation unit 24 through a conductive wire or the like. Details of each component will be described below. The supply unit 20 corresponds to the application unit in the present invention. The receiving part 13 corresponds to the detection means in the present invention. The operation unit 24 corresponds to the scanning unit in the present invention. The control unit 23 corresponds to a disconnection determination unit and a short circuit determination unit in the present invention.

In order to explain the conductive pattern inspection apparatus and method, a substrate 11 to be inspected is shown. Further, the direction parallel to the conductive pattern 17 on the plane of the substrate 11 is used as the direction 101, and the direction perpendicular to the conductive pattern is used as the direction 102.

[Substrate 11]
The substrate 11 is a substrate used for a liquid crystal panel or the like, and the conductive pattern 17 is formed on the base portion 33. The base portion 33 is a thin layer plate made of an insulator, and examples of the main material include glass and plastic. Each conductive pattern 17 has substantially the same linear shape, and N pieces are formed in parallel on the base portion 33. That is, the N conductive patterns 17 are formed so as to be substantially parallel to each other and arranged on the upper surface of the base portion 33. The conductive pattern 17 is formed of a conductive material, and examples of such a material include indium and tin oxide (ITO), silver, and aluminum.

[First electrode 12]
The first electrode 12 is electrically connected to the supply unit 20 by the conducting wire 26 as described above. The first electrode support member 18 supports the first electrode 12. In FIG. 1, the first electrode support member 18 supports the first electrode 12 from the side. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the first electrode 12 can be supported from the first electrode support member 18. It is. As shown in FIG. 2, the tip of the first electrode 12 has a contact portion 16. The contact portion 16 is disposed so as to contact the vicinity of one first end 35 of the conductive pattern 17. The contact portion 16 of the first electrode 12 is smaller than the interval between the adjacent conductive patterns 17, and the contact portion 16 does not simultaneously contact the two adjacent conductive patterns 17. In other words, the contact part 16 can contact only one of the conductive patterns 17.

Since the first electrode 12 is in contact with the conductive pattern 17, the magnitude of the electric signal that can be applied to the conductive pattern 17 is larger than that of the non-contact electrode. As a result, noise is reduced in the electrical signal detected by each second electrode 14. The contact part 16 is a conductor. Examples of the conductor include a metal represented by a tungsten alloy. In order for the contact portion 16 to contact only one of the conductive patterns 17, if the contact portion 16 is a metal fiber, the diameter of the cross section is preferably about 50 to 70 μm.

[Reception part 13]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the receiving portion 13 includes a plurality of second electrodes 14 and a second electrode support member 19. The second electrode support member 19 makes each second electrode 14 face the substrate 11 and supports each second electrode 14 at a position away from the substrate 11 by a certain distance. In FIG. 1, the second electrode 14 disposed below the second electrode support member 19 is indicated by a dotted line. The plurality of second electrodes 14 supported by the second electrode support member 19 can be moved together in the direction 102. The plurality of second electrodes 14 are arranged in a line at predetermined intervals from the first end 35 in contact with the first electrode to the second end 36 on the opposite side along the conductive pattern 17 in contact with the first electrode 12. ing. That is, each second electrode 14 is not in contact with the conductive pattern 17 and detects an electrical signal from the conductive pattern 17 through electrostatic coupling.

The second electrode 14 has a size facing the plurality of conductive patterns 17 including the conductive pattern 17 with which the first electrode 12 contacts and the conductive pattern 17 adjacent thereto. If an electrical signal is also given to the conductive pattern 17 other than the conductive pattern 17 with which the first electrode 12 contacts, the second electrode 14 can detect the electrical signal from the plurality of conductive patterns 17 simultaneously.

[Operation unit 24]
The first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 can be driven and transmitted from a motor (not shown) by the operation unit 24 and moved in the direction 102 as a unit. Drive transmission from the motor to the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 is realized by a known gear mechanism or belt mechanism. Moreover, the position of the 1st electrode support member 18 and the 2nd electrode support member 19 can be grasped | ascertained based on the step amount of a sensor, an encoder, or a stepping motor. As the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 are moved in the scanning direction 103, the first electrode 12 and the plurality of second electrodes 14 are scanned with respect to each conductive pattern 17.

[Signal processing unit 21]
As shown in FIG. 1, the signal processing unit 21 receives an electrical signal detected by the second electrode 14. The signal processing unit 21 amplifies the received signal, removes noise by a filter, and serially outputs the signal in a certain order.

[Control unit 23]
The control unit 23 is configured as an information processing apparatus like a computer, for example. In the control unit 23, a program for instructing the timing and magnitude of the electrical signal to be output from the supply unit 20 to the first electrode 12, and the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 at a predetermined timing. A program for moving to a predetermined position, a program for specifying a position where the conductive pattern 17 is disconnected or short-circuited based on the electric signal output from the signal processing unit 21 are installed.

[Conductive pattern inspection method]
Below, the conductive pattern test | inspection method in the conductive pattern test | inspection apparatus 10 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

The substrate 11 to be inspected is fixed on the support base 30 in advance. The fixing method is not particularly limited, and the substrate 11 is fixed at a predetermined position on the support base 30 by a robot or human power. When the control unit 23 receives the inspection start instruction, the control unit 23 moves the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 to the inspection start position corresponding to the first conductive pattern 17 (S1). The first electrode 12 contacts the first conductive pattern 17 at the inspection start position. Each second electrode 14 faces a plurality of conductive patterns 17 including the first conductive pattern 17. The inspection start position is not necessarily limited to the first conductive pattern 17 on the substrate 11, but in this specification, the conductive pattern 17 at which the inspection is started is referred to as the first conductive pattern 17.

[Applying process]
The control unit 23 causes the supply unit 20 to apply an electric signal to the first conductive pattern 17 through the first electrode 12, and starts supplying the electric signal (S2). An example of this electric signal is an alternating voltage, and the voltage is about 20V. When the voltage is 20 V or more, each second electrode 14 detects a sufficiently large electric signal, so that it is easy to distinguish between the detected electronic signal and noise.

[Scanning process]
The controller 23 moves the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 from the first conductive pattern 17 toward the Nth conductive pattern 17 (S3). Since the first electrode 12 is in contact with any one of the conductive patterns 17, in this scanning, the electrical signals from the first electrode 12 are sequentially supplied from the first conductive pattern 17 to the Nth conductive pattern 17. Are applied respectively.

[Detection process]
In the scanning process of the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19, the control unit 23 determines whether the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 14 are positioned at the measurement position (S4). If the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 14 have not reached the measurement position (S4: NO), the control unit 23 continues scanning the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19. The measurement position is a position where an electric signal can be detected from each conductive pattern 17. For example, the movement distances of the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 are detected by a linear encoder or an encoder of a motor, and the first electrode 12 and the first electrode 12 It is determined whether the two electrodes 14 are located at the measurement position. And if the 1st electrode 12 and the 2nd electrode 14 are located in a measurement position (S4: YES), the control part 23 will supply the electric signal supplied to the conductive pattern 17 and detected from each 2nd electrode 14, Received from the signal processing unit 21. This electric signal is stored in the RAM of the control unit 23 as an electric signal (S5).

The control unit 23 determines whether the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 have reached the end positions after detecting an electrical signal from one conductive pattern 17 (S6). The inspection end position means that if N conductive patterns 17 are formed on the substrate 11, the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 14 move beyond the Nth conductive pattern 17 to the end side of the substrate 11. Is the position. At the inspection end position, the first electrode 12 contacts the Nth conductive pattern 17, and each second electrode 14 faces a plurality of conductive patterns 17 including the Nth conductive pattern 17. Note that the inspection end position is not necessarily limited to the position past the Nth conductive pattern 17 on the substrate 11.

If the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 have not reached the end position (S6: NO), the control unit 23 determines the measurement position (S4) and measures the detected electrical signal. (S5) is repeated. When the first electrode support member 18 and the second electrode support member 19 reach the end positions (S6: YES), the control unit 23 stops supplying and measuring the electrical signal (S7). Then, the control unit 23 extracts line data corresponding to each conductive pattern 17 from the stored electrical signal (S8), and determines whether the first to Nth conductive patterns 17 are disconnected or short-circuited. (S9).

[Disconnection determination process and short circuit determination process]
As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 23 sequentially reads out the electrical signals detected in the 1st to Nth conductive patterns 17 from the RAM (S21). Then, the read electrical signal of the kth conductive pattern 17 is compared with the first reference value (S22). The first reference value is a value set in advance based on the magnitude of the electrical signal detected when the conductive pattern 17 is disconnected.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the conductive pattern 17 is not disconnected or short-circuited, that is, when the conductive pattern 17 is normal, it is obtained from the seven second electrodes 14 opposed to the kth conductive pattern 17, respectively. The magnitude of the electrical signal is almost the same.

As shown in FIG. 6, if a break occurs in the conductive pattern 17 between the fifth second electrode 14 and the sixth second electrode 14 counted from the first electrode 12 side, The electric signal applied from one electrode 12 is normally detected from the fifth second electrode 14, but is not detected from the sixth second electrode 14 or a weak electric signal is detected.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, if a break occurs in the conductive pattern 17 immediately below the fifth second electrode 14 counted from the first electrode 12 side, the electric power applied from the first electrode 12 The signal is detected from the fifth second electrode 14 at about half the normal level, and from the sixth second electrode 14, a weak or weak electric signal is detected. In this way, a value slightly larger than the magnitude of the electric signal that will be detected by the second electrode 14 immediately above the position where there is a break is preset as the first reference value.

If the electrical signal detected by the fifth second electrode 14 is smaller than the first reference value among the electrical signals detected from the second electrodes 14 in the k-th conductive pattern 17 (S22). : YES), assuming that there is a break in the vicinity of the fifth second electrode 14 in the kth conductive pattern 17, the positions of the kth and fifth second electrodes 14 having the break are stored in the RAM (S23). .

If all of the electrical signals of the kth conductive pattern 17 are larger than the first reference value (S22: NO), the control unit 23 compares the electrical signal with the second reference value (S24). The second reference value is a value set in advance based on the magnitude of the electrical signal detected when the conductive pattern 17 is short-circuited.

As shown in FIG. 8, the k-th conductive pattern 17 is (k + 1) -th between the second electrode 14 and the third second electrode 14 counted from the first electrode 12 side. The electrical signal applied from the first electrode 12 to the kth conductive pattern 17 is also transmitted to the (k + 1) th conductive pattern 17 so that each second electrode 14 , An electrical signal is detected from the kth conductive pattern 17 and the (k + 1) th conductive pattern 17. Therefore, the electrical signal detected from each second electrode 14 is detected with a magnitude about twice that when normal. Thus, a value slightly smaller than the magnitude of the electrical signal that will be detected from each second electrode 14 when there is a short circuit is preset as the second reference value.

If any of the electrical signals detected from the second electrodes 14 in the kth conductive pattern 17 is larger than the second reference value (S24: YES), the control unit 23 has a short circuit in the kth conductive pattern 17. Then, the kth short-circuited is stored in the RAM (S25).

The control unit 23 determines that the kth conductive pattern 17 is normal if any of the electrical signals detected from the second electrodes 14 in the kth conductive pattern 17 is smaller than the second reference value (S24: NO). Is stored in the RAM (S26).

The control unit 23 counts up the kth read out (S27), and if k = N is not satisfied (S28: NO), reads out the electrical signal of the next (k + 1) th conductive pattern 17 from the RAM and performs the same operation. The disconnection / short circuit is determined. If k = N (S28: YES), the disconnection / short circuit determination is terminated.

[Display process]
As shown in FIG. 3, after completing the determination of disconnection / short circuit, the control unit 23 reads the disconnection position / short circuit position stored in the RAM and displays the result as a test result on a display unit such as a display (S10). ). Based on this display, the inspector can know at which position of the substrate 11 there is a disconnection or a short circuit.

[Operational effects of this embodiment]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, only the first electrode 12 and the plurality of second electrodes 14 are scanned in one direction with respect to the substrate 11 to identify the number and position of the broken wire. Therefore, the time required for the inspection is remarkably shortened than before. Further, the same number of short circuits is identified by the same scanning. Further, since the first electrode 12 is in contact with the conductive pattern 17, it is possible to detect a large electrical signal that can be distinguished from noise in the second electrode 14. Further, since the second electrode 14 is not in contact with the conductive pattern 17, the conductive pattern 17 is not damaged by scanning the second electrode 14. Furthermore, even if the position of each second electrode with respect to each conductive pattern 17 is slightly shifted, inspection for disconnection / short circuit is possible.

[Modification]
Note that the present invention is not capable of inspecting only the substrate 11 shown in the embodiment. For example, a liquid crystal composed of two layers in which a thin layer transistor (TFT) employed in a liquid crystal screen or the like is incorporated. A panel can be inspected.

[Substrate 51]
As shown in FIG. 9, the substrate 51 is a substrate used for a liquid crystal panel or the like like the substrate 11, and a part of the base portion 33 is insulated from the conductive pattern 17 formed on the base portion 33. As a layer, a second conductive pattern 47 is formed inside the base portion 33. That is, the conductive pattern 17 is formed as a surface layer of the base portion 33, and the second conductive pattern 47 is formed as an inner layer of the base portion 33. In each figure, the second conductive pattern 47 is indicated by a wavy line.

Each second conductive pattern 47 has substantially the same linear shape, and X pieces are formed in parallel so as to be substantially orthogonal to the conductive pattern 17 in a plan view shown in FIG. The number of the second conductive patterns 47, that is, X, need not be the same as the number of the conductive patterns 17, that is, N.

In the short-circuit determination step described above, the control unit 23 sequentially reads out the electrical signals detected in the 1st to Nth conductive patterns 17 from the RAM, and uses the read electrical signal of the kth conductive pattern 17 as the third reference value. Compare. This third reference value is a value set in advance based on the magnitude of the electrical signal detected when there is a short circuit between the conductive pattern 17 and the second conductive pattern 47.

As shown in FIG. 9, when there is no short circuit between the conductive pattern 17 and the second conductive pattern 47, that is, when there is no cross short between the conductive pattern 17 and the second conductive pattern 47, the kth conductive The magnitudes of electrical signals obtained from the seven second electrodes 14 facing the pattern 17 are substantially the same.

As indicated by a cross in FIG. 10, a short circuit (cross) between the k-th conductive pattern 17 and the second conductive pattern 47 immediately below the fourth second electrode 14, counted from the first electrode 12 side. If a short circuit occurs, an electrical signal applied from the first electrode 12 to the kth conductive pattern 17 is also transmitted to the shorted second conductive pattern 47, and the fourth second electrode 14 An electric signal is detected from each of the first, k + 1th, and k + 2th conductive patterns 17. Therefore, the electrical signal detected from the fourth second electrode 14 is detected with a magnitude that is twice or more that of a normal one. Thus, a value slightly smaller than the magnitude of the electrical signal that will be detected from the second electrode 14 when there is a short circuit is preset as the third reference value.

If the electrical signal detected by the fourth second electrode 14 among the electrical signals detected from the second electrode 14 in the kth conductive pattern 17 is greater than the third reference value, the control unit 23 performs the kth operation. It is determined that the conductive pattern 17 is short-circuited with the second conductive pattern 47 in the vicinity of the fourth second electrode 14, and the positions of the short-circuited k-th and fourth second electrodes 14 are stored in the RAM. Store. On the other hand, the control unit 23 determines that the kth conductive pattern 17 is normal if any of the electrical signals detected from the second electrodes 14 in the kth conductive pattern 17 is smaller than the third reference value. . In this way, the number and position of the short circuit between the conductive pattern 17 and the second conductive pattern 47 are specified for the substrate 51.

Industrial application fields

The present invention can be used for an inspection apparatus and an inspection method for detecting an electrical defect of a conductive pattern formed on a substrate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Conductive

pattern inspection apparatus

11, 51 ... Board | substrate 12 ... 1st electrode 13 ... Receiving part 14 ... 2nd electrode 17 ... Conductive pattern 18 ... Supporting member 20 ... -Supply part 21 ... Signal processing part 23 ... Control part 24 ...

Operation part

26, 27, 28 ... Conductor 30 ... Support base 33 ... Base part 35 ... First end 36 ... second end 47 ... second conductive pattern 101 ... direction parallel to conductive pattern 17 ... direction perpendicular to conductive pattern 17 103 ... scanning direction

Claims

An apparatus for inspecting the state of N linear conductive patterns formed in parallel on a substrate,
Applying means for supplying an electrical signal to any of the conductive patterns via the first electrode;
Detecting means for detecting each of the electrical signals applied by the applying means from the conductive pattern via a plurality of second electrodes arranged at predetermined intervals from the first electrode along the conductive pattern;
Scanning means for scanning the first electrode and the second electrode from the first conductive pattern toward the Nth conductive pattern;
A conductive pattern inspection apparatus comprising: a disconnection determining unit configured to determine the number of conductive patterns having a disconnection and a position of the disconnection on the conductive pattern based on an electrical signal of each conductive pattern detected by the detection unit.
The detection means detects the electrical signal from the conductive pattern to which the electrical signal is applied by the first electrode and the conductive pattern adjacent to the conductive pattern via the second electrode,
2. The conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a short-circuit determining unit that determines the number of the short-circuited conductive pattern based on the electrical signal detected by the detecting unit.
3. The conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode is in contact with the conductive pattern, and the second electrode is non-contact with the conductive pattern.
The disconnection determining means is configured to detect the kth conductive pattern when at least one of the electrical signals detected from the kth conductive pattern via the second electrode is smaller than a preset first reference value. The conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that is disconnected.
The disconnection determination means is configured to detect each electric signal detected from the kth conductive pattern through the second electrode.
The conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a disconnection position in the kth conductive pattern is determined based on a position of the second electrode where an electrical signal smaller than the first reference value is detected.
The short-circuit determining unit is configured to detect the k-th conductivity when the electrical signal obtained from the second electrode via the k-th conductive pattern detected by the detection unit is greater than a preset second reference value. The conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pattern is determined to be short-circuited.
In the inspection of the substrate provided with another linear conductive pattern via an insulating layer with respect to the conductive pattern,
The short-circuit determining unit is configured such that at least one of the electrical signals obtained from the second electrode through the kth conductive pattern detected by the detecting unit is greater than a preset third reference value. The conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the k-th conductive pattern and the other conductive pattern are determined to be short-circuited.
The short-circuit determining means is configured based on the position of the second electrode at which an electrical signal larger than the third reference value is detected for each electrical signal detected via the second electrode from the kth conductive pattern. The conductive pattern inspection apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a short-circuit position in the k-th conductive pattern is determined.
A method for inspecting the state of N linear conductive patterns formed in parallel on a substrate,
An application step of supplying an electrical signal to any of the conductive patterns via the first electrode;
A detection step of detecting electrical signals applied in the application step from the conductive pattern via a plurality of second electrodes arranged at predetermined intervals from the first electrode along the conductive pattern;
A scanning step of scanning the first electrode and the second electrode from the first conductive pattern toward the Nth conductive pattern;
A disconnection position specifying step of specifying the number of disconnection conductive patterns and the position of disconnection on the conductive pattern based on the electrical signal of each conductive pattern detected in the detection step.
The detection step is a step of detecting the electric signal from the conductive pattern to which the electric signal is applied by the first electrode and the conductive pattern adjacent to the conductive pattern via the second electrode,
The conductive pattern inspection method according to claim 9, further comprising: a short-circuit determining step of determining the number of short-circuited conductive patterns based on the electrical signal detected in the detection step.
The conductive pattern inspection method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the first electrode is in contact with the conductive pattern, and the second electrode is non-contact with the conductive pattern. *
When at least one of the electrical signals detected from the kth conductive pattern through the second electrode is smaller than a preset first reference value, the kth conductive pattern is disconnected. 12. The conductive pattern inspection method according to claim 9, wherein the conductive pattern inspection method is determined.
In each electrical signal detected from the kth conductive pattern via the second electrode, the disconnection in the kth conductive pattern based on the position of the second electrode where the electrical signal smaller than the first reference value is detected. The conductive pattern inspection method according to claim 12, wherein the position is determined.
11. The k-th conductive pattern is judged to be short-circuited when an electrical signal obtained from the second electrode via the k-th conductive pattern is larger than a preset second reference value. Alternatively, the conductive pattern inspection method according to claim 11.
In the inspection of the substrate provided with another conductive pattern through an insulating layer with respect to the conductive pattern,
When at least one of the electrical signals obtained from the second electrode via the kth conductive pattern is greater than a preset third reference value, the kth conductive pattern and the other conductive pattern The conductive pattern inspection method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein it is determined that the two are short-circuited.
For each electrical signal detected via the second electrode from the kth conductive pattern, the kth conductive pattern based on the position of the second electrode where an electrical signal greater than the third reference value is detected. The conductive pattern inspection method according to claim 15, wherein a short-circuit position is determined.