JP2009099937A - Probe apparatus and probing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a probe apparatus capable of miniaturizing the apparatus and obtaining high throughput. <P>SOLUTION: Microcameras 71, 72 in which optical axes are separated from each other and visual field for imaging the surface of a wafer is downward are provided on an alignment bridge movable in a horizontal direction at a height position between a wafer chuck and a probe card. With this configuration, the movement amount of the wafer chuck is not required too much in imaging the wafer to acquire the position information of the wafer. As a result, the apparatus can be miniaturized, and a time required for acquiring the position information of a wafer can be shortened to contribute to achieving high throughput. Further, the microcameras 71, 72 are provided so as to close or separated each other, and the distance between them can be adjusted so as to be a separation distance between two specific points on the wafer, and thus, another specific point can be imaged while keeping the wafer chuck in a static state and this further contributes to high throughput. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for measuring electrical characteristics of a test object by bringing a probe into electrical contact with an electrode pad of the test object.

  After an IC chip is formed on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), a probe test is performed by a probe device in the state of the wafer in order to examine the electrical characteristics of the IC chip. In this probe apparatus, a wafer is placed on a wafer chuck (wafer mounting table) that is movable in the X, Y, and Z directions and is rotatable about the Z axis, and a probe of a probe card provided above the wafer chuck, for example, a probe needle The position of the wafer chuck is controlled so that the electrode pad of the IC chip of the wafer comes into contact with the electrode pad.

  In order to accurately contact the electrode pad of the IC chip on the wafer and the probe, a work called fine alignment is performed in advance, and the wafer when the electrode pad of the IC chip and the probe come into contact based on the result. It is necessary to accurately determine the position of the chuck, for example, the coordinate position of the drive system managed by the pulse encoder linked to the drive motor that drives the wafer chuck. Regarding the coordinate position of the drive system, for example, a linear scale is provided on each of the X stage that moves in the X direction, the Y stage that moves in the Y direction, and the Z stage that moves in the Z direction. From the slits formed in these linear scales The method of specifying the coordinate of each direction by the pulse count which is the optical information may be used.

  In order to perform this fine alignment, a moving body that horizontally moves between the wafer chuck and the probe card is provided with a wafer imaging camera with a visual field facing downward, and a probe imaging camera is also provided on the wafer chuck side. It is advantageous to employ the configuration provided (Patent Document 1). This is because, by focusing on these cameras and imaging the wafer surface and the probe, respectively, the same result as that obtained by imaging both with a single camera can be obtained. Then, in order to create a map of chips on the wafer, for example, four points on the periphery of the wafer are imaged by a wafer imaging camera to obtain the wafer center position (coordinate position of the wafer chuck drive system), the wafer The upper specific point, for example, the work of obtaining the orientation of the wafer by imaging the corners of two IC chips spaced apart from each other is performed.

  After aligning the orientation of the wafer, a plurality of specific points on the wafer are further imaged, and the position of the wafer chuck (so-called contact position) when the electrode pad of the IC chip and the probe come into contact based on the imaging result. It is calculated with high accuracy. In order to perform such fine alignment work, the moving body is stopped at a preset position, the wafer chuck is moved, and each point on the wafer is sequentially imaged by a camera for imaging the wafer. Since the number of imaging points is large, the total time required for moving the wafer chuck is long. Further, since the movement range of the wafer chuck is wide, the probe apparatus main body must also be designed to have a size that can cover this movement range, which increases the size of the apparatus. In particular, the wafer size is getting larger, and it is expected that the wafer size will exceed 12 inches in the future. Therefore, if the number of installed probe devices is increased, a large occupied area will be required and the size of the clean room will increase. If there is a restriction on the number of probes, the number of installed probe devices cannot be increased.

JP 2001-156127 A

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a probe apparatus capable of reducing the size of the apparatus and obtaining high throughput.

The probe device of the present invention is
A wafer on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged is placed on a wafer mounting table that can be moved in the horizontal and vertical directions by a driving unit for the mounting table, and an electrode pad of the chip to be inspected is brought into contact with a probe of a probe card. In the probe device for inspecting the chip to be inspected,
An imaging means for probe imaging provided on the wafer mounting table and having an upward visual field for imaging the probe;
A movable body provided to be movable in a horizontal direction at a height position between the wafer mounting table and the probe card;
A first imaging unit and a second imaging unit for imaging a wafer, each of which is provided on the moving body, each having its optical axes spaced apart from each other and having a downward field of view for imaging the wafer surface;
By moving the wafer mounting table, the positions of the focal point of the imaging unit for probe imaging, the focal point of the first imaging unit for wafer imaging, and the focal point of the second imaging unit are sequentially aligned, and the wafer mounting table at each time point Acquiring the position of the wafer, and moving the wafer mounting table to sequentially image the wafer on the wafer mounting table by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer. A step of acquiring a position of the mounting table; a step of capturing an image of the probe by an imaging means for probe imaging; acquiring a position of the wafer mounting table at the time of imaging; and a wafer based on the position of the wafer mounting table acquired in each step And a step of calculating a position of the wafer mounting table for bringing the probe into contact with the probe, and a control means for executing a group of steps.

  Also, provided on the movable body, the optical axes of which are separated from each other, the field of view for imaging the wafer surface is downward, and the magnification for the wafer imaging is lower than the first imaging means and the second imaging means. The first low-magnification camera and the second low-magnification camera are provided. The set of optical axes of the first imaging means and the first low magnification camera and the set of optical axes of the second imaging means and the second low magnification camera are bilaterally symmetric. Is formed.

  The step group sequentially captures two points on the periphery of the wafer on the wafer mounting table by the first low magnification camera and the second low magnification camera for wafer imaging, and then the first low magnification camera and the second low magnification camera. The wafer mounting table is moved perpendicularly to the line connecting the optical axes of the two low-magnification cameras, and two points on the periphery of the wafer opposite to the two points are defined as the first low-magnification camera and the second low-magnification camera. And a step of obtaining the center position of the wafer based on the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of imaging these four points. In the probe apparatus according to the present invention, imaging of two points on the periphery of the wafer on the wafer mounting table and imaging of two points on the opposite peripheral edge are performed using the first low-magnification camera and the second low-magnification for wafer imaging. Instead of the camera, the first imaging means and the second imaging means for wafer imaging are used.

  In the step group, the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer image two specific points separated from each other on the wafer, and the wafer is based on the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of each imaging. Includes a step of rotating the wafer mounting table so as to have a preset orientation. Further, the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer are provided in the movable body so as to be able to contact and separate from each other by a driving unit for the imaging unit. Then, the control unit determines that the distance between the optical axes of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit is a distance between two specific points on the wafer based on information corresponding to the type of wafer. The control signal for the drive unit for the imaging means is output so that

In the probing method of the present invention,
A wafer on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged is placed on a wafer mounting table that can be moved in the horizontal and vertical directions by a driving unit for the mounting table, and an electrode pad of the chip to be tested is brought into contact with a probe of a probe card. In the probing method for inspecting the chip to be inspected,
An imaging means for probe imaging provided on the wafer mounting table and having an upward visual field for imaging the probe;
For wafer imaging, which is provided on a movable body that can move in the horizontal direction at a height position between the wafer mounting table and the probe card, and whose optical axes are separated from each other and the field of view for imaging the wafer surface is downward. Using the first imaging means and the second imaging means,
By moving the wafer mounting table, the positions of the focal point of the imaging unit for probe imaging, the focal point of the first imaging unit for wafer imaging, and the focal point of the second imaging unit are sequentially aligned, and the wafer mounting table at each time point Obtaining the position of
Moving the wafer mounting table to sequentially image the wafer on the wafer mounting table by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer, and acquiring the position of the wafer mounting table at each imaging; ,
A step of obtaining an image of the probe by an imaging means for probe imaging, obtaining the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of imaging, and a wafer for contacting the wafer and the probe based on the position of the wafer mounting table obtained in each step And a step of calculating the position of the mounting table.

  Further, in the probing method of the present invention, the step of sequentially imaging the wafer on the wafer mounting table by the first imaging means and the second imaging means for wafer imaging includes the first imaging means for wafer imaging and the second imaging means. The image pickup means sequentially picks up two points on the periphery of the wafer on the wafer placement table, and then orthogonally intersects the lines connecting the optical axes of the first image pickup means and the second image pickup means. The two points on the wafer opposite to the two points are sequentially imaged by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and based on the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of imaging these four points. A step of determining a center position of the wafer.

  Further, the wafers on the wafer mounting table are sequentially separated from each other on the wafer by the first and second imaging units for wafer imaging by the first and second imaging units for wafer imaging. The method includes imaging one specific point and rotating the wafer mounting table so that the wafer is in a preset orientation based on the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of each imaging. Further, based on the information corresponding to the type of wafer, the distance between the optical axes of the first and second imaging means for wafer imaging is the distance between two specific points on the wafer. Thus, the process of adjusting the position of the 1st imaging means and the 2nd imaging means by the drive part for imaging means is included.

The storage medium of the present invention is
A wafer on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged is placed on a wafer mounting table that can be moved in the horizontal and vertical directions by a driving unit for the mounting table, and an electrode pad of the chip to be inspected is brought into contact with a probe of a probe card. A storage medium storing a computer program used in a probe apparatus for inspecting a chip to be inspected,
The computer program is characterized in that a group of steps is assembled so as to implement the above probing methods.

  The present invention is directed to wafer imaging in which optical axes are separated from each other and movable in a horizontal direction at a height position between a wafer mounting table and a probe card, and the field of view for imaging the wafer surface is downward. Since the first imaging means and the second imaging means are provided, the amount of movement of the wafer mounting table is small when imaging the wafer in order to obtain wafer position information. As a result, the apparatus can be miniaturized and the time required for acquiring wafer position information can be shortened, which contributes to higher throughput. Further, if the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer are provided so as to be able to contact and separate from each other, the separation distance is adjusted to be a separation distance between two specific points on the wafer. Therefore, if the wafer mounting table is moved to a position where one specific point is imaged, another one specific point can be imaged while the wafer mounting table is stationary, and the throughput is further increased. Can contribute.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the probe device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a loader unit 1 for delivering a wafer W, which is a substrate on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged, And a probe device main body 2 for probing the wafer W. First, the overall layout of the loader unit 1 and the probe device main body 2 will be briefly described.

  The loader unit 1 includes a first load port 11 and a second load port 12 into which a first carrier C1 and a second carrier C2, which are transfer containers in which a plurality of wafers W are stored, respectively. And a transfer chamber 10 disposed between the load ports 11 and 12. The first load port 11 and the second load port 12 are spaced apart from each other in the Y direction, and the delivery ports (front openings) of the first carrier C1 and the second carrier C2 face each other. As described above, a first mounting table 13 and a second mounting table 14 for mounting these carriers C1 and C2 are provided. The transfer chamber 10 is provided with a wafer transfer mechanism (substrate transfer mechanism) 3 for transferring the wafer W by an arm 30 which is a substrate holding member.

  The probe device main body 2 is provided adjacent to the loader unit 1 so as to be aligned with the loader unit 1 in the X direction, and includes a housing 22 that constitutes an exterior portion of the probe device main body 2. The housing 22 is divided into two in the Y direction via the partition wall 20, and one of the divided portions and the other divided portion are exteriors that form the first inspection portion 21A and the second inspection portion 21B, respectively. Corresponds to the body. The first inspection unit 21A is an imaging unit including a wafer chuck 4A, which is a substrate mounting table, and a camera that moves an upper region of the wafer chuck 4A in the Y direction (direction connecting the load ports 11, 12). An alignment bridge 5 </ b> A that forms a body and a probe card 6 </ b> A that is provided on a head plate 201 that forms the ceiling of the housing 22 are provided. The second inspection unit 21B is similarly configured and includes a wafer chuck 4B, an alignment bridge 5B, and a probe card 6B.

  Next, the loader unit 1 will be described in detail. Since the first load port 11 and the second load port 12 are configured symmetrically and identical to each other, the structure of the first load port 11 is shown as a representative in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the loader unit 1 is partitioned from the transfer chamber 10 by a partition wall 20a. The partition wall 20a has a shutter S and a delivery port for the first carrier C1 together with the shutter S. And an opening / closing mechanism 20b for integrally opening and closing. The first mounting table 13 is configured to be rotated 90 degrees clockwise and counterclockwise by a rotation mechanism (not shown) provided below the first mounting table 13.

  That is, the first mounting table 13 is configured such that, for example, from the front side of the probe device (X-direction right side in the drawing), a sealed carrier C1 called FOUP faces the front opening toward the probe device side (X-direction left side). When the automatic carriage (AGV) (not shown) in the clean room is mounted on the first mounting table 13, the first mounting table 13 rotates 90 degrees clockwise, and the opening is opened by the shutter S described above. Similarly, when the first carrier C1 is unloaded from the first mounting table 13, the first carrier C1 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise.

  The transfer of the wafer W between the first carrier C1 and the wafer transfer mechanism 3 is such that the opening of the first carrier C1 is opposed to the shutter S side, and the shutter S and the first transfer mechanism 20b described above are opposed to each other. This is performed by opening the transfer port of the carrier C1 integrally, communicating the transfer chamber 10 with the inside of the first carrier C1, and moving the wafer transfer mechanism 3 forward and backward with respect to the first carrier C1.

  The wafer transfer mechanism 3 includes a transfer base 35, a rotation shaft 3 a that rotates the transfer base 35 around a vertical axis, and a lifting mechanism (not shown) that moves the rotation shaft 3 a up and down. The three arms 30 are provided so as to be able to advance and retract, and each arm 30 advances and retracts independently of each other and has a role of carrying the wafer W. The rotation center of the rotation shaft 3a is set between the first carrier C1 and the second carrier C2, that is, at an equidistant position from the first carrier C1 and the second carrier C2. The wafer transfer mechanism 3 is located between the upper position for transferring the wafer W between the first carrier C1 or the second carrier C2 and the first inspection unit 21A or the second inspection unit 21B. Thus, it is possible to move up and down between the lower position for delivering the wafer W.

  In addition, the wafer transport mechanism 3 includes a pre-alignment mechanism 39 for performing pre-alignment of the wafer W. This pre-alignment mechanism 39 is provided at the top of the shaft part 36a that can be moved up and down and rotated through the inside of the transport base 35, and normally fits into a recess on the surface of the transport base 35. And a chuck portion 36 that is a rotary stage that is flush with the surface. The chuck portion 36 is set at a position corresponding to the center position of the wafer W on the arm 30 which is in a partially contracted state, and the wafer W on each stage of the arm 30 can be slightly lifted from the arm 30 and rotated. It is configured as follows.

  The pre-alignment mechanism 39 includes optical sensors 37 and 38 that are detection units including a light emitting sensor and a light receiving sensor that detect the periphery of the wafer W rotated by the chuck unit 36. The optical sensors 37 and 38 are fixed via a transfer base 35 at a position laterally deviated from the moving region of the arm 30. In this example, the wafer W to be prealigned is placed on the lower arm 33. The wafer W and the wafer W on the middle arm 32 are set to a height level that is above and below the periphery of each wafer W lifted by the chuck portion 36 and does not interfere with the wafer W when the wafer W is accessed. Yes. Although not shown, the loader unit 1 detects a direction reference portion such as a notch or orientation flat of the wafer W and the center position of the wafer W based on detection signals from the optical sensors 37 and 38, and detects the detected position. A controller for rotating the chuck portion 36 is attached so that the notches and the like are directed in a predetermined direction based on the result.

  The adjustment of the orientation of the wafer W (pre-alignment) by the pre-alignment mechanism 39 including the optical sensors 37 and 38 and the chuck portion 36 will be briefly described below by taking the wafer W on the lower arm 33 as an example. First, the wafer W on the lower arm 33 is slightly lifted by the chuck portion 36 to rotate the wafer W, and the light receiving portion passes through a region including the peripheral portion (end portion) of the wafer W from the light emitting portion of the optical sensor 38. Irradiate light toward Then, the chuck portion 36 is stopped so that the orientation of the wafer W becomes a predetermined orientation on the lower arm 33, the chuck portion 36 is lowered, and the wafer W is transferred onto the lower arm 33, whereby the orientation of the wafer W is reached. Adjust. Thereafter, for example, when the wafer W is placed on the wafer chuck 4A of the first inspection unit 21A, the position of the wafer transfer mechanism 3 is adjusted so that the eccentricity of the wafer W is corrected. Thus, the orientation and eccentricity of the wafer W are adjusted. In FIG. 3, the optical sensors 37 and 38 are not shown.

  Next, the probe apparatus body 2 will be described in detail. In the case 22 of the probe apparatus main body 2, in order to deliver the wafer W between the first inspection unit 21 </ b> A and the second inspection unit 21 </ b> B to the side wall on the loader unit 1 side, the lateral direction (Y direction). A belt-like transport port 22a extending in the direction of the opening is opened. The first inspection unit 21A and the second inspection unit 21B pass through the rotation center of the wafer transfer mechanism 3 and are orthogonal to the straight line connecting the first load port 11 and the second load port 12. In order to avoid duplication of explanation, the delivery position of each wafer W, the imaging position of the surface of the wafer W, the installation position of the probe card 6A, etc. are symmetrical with respect to the horizontal line HL and have the same configuration. The first inspection unit 21A will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 6, and 7. FIG.

  The inspection unit 21A includes a base 23. A Y stage 24 driven in the Y direction by, for example, a ball screw or the like extends along the guide rail extending in the Y direction on the base 23, and extends in the X direction. An X stage 25 that is driven in the X direction by, for example, a ball screw is provided in this order from the bottom along the guide rail. The X stage 25 and the Y stage 24 are each provided with a motor combined with an encoder, which is omitted here.

  On the X stage 25, there is provided a Z moving part 26 driven in the Z direction by a motor (not shown) combined with an encoder. The Z moving part 26 is rotatable around the Z axis (θ A wafer chuck 4A which is a substrate mounting table (movable in the direction) is provided. Therefore, the wafer chuck 4A can move in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions. The X stage 25, the Y stage 24, and the Z moving unit 26 form a driving unit, and a transfer position for transferring the wafer W to and from the wafer transfer mechanism 3, and an imaging position on the surface of the wafer W as will be described later. The wafer chuck 4A can be driven between the contact position (inspection position) that contacts the probe needle 29 of the probe card 6A.

  A probe card 6A is detachably attached to the head plate 201 above the movement area of the wafer chuck 4A. An electrode group is formed on the upper surface side of the probe card 6A. In order to establish electrical continuity between the electrode group and a test head (not shown), an electrode of the probe card 6A is disposed above the probe card 6A. A pogo pin unit 28 in which a large number of pogo pins 28a as electrode portions are formed on the lower surface so as to correspond to the arrangement position of the group is provided. A test head (not shown) is normally positioned on the upper surface of the pogo pin unit 28. In this example, the test head is arranged at a position different from the probe device body 2, and the pogo pin unit 28 and the test head are not shown in the figure. Connected with.

  Further, on the lower surface side of the probe card 6A, probes, for example, vertical needles (wire probe needles) that are electrically connected to the upper surface side electrode group and extend perpendicularly to the surface of the wafer W are electrodes of the wafer W. Corresponding to the arrangement of the pads, for example, it is provided on the entire surface of the probe card 6A. The probe may be a probe needle 29 made of a metal wire extending obliquely downward with respect to the surface of the wafer W, a gold bump electrode formed on a flexible film, or the like. In this example, the probe card 6A is configured so as to be able to contact all electrode pads of a chip to be inspected (IC chip) on the surface of the wafer W at one time, and thus measurement of electrical characteristics is completed with a single contact. To do.

  At the lateral position of the wafer moving chuck 26A on the partition wall 20 side in the above-described Z moving section 26, a micro camera 41 having an upward visual field, which is an imaging means for probe needle imaging, is fixed via a fixing plate 41a. Yes. The micro camera 41 is configured as a high-magnification camera including a CCD camera so that the tip of the probe needle 29 and the alignment mark of the probe card 6A can be enlarged. The micro camera 41 is located at a substantially middle point in the X direction of the wafer chuck 4A. Further, the micro camera 41 images specific probe needles 29, for example, the probe needles 29 at both ends in the X direction and the probe needles 29 at both ends in the Y direction in order to examine the orientation and position of the probe needles 29 during alignment. Further, in order to periodically observe the state of each probe needle 29, it has a role of sequentially imaging all the probe needles 29.

  Further, on the fixed plate 41a, a macro camera 42, which is a low-magnification camera for photographing the arrangement of the probe needles 29 in a wide area, is fixed adjacent to the micro camera 41. Further, a target 44 is provided on the fixed plate 41a so that the advancing / retreating mechanism 43 can advance and retract in the direction intersecting the optical axis with respect to the focal plane of the micro camera 41. The target 44 is configured so that an image can be recognized by the micro camera 41 and micro cameras 71 and 72, which will be described later. For example, a circular metal film that is a subject for alignment, for example, a diameter of 140 microns, is formed on a transparent glass plate. A metal film is deposited. FIGS. 7A and 7B are a plan view and a side view schematically showing a positional relationship between the wafer chuck 4A, the micro camera 41, and the macro camera 42, respectively. In FIG. 7, illustration of the target 44 and the advance / retreat mechanism 43 described above is omitted.

  Guide rails 47 are provided along the Y direction on both sides (front side and back side) of the inner wall surface of the housing 22 in the X direction in the region between the wafer chuck 4A and the probe card 6A. As shown in FIG. 8, along this guide rail 47, an alignment bridge 5A as an imaging unit is provided so as to be movable in the Y direction between a standard position and an imaging position described later.

  In the following description, for convenience, the X direction (see FIG. 2) is referred to as the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 9, the alignment bridge 5A is provided with a first micro camera 71 and a second micro camera 72 symmetrically with respect to a center line 70 that bisects the alignment bridge 5A to the left and right. A first macro camera 81 and a second macro camera 82 are provided symmetrically with respect to the line 70. The first micro camera 71 and the second micro camera 72 correspond to a first imaging unit and a second imaging unit, respectively. The first macro camera 81 and the second macro camera 82 correspond to a first low magnification camera and a second low magnification camera, respectively.

  All of these cameras have a downward view. Here, the micro camera (or macro camera) is constituted by an optical system including a camera body 71a (72a) and a mirror 71b (72b) as shown in FIG. 16 to be described later, but is technically important in the present invention. Is on the optical axis extending downward from the lower surface of the alignment bridge 5A. Therefore, the term micro camera (or macro camera) is an imaging window portion formed on the lower surface of the alignment bridge 5A in matters to be described for convenience. And an optical system including a camera body and a mirror. In FIG. 9, a small circular portion called a micro camera (or a macro camera) indicates an imaging window portion, and the same applies to the later-described drawings.

  The fact that the micro cameras 71 and 72 (or the macro cameras 81 and 82) are provided means that two micro cameras are provided, and each captured image is subjected to image processing by a control unit described later. That is. 2, the micro cameras 71 and 72 are located closer to the horizontal line HL, which is the boundary between the first inspection unit 21A and the second inspection unit 21B than the macro cameras 81 and 82. When the wafer size (wafer diameter) is 300 mm, the distance l between the micro cameras 71 and 72 and the center line 70 is, for example, 73 mm, and the distance r between the macro cameras 81 and 82 and the center line 70 is, for example, 45 mm. In addition, when showing the distance with respect to another site | part regarding a camera, the optical axis of a camera is made into the measurement point. For example, the distance l between the micro cameras 71 and 72 and the center line 70 means the distance l between each optical axis of the micro cameras 71 and 72 and the center line 70.

  The micro cameras 71 and 72 are configured as high-magnification cameras including a CCD camera so that the surface of the wafer W can be enlarged and imaged. The macro cameras 81 and 82 capture the wafer W with a wide field of view. It is configured as a low magnification camera so that it can.

  The standard position that is the stop position of the alignment bridge 5A is when the wafer W is transferred between the wafer chuck 4A and the wafer transfer mechanism 3, when the wafer W is in contact with the probe card 6A, and the first position. This is a position where the alignment bridge 5A is retracted so as not to interfere with the wafer chuck 4A or the wafer transfer mechanism 3 when the probe needle 29 is imaged by the imaging means (micro camera 41). The imaging position is a position when the surface of the wafer W is imaged by the micro cameras 71 and 72 and the macro cameras 81 and 82 of the alignment bridge 5A. Imaging of the surface of the wafer W by the micro cameras 71 and 72 and the macro cameras 81 and 82 is performed by fixing the alignment bridge 5A at the imaging position and moving the wafer chuck 4A.

  And this imaging position has shifted to the back | inner side (center side of the probe apparatus main body 2) of the Y-axis direction rather than the center position of the probe card 6A, as shown also in the lower side of FIG. The reason for this is as follows. As described above, the micro camera 41 is provided on the side surface (front side in the Y-axis direction) of the wafer chuck 4A. When the probe needle 29 is imaged by the micro camera 41, as shown in the middle part of FIG. The movement stroke D2 of the wafer chuck 4A in the Y-axis direction (the movement range of the center position O1 of the wafer chuck 4A) is shifted from the center position O2 of the probe card 6A to the back side in the Y-axis direction. On the other hand, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 10, the movement stroke D1 of the wafer chuck 4A at the time of contact (when the wafer W and the probe needle 29 are brought into contact) is, for example, on the lower surface of the probe card 6A on the wafer W and the probe needle 29. Since a large number of probe needles 29 are formed in order to bring them into contact with each other, the distance is very short.

  Therefore, when the imaging position of the alignment bridge 5A is matched with the center position O2 of the probe card 6A, the movement stroke D3 of the wafer chuck 4A when the surface of the wafer W is imaged by the micro cameras 71 and 72 is equal to the movement stroke D1 described above. Jump out to the right.

  Therefore, the imaging position of the alignment bridge 5A is shifted to the near side in the Y-axis direction so that the movement strokes D2 and D3 overlap so that the movable stroke (movable) is an area including the movement strokes D1 to D3 of the wafer chuck 4A. Range) D4 is shortened, that is, the length of the probe apparatus main body 2 in the Y-axis direction is shortened. Even if the movement strokes D2 and D3 are not in the same range, it is sufficient that the imaging position of the alignment bridge 5A is shifted to the far side in the Y-axis direction from the center position O2 of the probe card 6A.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the probe device is provided with a control unit 15 including, for example, a computer. The control unit 15 includes a data processing unit including a program, a memory, and a CPU. This program is a series of units from when the carrier C is loaded into the load port 11 (12) to when the wafer W is inspected, and then after the wafer W is returned to the carrier C and the carrier C is unloaded. A group of steps is set up to control the operation of. This program (including programs related to processing parameter input operations and display) is stored in the storage medium 16 such as a flexible disk, a compact disk, an MO (magneto-optical disk), and a hard disk and installed in the control unit 15.

  An example of the configuration of the control unit 15 shown in FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. 151 is a CPU, 152 is a program for performing a series of operations of the probe device, 153 is a recipe storage unit that stores a recipe for inspection performed by the inspection unit 21A (21B), and 154 is a parameter setting and operation mode setting of the probe device Alternatively, an operation unit 155 is a bus for performing various operations related to driving. The operation unit 154 includes a screen such as a touch panel.

  Next, the operation of the probe device will be described below. First, the carrier C is carried into the load port 11 from the side opposite to the probe device main body 2 in the load port 11 (12) by the automatic transport vehicle (AGV) in the clean room. At this time, the delivery port of the carrier C faces the probe device main body 2, but the mounting table 13 (14) rotates and faces the shutter S. Thereafter, the mounting table 13 moves forward, the carrier C is pressed toward the shutter S, and the cover of the carrier C and the shutter S are removed.

  Next, the wafer W is taken out from the carrier C and transferred to the inspection unit 21A (21B). Regarding the operation after that, the two wafers W1 and W2 have already been transferred to the first inspection unit 21A and the first inspection unit 21A. A state in which inspection is performed by the second inspection unit 21B, the subsequent wafer W3 and wafer W4 are taken out of the carrier C in this state, and a series of processes is performed will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 12, the middle stage arm 32 enters the second carrier C2, and moves back to the position where the wafer W3 is received and pre-alignment is performed. Next, the chuck unit 36 is raised to raise the wafer W3, and is rotated to load the wafer W3 out of the first and second inspection units 21A and 21B based on the detection result of the optical sensor 37. The orientation of the wafer W is adjusted so that the direction of the notch corresponding to the inspection unit 21A (21B) is obtained, and eccentricity is also detected, and pre-alignment is performed. Next, similarly, the lower arm 33 enters the second carrier C2, receives the wafer W4 as shown in FIG. 13, and the direction of the notch corresponding to the inspection unit 21A (21B) into which the wafer W4 is loaded. Then, the orientation of the wafer W4 is adjusted and the eccentricity is detected. Then, in order to exchange the wafers W3 and W4 with the wafers W1 and W2, the wafer transfer mechanism 3 is lowered.

  Next, the wafer W1 in the first inspection unit 21A and the wafer W3 on the wafer transfer mechanism 3 are exchanged. When the inspection of the wafer W1 has been completed, the wafer chuck 4A moves to a delivery position close to the partition wall 20 as shown in FIG. Then, the vacuum chuck of the wafer chuck 4A is released, the lift pins in the wafer chuck 4A are raised, and the wafer W1 is raised. Next, the empty upper arm 31 enters the wafer chuck 4A, and the lift pins are lowered to receive and retract the wafer W1. Further, when the wafer transfer mechanism 3 is slightly raised and the middle arm 32 enters the wafer chuck 4A and it is determined that the center position of the wafer W3 has shifted due to the pre-alignment, the wafer W3 is decentered. As corrected, the wafer W3 is placed on the wafer chuck 4A by the cooperative action of the lift pins (not shown) and the middle arm 32.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the wafer W3 is handed over to the first inspection unit 21A and the empty middle arm 32 enters the second inspection unit 21B to be inspected in the same manner from the wafer chuck 4B. After receiving and retracting the wafer W2, the lower arm 33 is advanced onto the wafer chuck 4B, and the wafer W4 before inspection is transferred from the lower arm 33 to the wafer chuck 4B.

  Thereafter, the wafer transfer mechanism 3 is raised, and the wafers W1 and W2 are returned to, for example, the first carrier C1, and the next wafers W (wafers W5 and W6) are similarly taken out from the carrier C two by two. The process is performed in the same manner.

  On the other hand, in the first inspection unit 21A, after the wafer W3 is delivered to the wafer chuck 4A, the probe needle 29 of the probe card 6A is imaged by the micro camera 41 provided on the wafer chuck 4A. That is, the tip of the probe needle 29 is positioned at the center of the field of view of the micro camera 41, for example, the center of the cross mark, and the position coordinate (X, Y, Z direction coordinates) of the drive system of the wafer chuck 4A at that time is acquired. . Specifically, for example, the probe needles 29 at both ends farthest in the X direction and the probe needles 29 at both ends farthest in the Y direction are imaged to grasp the center of the probe card 6A and the direction of the arrangement of the probe needles 29. To do. In this case, the macro camera 42 provided on the wafer chuck 4A finds an area near the target position, and then the micro camera 41 detects the needle tip position of the target probe needle 29. At this time, the alignment bridge 5A is retracted to the standard position shown in FIG.

  Next, the alignment bridge 5A is moved to the imaging position of the wafer W3 (see FIG. 8), and the target 44 is moved to the micro camera 41 on the wafer chuck 4A side and the first on the alignment bridge 5A side as shown in FIG. The wafer chuck 4A is aligned so that the focal point and optical axis of both the cameras 41 and 71 coincide with the target mark of the target 44, and the so-called origins of both the cameras 41 and 71 are projected. I will take out. Further, as shown in FIG. 16B, the origin is similarly detected for the second micro camera 72. The coordinate positions (X-direction coordinate position, Y-direction coordinates) managed by the drive system in the wafer chuck 4A at the time when the origins of both cameras 41 and 71 are set and when the origins of both cameras 41 and 72 are set. Position, Z-direction coordinate position) is stored. Subsequently, after retracting the target 44, the wafer chuck 4A is positioned below the alignment bridge 5A, and fine alignment is performed as follows.

  First, the center position of the wafer W is obtained using the macro cameras 81 and 82. In FIG. 17, four points E1 to E4 on the periphery on the wafer W are imaged to obtain respective coordinate positions, and among these four points, a straight line connecting two points E1 and E3 and two points E2 and E4 are obtained. It shows how to find the intersection of connecting straight lines. In this case, the position of the wafer chuck 4A is adjusted so that the peripheral edge of the wafer W is simultaneously positioned at the center of each field of view of the first macro camera 81 and the second macro camera 82, for example, the center of the cross mark. And after imaging E2 and E3, since it moves to the direction orthogonal to the straight line which connects the centers of each said visual field, and E1 and E4 are imaged, the intersection of the said 2 straight lines is the coordinate of the center C of the wafer W, and Become. As described above, the first microcamera 71 and the second microcamera 72 on the alignment bridge 5A side and the microcamera 41 on the wafer chuck 4A side perform the origin search, and the first microcamera 71 and the second microcamera 72 Since the distance between the optical axes of the two micro cameras 72 is known in advance, and the distance between the optical axes of the first macro camera 81 and the second macro camera 82 is known in advance, the wafer chuck 4A side is known. The relative coordinates of the center C of the wafer with respect to the optical axis of the micro camera 41 are known.

The length of the straight line connecting E1, E3 (E2, E4) is the diameter of the wafer W. For example, even if it is a 300 mm wafer W, since the diameter of the wafer W actually includes a slight error with respect to 300 mm, in order to accurately create a map of chips on the wafer W (coordinates of each electrode pad). Needs to know the center coordinates and diameter of the wafer W. Further, since the registration position of the electrode pad of each chip in the coordinate system on the wafer (so-called ideal coordinate system) is stored as a relative position from the center coordinate of the wafer W, it is necessary to obtain the center coordinate of the wafer W. .
In this example, as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, the left and right of the lower half of the wafer W in FIG. 18 are sequentially imaged by the macro cameras 81 and 82, and the positions of E2 and E3 are obtained. Next, the wafer W is moved in the Y direction, and as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, the left and right of the upper half in FIG. 19 of the wafer W are sequentially imaged by the macro cameras 81 and 82, and the positions of E1 and E4 are obtained. Looking for.

  Subsequently, the orientation of the wafer W is adjusted so that the arrangement of IC chips on the wafer W (the dicing line on the substrate formed between the chips) is along the X axis and the Y axis. Before the wafer W is placed on the wafer chuck 4A, pre-alignment is performed in advance and its orientation is generally adjusted. At this stage, one of the IC chip arrangement directions of the wafer W is substantially parallel to the Y axis. Even if there is a deviation in direction, the angle is, for example, about 1 degree. FIG. 20 shows an example of the arrangement of IC chips on the wafer W, 400 is an IC chip, and 500 is a dicing line.

  First, as shown in FIG. 21A, the corner of the IC chip is imaged by one macro camera 81, and the general direction of the wafer W is grasped from the imaging result. Next, the specific points P1 and P2 arranged along the X axis among the four specific points P1 to P4 determined in advance are picked up by the micro cameras 71 and 72, respectively. These specific points P1 to P4 correspond to the corners of the IC chip 400. If the specific points P1 and P2 are completely parallel to the X axis, the X and Y coordinate positions of the specific points P1 and P2 calculated based on the design value are made to coincide with the optical axis positions of the micro cameras 71 and 72. The specific points P1 and P2 should be located at the centers of the fields of view of the micro cameras 71 and 72. However, such a case is very rare in practice, and the orientation of the wafer W is slightly deviated from a predetermined direction. That is, the vertical and horizontal dicing lines 500 are inclined from the X and Y axes, respectively. When the wafer W is moved to the design position, there may be a case where the specific points P1 and P2 do not exist in each field of view of the micro cameras 71 and 72.

  Therefore, first, the approximate orientation of the wafer W is calculated based on the result captured by the macro camera 81, and the wafer is so positioned that the specific points P1, P2 are sequentially positioned within the field of view of the micro cameras 71, 72 based on the calculation result. The chuck 4A is driven. Then, the specific points P1 and P2 are sequentially imaged by the micro cameras 71 and 72 (the specific points P1 and P2 are positioned at the center of the visual field). FIG. 21B and FIG. 22A show such a state. Since the deviation of the orientation of the wafer W can be calculated from this imaging result, the orientation of the wafer W is corrected by rotating the wafer chuck 4A by the amount of deviation based on the calculation result (FIG. 22B). As a result, the vertical and horizontal dicing lines 500 of the wafer W are parallel to the X and Y axes, respectively.

  Then, in order to confirm that the orientation of the wafer W has been correctly corrected, the specific points P3 and P4 are sequentially imaged by the micro cameras 71 and 72 as shown in FIGS. 23 (a) and 23 (b). If the orientation of the wafer W is as planned, the X, Y, and Z coordinate positions (contact positions) of the wafer chuck 4A for contacting the wafer W and the probe needle 29 are calculated. If the orientation of the wafer W is not as planned, the orientation of the wafer W is corrected again, and then the specific points P1 and P2 are imaged again by the micro cameras 71 and 72 to confirm the orientation of the wafer W. Do.

  From the position of the wafer chuck 4A where each image is taken in this way and the position of the wafer chuck 4A when the origin is found, each electrode pad on the wafer W3 and each probe needle 29 on the probe card 6A are located on the control unit 15 side. The coordinates of the wafer chuck 4A to be contacted can be calculated. Then, the wafer chuck 4A is moved to the calculated contact coordinate position, and the electrode pads on the wafer W3 and the probe needles 29 of the probe card 6A are collectively contacted. A predetermined electrical signal is sent from a test head (not shown) to the electrode pads of each IC chip on the wafer W3 via the pogo pin unit 28 and the probe card 6A, thereby inspecting the electrical characteristics of each IC chip. Thereafter, similarly to the above-described wafer W1, the wafer chuck 4B is moved to the delivery position, and the wafer transfer mechanism 3 unloads the wafer W3 from the wafer chuck 4B. The inspection is performed in the same manner for the wafer W4 carried into the second inspection unit 21B.

  In this embodiment, when the apparatus is assembled, the rotation center coordinates (X and Y coordinates on the stage) of the wafer chuck 4A are obtained by the following method and stored as machine parameters. First, a reference wafer is placed on the chuck, and at least three reference patterns on the outer periphery and their position coordinates are stored. Thereafter, the wafer chuck 4A is rotated by a certain angle, the reference pattern position is confirmed, and the position coordinates are stored. When the coordinates before and after the rotation of the wafer chuck 4A are connected by a straight line and the perpendicular bisector is drawn, the lines intersect, and the intersecting intersection is stored as the rotation center. At the time of alignment, the coordinates after rotation of the center position of the wafer W and the target position for alignment can be obtained by the following equation. That is, the coordinates (X2, Y2) when the coordinates (X1, Y1) with the rotation center as the origin are rotated clockwise by the angle θ are X2 = X1 × cos θ + Y1 × sin θ, Y2 = −X1 × sin θ + Y1 × cos θ. It is possible to ask.

  Here, the advantage of providing two micro cameras 71 and 72 and two macro cameras 81 and 82 on the alignment bridge 5A will be described. The four-point imaging of the peripheral edge of the wafer W performed to obtain the center position of the wafer W is almost simultaneously performed only by switching the macro cameras 81 and 82 for each set of (E2, E3) and (E1, E4). Yes. The wafer chuck 4A needs to be moved only once in the Y direction after confirming E1 and E3. On the other hand, if there is one macro camera, the chuck must be sequentially moved to positions corresponding to four points on the wafer W. Therefore, by using the two macro cameras 81 and 82, it is possible to capture four points, which are the peripheral positions of the wafer W, in a short time.

  FIG. 24A shows a structure in which only one micro camera 71 is mounted on the alignment bridge 5A and the optical axis thereof is positioned at the center of the alignment bridge 5A. A state when P2 is imaged is shown. FIG. 24B shows a state when P1 and P2 on the wafer W are imaged in the above embodiment. As can be seen from this figure, the moving distance of the wafer chuck 4A is L1 when there is one micro camera, but it is L2 when there are two micro cameras, and the moving distance L2 is much larger than L1. It is getting shorter.

  Further, as one of the operations for aligning the wafer W and the probe needle 29, the alignment marks on the left and right ends of the wafer W are observed by the micro cameras 71 and 72, or the needle marks on the wafer W after the inspection. For this reason, the right and left end portions of the wafer W or the vicinity thereof may be positioned directly below the micro cameras 71 and 72. FIG. 25 shows how the wafer chuck 4A moves when such an operation is performed. Now, assume that the wafer W is positioned at a position below the alignment bridge 5A so that the center line 70 of the alignment bridge 5A and the center C of the wafer W overlap. If an attempt is made to image the left region toward the wafer W from here with the micro camera 71, the wafer chuck 4 </ b> A is moved in the X direction so that the left end of the wafer W is located directly below the micro camera 71. At this time, the movement amount of the wafer chuck 4A is M1. Here, for a 300 mm wafer W, M1 is 77 mm.

  Accordingly, with reference to the state where the center C of the wafer W is located on the center line 70 of the alignment bridge 5A as shown in FIG. 25, the amount by which the wafer W moves from this state to the left and right regions is M1. is there. In this example, since a 300 mm wafer W is used, M1 is 77 mm, and the total movement amount of the wafer W is 154 mm.

  FIG. 26 shows a case where one micro camera 71 is attached to the alignment bridge 5A. In this case, first, the center of the wafer W is positioned directly below the micro camera 71, and then the wafer chuck 4A is moved in the X direction. Thus, the left and right end portions of the wafer W are positioned directly below the micro camera 71, so that the amount M2 of movement of the wafer W to the left side region and the right side region corresponds to the radius of the wafer W as shown in FIG. . In this example, since a 300 mm wafer W is used, M2 is 150 mm, and the total movement amount of the wafer W is 300 mm.

  From the above, it can be understood that the movement amount of the wafer chuck 4A can be reduced by providing the two micro cameras 71 and 72 and the two macro cameras 81 and 82 in the alignment bridge 5A.

  When two macro cameras 81 and 82 are used, it is preferable to provide them symmetrically with respect to the center line 70. The reason is that, when the macro cameras 81 and 82 share the left and right areas of the wafer W, the movement area of the wafer chuck 4A is symmetrical with respect to the center line 70, and the micro cameras 71 and 72 As a result, the movement area of the wafer chuck 4A becomes narrower than that when the movement area is asymmetric. The arrangement of the macro cameras 81 and 82 may be asymmetric with respect to the center line 70.

  The fine alignment operation of the above-described apparatus has been described with a focus on the operation on the first inspection unit 21A side in FIG. 1, but fine alignment is performed in the same manner for the second inspection unit 21B. A series of operations including the fine alignment operation is executed by the program 152 in the control unit 15.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. Two micros for wafer imaging whose field of view is downward on alignment bridge 5A (5B), which is a movable body that can move in the horizontal direction at a height position between wafer chuck 4A (4B) and probe card 6A (6B). Cameras 71 and 72 and two macro cameras 81 and 82 are provided. Since the optical axes of the micro cameras 71 and 72 are separated from each other, and the optical axes of the macro cameras 81 and 82 are also separated from each other, when the wafer W is imaged to obtain positional information of the wafer W. The amount of movement of the wafer chuck 4A (4B) can be small. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus, and it is possible to reduce the time required to acquire the position information of the wafer W, thereby contributing to high throughput.

  Further, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 27 shows the alignment bridge 5A and the control unit 15 according to this embodiment. Since the alignment bridge 5B has the same configuration, one alignment bridge 5A will be described as a representative.

  In the alignment bridge 5A of the present embodiment, the two micro cameras 71 and 72 are configured as movable units, and both the micro cameras 71 and 72 are disposed so as to be able to contact and separate. The alignment bridge 5A is equipped with drive mechanisms 100 and 200 for moving the micro cameras 71 and 72. The drive mechanism 100 includes a ball screw 103 and a guide shaft 105 supported at both ends by support members 101 and 102, and the ball screw 103 and the guide shaft 105 are parallel to the moving direction of the micro camera 71. It is arranged. A drive motor 104 that rotates the ball screw is connected to one end side of the ball screw 103, specifically, the back side of the micro camera 71, and the ball screw 103 is rotated by the drive motor 104. The camera 71 is configured to move while being supported by the guide shaft 105. Since the drive mechanism 200 has the same configuration as the drive mechanism 100, the description thereof is omitted here.

  The drive motors 104 and 204 are connected to the control unit 15, and the drive is controlled by the control unit 15. In addition to the CPU 151, the program 152, the recipe storage unit 153, the operation unit 154, and the bus 155 that are provided in the control unit 15 of the first embodiment, the camera movement table 156 includes the bus 155 in the control unit 15. Is provided. The camera movement table 156 is a table in which information corresponding to the size of the IC chip 400 is associated with the separation distance of the micro camera. The drive motors 104 and 204 are based on the data of each table of the camera movement table 156. Driven.

  In the above-described embodiment, since the positions of the two micro cameras are fixed, the distance between P1 and P2 (P3, P4) that are separated from each other in the X direction is the same as the distance between the micro cameras. Since there is no match (it is very rare to match), the wafer chuck 4A has to be moved slightly in order to image P2 after imaging P1. Therefore, by being configured to be able to contact and separate, the separation distance of the micro camera can be adjusted to coincide with the separation distance of P1 and P2 (P3 and P4). Since P1 and P2 (P3 and P4) are corners of the IC chip 400, the separation distance between P1 and P2 (P3 and P4) is determined by the size of the IC chip 400.

  For this reason, the camera movement table 156 is stored in the memory by the control unit 15, and information corresponding to the chip size is input from the input unit at the stage of wafer inspection, thereby corresponding to the input chip size. The separation distance of the micro camera is read out, and the micro camera 71 and 72 are moved by controlling the drive unit so as to be the separation distance. When the distance between the micro cameras 71 and 72 becomes L0, the drive motor 104 is stopped. Thereby, in the alignment bridge 5A of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 28, both the micro cameras 71 and 72 are moved, and both the micro cameras 71 are set at a distance L0 determined according to the size of the IC chip 400 of the wafer to be imaged. , 72 can be changed.

  According to such an embodiment, there are the following effects. If the microcameras 71 and 72 for wafer imaging are provided so as to be able to contact and separate from each other, the distance between them is the distance between two specific points on the wafer W, for example, P1 and P2 (P3 and P4) in FIG. Therefore, if the wafer chuck 4A (4B) is moved to a position where one specific point P1 (P3) is imaged, the other chuck 1A is kept stationary. Two specific points P1 (P4) can be imaged, which can contribute to higher throughput.

  The probe card 5A described above is not only used for collective contact, but for example, the probe needle 29 is provided so as to correspond to the arrangement of the electrode pad group in the region divided into two by the diameter of the wafer W, and divided into two times. When the contact between the wafer W and the probe needle 29 is made, or the probe needle 29 is provided so as to correspond to the arrangement of the electrode pad group in the area where the wafer W is divided into four in the circumferential direction. For example, the wafer W may be contacted sequentially. In such a case, the probe needle 29 and the wafer W are contacted by rotating the wafer chuck 4A. The probe apparatus of the present invention is preferably applied to a configuration in which the inspection of the wafer W is completed by one to four contacts.

  The micro cameras 71 and 72 are provided with a zooming mechanism on the optical path of the optical system. By controlling the zooming mechanism, a field of view (middle field of view) slightly lower than the magnification when used as a high-power camera. ) May be obtained. Note that the magnification when used as a high-magnification camera is a magnification at which the needle trace on the electrode pad can be confirmed, for example, a magnification at which only one electrode pad fits in the field of view. When the operator checks the needle trace on the electrode pad after the inspection, the macro camera 81, 82 cannot see the needle trace, and the micro camera 71, 72 can only check the electrode pad one by one, which takes a long time. In addition, a plurality of electrode pads can be seen at a time through the middle field of view so that the presence or absence of needle marks can be efficiently confirmed. In capturing the specific point for alignment on the wafer W described above, this middle field of view may be used.

  In the above description, the separation distance between the optical axis of the first micro camera 71 and the optical axis of the second micro camera 72 is 146 mm in the above-described example, so that the distance is close to the radius (150 mm) of the wafer. Thus, by setting the dimension between the optical axes to a value close to the radius of the wafer, there is an advantage that the amount of stage movement for bringing the entire surface of the wafer W into the camera field of view of the micro cameras 71 and 72 can be minimized.

  In the above, the substrate transfer arm is not limited to the one provided with three arms as described above, and may be provided with one arm. Further, the pre-alignment mechanism is not limited to being combined with the substrate transfer arm, and may be provided in the apparatus independently of the substrate transfer arm. In this case, the wafer is transferred from the substrate transfer arm to the stage of the pre-alignment mechanism, and the orientation of the wafer is adjusted to a predetermined direction, and the center of the wafer is positioned at a predetermined portion of the substrate transfer arm. Then, the wafer is received from the stage to the substrate transfer arm. Furthermore, as a probe apparatus to which the present invention is applied, the apparatus main body may be provided with only one unit, or a load port is made common to three or more apparatus main bodies. Also good.

It is a general-view perspective view which shows the whole example of the probe apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows an example of said probe apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of said probe apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the load port in said probe apparatus. It is the schematic which shows an example of the wafer conveyance mechanism in said probe apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the test | inspection part in said probe apparatus. It is the schematic which shows an example of said test | inspection part. It is a top view which shows the position of the alignment bridge in said test | inspection part. It is a top view which shows the alignment bridge which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows an example of the movement stroke of a wafer chuck in said test | inspection part. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the control part used by the said embodiment. It is a top view which shows an example of an effect | action of said probe apparatus. It is a top view which shows an example of an effect | action of said probe apparatus. It is a top view which shows an example of an effect | action of said probe apparatus. It is a top view which shows an example of an effect | action of said probe apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating origin origin of both cameras It is explanatory drawing which shows the usage method of the macro camera of an alignment bridge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the usage method of the macro camera of an alignment bridge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the usage method of the macro camera of an alignment bridge. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an array of IC chips on a wafer W. FIG. It is a 1st figure for demonstrating the alignment aspect of the orientation of the wafer of this embodiment. It is a 2nd figure for demonstrating the alignment aspect of the direction of the wafer of this embodiment. It is a 3rd figure for demonstrating the alignment aspect of the direction of the wafer of this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the difference in the movement distance of a wafer chuck at the time of using the alignment bridge of this embodiment and a prior art example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the movement amount of the whole wafer W of the X direction at the time of using an alignment bridge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the movement amount of the whole wafer of the X direction at the time of attaching one micro camera to an alignment bridge. It is a figure which shows the alignment bridge and control part which concern on other embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect | action of the distance adjustment between microcameras.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Loader part 2 Probe apparatus main body 3 Wafer transfer mechanism 4A, 4B Wafer chucks 5A, 5B Alignment bridges 6A, 6B Probe card 10 Transfer chamber 11 First load port 12 Second load port 21A, 21B Inspection part 29 Probe needle 30 Arm 31 Upper arm 32 Middle arm 33 Lower arm 36 Chuck part 37, 38 Optical sensor 41 Micro camera 45 Micro camera 71 Micro camera 72 Micro camera

Claims (13)

A wafer on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged is placed on a wafer mounting table that can be moved in the horizontal and vertical directions by a driving unit for the mounting table, and an electrode pad of the chip to be inspected is brought into contact with a probe of a probe card. In the probe device for inspecting the chip to be inspected,
An imaging means for probe imaging provided on the wafer mounting table and having an upward visual field for imaging the probe;
A movable body provided to be movable in a horizontal direction at a height position between the wafer mounting table and the probe card;
A first imaging unit and a second imaging unit for imaging a wafer, each of which is provided on the moving body, each having its optical axes spaced apart from each other and having a downward field of view for imaging the wafer surface;
By moving the wafer mounting table, the positions of the focal point of the imaging unit for probe imaging, the focal point of the first imaging unit for wafer imaging, and the focal point of the second imaging unit are sequentially aligned, and the wafer mounting table at each time point Acquiring the position of the wafer, and moving the wafer mounting table to sequentially image the wafer on the wafer mounting table by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer. A step of acquiring a position of the mounting table; a step of capturing an image of the probe by an imaging means for probe imaging; acquiring a position of the wafer mounting table at the time of imaging; and a wafer based on the position of the wafer mounting table acquired in each step And a step of calculating a position of the wafer mounting table for bringing the probe into contact with the probe, and a control means for executing a group of steps. .   Provided on the moving body, the optical axes of which are separated from each other, the field of view for imaging the wafer surface is downward, and the magnification for the wafer imaging is lower than that of the first imaging means and the second imaging means. The probe apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first low-magnification camera and a second low-magnification camera.   The set of optical axes of the first imaging means and the first low-magnification camera and the set of optical axes of the second imaging means and the second low-magnification camera are symmetrical. The probe apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the probe apparatus is formed.   In the step group, two peripheral points of the wafer on the wafer mounting table are sequentially imaged by the first low-magnification camera and the second low-magnification camera for imaging the wafer, and then the first low-magnification camera and the second low-magnification camera. The wafer mounting table is moved perpendicular to the line connecting the optical axes of the low-magnification camera, and two points on the periphery of the wafer opposite to the two points are defined as the first low-magnification camera and the second low-magnification camera. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of sequentially capturing images with a low-magnification camera and obtaining a center position of the wafer based on the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of capturing these four points. Probe device.   The imaging of the two points on the wafer periphery on the wafer mounting table and the imaging of the two points on the opposite periphery are performed for wafer imaging instead of the first low magnification camera and the second low magnification camera for wafer imaging. The probe apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the probe apparatus is performed by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit.   In the step group, two specific points spaced apart from each other on the wafer are imaged by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer, and the wafer is determined based on the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of each imaging. 6. The probe apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a step of rotating the wafer mounting table so that the orientation is set in advance.   7. The first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging a wafer are provided on the movable body so as to be able to contact and separate from each other by a driving unit for imaging unit. The probe device according to one.   The control unit determines that the distance between the optical axes of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit is a distance between two specific points on the wafer based on information corresponding to the type of wafer. As described above, the probe apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a control signal for a driving unit for the imaging unit is output. A wafer on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged is placed on a wafer mounting table that can be moved in the horizontal and vertical directions by a driving unit for the mounting table, and an electrode pad of the chip to be inspected is brought into contact with a probe of a probe card. In the probing method for inspecting the chip to be inspected,
An imaging means for probe imaging provided on the wafer mounting table and having an upward visual field for imaging the probe;
For wafer imaging, which is provided on a movable body that can move in the horizontal direction at a height position between the wafer mounting table and the probe card, and whose optical axes are separated from each other and the field of view for imaging the wafer surface is downward. Using the first imaging means and the second imaging means,
By moving the wafer mounting table, the positions of the focal point of the imaging unit for probe imaging, the focal point of the first imaging unit for wafer imaging, and the focal point of the second imaging unit are sequentially aligned, and the wafer mounting table at each time point Obtaining the position of
Moving the wafer mounting table to sequentially image the wafer on the wafer mounting table by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer, and acquiring the position of the wafer mounting table at each imaging; ,
A step of obtaining an image of the probe by an imaging means for probe imaging, obtaining the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of imaging, and a wafer for contacting the wafer and the probe based on the position of the wafer mounting table obtained in each step And a step of calculating a position of the mounting table.   The step of sequentially imaging the wafer on the wafer mounting table by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for imaging the wafer is performed by the wafer mounting table by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit for wafer imaging. The two points on the periphery of the upper wafer are sequentially imaged, and then the wafer mounting table is moved perpendicularly to the line connecting the optical axes of the first imaging means and the second imaging means. A step of sequentially imaging two points on the opposite side of the point by the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, and obtaining the center position of the wafer based on the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of imaging these four points. The probing method according to claim 9, further comprising:   The wafer on the wafer mounting table is sequentially moved by the first imaging means and the second imaging means for wafer imaging, and two wafers spaced apart from each other on the wafer by the first imaging means and the second imaging means for wafer imaging. 11. The probing according to claim 9, further comprising a step of imaging a specific point and rotating the wafer mounting table so that the wafer has a preset orientation based on the position of the wafer mounting table at the time of each imaging. Method.   Based on the information corresponding to the type of wafer, the distance between the optical axes of the first imaging means and the second imaging means for wafer imaging is the distance between two specific points on the wafer. The probing method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of adjusting positions of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit by a driving unit for the imaging unit. A wafer on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged is placed on a wafer mounting table that can be moved in the horizontal and vertical directions by a driving unit for the mounting table, and an electrode pad of the chip to be inspected is brought into contact with a probe of a probe card. A storage medium storing a computer program used in a probe apparatus for inspecting a chip to be inspected,
12. A storage medium in which the computer program has a set of steps so as to implement the probing method according to claim 8.

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