JP5076750B2 - Probe apparatus and probe method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a probe apparatus and a probe method for measuring electrical characteristics of a test object by bringing a probe into electrical contact with an electrode pad of the test object, and more particularly to a driving portion of a test head.

  In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, various electrical characteristics are inspected after the integrated circuit chip is completed, and the quality of each integrated circuit chip is determined in a state before being singulated. Such an inspection is performed by placing a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) on a mounting table, raising the mounting table, and bringing an electrode pad of an integrated circuit chip on the wafer into contact with, for example, a probe needle of a probe card. Is called. Recently, probing is also performed in order to determine the quality of the circuit portion formed so far before the integrated circuit is completed.

  This type of probe device accommodates a mounting table, and has a horizontal axis of rotation between an inspection device main body comprising a housing having a probe card on its top plate, and an upper position and a retracted position of the inspection device main body. And a test head that rotates around. The test head is positioned in a horizontal position above the inspection apparatus, and is in electrical contact with the electrode of the probe card, and gives an inspection signal to the chip to be inspected (including the chip being manufactured) via the probe card. This is for examining the electrical characteristics of the chip.

  A hinge mechanism for rotating the test head is provided separately from the apparatus main body, and the center of the rotation shaft is located lower than the upper surface of the probe card. Therefore, since the rotation radius of the test head is relatively long, it can be said that the movement locus of the tip of the test head near the upper surface of the probe card is substantially along the vertical direction. By the way, as the wafer diameter increases, there is a strong demand for narrowing the installation space of the apparatus. For this reason, it is considered advantageous to mount the hinge mechanism on the apparatus main body.

  However, with such a layout, the distance between the hinge mechanism and the test head is shortened, and the upper surface of the probe card is lower than the rotation axis of the hinge mechanism. Since the turning radius becomes short, the amount of movement in the horizontal direction on the movement locus of the tip of the test head 100 becomes large near the upper surface of the probe card 101. On the other hand, the probe card 101 is fixed to the lower side of the circular opening on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 102 and is positioned lower than the upper surface of the apparatus main body 102. Therefore, the tip of the test head 100 enters the opening and comes into contact with the probe card 101, but when the test head 100 is rotated by the hinge mechanism 103, the test head 100 has an opening in the opening. When the distal end moves in the horizontal direction, there is a possibility that it interferes with the reinforcing member of the probe card 101 or the peripheral portion of the opening. Even if the hinge mechanism 103 is provided with an elevating mechanism in addition to the rotating mechanism, the test head 100 is rotated to the horizontal position and then lowered, the test head 100 is supported by the rotating arm 104 from one side. For this reason, the rotating arm 104 bends due to the weight of the test head 100, and there is a risk of interference with the reinforcing member, and the structure of the apparatus becomes complicated, leading to an increase in cost.

In Patent Document 1, the test head is lifted vertically on the main body of the apparatus, and rotated 90 ° at that position, thereby reducing the rotation space of the test head, the contact between the test head and the probe card, and the performance board. The technology for exchanging is described. However, in order to replace the performance board attached to the test head, it is necessary for an operator to work at a high place using a ladder or the like, and there is a problem that maintenance cannot be performed easily.
Patent Document 2 describes a technique for finely adjusting the position and inclination of the test head by a support mechanism after the test head is rotated and mounted at a predetermined position. It does not solve.

JP-A-8-148534 (paragraph (0016), FIGS. 1 and 2) JP-A-9-22927 (paragraphs (0048) to (0053))

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a probe apparatus and a probe method capable of appropriately attaching a test head to an apparatus main body.

The probe device of the present invention is
In a probe apparatus for inspecting a chip to be inspected by placing a substrate on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged on a movable substrate mounting table and bringing the electrode pad of the chip to be inspected into contact with a probe of a probe card,
An inspection apparatus main body provided with the substrate mounting table inside, and provided with a probe card on the top plate part,
A test head for approaching and electrically contacting the upper surface of the probe card from above the probe card to send and receive signals;
The test head, between a retracted position away from the top plate portion of the horizontal position and the inspection apparatus main body in which the lower surface is horizontal at above the probe card, is rotated about a horizontal axis of rotation A rotation drive for,
A holding portion provided on the rotating shaft for holding the test head;
Provided separately from the rotation drive unit on the top plate portion of the inspection apparatus main body , receives the test head in the horizontal position from the holding unit, and descends to a position where the test head is in electrical contact with the probe card And an elevating support mechanism that raises the test head to the horizontal position and delivers it to the holding unit;
One of a holding state in which the test head is held in the holding portion and a released state in which the holding is released is set, and when the test head is delivered from the holding portion to the lifting support mechanism, the holding state is set to the releasing state, and the lifting support is also provided. And holding / releasing means for bringing the test head into a holding state when the test head is delivered from the mechanism to the holding unit.
The rotating shaft is disposed at a position spaced apart on one side with respect to a region where the probe card is disposed in the inspection apparatus body when viewed in a plane,
The holding portion is for supporting the test head in a cantilevered manner from the one side,
The retracted position is preferably set to a position where the lower surface of the test head faces upward at a position opposite to the inspection apparatus main body when viewed from the rotating shaft.
The rotation drive unit is provided in the inspection apparatus main body,
The center of the rotating shaft is preferably set at a position higher than the lower surface of the test head when the test head is in electrical contact with the probe card.
It is preferable that a guide mechanism for guiding the test head in the vertical direction is provided between the holding portion and the test head.
The holding / releasing means is preferably configured to hold the test head in the holding portion when the test head is placed in a position in electrical contact with the probe card.

The probe method of the present invention comprises:
A movable substrate mounting table is provided inside, and an inspection apparatus main body provided with a probe card on the top plate is provided. A substrate on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged is mounted on the substrate mounting table, and the probe card In a probe method for inspecting a chip to be inspected by contacting an electrode pad of the chip to be inspected with a probe,
The test head is separated from the top plate portion of the inspection apparatus main body by holding the test head on a holding portion provided on a horizontal rotation shaft and rotating it around the rotation shaft via a rotation driving unit . Rotating from the retracted position to a horizontal position where the lower surface of the probe card is horizontal above the probe card;
Supporting the test head in the horizontal position on an elevating support mechanism provided separately from the rotation drive unit on the top plate portion of the inspection apparatus body; and
Next, the holding of the test head by the holding unit is released, and the test head is lowered by the lifting support mechanism to a position where the test head is in electrical contact with the probe card;
And then inspecting the chip to be inspected on the substrate by bringing the substrate into contact with the probe of the probe card.
The rotating shaft is disposed at a position spaced apart on one side with respect to a region where the probe card is disposed in the inspection apparatus body when viewed in a plane,
The retracted position is set to a position where the lower surface of the test head faces upward at a position opposite to the inspection apparatus body when viewed from the rotating shaft,
The step of rotating to the horizontal position is preferably performed by cantilevering the test head from the one side by the holding portion.
The step of lowering the test head by the elevating support mechanism is preferably performed while being guided by a guide mechanism provided between the holding portion and the test head.
It is preferable to perform a step of holding the test head on the holding portion after the step of lowering the test head to a position where the test head is in electrical contact with the probe card by the lifting support mechanism.

In measuring the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected by bringing the probe into electrical contact with the electrode pad of the object to be inspected, the present invention provides a horizontal posture from a retracted position away from the top plate portion of the inspection apparatus body. Since the test head is lowered by the elevating support mechanism provided on the top plate portion of the inspection apparatus main body after being rotated to the position of the inspection apparatus main body , even if the test head has a small rotation radius, The test head can be securely attached to the apparatus main body without interfering with the members. Even if the rotation axis of the test head is higher than the upper surface of the probe card, the test head and the probe card can be reliably connected electrically, so that the rotation drive unit can be mounted on the apparatus body. For this reason, the apparatus can be miniaturized.

The probe apparatus which is the probe apparatus of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. This probe apparatus includes a prober body 11, a test head 12, and a loader unit 13 that are inspection apparatus bodies.
The prober body 11 includes a housing 20 that constitutes an exterior part. In this housing 20, as shown in FIG. 2, a mounting table 21 on which a wafer W, which is a substrate to be inspected, on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged, and this mounting table 21 are placed in X, Y , A moving mechanism 22 for moving in the Z direction and rotating around the vertical axis is provided. In the figure, reference numeral 23 denotes an X direction moving unit, 24 denotes a Y direction moving unit, and 25 denotes a Z direction moving unit. The Z-direction moving unit 25 is provided with a camera for imaging a probe needle 26 described later, although not shown.

A circular opening 27 is formed in the top plate 35 of the housing 20, and the insert ring 28 is fixed to the periphery by fitting the flange portion 29 of the insert ring 28. The lower edge of the insert ring 28 forms an annular locking surface portion 30 that protrudes horizontally inward.
The probe card 31 is fixed to the top plate 35 of the housing 20 by the flange on the upper portion of the holding ring 32 that holds the probe card 31 and the locking surface portion 30 of the insert ring 28 being locked. Yes. Therefore, the upper surface of the probe card 31 is located at a height level lower than the upper surface of the top plate 35 by, for example, 3.9 cm. A large number of probe needles 26, which are probes extending obliquely with respect to the wafer W, are formed on the lower surface side of the probe card 31. The probe may be a vertical needle or a bump. A reinforcing member 33 having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the probe card 31 is provided on the upper surface of the probe card 31 so as to surround the electrode arrangement region and to be concentric with the probe card 31. This reinforcing member 33 is for suppressing deformation of the probe card 31.

On the lower surface side of the top plate 35, a camera (not shown) for imaging the surface of the wafer W is installed so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. The coordinate position of the electrode pad of the chip to be inspected on the wafer W and the probe needle 26 is acquired by this camera and a camera (not shown) provided in the Z-direction moving unit 25 described above.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, at the right and left edges (the X direction is described as the left and right direction) of the top plate 35, the lifting bodies 40 are respectively received to raise and lower the test head 12. For example, three pieces are provided at the front and rear. The elevating body 40 can be moved up and down by an elevating drive mechanism such as an air cylinder (not shown). In this example, the elevating body 40 and the air cylinder constitute an elevating support mechanism.

  Further, a hinge mechanism 42 having a rotation shaft 41 and a drive unit (not shown) for rotating the rotation shaft 41 are provided on the rear edge side of the top plate 35, and protrudes to the right from the hinge mechanism 42. A rotating arm 43 having a short length is attached to the rotating shaft 41. In this example, the pivot mechanism is configured by the hinge mechanism 42 and the drive unit. For example, a test head 12 to be described below is parallel to the horizontal plane above the probe card 31 and behind the prober body 11, for example, a test The head 12 is configured to rotate between a retreat position where maintenance or the like of the head 12 is performed. The test head 12 at this retracted position is in a state in which, for example, the lower surface side including the electrodes faces upward. The center of rotation of the rotating shaft 41 is set at a position 22.5 cm higher than the upper surface of the top plate 35, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the front end of the rotating arm 43 is connected to the rear surface of the holding body 45 that opens to the left and right and extends forward and has a U-shaped flat surface forming the arms 44 and 44. The substantially square test head 12 is held via a gap 52 formed over the length direction of the arm portion 44 so as to be sandwiched between the arm portions 44 and 44 from the left and right. In addition, about the arm part 44 in FIG. 1, a part of lower side is notched and shown so that the above-mentioned raising / lowering body 40 can be seen for convenience.

  For example, two sets of, for example, two guide receivers 51 arranged in the vertical direction on the inner side (test head 12 side) of both the left and right arms 44 are arranged in the length direction of the arms 44. On the other hand, on both side surfaces of the test head 12 from the upper end of the upper guide receiver 51 to the lower end of the lower guide receiver 51 so as to correspond to the positions of the two sets of guide receivers 51. Two vertical guides 63 that are formed so as to slide with respect to the guide receiver 51 are also provided. Accordingly, the slide action of the guide receiver 51 and the vertical guide 63 causes the test head 12 to move up and down by the elevator 40 described above while being guided by the guide receivers 51 of the both arm portions 44. The guide receiver 51 and the vertical guide 63 form a guide mechanism.

  A lock pin advance / retreat portion 47a for advancing / retreating the lock pin 47b along the arm portion 44 and a cross section where both end portions extend toward the test head 12 are provided at the upper portion of the approximate center in the length direction of the arm portions 44, 44. A lock pin support portion 49 in which a U-shaped groove portion is formed is provided side by side in the front-rear direction (Y direction). The lock pin support portion 49 has a role of supporting the lock pin 47b by penetrating the through hole 48 formed in each of the both end portions. A vertically long stopper 61 is provided on the side surface of the test head 12 so as to enter the groove portion surrounded by the U-shaped portion of the lock pin support portion 49. The through hole 62 of the lock pin 47b is vertically moved to a height position corresponding to an upper position where the test head 12 is transferred to and from the lifting body 40 and a lower position where the test head 12 is mounted on the probe card 31. It is formed in two places. Therefore, the lock pin 47b is passed through the through holes 48 and 62 in a state where the through hole 48 of the lock pin support portion 49 and the through hole 62 of the stopper 61 overlap each other in the front and rear directions, so that the locked state, that is, the holding body 45. In this state, the test head 12 is held, and the lock pin 47 b is removed from the stopper 61 to release the hold. In this example, the lock pin advance / retreat portion 47a, the lock pin 47b, the lock pin support portion 49, and the stopper 61 constitute the holding / release means 46.

  An intermediate ring 64 for electrically contacting the test head 12 and the probe card 31 is mounted on the lower surface side of the test head 12, and the intermediate ring 64 has an outer diameter of the probe card 31. The inner diameter is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the reinforcing member 33. Further, the height dimension of the intermediate ring 64 is set larger than the height dimension from the upper surface of the probe card 31 to the upper surface of the top plate 35. Therefore, the test head 12 does not collide with the top plate 35 when the intermediate ring 64 is lowered and placed on the probe card 31. Further, the distance between the lower end surface of the intermediate ring 64 and the upper surface of the probe card 31 when the test head 12 is raised is set to 3.4 cm, for example, and the test head 12 is rotated by the rotary arm 43 described above. Inside, for example, even when the rotating arm 43 is bent due to the weight of the test head 12, a sufficient clearance is taken so as not to interfere with the reinforcing member 33 and the like.

  Below the both side surfaces on the arm portion 44 side of the test head 12, the back surface is fixed to the test head 12 so as to correspond to the positions of the three lifting bodies 40, and the lower end surface is horizontal from the test head 12. Three L-shaped receiving members 65 arranged so as to extend are provided at intervals. Therefore, when the receiving member 65 is received by the elevating body 40, the test head 12 is supported via the receiving member 65, and the elevating body 40 is moved up and down in this state, the test head 12 is moved up and down. A tester (not shown) is connected to the test head 12 via a cable, and an electrical signal for inspecting the wafer W is transmitted from the tester 12.

  A loader unit 13 is connected to the right side of the prober main body 11, and the inner side of the loader unit 13 in the casing 71 is partitioned into an upper region 73 and a lower region 74 by a partition wall 72. In the upper region 73, a mounting table 75 on which FOUP2, which is a sealed transfer container storing 25 wafers W, is mounted. The casing 71 on the right surface of the FOUP 2 has an opening 76, and the FOUP 2 is transferred between the conveying means (not shown) and the mounting table 75 through the opening 76.

  A transport arm 77 that can be rotated, lifted, and retracted is provided in an area on the front side of the casing 71, and the prober body 11 is located between the FOUP 2 in the upper area 73 and the mounting table 21 of the prober body 11. The wafer W is transferred via an opening 78 formed between the loader unit 13 and the loader unit 13.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the probe device is provided with a control unit 5 composed of, for example, a computer. The control unit 5 includes a program storage unit, a memory, a data processing unit composed of a CPU, and the like. The program stored in the program storage unit includes a group of steps for detaching the test head 12 from the top board 35 and a group of steps for carrying and aligning the wafer W. In addition, for example, the memory includes an area in which values of processing parameters such as a movement step of the movement mechanism 22 or a movement amount are written, and these processing parameters are read when the CPU executes each instruction of the program. Then, a control signal corresponding to the parameter value is sent to each part of the probe device. This program (including programs related to processing parameter input operations and display) is stored in the storage unit 6 such as a computer storage medium such as a flexible disk, a compact disk, an MO (magneto-optical disk), and a hard disk and installed in the control unit 5. The

  Next, the probing method of the present invention will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the test head 12 which is set at a retracted position away from the horizontal position above the top plate 35 and is fixed to the holding body 45 by the holding / release mechanism 46 is moved downward. Rotate toward. At this time, as described above, since the rotation center of the rotating shaft 41 is set at a position higher than the upper surface of the top plate 35, the trace drawn by the lower surface of the intermediate ring 64 and the test head 12 is the reinforcing material 33 and Does not interfere with the insert ring 28 or the like. Then, the test head 12 is stopped at the horizontal position in FIG. Next, the elevating body 40 is raised and brought into contact with the lower surface of the receiving member 65 (FIG. 1C).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the test head 12 is handed over from the holding part 45 to the lifting body 40 by pulling out the lock pin 47b from the lock pin support part 49 and releasing the holding of the test head 12, All the load of the test head 12 is applied to the lifting body 40. Therefore, when the elevating body 40 is lowered (FIG. 5B), the lower surface of the intermediate ring 64 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the probe card 31 while the vertical guide 63 of the test head 12 is guided by the guide receiver 51 of the holding body 45. It descends with the elevating body 40 to the contact position. Then, the lock pin 47b is inserted into the lock pin support portion 49 (FIG. 5C), and the test head 12 is again held. This re-holding of the test head 12 is to prevent the total load of the test head 12 from being applied to the probe card 31 due to, for example, a trouble with the air cylinder of the elevating body 40. 6 is a diagram in which FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are redrawn by changing the viewpoint, as in FIG. 2 described above, and FIG. 6A is FIG. 5A and FIG. 6B is a diagram. This corresponds to 5 (b).

  Thereafter, the FOUP 2 storing, for example, 25 wafers W is placed on the placement table 75 by a transfer means (not shown). Then, one wafer W is taken out from the FOUP 2 by the transfer arm 77 and placed on the placement table 21 in the prober main body 11. Next, as described above, the probe needle 26 and the wafer W are aligned, and the probe needle 26 is brought into contact with the electrode pad formed on the chip to be inspected on the wafer W (FIG. 6C). The electrical characteristics are inspected by supplying a predetermined electrical signal from the test head 12 to the electrode pad via the intermediate ring 64, the probe card 31 and the probe needle 26. Thereafter, the probe needles 26 are sequentially brought into contact with the electrode pads on the wafer W to inspect each chip on the wafer W. Note that the probe needle 26 may be in contact with all the electrode pads of each chip of the wafer W at once. After the inspection is completed, the wafer W is returned to the FOUP 2 by the transfer arm 77.

  For example, when the intermediate ring 64 is exchanged between the lots of the wafers W or when the test head 12 is maintained, the prober body 11 is moved from the horizontal position above the top plate 35 as shown in FIG. For example, the test head 12 is rotated to the maintenance position which is the retracted position 180 ° behind. For simplification of illustration, FIGS. 4 to 7 are not shown in some drawings. 4 (b), 4 (c), 5 (a) and 6 (a), the lower surface position of the intermediate ring 64 is drawn higher than the upper surface position of the top plate 35 in order to make these drawings easy to see. However, in practice, the lower surface position of the intermediate ring 64 is 5 mm deeper than the upper surface position of the top plate 35 as described above.

  According to the above-described embodiment, when measuring the electrical characteristics of the wafer W by bringing the probe needle 26 into electrical contact with the electrode pad of the wafer W, the test head 12 is held on the holding body 45 and the top plate 35 is held. After the test head 12 is rotated from the retracted position away from the horizontal position to the position of the horizontal posture, the test head 12 is transferred from the holding body 45 to the elevating body 40 provided in the prober main body 11 and lowered. Even if the test head 12 is small, the test head 12 can be securely attached to the prober main body 11 without interfering with the members on the prober main body 11 side such as the reinforcing member 33 and the insert ring 28. Further, even if the rotation shaft 41 of the test head 12 is higher than the upper surface of the probe card 31, the test head 12 and the probe card 31 can be reliably electrically connected, so that the hinge mechanism 42 is connected to the prober body 11. Therefore, the apparatus can be miniaturized. Further, since the hinge mechanism 42 that is the rotation mechanism of the test head 12 and the lifting body 40 that is the lifting mechanism are provided separately, the configuration of the apparatus is simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

  In addition, the vertical guide 63 is guided downward by the guide body 51 by the elevating body 40 that supports the test head 12 from one side, not by the rotating shaft 41, so that the probe card 31 and the intermediate ring 64 are Therefore, the test head 12 can be positioned with high accuracy. Therefore, for example, even when the outer diameter of the reinforcing member 33 described above is large and the clearance with the intermediate ring 64 is small, interference between the reinforcing member 33 and the intermediate ring 64 or the test head 12 can be suppressed.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the probe apparatus of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows said probe apparatus. It is a top view which shows said probe apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a mode when the intermediate ring connected to the lower side of the test head and a probe card are made to contact. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a mode when the intermediate ring connected to the lower side of the test head and a probe card are made to contact. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a mode when the intermediate ring connected to the lower side of the test head and a probe card are made to contact. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a mode when a test head is rotated to a maintenance position. It is a side view which shows the malfunction of the position of the test head in the conventional probe apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Prober body 12 Test head 13 Loader part 31 Probe card 33 Reinforcement material 40 Lifting body 41 Rotating shaft 42 Hinge mechanism 43 Rotating arm 45 Holding body 46 Holding / release mechanism 51 Guide receiver 63 Vertical guide 65 Receiver member

Claims (10)

In a probe apparatus for inspecting a chip to be inspected by placing a substrate on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged on a movable substrate mounting table and bringing the electrode pad of the chip to be inspected into contact with a probe of a probe card,
An inspection apparatus main body provided with the substrate mounting table inside, and provided with a probe card on the top plate part,
A test head for approaching and electrically contacting the upper surface of the probe card from above the probe card to send and receive signals;
The test head, between a retracted position away from the top plate portion of the horizontal position and the inspection apparatus main body in which the lower surface is horizontal at above the probe card, is rotated about a horizontal axis of rotation A rotation drive for,
A holding portion provided on the rotating shaft for holding the test head;
Provided separately from the rotation drive unit on the top plate portion of the inspection apparatus main body , receives the test head in the horizontal position from the holding unit, and descends to a position where the test head is in electrical contact with the probe card And an elevating support mechanism that raises the test head to the horizontal position and delivers it to the holding unit;
One of a holding state in which the test head is held in the holding portion and a released state in which the holding is released is set, and when the test head is delivered from the holding portion to the lifting support mechanism, the holding state is set to the releasing state, and the lifting support is also provided. A probe apparatus comprising: holding / releasing means for bringing the test head from a mechanism into a holding state when the test head is delivered.   The rotating shaft is disposed at a position spaced apart on one side with respect to a region where the probe card is disposed in the inspection apparatus body when viewed in a plane,
  The holding portion is for supporting the test head in a cantilevered manner from the one side,
  2. The probe according to claim 1, wherein the retreat position is set such that a lower surface of the test head faces upward at a position opposite to the inspection apparatus main body when viewed from the rotation shaft. apparatus. The rotation drive unit is provided in the inspection apparatus main body,
The probe apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the center of the rotating shaft is set at a position higher than a lower surface of the test head when the test head is in electrical contact with the probe card. . Wherein between the holding portion and the test head, the probe device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that guide mechanisms for guiding the test head in a vertical direction is provided. The holding / releasing means is configured to hold the test head in the holding portion when the test head is placed at a position in electrical contact with the probe card. The probe device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . A movable substrate mounting table is provided inside, and an inspection apparatus main body provided with a probe card on the top plate is provided. A substrate on which a large number of chips to be inspected are arranged is mounted on the substrate mounting table, and the probe card In a probe method for inspecting a chip to be inspected by contacting an electrode pad of the chip to be inspected with a probe,
The test head is separated from the top plate portion of the inspection apparatus main body by holding the test head on a holding portion provided on a horizontal rotation shaft and rotating it around the rotation shaft via a rotation driving unit . Rotating from the retracted position to a horizontal position where the lower surface of the probe card is horizontal above the probe card;
Supporting the test head in the horizontal position on an elevating support mechanism provided separately from the rotation drive unit on the top plate portion of the inspection apparatus body; and
Next, the holding of the test head by the holding unit is released, and the test head is lowered by the lifting support mechanism to a position where the test head is in electrical contact with the probe card;
And then inspecting the chip to be inspected of the substrate by bringing the substrate into contact with the probe of the probe card.   The rotating shaft is disposed at a position spaced apart on one side with respect to a region where the probe card is disposed in the inspection apparatus body when viewed in a plane,
  The retracted position is set to a position where the lower surface of the test head faces upward at a position opposite to the inspection apparatus body when viewed from the rotating shaft,
  The probe method according to claim 6, wherein the step of rotating to the horizontal position is performed by supporting the test head in a cantilever manner from the one side by the holding portion. The rotating shaft is provided in the inspection apparatus main body,
The probe method according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein the center of the rotating shaft is set at a position higher than the lower surface of the test head when the test head is in electrical contact with the probe card. . Step to lower the test head by the elevating support mechanism, to one of the claims 6-8, characterized in that is carried out while being guided by the guide mechanism provided between the holding portion and the test head The described probe method. After the test head of the step of lowering by the elevator support mechanism to a position where the contact with the probe card and electrically, either 6 to claim, characterized in that a step of holding the test head in the holder 9 The probe method according to one.

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