JPH11145271A - Wafer holder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wafer holder which smoothly transfers a wafer, is usable as a carrier for carrying the wafer and pref. usable for contacting wafers to contactors in batch. SOLUTION: A wafer chuck 2 comprises a main body 21 for holding a wafer W, openings 21E opened at the main body 21 surface, exhaust passage 21A formed in the body 21 to continue to the openings 21E, valve mechanisms 22A, 23A mounted in the inlets/outlets of the exhaust passages 21A, seal rings 24 mounted on the entire outer marginal edge of the main body 21 surface, through- holes 21D allowing free pins 11A to run for transferring the wafer W on the main body 21 surface and silicone rubber film 25 laid over the through-holes 21D to expand accompanying the up-down motion of the free pins 11A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer holder, and more particularly, to a highly versatile wafer holder that can smoothly transfer semiconductor wafers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a plurality of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, referred to as "wafers") may be conveyed in a carrier unit between each process, or may be conveyed one by one. Larger wafers, process wafers one by one,
As the number of so-called single-wafer processing steps increases, the number of scenes in which wafers are transferred one by one increases. There are various inspection processes in the semiconductor manufacturing process. For example, a semiconductor inspection process in which inspection is performed at a wafer stage, and a wafer are separated as semiconductor elements (hereinafter, referred to as “chips”), and chips are inspected as package products. There is a reliability test process. In the probe inspection, the IC chips formed on the surface of the wafer are subjected to electrical characteristics inspection for each IC chip in a wafer state, and chips having no defects in the electrical characteristics are screened. A non-defective product is screened by applying a thermal or electrical stress to the product to reveal potential defects of the chip.

[0003] On the other hand, chips are becoming smaller and more highly integrated with the miniaturization and higher functionality of electric products. In addition, recently, various mounting techniques for further miniaturizing semiconductor products have been developed, and in particular, a technique for mounting a chip as a bare chip without packaging the chip has been developed. To put bare chips on the market, bare chips that are guaranteed in quality are required. In order to bring a quality-assured bare chip to market, a reliability test must be performed. A probe device can be used for the reliability test. However, in the case of the probe device, only one wafer can be inspected at a time, and the reliability test of one wafer requires a great deal of time. is there. In addition, in order to inspect a bare chip using a conventional reliability test device, various difficult points such as electrical connection between the bare chip and the socket have to be solved. This may be complicated and increase the inspection cost.

[0004] Therefore, a reliability test apparatus capable of performing inspection in a wafer state is desired. In the case of a reliability test apparatus, since a reliability test can be performed on a plurality of wafers simultaneously, the inspection cost can be significantly reduced. In order to perform a reliability test in a wafer state, it is necessary to transport wafers integrated with a contactor one by one to a reliability test apparatus. For example, various reliability testing techniques are proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 7-231019, 8-56666 and 8-340030. In particular, the former two publications propose a technique in which a wafer and a contactor such as a probe sheet are reliably brought into collective contact without being thermally affected during a reliability test. When the reliability test is performed in a wafer state as described above, it is fundamental and extremely important to ensure that the wafer and the contactor are brought into contact with each other accurately at a high temperature with high accuracy.

[0005]

However, prior to the batch contact of the wafer and the contactor, it is important to smoothly transfer the wafer to and from the transfer mechanism on the wafer holder. In the case of a holder, it is difficult to say that sufficient measures have been taken to transfer the wafer. Moreover, the wafer holder for the reliability test is devised exclusively for the reliability test, and has a problem that it is difficult to share it with others and is inferior in versatility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can be used as a carrier for transferring wafers, and can be used for transferring wafers smoothly.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer holder that can be suitably used for batch contact between a wafer and a contactor.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer holder, a main body for holding a semiconductor wafer, a plurality of openings formed on the surface of the main body, and a plurality of openings connected to the openings. A wafer holder having an exhaust passage formed in the inside of the main body, a valve mechanism attached to each of the entrances and exits of the exhaust passage, and a seal member attached over the entire outer peripheral edge of the main body surface; In the above, a plurality of pin holes for raising and lowering the pins when transferring the semiconductor wafer on the main body surface is provided, and a seal film that expands and contracts with each of the pin holes is provided for each of these pin holes. Is what you do.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the seal member has a ring-shaped outer shape and a cross-sectional shape with the semiconductor wafer. It is characterized in that it is formed in a line contact shape at the initial stage of contact.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the wafer holding member according to the first or second aspect, wherein the sealing film is formed in a cylindrical shape having a sealed end and an open lower end. It is characterized by being formed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the wafer holder according to the first aspect, the seal film is formed of silicon rubber. It is assumed that.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a case where an embodiment of a wafer holder of the present invention is used for a reliability test will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a wafer storage chamber constituting a main part of the reliability test apparatus. As shown in the figure, the wafer storage chamber 1 is formed in a flat rectangular shape as a whole, for example, in a column for reliability test formed in a rack shape (not shown) in a large number of columns and rows in a horizontal state. Used by mounting. When a reliability test is performed, the wafer W is mounted in each of the wafer storage chambers 1 while being integrated with the contactor 3 via the wafer chuck 2 which is an embodiment of the wafer holder of the present invention. . The state in which the wafer W and the contactor 3 are integrated means that the test electrodes (hereinafter, referred to as “electrode pads”) of a large number of chips formed on the entire surface of the wafer and the contactor 3 correspond to these electrode pads. This refers to a state in which the provided protruding inspection terminals (hereinafter, referred to as “electrode pads”) are brought into contact collectively and become conductive. In addition, the wafer,
The integrated wafer chuck 2 and contactor 3 will be hereinafter referred to as a shell 4 for convenience.

The wafer storage chamber 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer storage chamber 1 includes a temperature control chamber 1A and a connector chamber 1B adjacent to the temperature control chamber 1A, and both of them are shut off by a heat insulating wall (not shown). The heat insulation wall prevents the temperature of the connector chamber 1B from rising as much as possible. In the temperature control chamber 1A, the temperature of the wafer W is controlled to the inspection temperature as described later, and the temperature around the wafer W is prevented from rising as much as possible.

At the four corners of the base 5 in the temperature control chamber 1A, cylinder mechanisms 6 are disposed, and the upper ends of the cylinder rods of the cylinder mechanisms 6 are respectively provided with pressing plates disposed above the base 5. 7 are connected to the four corners. A clamp mechanism (not shown) is provided on the back surface of the pressing plate 7, and receives the shell 4 via the clamp mechanism.
In the connector room 1B, a connector and a wiring board for connecting to a tester (not shown) are provided.

Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the base 5 and the pressing plate 7
A base plate 8 is disposed in parallel with the base 5, and a circular hole 8 A is formed substantially in the center of the base plate 8.
Are formed. Inside the hole 8A, a temperature controller having a slightly smaller diameter than the hole 8A is disposed on the base 5 as a bottom jacket 9, and its upper surface is substantially flush with the upper surface of the base plate 8. 1 and 2
As shown in FIG.
(For example, 2000 to 3000) of relay terminals, which are pogo pins 10 surrounding the. These pogo pins 10 are provided corresponding to a large number of external terminals (hereinafter, referred to as “connection pads”) 3B arranged in a ring around the electrode pads 3A of the contactor 3, and are electrically connected to the connection pads 3B at the time of contact. Is electrically conductive. Therefore, when the shell 4 conveyed via the not-shown conveyance mechanism is received via the clamp mechanism in the temperature control chamber 1A, the cylinder mechanism 6 is driven to lower the shell 4 via the pressing plate 7, and the bottom When the wafer reaches the jacket 9, the wafer chuck 2 is placed on the back side of the bottom jacket 9
Contact pads 3B of the contactor 3
Are in electrical contact with the pogo pins 10. In this state, the temperature of the wafer chuck 2 is controlled by the bottom jacket 9 and the temperature of the wafer W is controlled to a predetermined inspection temperature (for example, 110 ° C.).

Now, the wafer chuck 2 of this embodiment is
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the main body is a chuck body 21 formed in a disk shape, and the chuck body 21 is configured to be integrated with the contactor 3 while holding the wafer W. . (B) of FIG.
The gas flow path 21A is formed as shown in FIG. And the inlet of the gas flow path 21A (opens to the peripheral surface of the main body)
Is connected to a gas supply pipe 22, and an outlet (opened adjacent to the inlet on the peripheral surface of the main body) is connected to a gas discharge pipe 23, and a predetermined gas is supplied through both pipes 22 and 23. (A chemically inert gas such as nitrogen gas) is supplied and discharged.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a plurality of ring-shaped grooves 21 are formed on the upper surface of the chuck body 21.
B and 21C are formed concentrically (only two ring grooves are shown in the figure), and these ring grooves 21 are formed.
B and 21C have openings 21E communicating with the gas flow path 21A.
Are formed at a plurality of locations. Also, the chuck body 21
A seal ring 24 made of a highly flexible elastic member such as silicon rubber is attached near the outer periphery of the upper surface. When the wafer chuck 2 and the contactor 3 are integrated, the seal ring 24 keeps the inside airtight. It is. Therefore, when the contactor 3 and the wafer chuck 2 overlap and the pressure between the two 2 and 3 is reduced by the inert gas via the gas supply pipe 22 and the gas discharge pipe 23, the two 2 and 3 are integrated and do not come off. Also, both pipes 22 and 23 are provided with built-in valve mechanisms 22A and 23A shown in (c) in the figure, and after supplying nitrogen gas and evacuating to reduce the pressure between the wafer chuck 2 and the contactor 3, , Each gas supply and exhaust pipe 22,
From 23, gas pipe or vacuum exhaust pipe (both not shown)
When the valve is removed, the springs of the valve mechanisms 22A and 23A operate, the valve moves to the right from the position shown in the same figure, shuts off the entrance and exit, prevents the inflow of air, and maintains the internal decompression state. Has become

When the wafer chuck 2 and the contactor 3 are integrated as described above, all the electrode pads P of the wafer W held by the wafer chuck 2 and the electrode pads 3A of the contactor 3, as shown in FIG. Are brought into contact all at once and are in a conductive state. When the wafer W and the contactor 3 are brought into contact at once, for example, a wafer and contact positioning device (alignment device) already proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-297463 can be used. Using this alignment apparatus, the electrode pad P of the wafer W and the electrode pad 3A of the contactor 3 are used.
The wafer holder 2, the wafer W, and the contactor 3 are integrated as a shell 4 in a state where the two are brought into collective contact with each other. Before being integrated as the shell 4, as shown in FIG. 3B, the wafer W is transferred on the wafer chuck 2 using the three pins 11A of the main chuck 11 in the alignment apparatus main body.

Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the through hole 21 for three pins is formed in the wafer chuck 2.
D are provided at three places between the ring-shaped grooves 21B and 21C. This through hole 21D is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the three pin 4, and this through hole 21D has
As shown in (d), a cylindrical silicon rubber film 25 having a closed end is disposed, and its base end is formed in a concave portion formed on the back surface side of the chuck body 21 via a packing 26 made of, for example, aluminum. Screwed. Further, an O-ring 27 is mounted on the outer periphery of the packing 26, the airtightness between the wafer chuck 2 and the contactor 3 is maintained by the silicon rubber film 25 and the O-ring 27, and a reduced pressure state between the two 2 and 3 is maintained. It is like that. The tip of the three pin 11A is formed slightly thick and round so as not to damage the silicon rubber film 25. Therefore, when a wafer W is transferred on the wafer chuck 2 placed on the main chuck 11, the three pins 11A of the main chuck 11 are raised and fitted into the through holes 21D of the wafer chuck 2, and thereafter the three pins 11A are (B) of FIG.
Even if it protrudes as shown by the one-dot chain line, the reduced pressure state between the wafer chuck 2 and the contactor 3 is maintained.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 (a) and 4 (b), the contactor 3 has an anisotropic conductive sheet 31 in which conductors 31B are arranged in a matrix on a silicon rubber sheet 31A. An electrode pad 3A which surely comes into contact with each conductor 31B of the anisotropic conductive sheet 31, a connection pad 3B formed corresponding to the electrode pad 3A, and a multi-layered wiring 32 connecting these two electrode pads.
B, and both of them,
32 is formed as an integral body. Then, in a state where the contactor 3 and the wafer W are integrated, the electrode pads P of the chip T and the electrode pads 3A of the wiring board 32 are electrically connected to each other via the conductor 31B of the anisotropic conductive sheet 31. I have. The wiring substrate 32 is made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient substantially equal to that of the wafer W (for example, ceramic such as quartz glass).
The internal wiring 32B is made of a material having excellent conductivity such as aluminum. The conductor 31B is a metal fine particle, and the contactor 3
When the silicon rubber sheet 31A is pressed against the wafer W, the metal particles come into contact with each other due to the compression of the silicon rubber sheet 31A so as to be in a conductive state. In order to ensure that the electrode pads P of the chip T and the electrode pads 3A of the wiring board 32 are in contact with the conductors 31B of the anisotropic conductive sheet 31, the conductors 31B are arranged so as to satisfy the following conditions. Even if the anisotropic conductive sheet 31 comes into random contact with the wafer W and the wiring board 32, the conductor 31B surely contacts the electrode pad P of the chip T and the electrode pad 3A of the contactor 3, as shown in FIG. Need to contact The distance A between the adjacent conductors 31B must be smaller than the diameter D of the electrode pads P and 3A as shown in FIG. The interval B between the adjacent electrode pads P and 3A is as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom jacket 9 for controlling the temperature of the shell 4 has a plurality of ring-shaped grooves 9A formed concentrically on the surface similarly to the wafer chuck 2.
And an exhaust passage (not shown) formed therein, and a plurality of holes for connecting the exhaust passage and the ring-shaped groove 9A, and the shell 4 is placed on the bottom jacket 9. When vacuum evacuation is performed by a vacuum evacuation device (not shown) through an evacuation passage, the shell 4 is vacuum-adsorbed by the ring-shaped groove 9A. Also, the bottom jacket 9
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a surface heater 91 and a first cooling jacket 92 are built in, and the shell 4 mounted on the bottom jacket 9 is controlled to a predetermined inspection temperature. The surface heater 91 is arranged on the front side of the bottom jacket 9, and the first cooling jacket 92 is arranged below the surface heater 91. In addition, a heat resistance sheet 93 having excellent heat insulation and heat resistance such as, for example, tetrafluoroethylene resin is interposed between the surface heater 91 and the first cooling jacket 92. The thermal resistance sheet 93 is configured to thermally shield the first cooling jacket 92 from the surface heater 91 so as to form the first cooling jacket 92.
The overheating state of the cooling jacket 92 is prevented, and the temperature of the surface heater 91 is prevented from rising excessively, so that the inspection temperature of the shell 4 is maintained at an optimum temperature. That is, the first
As shown in FIG. 6, a coolant flow path 92A is formed inside the cooling jacket 92 and extends over the entire surface.
A flows a refrigerant (cooling water in this embodiment), and the cooling water is cooled by the surface heater 91 to cool the cooling jacket 9.
There is a possibility that the water will boil in the chamber 2 and no longer function as a refrigerant. Therefore, the surface heater 91 is provided by the heat resistance sheet 93.
From the heat flow from the cooling medium in the coolant flow path, for example,
The temperature is maintained at ~ 80 ° C so that the optimum cooling capacity can always be exhibited. By controlling the surface heater 91 and the first cooling jacket 92 to the optimum temperature in this manner, the shell 4
Can always be kept at 110 ° C.

The first cooling jacket 92 not only improves the temperature control of the bottom jacket 9 but also improves the temperature.
It also has a function of suppressing a rise in temperature around the first cooling jacket 92. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, a second cooling jacket (hereinafter, referred to as "top jacket") 12 is provided on the back surface of the pressing plate 7, and the top jacket 12 is provided with an internal refrigerant flow path. It has a function of cooling the contactor 3 held by the pressing plate 7 with the cooling water flowing through 12A and suppressing an increase in the temperature around these contactors. Therefore, in the temperature control chamber 1A, the bottom jacket 9
In addition to controlling the temperature of the wafer chuck 2, the first cooling jacket 92 and the top jacket 12 suppress a rise in the temperature of the surroundings, thereby suppressing heat radiation from the temperature control chamber 1A as much as possible.

The surface heater 91, the first cooling jacket 92, and the top jacket 12 play respective roles under the control of the wafer temperature controller 13. Therefore, next, FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. This wafer temperature control device 13
As shown in the figure, a heater temperature controller 14 for controlling the temperature of the surface heater 91 and a refrigerant temperature controller 15 for controlling the temperature of the cooling water supplied to the first cooling jacket 92 and the top jacket 12 are provided. Has become.

As shown in FIG. 7, the heater temperature control device 14 includes a temperature measurement device 141 for measuring the temperature of the wafer chuck 2, a detection signal from the temperature measurement device 141 and a preset target value (for example, 110 C)), the first PID controller 1 that transmits a PID control signal based on a deviation from
42, a relay 143 that operates based on the PID control signal of the first PID controller 142, and a heater power supply 144 that controls the temperature of the surface heater 92 based on the operation of the relay 143. In accordance with the deviation from the target value, the temperature of the wafer chuck 2 is quickly heated to the target value to maintain a stable inspection temperature. When there is a deviation between the measured temperature of the wafer chuck 2 and the target value (110 ° C.), the first PID controller 142 sends a PID control signal to the relay 1 according to the deviation.
43 to the heater power supply 144 via the relay 143.
Is controlled by PID so that the surface heater 92 quickly and stably matches the target value.

Further, the refrigerant temperature control device 15 is provided with the configuration shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a water tank 151 for storing cooling water for the first cooling jacket 92 and the top jacket 12, a cooler 152 having a refrigerant pipe 152 </ b> A inserted into the cooling water in the water tank 151, and a water tank 151. And a second PID controller 154 for performing PID control of the cooler 152 in accordance with a deviation between a detection signal from the temperature sensor 153 and a preset target value. The water temperature is rapidly cooled to the target value in accordance with the deviation between the detection signal and the target value to maintain a stable water temperature. Further, the water tank 151, the first cooling jacket 92, and the refrigerant flow path 92 of the top jacket 12.
A and 12A are respectively provided with an outgoing pipe 155A (FIG. 5).
Is shown by a solid line. ) And the return pipe 155B (FIG. 5).
Are indicated by broken lines. ), And the cooling water is supplied to the water tank 151 through these two pipes 155A and 155B.
And between the first cooling jacket 92 and the top jacket 12. The outgoing pipe 155A branches in two directions on the way, one of which is connected to the inlet of the coolant channel 92A of the first cooling jacket 92, and the other is connected to the inlet of the coolant channel 12A of the top jacket 12. A pump 156 is arranged near the water tank 151 at the branch point of the forward pipe 155A, and the pump 156 circulates the cooling water, and the flow rate of the cooling water in each of the forward path and the return path is measured by the flow meter 157. . When there is a deviation between the measured temperature of the cooling water in the water tank 151 and a target value (for example, 40 ° C.), the second PID controller 154 sends a PID control signal to the cooler 1 according to the deviation.
52, and the PID control of the cooler 152 is performed to adjust the flow rate of the refrigerant in the refrigerant pipe 152A so that the water temperature of the water tank 151 quickly and stably matches the target value. As described above, by optimally controlling the temperature of the cooling water by the refrigerant temperature control device 15, the first cooling jacket 9
2 cools the bottom jacket 9 and its surroundings, and the top jacket 12 cools the contactor 3 and its surroundings, thereby suppressing the temperature rise in the temperature control chamber 1A. In addition, as the refrigerant of the cooler 152, for example, ethylene glycol, water, or the like is used. In FIG. 7, 155C is a return pipe, and 15
Reference numerals 8A, 158B and 158C denote valves. When cooling water is not supplied to the first cooling jacket 92 and the top jacket 12, the valves 158A and 158B are closed and the valve 158C is opened to return the cooling water to the water tank 151. .

The temperature measuring device 141 of the wafer chuck 2 is specially designed to accurately measure the temperature of the wafer W via the wafer chuck 2 so that the control accuracy of the wafer temperature control device 13 is improved. The reliability of the reliability test of W is improved. Therefore, this wafer chuck temperature measuring device will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG.
Rod-shaped temperature sensor 1 for detecting the temperature of wafer chuck 2
41A, a cylinder 141C for accommodating a flange-shaped piston portion 141B formed at a base end of the temperature sensor 141A, and a spring 141D elastically mounted in the cylinder 141C to constantly urge the temperature sensor 141A upward. And is erected at three places on the base 5. And 3
The temperature sensor 141A is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
As shown in (b), three radially spaced intervals are provided between the center of the bottom jacket 9 and the vicinity of the outer periphery.
It is fitted into the through hole 9B at the location. This temperature sensor 14
1A is configured by inserting a thermocouple into a stainless steel pipe having a closed end, for example. In addition, (a) of FIG.
In FIG. 2B, only the temperature measuring device 141 disposed at the center of the wafer chuck 2 is shown in its entirety, and the other temperature measuring devices 141 are shown.
Only the tip of A is shown.

On the back surface of the wafer chuck 2, three concave portions 2A corresponding to the through holes 9B are formed in the radial direction. The concave portion 2A is formed to a depth reaching the vicinity of the front surface from the back surface of the wafer chuck 2, and the temperature sensor 1A is used for inspection.
41A resiliently contacts the innermost portion of the concave portion 2A, measures the temperature of the wafer chuck 2 at a position as close as possible to the wafer W, and can grasp a temperature very close to the actual temperature of the wafer W. The thickness t from the innermost portion of the recess 2A to the surface of the wafer chuck is set to, for example, 1 mm. Further, a material having excellent thermal conductivity, for example, a metal such as aluminum is used for the wafer chuck 2 so that the temperature gradient from the wafer surface to the inner part 2A is minimized. Accordingly, when the shell 4 is pressed onto the bottom jacket 9 via the pressing plate 7, the shell 4 comes into close contact with the bottom jacket 9 as described later, and when the bottom jacket 9 is lowered in this state, three temperature sensors are used. The tips of the wafer chucks 141A project from the surface of the bottom jacket 9 respectively.
When the bottom jacket 9 descends continuously, the tip of the temperature sensor 141A is inserted into the recess 2A.
And elastically contact the innermost part via a spring 141D to measure the temperature of the wafer chuck 2 at a position closest to the wafer W of the wafer chuck 2 and thereby grasp the temperature substantially equal to the actual temperature of the wafer W. Can be. The temperature sensor 141A moves up and down within a range of, for example, 15 mm via a spring 141D.

As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 8C, a position detecting sensor 141E having a U-shaped plane structure is disposed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 141C.
When A descends in the direction of the arrow against the spring 141C, the shutter 141F attached to the temperature sensor 141A detects the height of the temperature sensor 141A by blocking the light beam of the position detection sensor 141E. That is, the position sensor 141E allows the temperature sensor 1
By detecting the height of 41A, whether or not the shell 4 is placed on the bottom jacket 9 is detected.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a jacket joining device 16 is provided on the bottom jacket 9, and the shell 4 and the bottom jacket 9 are securely joined by the jacket joining device 16. It is like that.
The jacket joining device 16 includes a plurality of long bolts 161 for connecting and supporting the base 5 and the bottom jacket 9 as shown in FIG. Spring 1 to support
62. More specifically, a plurality of through holes 5A corresponding to the plurality of long bolts 161 are formed in the base 5 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction as guide holes, and the long bolt 161 passes through these through holes 5A. Each long bolt 1
The head 161 </ b> B of the base 61 is locked on the back side of the base 5. In addition, recesses into which a plurality of long bolts 161 are fitted are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral edge of the back surface of the bottom jacket 9, and a through hole is formed at the center of each recess. A female screw part 161A is formed at the tip of the long bolt 161. This tip part fits into the recess of the bottom jacket 9, and the screw 163 inserted into the through hole from the surface of the bottom jacket 9 and the female screw part 161A. It is screwed. Therefore, the long bolt 161 is connected to the bottom jacket 9.
And the head is locked on the back surface of the base 5.

Therefore, as described above, when the shell 4 descends via the pressing plate 7 and reaches the bottom jacket 9, even if the shell 4 is slightly inclined with respect to the surface of the bottom jacket 9, As the shell 4 descends, each spring 162 is gradually compressed, the bottom jacket 9 is corrected by the shell 4, and the bottom jacket 9 is elastically joined to the shell 4 in a state where the bottom jacket 9 is in close contact with the entire surface. 4 is horizontal, so that all the connection pads 3B of the contactor 3 and the pogo pins 10 collectively and uniformly contact each other. The expansion and contraction range of the spring 162 is set so that the bottom jacket 9 can be moved up and down within a range of, for example, 10 mm at the time of joining. Also, at the time of joining, the above-described temperature measuring device 1
The spring 141D of No. 4 expands and contracts in a range of 15 mm, so the expansion and contraction range of the spring 141D has a margin of 5 mm with respect to the spring 162. Therefore, even if the bottom jacket 9 lowers by 10 mm at the time of joining, the temperature sensor 141A Can always elastically contact the concave portion 2A of the wafer chuck 2.

As shown in FIG. 9A, a pogo pin block 17 is disposed on the base plate 8 surrounding the bottom jacket 9, and the pogo pin 10 is planted in the pogo pin block 17. Therefore, the pogo pin block 17 will be described in detail. The pogo pin block 17 has a structure radially divided into four parts from the center of a hole 17A facing the bottom jacket 9 as shown in FIG. 9A, for example.
It is formed as. A gap δ of, for example, 1 mm is formed between adjacent block elements 171 so that each gap δ absorbs the thermal expansion of each block element 171. By dividing the pogo pin block 17 into four parts in this manner, the dimensional change due to the thermal expansion of each block element 171 is reduced, and even if the block element 171 thermally expands during the reliability test as shown in FIG. The pogo pin 10 merely moves from, for example, the position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line, and is surely in contact with the contact pad 3B without coming off the connection pad 3B. If the pogo pin block 17 ′ is formed from an integral block as shown in FIG. 10A, the pogo pin block 17 ′ is
Since the size is four times larger than 1, the pogo pin block 17 ′
The dimensional change due to thermal expansion is large, and the pogo pin 10 moves from the solid line position to the one-dot chain line position as shown in FIG. . For example, a pogo pin block 17 shown in FIG.
In the case of m and the thickness of 30 mm, the displacement of the outer pogo pin 10 in FIG. 9B was 300 μm, but in the case of the integral pogo pin block 17 ′ shown in FIG. Even if it is the same size as the pogo pin block 17 shown in FIG. 9A, the displacement amount in FIG.
It was 00 μm. Therefore, the pogo pin block 17 is
By dividing, the displacement amount of the pogo pin 10 can be halved, and the pogo pin 10 surely comes into contact with the connection pad 3B of the contactor 3 so that the contact is stable and the reliability of the inspection can be improved. The pogo pin block 17 is preferably formed in a rectangular shape with a synthetic resin such as a polyimide resin containing glass fiber or a polyamideimide resin, and has a coefficient of thermal expansion as close as possible to that of the contactor 3.

A guide hole 171A is formed at a corner of the block element 171.
The block element 171 is positioned at a predetermined mounting position with reference to 71A and a guide hole (not shown) of the base 5 formed corresponding to the guide hole 171A. Further, a plurality of fastening holes 171B for fastening members such as screws are formed in the block element 171. The fastening holes 171B are formed on the base 5 corresponding to the fastening holes 171B with reference to the fastening screw holes. Block element 171
At a predetermined mounting position. Therefore, after passing the guide pin (not shown) through the guide hole 171A of each of the block element 171 and the base 5,
By fastening the block element 171 and the base 5 with a fastening member, the block element 171 can be accurately fixed to a predetermined mounting position. The fastening hole of the block element 171 has room for absorbing a dimensional change due to thermal expansion of the block element 171.

Next, the operation will be described. Before mounting the shell 4 into the wafer storage chamber 1 as shown in FIG.
First, the wafer chuck 2, the wafer W, and the contactor 3 are integrated as a shell 4 using an alignment device. To do this, the wafer chuck 2 is placed on the main chuck 11 of the alignment device as shown in FIG. After placing the wafer chuck 2 on the main chuck 11,
When the wafer W is transferred onto the wafer chuck 2, the three pins 11A of the main chuck 11 rise at this point,
The wafer W is inserted into the through hole 21D of the wafer chuck 2 and protrudes from the surface of the wafer chuck 2 while extending the silicon rubber film 25 as shown by a dashed line in FIG.
Waiting for you. Thereafter, when the wafer W is received by the wafer chuck 2, the three pins 11 </ b> A retreat into the main chuck 11, return to the original position, and place the wafer W on the wafer chuck 2. In parallel with this operation, the contactor 3 is arranged at a predetermined position above the main chuck 11.
Then, the electrode pad P of the wafer W and the electrode pad 3A of the contactor 3 are read by an image pickup device such as a CCD camera (not shown), and the position coordinates of the representative electrode pad P among the electrode pads P of the wafer W are obtained. , Electrode pads 3 of contactor 3 corresponding to these electrode pads P
After obtaining the position coordinates of A, the main chuck 11 moves in the X, Y, and θ directions based on these coordinate values to perform the alignment operation of both P and 3A.
The main chuck 2 is raised to bring all the electrode pads P into contact with the corresponding electrode pads 3A at once.

At this point, for example, the wafer chuck 2
Is in a state where nitrogen gas replacement and vacuum exhaust can be performed via gas supply / discharge pipes 22 and 23. Therefore, the gas supply pipe 2
2 supplies nitrogen gas from the wafer chuck 2 and replaces air between the wafer chuck 2 and the contactor 3 with nitrogen. Next, when the nitrogen gas supply source is removed from the gas supply pipe 22, the valve mechanism 2 of the gas supply pipe 22 is removed.
2A and 23A operate to close the gas passage 21A. On the other hand, when vacuum is drawn from the gas exhaust pipe 23,
A, ring-shaped grooves 21B, 21 on the surface of wafer chuck 2
C, the nitrogen gas between the wafer chuck 2 and the contactor 3 is evacuated to vacuum, and the electrode pad P of the wafer W and the electrode pad 3A of the contactor 3 come into contact at once as shown in FIG. As a result, the shell 4 becomes a state in which all chips can be inspected collectively in a wafer state. Even if the height of the electrode pad P varies, the anisotropic conductive sheet 3
1 can absorb variations. Even when the pressure between the wafer chuck 2 and the contactor 3 is reduced as described above, the depressurized space is isolated from the outside by the seal ring 24 around the wafer chuck 2, and the three-pin through-hole 21 D is formed by the silicon rubber film 25. , It is possible to reliably maintain the reduced pressure state.

Thereafter, the shell 4 is unloaded from the alignment device via a transfer mechanism (not shown), transferred to the wafer storage chamber 1 as shown in FIG. After the shell 4 is clamped in the wafer storage chamber 1 by the clamp mechanism, four cylinder mechanisms 6 are provided.
Is driven to push down the shell 4 to the bottom jacket 9 via the pressing plate 7. When the pressing plate 7 descends and reaches the bottom jacket 9, the pressing plate 7 cannot be lowered horizontally by each cylinder mechanism 6, and there is a slight inclination between the shell 4 and the bottom jacket 9. Also, when the shell 4 is joined to the bottom jacket 9, the shell 4 and the bottom jacket 9 come into close contact with each other while absorbing the inclination by the plurality of springs 162 of the jacket joining device 16, and are elastically joined. Then, when the pressing plate 7 reaches the lower end, the wafer chuck 2 of the shell 4 and the bottom jacket 9 are uniformly in close contact with each other, and all the connection pads 3B of the contactor 3 of the shell 4 are collectively and electrically connected to the corresponding pogo pins 10. , And all the chips on the wafer W are brought into a conductive state in which a reliability test can be performed collectively in the wafer state.

On the other hand, in the process of joining the bottom jacket 9 to the wafer chuck 2 via the jacket joining device 16, the wafer chuck 2 joins the bottom jacket 9, and in this state, the elasticity of the spring 162 of the jacket joining device 16. When the bottom jacket 9 is further lowered against the pressure, the temperature sensor 141A of the temperature measuring device 141 gradually protrudes from the surface of the bottom jacket 9 and fits into the recess 2A on the back surface of the wafer chuck 2. Before the bottom jacket 9 reaches the lower end, the temperature sensor 141A
When the spring 141D is compressed by contacting the innermost portion of the recess A, the tip of the temperature sensor 141D elastically contacts the innermost portion of the concave portion 2A, and the temperature of the wafer chuck 2 at a position separated from the wafer W by 1 mm. Can be measured. Moreover, by detecting the position of the temperature sensor 141A by the position detection sensor 141E, it is possible to reliably detect whether or not the shell 4 exists on the bottom jacket 9.

Next, when the reliability test is started, the wafer temperature control device 13 operates to bring the wafer W into the inspection temperature (11).
(0 ° C.), and the temperature is controlled to the inspection temperature. At this time, in the heater temperature controller 14, the heater power supply 144 is turned on, and the wafer chuck 2 is heated from the back surface via the surface heater 91. Then, the temperature of the wafer chuck 2 is measured by the temperature sensor 141A of the temperature measuring device 141, and the detection signal is transmitted to the PID controller 142. When the PID controller 142 transmits a control signal to the relay 143 in accordance with a deviation from a target value (inspection temperature), the PID controller 142 controls the heater power supply 144 via the relay 143 in a PID manner. To increase the temperature of the wafer chuck 2 to the inspection temperature in a short time via the surface heater 91. On the other hand, in the refrigerant temperature control device 15, the valves 158A and 158B are opened and the pump 156 is driven to supply the cooling water in the water tank 151 to the first cooling jacket 92 and the top jacket 12 of the bottom jacket 9 via the outward pipe 155A. . The cooling water returns to the water tank 151 via the return pipes 155B through the respective coolant flow paths 92A and 12A, starts circulation of the cooling water, and cools the bottom jacket 9 and the top jacket 12, respectively.

When the wafer chuck 2 reaches the inspection temperature,
The PID controller 142 operates based on the detection signal of the temperature sensor 141A to perform PID control of the heater power supply 144, and keeps the supplied power substantially constant to keep the wafer chuck 2 at the inspection temperature. During this time, the bottom jacket 9 and the top jacket 12 are cooled by the cooling water, and the temperature of the cooling water rises by absorbing the heat of the surface heater 91. However, since the heat resistance sheet 93 is interposed between the surface heater 91 and the first cooling jacket 92, most of the heat flow from the surface heater 91 to the first cooling jacket 92 is
3 to prevent an excessive rise in the temperature of the cooling water, prevent the boiling of the cooling water in the coolant passage 92A, and efficiently cool the bottom jacket 9. However, when the wafer chuck 2 reaches the inspection temperature, the temperature of the cooling water returning from the bottom jacket 9 and the top jacket 12 to the water tank 151 has reached about 70 to 80 ° C. Therefore, water tank 1
The cooling water in the cooling water 51 is constantly cooled to a temperature (for example, 40 ° C.) with good cooling efficiency by the cooler 152. The temperature of the cooling water is always detected by the temperature sensor 153, and a detection signal is transmitted to the PID controller 154, so that the cooling device 1
52 by PID control to constantly adjust the flow rate of the refrigerant,
The cooling water in 51 is always kept at a constant temperature. As a result, the temperature rise around the bottom jacket 9 is suppressed by the first cooling jacket 92, and the temperature rise of the contactor 3 and the temperature around the contactor 3 are suppressed by the top jacket 12, thereby increasing the temperature inside the temperature control chamber 1A. And thus heat dissipation to the periphery of the wafer storage chamber 1 is suppressed.

The pogo pin block 17 thermally expands due to the temperature rise in the temperature control chamber 1A. However, since the pogo pin block 17 is divided into four block elements 171, the dimensional change due to thermal expansion of each block element 171 due to thermal expansion is significantly smaller than when the pogo pin block 17 is not divided. Therefore, the pogo pins 10 implanted in the pogo pin block 17 are in stable and reliable contact with the connection pads 3B of the contactor 3. In addition, since there is an interval of 1 mm between each block element 171, the thermal expansion of each block element 171 can be absorbed by these gaps δ.

When the wafer W reaches the inspection temperature under the control of the wafer temperature controller 13, a test signal S1 is transmitted from the driver to the wafer W via the connector, the pogo pins 10, and the contactor 3 as shown in FIG. The inspection result signal S2 is transmitted from W to the tester along the reverse path, and the reliability test can be performed on all the chips in the wafer state.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
The wafer chuck 2 includes a main body 21 that holds the wafer W,
A plurality of openings that open on the surface of the main body 21, a gas flow path 21A that is continuous with these openings and that is formed inside the main body 21, and a valve mechanism 22A that is attached to the entrance of the gas flow path 21A, respectively. , 23A and a seal ring 24 attached over the entire outer peripheral edge of the surface of the main body 21 to form a through hole 21D for the three pins 11A of the main chuck 11 to move up and down when the wafer W is transferred on the surface of the main body 21. Since a plurality of silicon rubber films 25 are provided in each of the through holes 21 </ b> D and expand and contract as the three pins 11 </ b> A move up and down, the three pins 1 of the main chuck 11 are transferred when the wafer W is transferred on the wafer chuck 2.
1A can enter and exit through the through-hole 21D to smoothly transfer the wafer W. In addition, in order to make the contact with the contactor 3 at one time, the main body 21 of the main chuck 2 and the contactor 3 are connected via the gas supply / discharge pipes 22 and 23. Even if the chamber is evacuated, a reduced pressure space can be created by the seal ring 24 and the silicon rubber film 25, and the reduced pressure state can be maintained by the valve mechanisms 22A and 23A after the pressure reduction. Further, after the wafer chuck 2, the wafer W and the contactor 3 are integrated as a shell 4, the wafer chuck 2, the wafer W, and the contactor 3 can be easily transferred to the wafer storage chamber 1 by using a transfer mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 3D, the silicon rubber film 25 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a closed end and an open lower end according to the shape of the three pin 11A. 21D, it can be easily expanded and contracted as the three pins 11A move up and down, and the three pins 11A can move up and down smoothly.

In the above embodiment, the wafer chuck 2 for reliability test has been described. However, the wafer holder of the present invention can be widely used as a carrier for transferring wafers one by one. Further, the wafer holder of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment at all, and each constituent member can be appropriately changed as needed.

[0042]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a wafer can be smoothly transferred and used as a carrier for transferring a wafer, and can be used as a batch contact between a wafer and a contactor. A wafer holder that can be suitably used can be provided.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer holder in which pins can smoothly enter and leave when transferring a wafer. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where a shell is stored in a wafer storage chamber.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view for explaining signal transmission and reception when a reliability test is performed using the wafer storage chamber shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the wafer chuck shown in FIG. 1;
Is a perspective view thereof, (b) is a cross-sectional view of a main part thereof, (c) is a cross-sectional view showing a valve mechanism of a gas supply / discharge pipe, and (d) is a perspective view of a seal member used for a main part shown in (b). FIG.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing a state in which the wafer and the contactor shown in FIG. 1 are brought into collective contact, wherein FIG. 4A is a plan view showing a relationship between a chip and an anisotropic conductive sheet of the contactor, and FIG. Sectional views, (c) and (d) are plan views showing the relationship between the electrode pad and the conductor of the anisotropic conductive sheet, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the bottom jacket shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the bottom jacket shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the wafer temperature control device according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a bottom-jacket bonding apparatus and a wafer temperature measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 2;
(A) is a diagram showing a state before a shell is mounted, (b) is a diagram showing a state after a shell is mounted, and (c) is an enlarged view showing a relationship between a temperature sensor and a position detection sensor.

FIG. 9 is a view showing the pogo pin block shown in FIG. 1;
(A) is a perspective view showing a pogo pin block on which pogo pins are erected, and (b) is a schematic view showing a thermal effect when the pogo pin and the contactor of (a) come into contact with each other.

10A and 10B are views showing another pogo pin block for comparison with the pogo pin block shown in FIG. 9, wherein FIG. 10A is a perspective view showing a pogo pin block on which pogo pins are erected, and FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the thermal effect when a contactor contacts.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Wafer chuck (wafer holding body) 11 Main chuck 11A Three pin 21 Main body 21A Gas flow path (exhaust passage) 21D Through hole (pin hole) 22 Gas supply pipe 22A Valve mechanism 23 Gas exhaust pipe 23A Valve mechanism 24 Seal ring (seal member) ) 25 Silicon rubber film

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A main body for holding a semiconductor wafer, a plurality of openings formed on the surface of the main body, an exhaust passage connected to the openings and formed inside the main body, and an inlet / outlet of the exhaust passage. In a wafer holder provided with a valve mechanism respectively mounted and a seal member attached over the entire outer peripheral edge of the main body surface, pins move up and down when the semiconductor wafer is transferred on the main body surface. A plurality of pin holes, and a seal film that expands and contracts as the pins move up and down in each of the pin holes. 2. The sealing member according to claim 1, wherein the outer shape of the sealing member is formed in a ring shape, and a cross-sectional shape thereof is formed in a line contact shape at an initial stage of contact with the semiconductor wafer. Wafer holder. 3. The wafer holder according to claim 1, wherein the seal film is formed in a cylindrical shape with a closed end and an open lower end. 4. The wafer holder according to claim 1, wherein said seal film is formed of silicon rubber.