KR100977165B1 - Probe substrate and probe card having same - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe card for conducting an electrical performance test on a semiconductor device to be inspected and a probe substrate thereof.

The probe substrate of the present invention includes: an upper surface connection terminal configured to transmit an electrical signal input through a plurality of connectors installed on the substrate to the probe, and arranged in two rows on the upper surface of the substrate so as to be connected to the one connector; A via contact portion positioned in an outward direction with respect to the two-row arrangement of the top connection terminals and connected in a vertical direction with an internal wiring layer formed in the substrate; And a top wiring layer electrically connecting the top connection terminal and the via contact to each other on the top surface of the substrate.

Therefore, according to the probe board of the present invention, the via contact portion and the upper wiring layer are provided to be exposed to the outside without being closed by the one connector so that the upper wiring layer or the via contact can be cleaned without detaching the one connector. Therefore, it is possible to secure the convenience of the cleaning operation, and to prevent the inspection interruption as much as possible by the rapid cleaning operation, thereby improving the inspection productivity.

Probe Board, Probe Card

Description

PROBE SUBSTRATE AND PROBE CARD WITH THE SAME

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe card for conducting an electrical performance test on a semiconductor device to be inspected and a probe substrate that is a component thereof, and more particularly, to be formed on an upper surface of a probe substrate. The present invention relates to a probe substrate and a probe card having the same, which can more conveniently and quickly perform the cleaning operation on the upper wiring layer.

In general, a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device (semiconductor device) consists of a number of steps, the final step of assembling the semiconductor device (a plurality of semiconductor die manufactured to form a separate integrated circuit (IC) on a wafer (wafer) ( Only dies (ie chips) are selected and assembled except good dies.

Therefore, a probe (i.e., a probe) is contacted with each semiconductor die in order to determine whether the semiconductor dies on the wafer are good or bad prior to assembly, and then electrically inspected for their performance, with automated probing inspections. Use a device (aka prober).

Referring to FIG. 3, the probing inspection apparatus generates an inspection signal for inspecting the electrical performance of semiconductor dies, and detects and analyzes a response signal received from the semiconductor dies as a result of the individual semiconductor die on the wafer w. It is composed of a tester 500, which is a kind of computer device for discriminating good and bad, and a probe card 400 that electrically connects the tester 500 and a semiconductor die, which is an inspection object, in the middle.

The probe card 400 transmits an electrical signal between the tester 500 and the test object, and its configuration may be connected to a contact pad formed to be exposed to the outside on the test object during the test. A plurality of fine probes 110 and spaced apart at a pitch corresponding to the probe substrates to physically fix the fine probes 110 and electrically connect between the probes 110 and the tester 500. It consists of 100.

A plurality of probes 110 are provided in the lower side of the probe substrate 100 in the vertical direction, and in contact with the connection terminal on the inspection object to transmit an electrical signal.

As the probe 110, a needle-like wire, a thin thin blade-shaped blade, a spring pin, or the like is used, and is usually formed of a conductive metal material such as tungsten or nickel alloy. .

The probe board 100 is a printed circuit board of a circular flat plate having a rather large area, and is implemented as a multilayer wiring printed circuit board having a signal wiring layer stacked therein.

In the outer region on the upper surface of the probe substrate 100, a plurality of connectors 200 are arranged at regular intervals along the circumferential direction.

In addition, a plurality of counterpart connectors 300 are provided at the tester 500 in an arrangement corresponding to the one side connector 200.

Therefore, one connector 200 on the probe board 100 side and the mating connector 300 on the tester 500 side are connected to each other by physically and electrically coupling each other.

The connecting means composed of a pair of the one side connector 200 and the mating connector 300, the insertion direction at the time of insertion coupling to each other so as to prevent the damage when detached and prevent deformation of the probe substrate 100 Zero insertion force (ZIF) connectors, which require little external force, are commonly used.

In this regard, the connecting means is implemented in a male and female matching manner, typically a convex connector is used as the one-side connector 200 mounted on the probe board 100 side, and the tester 500 A concave connector is used as the mating connector 300 mounted on the side.

Hereinafter, the structure of the probe substrate 100 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

The probe substrate 100 is formed of an insulating material as a whole, and includes a horizontal wiring layer 112 in a vertical direction formed of a conductive material.

In this case, the horizontal wiring layer 112 may be formed on, under, and inside the probe substrate 100. In the case of the probe substrate 100, the upper wiring layer 112a and the internal wiring layer formed on the inside of the probe substrate 100 may be formed. Has 112b.

In addition, a via contact 113 made of a conductive material formed in the vertical direction of the probe substrate 100 is provided, and the via contact 113 connects the upper and lower horizontal wiring layers 112 to each other. give.

For reference, as is well known, the via contact 113 is formed by first forming a via hole in an up and down (vertical) direction, and then filling the inside of the via hole with a conductive material.

An upper surface connection terminal 111 made of a conductive material is formed to protrude upward from the upper surface wiring layer 112a at one end of the upper surface wiring layer 112a formed on the upper surface of the probe substrate 100, and on the upper surface connection terminal 111. One side connector 200 is mounted and electrically connected.

In detail, the one side connector 200 is provided with contact pins 221 that are electrically connected to the contact terminals 331 of the mating connector 300, respectively, and the lower end of the contact pin 221 is the probe board 100. Contact with the upper surface connecting terminal 111 on ().

Here, the contact terminals 331 of the mating connector 300 are provided in two rows on the inner side, and the contact pins 221 of the connector 200 on one side are also provided in two rows on both sides so as to correspond thereto, and the probe substrate ( Top connection terminals 111 on 100 are also provided in two rows on both sides.

In addition, a lower surface connection terminal 114 is formed on the lower surface of the probe substrate 100 to be selectively connected to the internal wiring layer 112b by the via contact portion 113. In this case, the probe 110 is connected to the connection terminal 114. One end is connected.

As described above, the upper surface connection terminals 111 formed in two rows on both sides of the probe substrate 100 are connected to contact with the contact pins 221 of the connector 200 on one side, wherein the upper wiring layer 112a is Located inside the upper connection terminal 111 is connected to the via contact portion 113, respectively.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, the top wiring layer 112a extending from the top connection terminal 111 to the via contact portion 113 position is formed to extend in a direction close to each other (ie, an inner direction).

As another example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the upper wiring layer 112a ′ may be formed to alternately extend in an inner direction and an outer direction along a column.

As a result, the upper side is closed by the one-side connector 200 on which all or part of the upper wiring layers 112a and 112a 'are mounted.

In addition, a first fastening hole 222 penetrating up and down is formed in one connector 200, and a second fastening hole 115 is formed in the probe substrate 100 at a coaxial position thereof, and a corresponding fastening hole 222 is formed. One connector 200 may be fixed on the probe substrate 100 by fastening the coupling means b to the ones 115.

However, the conventional probe card having the above configuration has the following problems.

That is, the upper wiring layer 112a, 112a 'connecting the upper connection terminal 111 and the via contact portion 113 is provided so that the upper side thereof is closed by the one side connector 200, so that the upper wiring layer 112a is in use. 112a ') has a very difficult problem.

Specifically, as the probe card is used, various contaminants such as foreign matters and oxidative impurities in the air adhere to the upper wiring layers 112a and 112a ', causing electrical leakage, etc. As a result, signal transmission characteristics deteriorate and Malfunctions are caused and inspection reliability is degraded.

Therefore, the upper wiring layers 112a and 112a 'should be cleaned periodically by using a physical method using brush friction or a chemical method using a cleaning liquid C. For the cleaning, the upper side is closed. Since the upper wiring layers 112a and 112a 'exposed after the one side connector 200 are removed must be cleaned and the one side connector 200 must be mounted again as it is, the cleaning work is very cumbersome and requires a great amount of time. In addition to reducing interruption productivity by causing interruption, a problem arises in that the one side connector 200 and the probe card are damaged during the detachment of the one side connector 200.

This problem is very serious problem considering that a large number of one side connectors 200 are mounted on one probe substrate 100.

In addition, when cleaning using a cleaning solution (C) to remove the contaminants attached to the probe card, even if the cleaning without cleaning the one-side connector (200) after performing the drying operation with compressed air, warm air, etc. There is still a high possibility that some of the cleaning liquid C will remain, and if the cleaning liquid C is located adjacent to each other as shown in Figs. 5A and 5B, the upper contact layer 112a and 112a 'are located. ), Short circuits or corrosion of terminals or wires may occur in future electrical performance tests with probe cards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a probe substrate and a probe card having the same, which can conveniently and quickly perform the cleaning operation on the upper wiring layer or via contact without detaching one connector. The purpose is to provide.

The above objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments of the invention described below by those skilled in the art.

Probe substrate of the present invention for achieving the above object, the electrical signal input through a plurality of one-side connector provided on the substrate to the probe, the upper surface formed in two rows arranged on the upper surface of the substrate to be connected to the one-side connector Connection terminal; A via contact portion positioned in an outer direction with respect to the two-row arrangement of the upper surface connection terminals and connected in a vertical direction with an internal wiring layer formed in the substrate; And a top wiring layer electrically connecting the top connection terminal and the via contact to each other at the top of the substrate.

Preferably, the upper wiring layer may be disposed to correspond to the via contact portion in a one-to-one correspondence.

More preferably, the via contacts may be spaced apart in a zigzag fashion to prevent shorting with adjacent via contacts.

In addition, two or more top wiring layers electrically connected to connection terminals for grounding among the top connection terminals may be disposed such that at least two top connection layers are connected to one via contact portion.

In addition, the probe card of the present invention for achieving the above object, and transmits an electrical signal input through a plurality of one-side connector installed on the substrate to the probe, arranged in two rows on the upper surface of the substrate to be connected to the one-side connector Upper connection terminal formed; A via contact portion positioned in an outward direction with respect to the two-row arrangement of the top connection terminals, and connected in a vertical direction with an internal wiring layer formed in the substrate; An upper wiring layer on the upper surface of the substrate, the upper wiring layer electrically connecting the upper connection terminal and the via contact to each other; And a probe configured to apply the electrical signal to the inspection target semiconductor device through the internal wiring layer.

According to the present invention, since the via contact portion and the upper wiring layer are exposed to the outside without being closed by the one connector, the via contact portion and the upper wiring layer can be cleaned without detaching the one connector. The effect of ensuring convenience and improving inspection productivity by preventing inspection interruption as much as possible by performing a quick cleaning operation can be achieved.

In addition, since the cleaning can be performed without detaching the one side connector, the effect of preventing damage to the one side connector and the probe card due to the detachment can also be achieved.

In addition, since the cleaning of the upper wiring layer exposed to the outside of the one side connector can be easily performed whenever necessary, inspection can be performed with an uncontaminated probe card, thereby preventing malfunction during inspection and improving inspection reliability. Achievable effects can also be achieved.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a probe card according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figures 2a to 2c is a plan view showing the arrangement structure of the upper connection terminal and the upper wiring layer on the probe substrate according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention to be.

Prior to the description, some of the detailed description of the conventional probing inspection apparatus and the same components as the prior art will be omitted.

Probe substrate (1) provided in the probe card according to the present invention for transmitting an electrical signal between the tester and the test object, the upper connection terminal 11 is electrically connected to one connector (2) mounted on the upper surface; A lower surface connection terminal 14 formed on the lower surface and electrically connected to one end of the probe 10; A horizontal wiring layer 12 formed in a horizontal direction so as to be disposed on the upper surface and the upper and lower sides thereof; A via contact portion 13 formed vertically therein to selectively connect the horizontal wiring layer 12, the upper surface connection terminal 11 and the lower surface connection terminal 14; An upper wiring layer 12a formed on an upper surface and connecting the upper connection terminal 11 and the via contact portion 13; And a second fastening hole 15 to which the coupling means b for fixing the one side connector 2 is fastened. Here, the upper surface connection terminals 11 are formed in two rows on the upper surface of the substrate, and each of the upper surface connection terminals 11 is formed on the semiconductor die by the horizontal wiring layer 12 and the lower surface connection terminals 14, respectively. It is electrically connected to the probe 10 in contact with the pad (pad) of the.

The one side connector 2 is a connector having a convex cross section, and a plurality of contact terminals 23 are formed at both upper and outer surfaces thereof, and the contact terminal 23 and the probe substrate 1 are formed therein. The contact pins 21 are formed such that the upper connection terminals 11 are electrically connected to each other. In addition, a first fastening hole 22 is formed in a vertical direction at the center of the upper surface of the one side connector 2 so that the coupling means b is inserted, and the first fastening hole 22 is the one side connector. When fixing (2), the position is determined to coincide with the center of the second fastening hole 15 of the probe substrate 1.

Here, the coupling means (b) may be used, such as a bolt or rivet (rivet).

The mating connector 3 provided on the tester side is a connector whose cross section is concave (단면 -shaped), and on both inner surfaces thereof correspond one-to-one with the contact terminals 23 formed on both upper and outer surfaces of the one side connector 2. A plurality of contact terminals 31 are formed as possible. The contact terminal 31 is connected to an internal wire (not shown) formed inside the mating connector 3 to be electrically connected to the tester.

Therefore, when the mating connector 3 and the one side connector 2 are coupled, the contact terminal 31 of the mating connector 3, the contact terminal 23 and the contact pin 21 of the one side connector 2, the upper surface The connection terminal 11, the upper wiring layer 12a, the via contact portion 13, the internal wiring layer 12b, the lower surface connection terminal 14, and the probe 10 are electrically connected to each other.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The upper surface connection terminal 11 is formed in two rows on the upper surface of the probe board 1 so that the one connector 2 is connected. The via contact 13 is formed outside the terminal 11 so as to correspond to each of the upper surface connection terminals 11. The upper connection terminal 11 and the via contact portion 13 are connected in a one-to-one manner by an upper wiring layer 12a, and the via contact portion 13 has an internal wiring layer 12b formed inside the probe substrate 1. Connected in the vertical direction.

Accordingly, the via contact 13 is located outside the upper connection terminal 11 when the one connector 2 is connected, and connects the upper connection terminal 11 and the via contact 13 to each other. If the upper wiring layer 12a is exposed to the outside of the one connector 2 and the surroundings of the one connector 2 are contaminated with contaminants during the use of the probe card, it is convenient without removing the one connector 2 as in the prior art. And it can be quickly and physically or chemical cleaning, there is an advantage that can be surely removed even if the cleaning liquid (C) and the like remaining. In addition, even if a contaminant that causes corrosion is attached to the upper wiring layer 12a and the via contact 13, it can be easily removed.

In general, the top connection terminal 11 constituting the first row is positioned while the signal terminal S and the ground terminal G are alternately positioned, and the top connection terminal 11 constituting the second row is also the top connection constituting the first row. Like the terminal 11, the signal terminal S and the ground terminal G are alternately positioned. In this case, the top connection terminal 11 in the second row corresponding to the top connection terminal 11 in the first row in the lateral direction (horizontal direction) is provided. 11 is arranged so that terminals having different characteristics are located as shown in FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the second embodiment of the present invention is described, in which the top connection terminals 11 are formed in two rows on the top surface of the probe substrate 1 so that the one side connector 2 is connected. As in the first embodiment of the present invention, the terminal 11 is alternately positioned between the signal terminal S and the ground terminal G, but the neighboring terminals are positioned to have different characteristics. Via contact portions 13 and 13 'are formed outside the upper surface connection terminal 11 to correspond to the upper surface connection terminals 11, and the via contact portions 13 and 13' with respect to the first row or the second row. Are spaced apart in a zigzag fashion to prevent shorting with adjacent via contacts. In FIG. 2B, a via contact portion located relatively far from the top connection terminal 11 is indicated by reference numeral 13 ′, and a top wiring layer for connecting the top connection terminal 11 and the via contact portion 13 ′. Is indicated by reference numeral 12a '. Preferably, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the via contact portion 13 'corresponding to the upper surface connection terminal 11 of the ground terminal G is relatively far away, and the connection terminal 11 and the via It is formed to connect the contact portion 13 'with the upper wiring layer 12a'.

The top connection terminal 11 and the via contact portions 13 and 13 'are connected one-to-one by top wiring layers 12a and 12a', and the via contact portions 13 and 13 'are connected to the probe substrate 1. It is connected to the internal wiring layer 12b formed therein in the vertical direction.

As shown in the second embodiment of the present invention, when the via contact parts 13 and 13 'are positioned in a zigzag form, the distance between the via contact parts 13 and 13' is shorter than that of the first embodiment, resulting in a short (cleaning liquid). ) And corrosion contaminants that cause corrosion can be prevented. In addition, the via contact parts 13 and 13 'and the upper wiring layer 12 and 12a' are positioned and exposed to the outside of the upper connection terminal 11 when the one connector 2 is connected, so that it is convenient and quick. Physical or chemical cleaning can be performed, and there is an advantage that it can be reliably removed even if the cleaning liquid (C) or the like remains.

As in the second embodiment of the present invention, when the via contact parts 13 and 13 'are positioned in a zigzag form, the via contact part electrically connected to the other connector adjacent to the via contact part is positioned with the position of the via contact parts 13 and 13'. It is preferable to position each so that an opposite aspect may exist. In more detail, when the via contact 13 connected to the signal terminal S is relatively recessed, that is, the upper wiring layer 12a connecting the signal terminal S and the via contact 13 to each other. In the case of relatively short lengths), all via contacts for the first and second rows are positioned in this manner by placing the adjacent and facing via contacts projected.

Referring to FIG. 2C, a third embodiment of the present invention includes an upper surface connecting terminal 11 formed in two rows on an upper surface of the probe board 1 so that the one connector 2 is connected. As in the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the terminal 11 is alternately positioned with the signal terminal S and the ground terminal G alternately positioned so that neighboring terminals have different characteristics. Here, the upper wiring layer 12a "extending from the two ground terminals G of the upper connecting terminals 11 extends to the outside of the signal terminal S and is connected to each other, and the connected upper wiring layer ( One via contact portion 13 "is formed at an intermediate point of 12a". Meanwhile, the signal terminal S and the via contact portion 13 of the upper connection terminal 11 are formed by the upper wiring layer 12a. The via contacts 13 and 13 ″ are connected to the internal wiring layer 12b formed in the probe substrate 1 in a vertical direction. According to the third embodiment of the present invention, the via contact 13 ″ connects the upper wiring layer 12 ″ extending from the two ground terminals G of the upper connection terminals 11 to the outer region and then to each other. Although not limited thereto, upper wiring layers 12a "extending from two or more ground terminals G may be connected to each other in the outer region, and then one via contact portion may be commonly used. It is also possible to configure the circuit to be connected to 13 ").

The via contact parts 13 and 13 "and the upper wiring layer 12 and 12a" are located outside and exposed to the upper connection terminal 11 when the one connector 2 is connected, thereby providing a convenient and quick physical connection. Alternatively, the chemical cleaning can be performed, and even if the cleaning liquid (C) or the like remains, there is an advantage that it can be reliably removed.

As described above, although the probe substrate according to the present invention is contaminated by attaching various contaminants to the upper wiring layers 12a, 12a ', 12a "and the via contact portions 13, 13', 13" during use of the probe card, As described above, the upper wiring layers 12a, 12a ', and 12a "and the via contact portions 13, 13', and 13" can be cleaned by physical or chemical cleaning without removing the connector 2 on one side. Since it is possible, the cleaning operation can be carried out very conveniently and quickly, and can be prevented from being damaged due to the detachment of the one-side connector (2).

In addition, since the upper wiring layers 12a, 12a ', and 12a "and the via contact portions 13, 13', and 13" exposed to the outside of the one-side connector 2 may be frequently cleaned, a cleaner state As the inspection can be performed at, the malfunction during the inspection can be prevented and the inspection reliability can be improved.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, and it is obvious that the present invention belongs to the appended claims. Do.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a probe card according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2A is a plan view illustrating an arrangement structure of a top connection terminal and a top wiring layer on a probe substrate according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

2B is a plan view illustrating an arrangement structure of a top connection terminal and a top wiring layer on a probe substrate according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

2C is a plan view illustrating an arrangement structure of a top connection terminal and a top wiring layer on a probe substrate according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram showing a conventional probing inspection apparatus,

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional probe card;

5A and 5B are plan views illustrating an arrangement structure of a top connection terminal and a top wiring layer on a conventional probe substrate.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: probe board 2: one-side connector

3: counterpart connector 10: probe

11: top connection terminal 12: horizontal wiring layer

12a, 12a ', 12a ": upper wiring layer 12b: internal wiring layer

13, 13 ', 13 ": Via contact 14: Bottom connection terminal

15: second fastening hole 21: contact pin

22: 1st fastening hole 23,31: contact terminal

b: bonding means c: cleaning liquid

w: wafer

Claims (5)

In the probe substrate to which an electrical signal is input and transmitted to the probe through a plurality of connectors provided on the substrate, Upper connection terminals formed in two rows on the upper surface of the substrate to be connected to the one connector; A via contact portion positioned in an outer direction with respect to the two-row arrangement of the upper surface connection terminals and connected in a vertical direction with an internal wiring layer formed in the substrate; And And a top wiring layer electrically connecting the top connection terminal and the via contact to each other on the top surface of the substrate. The method of claim 1, And the upper wiring layer is disposed to correspond to the via contact portion in a one-to-one correspondence. The method of claim 1, And the via contacts are spaced apart in a zigzag fashion to prevent shorting with adjacent via contacts. The method of claim 1, And at least two top wiring layers electrically connected to connection terminals for grounding among the top connection terminals, such that at least two top connection layers are connected to one via contact portion. A probe card comprising a probe substrate on which electrical signals are input and transmitted to a probe through a plurality of connectors provided on a substrate, An upper surface connection terminal formed in two rows on the upper surface of the board to connect the one side connector; A via contact portion positioned in an outer direction with respect to the two-row arrangement of the upper surface connection terminals and connected in a vertical direction with an internal wiring layer formed in the substrate; An upper wiring layer on the upper surface of the substrate, the upper wiring layer electrically connecting the upper connection terminal and the via contact to each other; And A probe that applies the electrical signal to a semiconductor device to be inspected through the internal wiring layer; Probe card comprising a.

Images