JP2009098066A - Sheet probe, method of manufacturing the same, and application thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sheet-like probe capable of highly accurate inspection and cost reduction, a manufacturing method thereof, and an application thereof.
A sheet-like probe comprising: an insulating layer having elasticity; and a plurality of electrode structures that are spaced apart from each other in the surface direction of the insulating layer and extend through the thickness direction of the insulating layer. Each of the electrode structures includes a surface electrode portion formed on the surface side in the thickness direction of the insulating layer, a back electrode portion formed on the back surface side in the thickness direction of the insulating layer, and a horizontal direction from the formation position of the surface electrode portion. A front surface wiring portion formed in a state connected to the front surface electrode portion at a different position, a rear surface wiring portion formed in a state connected to the rear surface electrode portion at a position different in the horizontal direction from the formation position of the back surface electrode portion, and a surface The wiring portion and the back surface wiring portion can be electrically connected to each other, and the short-circuited portion that connects the front surface wiring portion and the back surface wiring portion. Can be displaced by the elasticity of the insulation layer Become as configured.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet-like probe suitable as a probe device for making an electrical connection to a circuit in an electrical inspection of a circuit such as an integrated circuit, a manufacturing method thereof, and an application thereof.

  For example, in an electrical inspection of a circuit device of an electronic component such as a wafer or a semiconductor element on which a large number of integrated circuits are formed, the inspection device has inspection electrodes arranged according to a pattern corresponding to the pattern of the inspection target electrode of the circuit device under inspection. An inspection probe is used.

As such an inspection probe, a probe in which inspection electrodes made of pins or blades are arranged has been used.
However, in the case where an inspection probe for inspecting a wafer is produced on a wafer on which a large number of integrated circuits are formed, a circuit device under test needs to arrange a very large number of inspection electrodes. The inspection probe is extremely expensive, and when the pitch of the electrodes to be inspected is small, it is difficult to produce the inspection probe itself.

  Further, since the wafer is generally warped, and the state of the warp varies depending on the product (wafer), each of the inspection electrodes of the inspection probe can be stably and reliably applied to a large number of inspection electrodes on the wafer. It is practically difficult to make it contact.

  For these reasons, in recent years, as an inspection probe for inspecting an integrated circuit formed on a wafer, an inspection circuit board having a plurality of inspection electrodes formed on a surface according to a pattern corresponding to the pattern of the electrode to be inspected, An anisotropic conductive sheet disposed on one surface of the circuit board for inspection and a plurality of electrode structures extending through the flexible insulating sheet disposed on the anisotropic conductive sheet in the thickness direction There has been proposed a probe including a sheet-like probe in which bodies are arranged (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of an example of a conventional probe card including the inspection circuit board 100, the anisotropic conductive sheet 200, and the sheet-like probe 300.
In this probe card, an inspection circuit board 100 having a large number of inspection electrodes 102 formed according to a pattern corresponding to the pattern of the inspection electrode of the circuit device to be inspected is provided on one surface. A sheet-like probe 300 is disposed on the anisotropic conductive sheet 200 on the top.

  The anisotropic conductive sheet 200 has conductivity only in the thickness direction, or has a pressurized conductive conductive portion that shows conductivity only in the thickness direction when pressed in the thickness direction. As the anisotropic conductive sheet 200, those having various structures are known.

For example, Patent Document 2 discloses an anisotropic conductive sheet obtained by uniformly dispersing metal particles in an elastomer (hereinafter referred to as “dispersed anisotropic conductive sheet”).
Further, in Patent Document 3, etc., a plurality of conductive portions extending in the thickness direction and insulating portions that insulate them from each other are formed by unevenly distributing conductive magnetic particles in the elastomer. An anisotropic conductive sheet (hereinafter, referred to as “unevenly anisotropic conductive sheet”) is disclosed.

Further, Patent Document 4 and the like disclose an unevenly distributed anisotropic conductive sheet in which a step is formed between the surface of the conductive portion and the insulating portion.
The sheet-like probe 300 has a flexible insulating sheet 302 made of, for example, a resin, and a plurality of electrode structures 304 extending in the thickness direction are formed on the insulating sheet 302 as test target electrodes of the circuit device under test. They are arranged according to a pattern corresponding to the pattern.

  Each of the electrode structures 304 includes a protruding surface electrode portion 306 exposed on the surface of the insulating sheet 302 and a plate-shaped back surface electrode portion 308 exposed on the back surface of the insulating sheet 302. Are integrally connected via a short-circuit portion 310 extending in the thickness direction.

Such a sheet-like probe 300 is generally manufactured as follows.
First, as shown in FIG. 15A, a laminated body 300A in which a metal layer 312 is formed on one surface of an insulating sheet 302 is prepared, and as shown in FIG. 15B, the insulating sheet 302 is prepared. A through-hole 314H penetrating in the thickness direction is formed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 15C, a resist film 316 is formed on the metal layer 312 of the insulating sheet 302, and then an electrolytic plating process is performed using the metal layer 312 as a common electrode. 302 is filled with a metal deposit and is integrally connected to the metal layer 312, and is integrally connected to the short-circuit portion 310 on the surface of the insulating sheet 302. The protruding surface electrode portion 306 is formed.

  Thereafter, the resist film 316 is removed from the metal layer 312, and a resist film 318 is formed on the surface of the insulating sheet 302 including the surface electrode portion 306, as shown in FIG. On top of this, a resist film 320 is formed according to a pattern corresponding to the pattern of the back electrode portion to be formed, and the metal layer 312 is subjected to an etching process, thereby forming the metal layer 312 as shown in FIG. The exposed portion is removed to form the back electrode portion 308, and the electrode structure 304 is formed.

  Then, the sheet-like probe 300 is obtained by removing the resist film 318 formed on the insulating sheet 302 and the front electrode portion 306 and removing the resist film 320 formed on the back electrode portion 308.

  The sheet-like probe 300 is arranged on the surface of a wafer, for example, such that the surface electrode portion 306 of the electrode structure 304 in the sheet-like probe 300 is positioned on the inspection target electrode of the wafer.

  In this state, the wafer is pressed by the inspection circuit board 100, whereby the anisotropic conductive sheet 200 is pressed by the back electrode portion 308 of the electrode structure 304 in the sheet-like probe 300.

  As a result, a conductive path is formed in the anisotropic conductive sheet 200 in the thickness direction between the back electrode portion 308 and the test electrode 102 of the test circuit board 100. As a result, the test electrode on the wafer and the test electrode are inspected. The electrical connection with the test electrode 102 of the circuit board 100 is achieved.

In this state, the required electrical inspection is performed on the wafer.
According to such an inspection probe, since the anisotropic conductive sheet 200 is provided between the inspection circuit board 100 and the sheet-like probe 300, when the wafer is pressed by the inspection probe, The anisotropic conductive sheet 200 is deformed in accordance with the size of the warp of the wafer, and good electrical connection can be reliably achieved with respect to each of a large number of electrodes to be inspected on the wafer.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-231019 JP 51-93393 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53-147772 JP-A-61-250906

  However, in the inspection probe using the conventional probe card as shown in FIG. 14, the sheet-like probe and the anisotropic conductive sheet used are overlapped when inspecting the inspection target electrode of the wafer. Therefore, high precision positioning is required between each electrode structure and the conductive part, but there may be a slight dimensional difference for each individual, depending on this dimensional difference. In some cases, the inspection of the electrode to be inspected cannot be performed satisfactorily.

  Furthermore, since such a sheet-like probe and anisotropic conductive sheet are required to have high dimensional accuracy in accordance with the electrode to be inspected, they require enormous manufacturing costs when they are manufactured. Met.

  In view of such a current situation, the present invention aims to provide a sheet-like probe capable of performing high-precision inspection at the time of inspecting an electrode to be inspected and cost reduction, a manufacturing method thereof, and an application thereof. And

The present invention has been invented in order to achieve the problems and objects in the prior art as described above.
An insulating layer having elasticity;
A plurality of electrode structures that are spaced apart from each other in the surface direction of the insulating layer and extend through the thickness direction of the insulating layer;
A sheet-like probe having
Each of the electrode structures is
A surface electrode portion formed on the surface side in the thickness direction of the insulating layer;
A back electrode part formed on the back side in the thickness direction of the insulating layer;
A surface wiring portion formed in a state connected to the surface electrode portion at a position different from the formation position of the surface electrode portion in the horizontal direction,
A backside wiring part formed in a state connected to the backside electrode part at a position different from the formation position of the backside electrode part in the horizontal direction,
The front surface wiring portion and the back surface wiring portion can be electrically connected, and a short-circuit portion that connects the front surface wiring portion and the back surface wiring portion, and has a substantially U-shaped cross section,
The front surface electrode portion and the back surface electrode portion are configured to be displaceable by elasticity of the insulating layer.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the sheet-like probe of the present invention,
Preparing an insulating layer having elasticity;
Forming a plurality of electrode structures that are spaced apart from each other in the surface direction of the insulating layer and extend in the thickness direction of the insulating layer; and
A method for producing a sheet-like probe having:
In the step of forming the electrode structure,
Forming a through hole in the insulating layer;
Forming a surface electrode portion on the upper surface side in the thickness direction of the insulating layer;
Forming a back electrode portion on the lower surface side in the thickness direction of the insulating layer;
A surface wiring portion is formed in a state connected to the surface electrode portion at a position different from the formation position of the surface electrode portion in the horizontal direction,
Form a back surface wiring portion in a state connected to the back surface electrode portion at a position different from the formation position of the back surface electrode portion in the horizontal direction,
The front surface wiring portion and the back surface wiring portion can be electrically connected to each other, and a short-circuit portion that connects the front surface wiring portion and the back surface wiring portion is formed.

  If comprised in this way, since the surface electrode part and back electrode part of a sheet-like probe are formed in the position moved in the horizontal direction from the short circuit part, it becomes possible to displace by the elasticity of the insulating layer, Thus, it is possible to accurately inspect the electrode to be inspected without using the anisotropic conductive sheet.

Moreover, since it is not necessary to prepare an anisotropic conductive sheet separately from the sheet-like probe as in the prior art, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional one.
Furthermore, since there is no need to position the sheet-like probe and the anisotropic conductive sheet as in the conventional case, there is no accumulation of product dimensional errors, and electrode inspection can be performed with higher accuracy than in the past.

The sheet-like probe of the present invention is
The surface electrode portion has a hemispherical protrusion shape.
In addition, the manufacturing method of the sheet-like probe of the present invention,
The surface electrode portion has a hemispherical protrusion shape.

  If the surface electrode part is configured in such a shape, the surface electrode part protrudes from the surface wiring part, so the surface electrode part of the sheet-like probe can be reliably connected to the wafer test electrode, Thereby, an electrode test | inspection can be performed with sufficient precision.

The sheet-like probe of the present invention is
The electrode structure is
A horizontal distance from the center of the short-circuit portion to the center of the surface electrode portion is configured to be within a range of 10 μm to 500 μm.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the sheet-like probe of the present invention,
The electrode structure is
A horizontal distance from the center of the short-circuit portion to the center of the surface electrode portion is configured to be within a range of 10 μm to 500 μm.

  With this configuration, the front surface electrode portion and the back surface electrode portion of the sheet-like probe can have a spring property that can be sufficiently displaced by the elasticity of the insulating layer. However, the electrode inspection of the electrode to be inspected can be performed with high accuracy.

The sheet-like probe of the present invention is
The insulating layer is
It is arrange | positioned at the said opening part of the metal support body which has an opening part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the sheet-like probe of the present invention,
The insulating layer is
It is arrange | positioned at the said opening part of the metal support body which has an opening part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

With this configuration, the sheet-like probe having elasticity can be handled, and the sheet-like probe can be accurately obtained by moving the sheet-like probe while supporting the support and performing electrode inspection of the electrode to be inspected. Since it can be moved, it is possible to reliably inspect the electrode to be inspected.

The probe card of the present invention is
A probe card for electrical connection between a circuit device to be inspected and a tester,
A circuit board for inspection in which a plurality of inspection electrodes are formed corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected of the circuit device to be inspected;
The sheet-like probe disposed on the circuit board for inspection,
It is characterized by comprising.

If it is a probe card provided with such a sheet-like probe, an inspection electrode can be inspected with high accuracy.
Moreover, the inspection apparatus for the circuit device of the present invention comprises:
The probe card is provided.

If it is an inspection apparatus using a probe card provided with such a sheet-like probe, it is possible to accurately inspect the electrode to be inspected.
The probe card of the present invention is
A probe card for electrical connection between a circuit device to be inspected and a tester,
A circuit board for inspection in which a plurality of inspection electrodes are formed corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected of the circuit device to be inspected;
A sheet-like probe manufactured by the above-described manufacturing method disposed on the circuit board for inspection;
It is characterized by comprising.

If it is a probe card provided with such a sheet-like probe, an inspection electrode can be inspected with high accuracy.
Moreover, the inspection apparatus for the circuit device of the present invention comprises:
The probe card is provided.

If it is an inspection apparatus using a probe card provided with such a sheet-like probe, it is possible to accurately inspect the electrode to be inspected.
Further, the wafer inspection method of the present invention includes:
Each integrated circuit of the wafer on which a plurality of integrated circuits are formed is
Electrically connected to the tester via the above probe card,
An electrical inspection of each of the integrated circuits is performed.

  If a wafer is inspected using a probe card provided with such a sheet-like probe, the inspected electrode can be inspected with high accuracy.

  According to the present invention, since the sheet-like probe has a function of an anisotropic conductive sheet, high-precision inspection is possible at the time of inspection of the inspected electrode of the wafer, and the conventional anisotropic method is used. Since it is not necessary to use a conductive sheet, it is possible to provide a sheet-like probe that can reduce the cost of an inspection probe, a manufacturing method thereof, and an application thereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
<Sheet probe 10>
FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of the sheet-like probe of the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 1 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing the contact film in the sheet-like probe, FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing the structure of the sheet-like probe of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the electrode structure of the sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG.

  The sheet-like probe 10 of the present invention is used, for example, for conducting an electrical inspection of each integrated circuit in a wafer state on a wafer of 8 inches or the like on which a plurality of integrated circuits are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, such a sheet-like probe 10 has a support in which openings penetrating in the thickness direction are formed at each position corresponding to each integrated circuit on the wafer to be inspected. The contact film 9 is disposed in the opening.

The contact film 9 is supported by the support 25 at a support portion 27 around the opening of the support 25.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the support portion 27 is formed with the contact film 9 made of the insulating layer 18 </ b> B, and the contact film 9 is supported by the support body 25.

Such a contact film 9 has a structure in which the electrode structure 15 is formed through a flexible insulating layer 18B as shown in FIG.
Further, the sheet-like probe 10 is used as an inspection probe for performing an electrical inspection of a circuit device, and has a flexible insulating layer 18B and a support 25 as shown in FIG. In this insulating layer 18B, a plurality of electrode structures 15 extending in the thickness direction of the insulating layer 18B and made of metal follow the pattern corresponding to the pattern of the electrode to be inspected of the circuit device to be inspected, according to the pattern of the insulating layer 18B. They are spaced apart from each other in the plane direction.

  Each of the electrode structures 15 includes a rectangular (eg, circular) flat plate-like surface wiring portion 11 exposed on the surface of the insulating layer 18B, and a rectangular (eg, circular) flat plate-like back surface wiring exposed on the back surface of the insulating layer 18B. The portion 12 and the short-circuit portion 18 extending from the base end of the front surface wiring portion 11 through the insulating layer 18B in the thickness direction and connected to the back surface wiring portion 12 are configured.

  And the surface wiring part 11 has the shape which protruded to the position which moved to the horizontal direction from the short circuit part 18, and the surface electrode part 16 is formed in the protruding part. The surface electrode portion 16 is formed so as to protrude upward from the surface of the surface wiring portion 11, and the shape thereof is not particularly limited, but preferably has a hemispherical protrusion shape.

  Also, the back surface wiring portion 12 has a shape protruding from the short-circuit portion 18 to the position moved in the horizontal direction, like the front surface wiring portion 11, and this portion is the back surface electrode portion 17, thereby the electrode structure. Each of the bodies 15 has a substantially U-shaped cross section.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the electrode structure 15 has a thickness T1 of the insulating layer 18B of 10 μm to 500 μm, a height H1 from the upper surface of the insulating layer 18B to the surface wiring portion 11 of 1 μm to 100 μm, and an insulating layer. The height H2 from the lower surface of 18B to the back surface wiring portion 12 is 1 μm to 100 μm, the diameter R1 of the surface electrode portion 16 is 1 μm to 100 μm, the diameter R2 of the short-circuit portion 18 is 1 μm to 100 μm, and the surface electrode portion from the upper surface of the insulating layer 18B It is preferable that the height H3 up to the top surface of 16 is set to 1 μm to 100 μm.

In addition, when setting in this way, it is preferable to set the distance L from the center of the surface electrode part 16 to the center of the short circuit part 18 in the range of 10 micrometers-500 micrometers.
By setting in this way, the surface electrode portion 16 portion is in a cantilever state starting from the short-circuit portion 18 and has sufficient spring property, and the elasticity of the flexible insulating layer 18B causes the surface electrode portion 16 portion to It has a displaceable structure. For this reason, it is possible to accurately inspect the electrode to be inspected with respect to the electrode to be inspected of a wafer having a warp described later.

  The insulating layer 18B is not particularly limited as long as it is flexible and has insulating properties. For example, a polyimide resin, a liquid crystal polymer, polyester, or the like can be used. Among these, it is preferable that the through hole for forming the short-circuit portion 18 can be easily formed by etching, and is made of an etchable material, and polyimide resin is particularly preferable.

  Further, in this embodiment, the support 25 is included as an intermediate layer of the insulating layer 18B as shown in FIG. 5 (a). However, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the insulating layer 18B is also included. It may be provided on the back surface of the insulating sheet in a laminated state or on the front surface, and can be appropriately selected.

  The support body 25 is disposed apart from the electrode structure 15, the electrode structure body 15 and the support body 25 are connected by an insulating layer 18 </ b> B, and the electrode structure body 15 and the support body 25 are electrically insulated. ing.

  As a metal constituting such a support 25, iron, copper, nickel, titanium, or an alloy or alloy steel thereof can be used, but 42 alloy, in that an opening can be easily formed by an etching process. Iron-nickel alloy steels such as Invar and Kovar, copper, nickel and alloys thereof are preferred.

The support 25 preferably has a linear thermal expansion coefficient of 3 × 0 ⁻⁵ / K or less, more preferably 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ to 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ / K, particularly preferably. 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ to 8 × 10 ⁻⁶ / K.

  Specific examples of the material constituting the support 25 include Invar type alloys such as Invar, Elinvar type alloys such as Elinvar, alloys such as Super Invar, Kovar, and 42 alloy, or alloy steel.

The thickness of the support 25 is preferably 3 to 100 μm, more preferably 5 to 50 μm.
If this thickness is too small, the strength required for the support 25 that supports the sheet-like probe 10 may not be obtained.

  On the other hand, when this thickness is excessive, when the support 25 is structured to have the insulating layer 18B, the thickness of the insulating layer 18B becomes large. As a result, the electrode structure of the insulating layer 18B is formed. In this case, it may be difficult to form a through hole.

Alternatively, the insulating layer 18B may be separated into a large number of contact films 9 and supported on the support 25 as shown in FIG. 6A or 6B by etching or the like.
In this case, the flexible contact films 9 holding the electrode structures 15 in the openings 26 of the support 25 are independent from each other (FIG. 6A) or partially independent (FIG. 6B). ).

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, each of the contact films 9 has a flexible insulating layer 18B, and the insulating layer 18B includes a plurality of metals made of metal extending in the thickness direction of the insulating layer 18B. The electrode structures 15 are arranged apart from each other in the surface direction of the insulating layer 18B according to the pattern corresponding to the pattern of the electrode to be inspected in the electrode region of the wafer to be inspected. It arrange | positions so that it may be located in the opening part 26 of this.

  As the metal constituting the electrode structure 15, nickel, copper, gold, silver, palladium, iron or the like can be used. As the electrode structure 15, even if the whole is made of a single metal, It may be made of an alloy of two or more kinds of metals or a laminate of two or more kinds of metals.

  Moreover, although the arrangement pitch of the electrode structures 15 is the same as the pitch of the electrodes to be inspected of the circuit device to be connected, the pitch is preferably 40 to 160 μm, more preferably 40 to 120 μm. In particular, the thickness is preferably 40 to 100 μm.

A circuit device to be connected by satisfying such a condition may be a circuit device having a small and minute electrode with a pitch of 120 μm or less, or a circuit device having a very small minute electrode with a pitch of 100 μm or less. A stable electrical connection to the device is ensured. <Method for Manufacturing Sheet Probe 10>
Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the sheet-like probe 10 of this invention is demonstrated.

First, as shown in FIG. 7A, a metal support 25 having an opening 26 is prepared in advance.
Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, an insulating layer 18B having elasticity is formed so as to cover the opening edge 29 of the opening 26 of the support 25, and the support 25 is within the thickness of the insulating layer 18B. To be included.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7C, metal layers 20A and 20B made of, for example, copper are formed on the upper surface side (front surface side) and the lower surface side (back surface side) of the insulating layer 18B. The metal layers 20A and 20B are formed for use as electrodes in electroplating performed when forming an electrode structure to be described later.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8A, a plurality of through holes 22 penetrating the metal layer 20A, the insulating layer 18B, and the metal layer 20B are formed by laser processing at predetermined positions that become short-circuit portions of the electrode structure. To do.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8B, in preparation for forming the short-circuit portion, the surface wiring portion, the front surface electrode portion, the back surface wiring portion, and the back surface electrode portion of the electrode structure, according to these formation positions. Patterned resist layers 24A and 24B are formed on the upper surfaces of the metal layers 20A and 20B, respectively.

In addition, as a material for forming the resist layers 24A and 24B, various materials used as an etching photoresist can be used.
Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, by using the metal layers 20A and 20B as electrodes and filling the metal (for example, nickel) into the through holes 22 and the patterns of the resist layers 24A and 24B by electroplating, The short-circuit portion 18, the front surface wiring portion 11, the front surface electrode portion 16, the back surface wiring portion 12, and the back surface electrode portion 17 of the electrode structure 15 are formed in the through hole 22 and on the upper surfaces of the metal layers 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, the resist layers 24A and 24B formed in the step of FIG. 8B are removed.
Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the stacked body shown in FIG. 9A is immersed in an etching solution for a short time to remove the exposed portions of the metal layers 20A and 20B. In this embodiment, the material of the metal layers 20A and 20B is copper, and the materials of the short-circuit portion 18, the surface wiring portion 11, the surface electrode portion 16, the back surface wiring portion 12, and the back surface electrode portion 17 formed by electroplating are used. Nickel is used. Since nickel has a slower etching rate than copper, only the exposed portions of the metal layers 20A and 20B can be removed.
Here, as an etching solution for etching the metal layers 20A and 20B, an amine-based etching solution, a hydrazine-based aqueous solution, a potassium hydroxide aqueous solution, or the like can be used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9C, resist layers 26A and 26B are formed on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the insulating layer 18B in order to form a protrusion-shaped portion of the surface electrode portion 16 described later.
Next, as shown in FIG. 10A, the projection-shaped portion 28 of the surface electrode portion 16 is formed by chemical plating. In addition, as a material of the protrusion-shaped part 28 formed by chemical plating, for example, nickel can be used.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 10B, a sheet-like probe in which a plurality of electrode structures 15 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is formed in the insulating layer 18B by removing the resist layers 26A and 26B. 10 is completed.

  Thus, the sheet-like probe 10 of the present invention can be easily manufactured by the manufacturing method as described above. Further, the electrode inspection of the electrode to be inspected, which has been conventionally performed using two sheets of the sheet-like probe and the anisotropic conductive sheet, has a structure that also serves as the anisotropic conductive sheet in the sheet-like probe of the present invention. Therefore, the electrode inspection of the electrode to be inspected can be accurately performed with only one sheet-like probe.

Conventionally, since the electrode inspection of the electrode to be inspected was performed using two sheets of the sheet-like probe and the anisotropic conductive sheet, there was a case where the positional deviation of the electrode between the two sheets occurred. Since the sheet-like probe of the present invention is single, there is no fear of electrode positional deviation between the two sheets, and it is possible to inspect the electrode to be inspected with high accuracy.
<Inspection device for probe card and circuit device>
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of an example of an inspection apparatus for a circuit device according to the present invention. The inspection apparatus for this circuit device is a circuit for an integrated circuit for each of a plurality of integrated circuits formed on a wafer. This is for performing electrical inspection in a wafer state.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, such an inspection device for a circuit device is supported when the sheet-like probe 10 is a sheet-like probe 10 that supports the insulating layer 18B with a metal support 25. The support plate 30 is used in a state where it is adhered to the outer edge of the body 25 with an adhesive.

  The circuit device inspection apparatus includes a probe card 1 (sheet-like probe 10 that supports an insulating layer 18B by a support 25) that electrically connects each of the electrodes 7 to be inspected of a wafer 6 that is a circuit device to be inspected. ).

  In the probe card 1, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 12, a plurality of test electrodes 21 are formed on the surface (see FIG. 12) according to a pattern corresponding to the pattern of the test electrodes 7 in all integrated circuits formed on the wafer 6. The inspection circuit board 20 is formed on the lower surface in FIG.

And the sheet-like probe 10 is hold | maintained in the state fixed so that the test | inspection electrode 21 of the circuit board 20 for a test | inspection and the back surface electrode part 17 might correspond.
Further, a pressure plate 3 that pressurizes the probe card 1 downward is provided on the back surface (upper surface in the figure) of the inspection circuit board 20 in the probe card 1, and a wafer 6 is placed below the probe card 1. A wafer mounting table 4 is provided, and a heater 5 is connected to each of the pressure plate 3 and the wafer mounting table 4. Such a circuit device inspection apparatus, when disassembled, has a configuration as shown in FIG.

  Further, the sheet-like probe 10 can be positioned by fitting the support plate 30 adhered to the outer edge portion of the support 25 and the concave portion 32 of the pressure plate 3.

  Furthermore, as a substrate material constituting the inspection circuit board 20, various conventionally known substrate materials can be used. Specific examples include composite resin materials such as glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin, glass fiber reinforced phenol resin, glass fiber reinforced polyimide resin, glass fiber reinforced bismaleimide triazine resin, and ceramic materials such as glass, silicon dioxide, and alumina. Etc.

When an inspection apparatus for performing the WLBI test is configured, it is preferable to use one having a linear thermal expansion coefficient of 3 × 10 ⁻⁵ / K or less, more preferably 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ to 1 × 10. ⁻⁵ / K, particularly preferably 1 × 10 ^{−6 to} 6 × 10 ⁻⁶ / K.

Specific examples of such a substrate material include Pyrex (registered trademark) glass, quartz glass, alumina, beryllia, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, and boron nitride.
According to the probe card 1 described above, since the sheet-like probe 10 of the present invention as shown in FIG. 3 is provided, the electrical stability is stable even with respect to the wafer 6 on which the electrodes 7 to be inspected are formed at a small pitch. A connection state can be reliably achieved.

  Moreover, the electrode structure 15 in the sheet-like probe 10 has a substantially U-shaped cross section in which the electrode structure 15 becomes a cantilever, and the front electrode portion 16 and the back electrode portion 17 of the electrode structure 15 are flexibly displaced by the elasticity of the insulating layer 18B. Since it is possible, the electrode inspection of the electrode to be inspected can be reliably performed.

  According to the above inspection apparatus, since the probe card 1 having the sheet-like probe 10 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided, the wafer 6 on which the electrodes 7 to be inspected are formed at a small pitch is also stable. In addition, since the probe card 1 has high durability, a highly reliable inspection can be performed for a long period of time even when a large number of wafers 6 are inspected. Can do.

As described above, the sheet-like probe of the present invention, the manufacturing method thereof, and the preferred embodiments in the application thereof have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as follows. It is.
(1) The probe card 1 shown in FIG. 11 achieves electrical connection to all the inspected electrodes 7 of all integrated circuits formed on the wafer 6, but is formed on the wafer 6. It may be electrically connected to the electrodes 7 to be inspected of a plurality of integrated circuits selected from all the integrated circuits.

  The number of integrated circuits to be selected is appropriately selected in consideration of the size of the wafer 6, the number of integrated circuits formed on the wafer 6, the number of electrodes 7 to be inspected in each integrated circuit, and the like. , 64 and 128.

In the inspection apparatus having such a probe card 1, the probe card 1 is electrically connected to the electrodes to be inspected 7 of a plurality of integrated circuits selected from all the integrated circuits formed on the wafer 6. Forming on the wafer 6 by repeating the inspection and then repeating the process of electrically connecting the probe card 1 to the inspected electrodes 7 of the plurality of integrated circuits selected from other integrated circuits. It is possible to perform an electrical inspection of all the integrated circuits that have been made.

According to such an inspection apparatus, when an electrical inspection is performed on an integrated circuit formed on the wafer 6 having a diameter of 8 inches or 12 inches with a high degree of integration, all the integrated circuits are inspected collectively. Compared with the method to be performed, the number of inspection electrodes and the number of wirings of the inspection circuit board 20 to be used can be reduced, and thereby the manufacturing cost of the inspection apparatus can be reduced.
(2) The circuit device to be inspected by the inspection apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the wafer 6 on which a large number of integrated circuits are formed, but may be a semiconductor chip, a package LSI such as BGA or CSP, or a CMC. It can be configured as an inspection device for a circuit formed in a semiconductor integrated circuit device or the like.
(3) In the sheet-like probe 10 of the present invention, for example, a plurality of contact films 9 made of the insulating layer 18B having the electrode structure 15 as shown in FIG. It may be a sheet-like probe 10 arranged in each state and supported by the support 25, and further, one contact film 9 covers a plurality of openings 26 of the support 25 as shown in FIG. It may be arranged like this.

  By configuring the sheet-like probe 10 with a plurality of independent contact films 9 in this way, for example, when the sheet-like probe 10 for wafer inspection having a diameter of 8 inches or more is constituted, the expansion and contraction of the contact film 9 due to temperature change is small. Therefore, the positional deviation of the electrode structure 15 is preferably reduced.

  Such a sheet-like probe 10 is obtained by patterning the insulating layer 18B with a resist in the state shown in FIG. 10B in the manufacturing method of the sheet-like probe 10 of the present invention and etching the insulating layer 18B into an arbitrary shape contact film 9. It is obtained by dividing into two.

  As described above, the sheet-like probe of the present invention, its manufacturing method, and its application can be variously modified without departing from the object of the present invention.

1A and 1B are diagrams showing an embodiment of a sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing a contact film in the sheet-like probe of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing the structure of the sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an enlarged electrode structure of the sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG. 5 (a) is a cross-sectional view of the contact film support portion in the sheet-like probe of the present invention, and FIG. It is sectional drawing shown. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a manufacturing process in the method for manufacturing a sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a manufacturing process in the method for manufacturing a sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a manufacturing process in the method for manufacturing a sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a manufacturing process in the method for manufacturing a sheet-like probe of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a circuit device inspection device and a probe card used therefor according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an enlarged probe card in the inspection apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is an exploded view showing a partially exploded state of the probe card of FIG. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of an example of a conventional probe card. FIG. 15 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a conventional sheet-like probe.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe card 3 Pressure plate 4 Wafer mounting base 5 Heater 6 Wafer 7 Inspection electrode 9 Contact film 10 Sheet-like probe 11 Surface wiring part 12 Back surface wiring part 15 Electrode structure 16 Surface electrode part 17 Back surface electrode part 18 Short-circuit part 18B Insulation Layer 20 Circuit board for inspection 20A Metal layer 20B Metal layer 21 Inspection electrode 22 Through hole 24A Resist layer 24B Resist layer 25 Support body 26A Resist layer 26B Resist layer 26 Opening portion 27 Support portion 28 Protruding shape portion 29 Opening edge 30 Support plate T1 Thickness of insulating layer H1 Height from upper surface of insulating layer to front surface wiring portion H2 Height from lower surface of insulating layer to rear surface wiring portion H3 Height from upper surface of insulating layer to uppermost surface of surface electrode portion R1 Surface electrode portion Diameter R2 Short circuit diameter L Horizontal distance 100 from the center of the surface electrode to the center of the short circuit Circuit board 102 Inspection electrode 200 Anisotropic conductive sheet 300 Sheet probe 300A Laminate body 302 Insulating sheet 304 Electrode structure 306 Front surface electrode portion 308 Back surface electrode portion 310 Short circuit portion 312 Metal layer 314H Through hole 316 Resist film 318 Resist film 320 Resist film

Claims (6)

An insulating layer having elasticity;
A plurality of electrode structures that are spaced apart from each other in the surface direction of the insulating layer and extend through the thickness direction of the insulating layer;
A sheet-like probe having
Each of the electrode structures is
A surface electrode portion formed on the surface side in the thickness direction of the insulating layer;
A back electrode part formed on the back side in the thickness direction of the insulating layer;
A surface wiring portion formed in a state connected to the surface electrode portion at a position different from the formation position of the surface electrode portion in the horizontal direction,
A backside wiring part formed in a state connected to the backside electrode part at a position different from the formation position of the backside electrode part in the horizontal direction,
The front surface wiring portion and the back surface wiring portion can be electrically connected, and a short-circuit portion that connects the front surface wiring portion and the back surface wiring portion, and has a substantially U-shaped cross section,
The sheet-like probe, wherein the front surface electrode portion and the back surface electrode portion are configured to be displaceable by elasticity of the insulating layer.   The sheet-like probe according to claim 1, wherein the surface electrode portion has a hemispherical protrusion shape. The electrode structure is
3. The sheet-like probe according to claim 1, wherein a horizontal distance from the center of the short-circuit portion to the center of the surface electrode portion is within a range of 10 μm to 500 μm. The insulating layer is
The sheet-like probe according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the probe is disposed in the opening of a metal support having an opening. A probe card for electrical connection between a circuit device to be inspected and a tester,
A circuit board for inspection in which a plurality of inspection electrodes are formed corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected of the circuit device to be inspected;
The sheet-like probe according to any one of claims 1 to 4 disposed on the circuit board for inspection,
A probe card comprising:   An inspection device for a circuit device comprising the probe card according to claim 5.

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