JPH06236910A - Inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a probe device equipped with structure capable lessening the breakdown of an object for inspection which has been judged to be an acceptable article by preventing the accident at the time of accommodation by the warp of object for inspection by simple structure. CONSTITUTION:This device is equipped with a controller 34 which inspects the warp in the thickness direction of an body 16 for inspection carried by an accommodation part after property test and stops the carriage the body 16 for inspection after inspection to the same position as an ordinary article. Accordingly, the body for inspection where the quantity of warp is above the specified value is not carried to the accommodation part 18, so it can be arranged not to break by preventing the interference and collision between it and the accommodation part 18.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, IC chips, LSI chips, etc.
In a semiconductor element manufacturing process, an electrical characteristic test is performed even in a wafer state.

For this reason, for example, an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer at the time when the film forming process is completed is conveyed from the carrier to the mounting section located in the characteristic test section, that is, a so-called chuck section by the conveying mechanism. At the same time, after the inspection, it is conveyed from the chuck portion to the accommodation portion.

As a structure of the transfer mechanism, for example, there is a structure in which tweezers having a vacuum suction structure are provided on a transfer base and the tweezers are opposed to the lower surface of the object to be inspected to adsorb the object to be inspected.

The state of taking out the above-mentioned semiconductor wafer will be described as shown in FIG.

That is, first, the carrier device 50 is moved by a moving means (not shown) to insert the tweezers 56 into the carrier 52 below the object 54 to be inspected. Subsequently, the carrier 52 or the tweezers 56 side is lifted as it is to adsorb and hold the inspection object 54 on the tweezers 56, and the transport device 50 is retracted to take out the inspection object 54. As shown in FIG. 12, the inspected body 54 is held with its peripheral portion placed on the carrier slots 52A formed in a plurality of stages. In addition, the inspection object 54 whose inspection has been completed
Is taken out from the chuck section located in the test section via the transport mechanism, and is stored again in the carrier 52 by the tweezers 56 described above. After the inspection, the inspection object 54 housed in the carrier 52 can record the inspection result for each chip on the inspection object 54. For example, a defective chip is marked by a marking device (not shown). It is housed in a carrier above. Then, the procedure for accommodating the inspected body 54 toward the inside of the carrier after the inspection is performed by reversing the above-described taking-out procedure.

[0007]

The object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer to be subjected to the inspection process may have the following problems depending on the film forming method.

That is, for example, the semiconductor wafer may warp due to the thermal strain remaining after the film forming process.

On the other hand, in some carriers brought into the inspection process, an object to be inspected having such a warp is forcibly inserted by hand and stored. Then, in the case of taking out the inspected object forcibly stored despite the warp as described above from the carrier,
Except for a warp that cannot be adsorbed by the tweezers, it will be closely attached to the tweezers. And
When they are in close contact, even if some warp remains,
The carrier may be pulled out while rubbing the inner wall surface of the carrier slot which is the wafer insertion portion.

However, when it is inserted into the carrier again after the inspection is completed, it may interfere with the mounting portion of the carrier due to the warp, which may make it impossible to insert the object to be inspected. is there.

Particularly, in the case of tweezers, from the viewpoint of simplifying the structure, the suction range is often constant with respect to the outer diameter of the object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer. For this reason, when a large-diameter inspection object is sucked, if a warp remains in a portion outside the suction range, it becomes difficult to correct the warp in that portion by suction. Further, in the carrier in which the object to be inspected is accommodated, the pitch between the carrier slots (see FIG. 12) into which the object to be inspected is inserted is standardized. Specifically, for example, a large outer diameter of 8 inches is used. In the case of an inspection object having a diameter, the pitch is 6.35 mm. Therefore, in the case of a large-diameter object to be inspected or the thickness is extremely thin, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 12, the warp can be corrected even though the warp amount is large. Often left out. Therefore, when the object to be inspected is to be housed in the carrier after the inspection is completed, there is a risk that the peripheral portion of the object to be inspected collides with the wall surface of the housing portion of the carrier and is damaged.

Moreover, among such inspected objects,
Since some of the products are judged to be non-defective in the inspection process, the non-defective products may be damaged, resulting in deterioration of yield.

Therefore, in view of the problems in the conventional inspection apparatus described above, an object of the present invention is to prevent an accident during storage due to the warp of the object to be inspected with a simple structure, and judge that the object is a non-defective item. An object of the present invention is to provide an inspection device having a structure capable of reducing damage to the inspection body.

[0014]

In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is the above-mentioned with respect to an accommodating portion in which a multistage slot for accommodating an object to be inspected for performing a characteristic test is formed. In an inspection device including a conveyance member that conveys an object to be inspected, a detection unit that detects a warp of the object to be inspected that is conveyed to the accommodating portion and the accommodating portion are provided at positions different from each other. A placement unit that allows placement and removal of the inspection object, and a control unit that conveys the inspection object toward the installation unit when the warp of the inspection object by the detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined position. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for conveying an object to be inspected according to the first aspect, the detection means are arranged at a plurality of positions in the width direction of the slot of the accommodating portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the inspection apparatus according to the first aspect, the detection means is arranged to face at least one position other than the surface of the object to be inspected, which is opposed to the conveying member. It is characterized by that.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the inspection apparatus according to the first aspect, the placing portion is a place for placing any one of the inspected objects that have been inspected. There is.

[0018]

In the present invention, the warp of the object to be inspected that is carried in and out of the housing portion is detected. Therefore, when the amount of warp is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it is not conveyed to the slot of the accommodating section but to the mounting section, so that interference with the slot is prevented and the inspection is performed. Prevents body damage.

Further, in the present invention, in order to determine that the amount of warp is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the conveyance portion of the object to be inspected is provided with means for detecting the warp of the object to be inspected. Then, the detecting means is adapted to detect a warp in a range facing the slot of the accommodation portion in the inspection object. Therefore,
By detecting the degree of warpage of the portion actually inserted into the slot of the accommodating portion, the situation in which the peripheral edge of the DUT that causes the most damage when inserted into the accommodating portion is chipped can be prevented. Can be prevented.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a main part when a device for transporting an object to be inspected according to the present invention is applied to a probe device. In FIG. 1, the probe device 10 includes an in-and-out body loading / unloading unit 12 and a measurement / inspection unit 14.

The loading / unloading section 12 for the object to be inspected is the measurement / inspection section 1.
4 is a place where an object to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer is carried in and out. For this reason, the carrier 18 for accommodating the inspected body 16 is provided in the carry-in / out section 12 of the inspected body.
As shown in FIG. 2, the carrier 18 has a two-stage structure, and a plurality of inspected objects 16 are provided in the upper stage, and although only a part is shown in this embodiment, 25 inspected objects 16 are stored. A carrier slot 18A formed of a concave portion is formed along the vertical direction, and an unloading portion 18B formed of a housing is provided in the lower stage. In the carrier slot 18A shown in the present embodiment, the pitch of the carrier slot 18A for accommodating the DUT 16 is set to 6.35 mm. In addition, the unloading section 18B is configured so that the inspection of all the inspection objects 16 in the carrier slot is completed.
It is provided as a place where the inspected body 16 is arbitrarily taken out and placed when it is desired to confirm the inspection results individually. Therefore, a slidable drawer 18B1 is arranged inside the unloading section 18B, and a table for mounting the object 16 to be inspected is provided on the upper surface of the drawer 18B1. .

The unloading portion 18B has an opening 18C on the wall surface opposite to the side where the drawer 18B1 is pulled out.
Is formed, and the opening 18 has tweezers 22 to be described later.
Face to face.

In the carrier 18, a ball screw provided on a bracket (not shown) fixed to the outer surface of the housing is engaged with the guide screw rod 20. The guide screw rod 20 is a member that can be rotated by a drive source (not shown), and when rotated by the drive source, moves the carrier 18 up and down according to the rotation direction. The vacuum suction tweezers 22 perform the same operation as the case described with reference to FIG. 11 when the object 16 to be inspected is taken out from the carrier 18. Also, vacuum suction tweezers 22
Is not limited to using the vacuum suction structure, but it is also possible to use, for example, a material that can pull out the object to be inspected by the friction coefficient, and in this case, rubber is used. Furthermore, as the adsorption type, electrostatic adsorption or the like can be used.

On the other hand, at the position facing the carrier 18,
A vacuum suction tweezers 22 that is movable back and forth is arranged toward the inspected body taking-out portion of the carrier 18. The vacuum suction tweezers 22 has an opening (not shown) at the tip thereof, and the carrier 1 is connected via a vacuum suction source communicating with this opening.
The object 16 to be inspected in 8 can be vacuum-sucked.

A pre-alignment stage 24 is arranged on the way of movement of the vacuum suction tweezers 22. The pre-alignment stage 24 is used for the carrier 1
To align the orientation of the device under test 16 taken out from
This is a place for positioning a so-called orientation flat, and the device under test 1 is driven by a drive source (not shown).
6 can be moved in the Z and θ directions.

Further, a transfer arm 28 is arranged between the pre-alignment stage 24 and the mounting section 26 provided in the measurement / inspection section 14. The transfer arm 28 is for transferring the inspection object 16 between the pre-alignment stage 24 and the mounting portion 26.
Therefore, the transfer arm 28 can rotate 360 ° in the horizontal plane. In this embodiment, the transfer arm 28
Are provided in two stages in the vertical direction, and the object to be inspected 16 after measurement and inspection is carried out from the mounting portion 26 toward the pre-alignment stage 24, and a new object to be inspected 16 is transferred from the pre-alignment stage 24 to the mounting portion 26. It is designed to carry in at the same time. As a result, the time required for delivering the inspection object can be saved and the throughput can be significantly improved.

On the other hand, the measurement / inspection unit 14 is a portion for inspecting the characteristics of the inspected body 16 by a probe card (not shown). For this reason, the measurement / inspection unit 14 is provided with a mounting unit 26 having a vacuum suction mechanism for sucking and holding the inspection target 16 carried in from the pre-alignment stage 24.

By the way, in this embodiment, the vacuum suction tweezers 22 for accommodating the object 16 to be inspected in the carrier 18.
A structure for detecting the warp of the inspection object 16 is provided during the movement of the.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of sensors are provided above the moving path of the vacuum suction tweezers 22 at a position corresponding to the position before the object to be inspected 16 is stored in the carrier 18 while the vacuum suction tweezers 22 is moving. 30 and 32 are arranged. These sensors 30, 32 are, for example, 20 μm
A capacitive proximity sensor, a reflection amount detection type optical sensor, or a contact type sensor having a degree of resolution is used, and at least the carrier slot 18 of the carrier 18 is used.
It is arranged so as to face the edge of the device under test 16 inserted in A.

The sensors 30 and 32 are positioned in accordance with the size of the object 16 to be inspected which is sucked by the vacuum suction tweezers 22. In this embodiment,
For example, when the inspected body 16 has three kinds of outer diameter dimensions of 5, 6 and 8 inches, an outer peripheral edge of 5 inches shown by reference numeral A and a part of 6 inches shown by reference numeral B overlap in FIG. It is located in a position. This is because, when the inspection object 16 of each size is adsorbed by the vacuum adsorption tweezers 22, the adsorbed range is limited to the inside of the edge portion of the inspection object 16 having the smallest outer diameter due to the structure of the tweezers 22. Therefore, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5, even if the adsorbed range is in close contact with the tweezers 22, the warp of the object 16 to be inspected remains outside the tweezers 22 and can be detected. .

The sensors 30 and 32 are not limited to the above-described positioning, but may be provided for each outer diameter dimension of the object 16 to be inspected. Furthermore, one sensor is used. The object 16 to be inspected by scanning in the radial direction
It may be possible to deal with each size of. Also, simply
Not only the sensors are arranged so as to face only the edges of the inspected object 16, but also the sensor for detecting the reference position for judging the data from the sensors at these edges as a warp is the inspected object 1
It is also possible to provide it so as to face the center position of 6 and detect the amount of warpage at the edge portion with reference to this center position. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a plurality of positions in the width direction of the carrier slot 18A.

Each of the sensors 30 and 32 outputs data to a control unit 34 described later.

That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the control section 34 is provided with a microcomputer 34A for executing sequence control for semiconductor manufacturing as a main section. This microcomputer 34A has a ROM 34
B, RAM 34C and I / O interface 34D
Are connected to the ROM 34B, and the ROM 34B stores the reference value and the carrier 1 for determining the warp of the device under test 16.
Elevation drive amounts of 8 are registered.

The control section 34 is related to this embodiment through an I / O interface 34D.
On the input side, the above-mentioned sensors 30, 32 and the device under test 1
Passage sensors 36 for detecting passage of 6 toward the carrier 18 after the inspection are respectively connected, and on the output side, a lifting drive unit 38 of the carrier 18, a drive unit 40 of the vacuum suction tweezers 22 and a display unit. 42 are connected to each other. The display section 42 is for displaying to the operator that the warp 16 of the inspection object 16 is accommodated in the unload section 18B without being accommodated in the carrier slot 18A. Yes, for example, it is provided on the operation panel (not shown) of the probe device 10.

The control section 34 discriminates the warp of the object 16 to be inspected, and if the warp has occurred to the extent that the carrier slot 18A cannot be inserted after the inspection, the object 16 to be inspected is warped.
The storage position of is changed. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the center line in the vertical direction of the carrier slot 18A and the center line in the thickness direction of the device under test 16 coincide with each other, and so-called warpage of the device under test 16 occurs. Assuming that the carrier slot 18A does not have the size (L), the value (a) that is half the value obtained by subtracting the thickness (t) of the DUT 16 is registered in the ROM 34B as a reference value.

The half value (a) corresponds to the gap size between the inner wall surface on one longitudinal side of the carrier slot 18A and the one outer surface in the thickness direction of the DUT 16,
The amount of warp of the object 16 to be inspected is determined based on the reference value which is the gap size. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the warp amount (S1) of the object 16 to be inspected by the outputs from the sensors 30 and 32 is not equal to the reference value (S0), the reference value (a) in FIG. As indicated by reference numeral a1, the outer surface of the DUT 16 is the carrier slot 1
It is determined that the vertical direction of 8A causes warpage in either direction and interferes with the inner wall surface of the carrier slot 18A. In addition,
Since it is necessary to add an error in manufacturing the carrier slot 18A or the device under test 16 to this reference value, a certain allowable error is added to the value obtained by the above-mentioned subtraction.

In this case, even if the inspection object 16 is a non-defective product in the inspection process, the inspection object 16 accommodated in the carrier 18 by the vacuum suction tweezers 22 is placed in the unload section 18B. The storage position is changed. For this reason, the carrier 18 causes the unloading portion 18B to face the movement path of the vacuum suction tweezers 22 in response to a command from the control unit 34 when the inspected object 16 to be stored next cannot be stored.

Next, the operation will be described.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining the operation procedure in this embodiment based on the operation of the control section 34.

In FIG. 10, first, it is judged whether or not the object 16 to be inspected is taken out after the inspection. This determination is performed, for example, based on the presence or absence of the output signal from the passage sensor 36 at a time corresponding to the inspection based on the timing signal from the control unit based on the semiconductor manufacturing sequence control. When it is determined from the output signal from the passage sensor 36 that the object 16 to be inspected is in the stage of being taken out after the inspection and being transferred toward the carrier 18, the sensors 30 and 32 are turned on and the object to be inspected is turned on. Data regarding the 16 warps is output to the control unit 34.

In the control section 34, by comparing the data concerning the distance from the sensor 34 and the reference value, the warp amount generated in the object 16 to be inspected falls within the range in which the object 16 can be inserted into the carrier slot 18A. It is determined whether or not they correspond. In this determination, when the warp amount of the inspection object 16 is equal to the reference value, the inspection unit 16 conveyed by the vacuum suction tweezers 22 from the control unit 34 to the lift drive unit 38 of the carrier 18 is transferred to the carrier. A signal for setting the position that can be inserted into the slot 18A is output.

When the warp amount of the object 16 to be inspected is not equal to the reference value, the object 16 to be inspected is conveyed by the vacuum suction tweezers 22 from the controller 34 with respect to the elevating drive part 38 of the carrier 18. A signal for setting a posture in which the unloading unit 18B can be stored. Further, in this case, the unloading portion 18B is provided with the inspection object 16
Is output to the display unit 42 so that the operator can recognize it.

Therefore, when the operator recognizes that the inspection object 16 is stored in the unloading section 18B on the display section 42, the drawer 18B1 of the unloading section 18B.
The object to be inspected 16 placed on the table by pulling out
Can be taken out.

According to the present embodiment, the unloading portion, which is usually provided for extracting and monitoring one of the inspection objects housed in the carrier slot, is a good product, and It is possible to provide a housing portion for the device under test that cannot be housed in the carrier slot. Therefore, it is not necessary to dare to provide the accommodation portion for the inspected object as a non-defective product in which warpage has occurred, so that it is possible to suppress the increase in size of the apparatus.

In the present embodiment, the probe device has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the application to such a device. For example, it is also possible to target the case where the object to be inspected taken out from the reaction furnace is transported. Further, regarding the unloading part, although the number of the inspected objects to be accommodated is not mentioned, it is also possible to adopt a structure capable of accommodating a plurality of inspected objects, for example. In this case, even if there are many inspection objects that could not be stored in the carrier slots because they are non-defective and warp, by allowing these inspection objects to be stored, the yield of non-defective products can be prevented from deteriorating. can do.

Further, the structure in which the warped object is not only housed at a position different from the original housing position but can be housed while the warp is corrected may be adopted.

The position of the sensor may be any position as long as it can detect the warp of the object to be inspected before the object to be inspected is conveyed to the carrier. Instead, for example, it may be set on the carry-out side from the carrier. Then, the direction of detection is not limited to the one surface of the object to be inspected, and it is also possible to reverse the case of the embodiment, and further,
It is also possible to use the deviation of the distances detected by the respective sensors for both sides as a material for judging the warp.

[0049]

As described above, in the probe device according to the present invention, when the inspection object is warped more than a predetermined amount after the inspection, the inspection object is usually judged as a non-defective product. Can be housed in a different location. Therefore, it is usually possible to prevent the warped object from interfering with the carrier slot in which the object to be inspected, which is determined to be a non-defective item, is interfered with. Damage can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective layout view for explaining an overall configuration of a probe device to which a carrying device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a structure of a non-defective item accommodating portion used in the probe device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an arrangement configuration of a warp detection unit used in the transport device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining an arrangement position of a warp detection unit shown in FIG. 3 with respect to an object to be inspected.

5 is a front view for explaining the reason for the arrangement of the warp detection means shown in FIG.

6 is a block diagram for explaining a control unit used in the transport device shown in FIG.

7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the content of control by the control unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the control principle of the control unit shown in FIG.

9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the object to be inspected and the carrier slot, which is determined by the control unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining a conventional example of a transport device.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a carrier in the transfer device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 probe apparatus 12 loading / unloading part of to-be-tested object 14 measurement / inspection part 16 to-be-tested object 18 carrier 18A carrier slot 18B unloading part 30, 32 sensor forming warp detection means 34 control part 36 carrier lifting drive part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An inspection apparatus, comprising: a carrying member for carrying the object to be inspected to an accommodating portion having a multi-stage slot for accommodating the object to be inspected for performing a characteristic test, A detection means for detecting the warp of the conveyed inspection object and a mounting portion which is provided at a position different from the accommodating portion, and on which the inspection object can be placed and taken out, and an object to be detected by the detection means. An inspection apparatus, comprising: a control unit that conveys the object to be inspected toward the placing unit when the warp of the inspecting unit is greater than or equal to a predetermined position. 2. The apparatus for transporting an object to be inspected according to claim 1, wherein the detection means are arranged at a plurality of positions in the width direction of the slot of the accommodating portion. 3. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection means is arranged to face at least one position other than a surface of the object to be inspected, the surface being opposed to the conveying member. apparatus. 4. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the placing section is a place for placing an arbitrary one of the inspected objects to be inspected.