Tokyo Electron Limited

Isamu Inomata

Kazuya Yano

Yasuhito Yamamoto

Shuji Akiyama

Munetoshi Nagasaka

Eiichi Shinohara

Yoshiyasu Kato

Isao Kono

A prober can suppress a decrease of a throughput in inspection of semiconductor devices on a substrate. The proberincludes a stagehaving a horizontal mounting surfacethat mounts thereon a wafer W on which semiconductor devices are formed; a probe cardprovided to face the stage; three roller devices, each having a vertical rotational shaft, equally-spaced along a circumference of the mounted wafer W. Each roller deviceis configured to rotate the wafer W on a horizontal plane while being in contact with a peripheral edge of the wafer W.

Prober for inspecting semiconductor devices formed on semiconductor wafer

A probe apparatus of inspecting electrical characteristics of a power device having electrodes on both sides of a substrate at wafer level can reduce and uniformize a contact resistance between the electrode on a rear surface of the substrate and a mounting surface conductor of a chuck top. In the probe apparatus, an attracting device supports a semiconductor wafer W on the chuck topand has many vertical fine holes in a pattern (diameter &#x3c6; and pitch p) that satisfies the condition of &#x3c6;&#x3c;p&#x2266;2&#x3c6;. For example, the diameter &#x3c6; is about 0.25 mm, and the pitch p is about 0.5 mm.

Probe apparatus

An inspection method for inspecting electric characteristics of devices formed on a target object using an apparatus including a vertical drive mechanism for lifting and lowering a movable mounting table and a control unit for controlling the vertical drive mechanism. The vertical drive mechanism includes an elevation shaft connected to the mounting table and a servo motor for driving the elevation shaft to lift and lower the mounting table. The control unit has a servo driver including a position control part for controlling a position of the motor, a torque control part for controlling a torque of the motor as a probe card is expanded or contracted by a change in temperature and a switching part for switching the position control part and the torque control part. The method includes heating or cooling the target object, controlling a position of the motor, and controlling a torque of the motor.

Inspection method for inspecting electric characteristics of devices formed on target object

An inspection apparatus for inspecting electric characteristics of a plurality of devices formed on a target object includes a vertical drive mechanism for lifting and lowering a movable mounting table and a control unit for controlling the vertical drive mechanism. The vertical drive mechanism includes an elevation shaft connected to the mounting table and a servo motor for driving the elevation shaft to lift and lower the mounting table. Further, the control unit has a servo driver which includes a position control part for controlling a position of the servo motor, a torque control part for controlling a torque of the servo motor as a probe card is expanded or contracted by a change in temperature and a switching part for switching the position control part and the torque control part.

Inspection apparatus and method for inspecting electric characteristics of devices formed on target object

An inspecting apparatus is provided for inspecting electrical characteristics of an object (W) to be inspected, such as a semiconductor wafer. The inspecting apparatus is provided with a placing table () for supporting the object, a lift mechanism () for bringing up and down the placing table, and a driving apparatus () for driving the lift mechanism. The apparatus is also provided with a probe (A) which makes contact with the object on the placing table brought up by the lift mechanism driven by the driving apparatus, and a load sensor (), including a compression-type piezoelectric element, for detecting a contact load between the object and the probe as an oscillation waveform.

Contact load measuring apparatus and inspecting apparatus

A probing method for inspecting electrical characteristics of an object by probes, including mounting the object on a main chuck having an X-axis, a Y-axis and a Z-axis which are driven by X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis driving mechanisms, moving the main chuck in X-, Y-, and Z-directions by driving the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis by the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis driving mechanisms such that each of electrode pads of the object mounted on the main chuck is brought into contact with each of probes of a probe card above the main chuck, and overdriving the main chuck by simultaneously and collectively controlling the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis driving mechanisms such that the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis driving mechanisms simultaneously overdrive the main chuck to keep a tip portion of each of the probes within a surface area of the electrode pad of the object.

Growing community of inventors

Nirasaki, Japan

Isamu Inomata