Tokyo Electron Limited

Takanori Hyakudomi

Jun Fujihara

Hiroshi Yamada

Tomoya Endo

Kentaro Konishi

Hiromi Chaya

Xingjun Jiang

Shigekazu Komatsu

Jun Mochizuki

Takahisa Hayashi

Kunihiro Furuya

Masahito Kobayashi

Masanori Ueda

Hiroaki Hayashi

Tetsuya Kagami

Kenichi Narikawa

Daiki Kurihara

Hiroaki Sakamoto

Shin Uchida

Hiroki Shikagawa

Katsuaki Sugiyama

Yukihide Shigeno

Yukinori Murata

Rika Ozawa

A testing system includes: an inspection module including a plurality of levels of inspection chambers in each of which a tester part having a tester configured to perform an electrical inspection of an inspection object and a probe card is accommodated; an aligner module configured to align the inspection object with the tester part; an alignment area in which the aligner module is accommodated; and a loader part configured to load the inspection object into the alignment area and unload the inspection object out of the aligner module, wherein the inspection module is located adjacent to the alignment area.

Testing system

An inspection system configured to inspect a device within a substrate is provided. The inspection system includes an inspection module, an alignment module, a supporting device and a fixing device. The inspection module has multiple testers and multiple inspection chambers. The multiple testers are allowed to be accommodated in the multiple inspection chambers, respectively. The alignment module has an aligner. The aligner is placed in an alignment space. The aligner is configured to adjust a position of the substrate to be inspected with respect to one tester of the multiple testers, which is accommodated in the alignment space. The supporting device is configured to support the tester accommodated in the alignment space from below. The fixing device is configured to fix the tester accommodated in the alignment space in cooperation with the supporting device.

Inspection system

An inspection device includes a chuck top that holds a wafer, a probe card disposed to face the wafer held by the chuck top and having a plurality of contact probes on a surface facing the wafer, a pogo frame that holds the probe card, a bellows that surrounds the probe card and the contact probes and forms a sealed space when the wafer is close to or in contact with the contact probes, a gas exhaust path configured to depressurize the pressure in the sealed space, and a mechanical stopper that is provided between the pogo frame and the chuck top and restricts the vertical inclination of the chuck top when a predetermined contact is made between the wafer and the contact probes.

Inspection device and contact method

A method of contacting a substrate with a probe card in a substrate inspection apparatus can inspect electrical characteristics of semiconductor devices on the substrate. A wafer W is transferred to a position facing a probe cardwhile being mounted on a chuck memberwith a wafer platetherebetween, and electrodes of semiconductor devices on the wafer W are contacted with probes of the probe cardby moving the wafer W and the wafer platetoward the probe cardthrough an elevating device. Then, the wafer W is overdriven toward the probe cardand a contact state between the electrodes of the semiconductor devices and the probes of the probe cardis maintained by decompressing a space S between the probe cardand the wafer plate. Then, the chuck memberis separated from the wafer plate

Method of contacting substrate with probe card

Probesandhaving irregularities formed in leading end portions thereof are brought into contact with an electrode P of a device D, which is a target object to be inspected, at a predetermined probe pressure so that a mechanical damage is applied to an insulating film O on the electrode P. As a result, an electrical resistance value between the electrode P and the probesandis reduced to a first predetermined value or less. Subsequently, a fritting is performed to apply an electrical damage to the insulating film O on the electrode P so that the electrical resistance value between the electrode P and the probesandis set to be a second predetermined value or less which is smaller than the first predetermined value.

Inspection method, inspection apparatus, and control program for performing electrical inspection by using probe

In a prober, a post-contact image representing a region including a pad is acquired by capturing an image of a substrate after a probe has been brought into contact with the pad having an existing probe mark. An image storage unit stores in advance a pre-contact image representing the pad-inclusive region before the probe is brought into contact with the pad. A latest probe mark position acquiring unit acquires a position of a latest probe mark region created by the contact of the probe with the pad from among a plurality of probe mark regions in the post-contact image respectively corresponding to a plurality of probe marks on the pad by comparing the post-contact image with the pre-contact image. A positional deviation acquiring unit finds a deviation in a contact position of the probe with respect to the pad, based on the position of the latest probe mark region.

Probing apparatus and positional deviation acquiring method

A method for detecting tip positions of probes which is performed prior to the wafer test includes a first step of attaching the transparent film F on the test substrate W having the electrodes P arranged same as those of the wafer; a second step of detecting the electrodes P of the test substrate W by using the first CCD cameraA; a third step of detecting a surface height of the transparent film F; a fourth step of position-aligning the electrodes P of the test substrate W with the probesA. The method further includes a fifth step of forming the probe marks M on the transparent film F by making the probesA contact with the transparent film F; and a sixth step of detecting tip positions of the probesA based on the electrodes P of the test substrate W and the probe marks M.

Detection method/device of probe's tip location using a transparent film attached to a substate having plurality of electrodes, and a storage medium for implementing the method

A probe apparatus with control-position detection means is provided for testing an electrical characteristic of a to-be-tested object formed on a substrate W. The probe apparatus includes a prober chamber, a susceptor provided in the prober chamber for placing thereon a to-be-tested object, and a moving mechanism for moving the susceptor in X-, Y-, Z- and &#x3b8;-directions. The probe apparatus further includes a probe card having a plurality of probes and opposing the susceptor, and a first optical length-measuring unit. The first length-measuring unit emits light to the surface of the to-be-tested object placed on the susceptor, and detects the Z-directional position of the to-be-tested object based on the light reflected from the object. The probe apparatus can have a second length-measuring unit.

Probe apparatus with optical length-measuring unit and probe testing method

In the present invention, a main chuck comprises a table for performing the delivery of a wafer W to and from a pincette and a plurality of lift pins for allowing the wafer W to rise from the surface of the table. At least one lift pin positioned on the side of the pincette is made longer and positioned higher than the other lift pins so as to permit the wafer W to be supported above the table in an inclined manner.

Growing community of inventors

Nirasaki, Japan

Takanori Hyakudomi