IP Library Granted Patent US 7,656,176
Granted Patent B2
US 7,656,176 · App. 11/718,065 · Granted Feb 2, 2010

Probe member for wafer inspection, probe card for wafer inspection and wafer inspection equipment

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,656,176
App. No.
11/718,065
Granted
Feb 2, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

A probe member for wafer inspection having a sheet-like probe, the probe including a frame plate in which openings are formed, and contact films arranged on a front surface of the frame plate so as to close the openings, each of the contact films obtained by arranging, in an insulating film formed of a flexible resin, a plurality of electrode structures, and an anisotropically conductive connector, which is composed of a frame plate, in which a plurality of openings have been formed corresponding to the electrode regions, and a plurality of elastic anisotropically conductive films arranged on and supported by the frame plate so as to close the respective openings, wherein each of the openings of the frame plate in the sheet-like probe have a size for receiving the external shape in a plane direction in the elastic anisotropically conductive film of the anisotropically conductive connector.

Claims (10)

1. A probe member for wafer inspection comprising a sheet-like probe, which includes

a frame plate made of a metal, in which a plurality of openings are formed corresponding to electrode regions, in which electrodes to be inspected in all or part of integrated circuits formed on a wafer, which is an object of inspection, and a plurality of contact films arranged on and supported by a front surface of the frame plate so as to close the respective openings, each of the contact films are obtained by arranging, in an insulating film formed of a flexible resin, a plurality of electrode structures each formed by linking a front-surface electrode part exposed to a front surface of the insulating film to a back-surface electrode part exposed to a back surface thereof through a short circuit part extending in a thickness-wise direction of the insulating film in accordance with a pattern corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected, and

an anisotropically conductive connector, which is composed of another frame plate, in which a plurality of openings have been formed corresponding to the electrode regions, and a plurality of elastic anisotropically conductive films arranged on and supported by the another frame plate so as to close the respective openings, the anisotropically conductive connector is arranged on a back surface of the sheet-like probe,

wherein each of the openings of the frame plate in the sheet-like probe have a size capable of receiving the external shape in a plane direction in the elastic anisotropically conductive film of the anisotropically conductive connector.

2. The probe member for wafer inspection according to claim 1 , wherein the elastic anisotropically conductive films each have conductive parts for connection arranged in accordance with a pattern corresponding to the electrodes to be inspected and formed by causing conductive particles exhibiting magnetism to be contained in an elastic polymeric substance, and an insulating part mutually insulating these conductive parts for connection and composed of the elastic polymeric substance.

3. The probe member for wafer inspection according to claim 2 , wherein a ratio h/d of a gap h between the level of the front surface of the frame plate in the anisotropically conductive connector and the level of the front surface-side end surface of the conductive part for connection in the elastic anisotropically conductive film to a gap d between the level of the back surface of the frame plate in the sheet-like probe and the level of the electrode surface of the back-surface electrode part is at least 1.2.

4. The probe member for wafer inspection according to claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the frame plate in the sheet-like probe is 10 to 200 μm.

5. The probe member for wafer inspection according to claim 1 , wherein the frame plate in the sheet-like probe and the frame plate in the anisotropically conductive connector are each formed by a material having a coefficient of linear thermal expansion of at most 3 ×10 5 /K.

6. A probe card for wafer inspection comprising a circuit board for inspection, on the front surface of which inspection electrodes have been formed in accordance with a pattern corresponding to electrodes to be inspected in all or part of integrated circuits formed on a wafer, which is an object of inspection, and the probe member for wafer inspection according to claim 1 , which is arranged on the front surface of the circuit board for inspection.

7. A wafer inspection apparatus for conducting electrical inspection of each of a plurality of integrated circuits formed on a wafer in a state of the wafer, which comprises the probe card for wafer inspection according to claim 6 .

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 11, 2014
From: JSR CORPORATION
To: ISC CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 033301/0837 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 15, 2009
From: YOSHIOKA, MUTSUHIKO; FUJIYAMA, HITOSHI; IGARASHI, HISAO
To: JSR CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 023652/0338 →