# US 9,519,009 B2 · Prober

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- Number: US 9,519,009 B2
- Document ID: US9519009B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/548,487
- Filed: 2014-11-20
- Published: 2015-05-21
- Granted: 2016-12-13
- Earliest claimed: 2013-11-21
- Assignees: Tokyo Seimitsu Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Tokyo Seimitsu Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Konosuke Murakami; Toshiro Mori; Yuji Shigesawa; Kazuhisa Aoki; Akira Yamaguchi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9519009B2

## CPC

- G01R 1/0491: {for testing integrated circuits on wafers, e.g. wafer-level test cartridge}
- G01R 1/067: Measuring probes
- G01R 1/06777: {High voltage probes}
- G01R 31/2601: {Apparatus or methods therefor (G01R31/2607, G01R31/2642 take precedence)}
- G01R 31/2608: {for testing bipolar transistors}
- G01R 31/2874: {related to temperature}
- H10P 72/72: using electrostatic chucks
- H10P 72/722: {Details of electrostatic chucks}
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A prober includes: a wafer chuck having a conductive support surface; a movement rotation mechanism which moves and rotates the wafer chuck; a head stage which holds a probe holding portion; a stage member which has a conductive stage surface that is formed in parallel to the support surface and electrically connected with the support surface, and can move integrally with the wafer chuck; and a contactor which is fixed to a position facing the stage member and whose tip can electrically come into contact with the stage surface, wherein the stage member is separated from the wafer chuck as a separate body, and the stage surface and the support surface are electrically connected through a wiring member; and a back-surface electrode of a chip is electrically connected with a tester through the wafer chuck, a wiring, the stage member and the contactor.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A prober comprising:
a wafer chuck which holds a wafer on which multiple chips having an electrode in each surface are formed and has a conductive support surface which can come into contact with a back-surface electrode of a chip;
a movement rotation mechanism which moves and rotates the wafer chuck;
a head stage which holds a probe holding portion having a probe that comes into contact with a front-surface electrode of the chip and connects the front-surface electrode with a terminal of a tester to electrically inspect the chip;
a stage member which has a conductive stage surface that is formed in parallel to the support surface and electrically connected with the support surface, and can move integrally with the wafer chuck; and
a contactor which is disposed in a position facing the stage member and whose tip can electrically come into contact with the stage surface, wherein:
the stage member is separated from the wafer chuck as a separate body, and the stage surface and the support surface are electrically connected through a wiring member; and
the back-surface electrode of the chip is electrically connected with the tester through the wafer chuck, the wiring member, the stage member and the contactor.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The prober according to claim 1, wherein the wafer chuck includes a heating and cooling mechanism which heats or cools the wafer held in the wafer chuck.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The prober according to claim 1, wherein the stage member is configured such that the contactor can always come into contact with the stage surface when the probe comes into contact with the front-surface electrode of the chip in a movable range of the wafer chuck.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The prober according to claim 1, wherein the contactor is formed with a spring pin.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The prober according to claim 1, wherein the contactor is formed with a contactor having a probe card-like shape.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The prober according to claim 1, wherein the contactor is fixed to the head stage.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The prober according to claim 1, wherein the contactor is fixed to the probe holding portion.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The prober according to claim 1, wherein the contactor is disposed as contactor groups formed with multiple contactors which are adjacent to each other, and the contactor groups are disposed at predetermined intervals.