Probe card alignment

• US 10,527,649 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2017
• Issued: 01/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Eckert, Martin, Dieterle, Roland, Tomaschko, Siegfried
• Primary Examiner(s): Hollington, Jermele M
• Application Number:
  US15/649,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20190018043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/07364 with provisions for altering position, number or connection of probe tips; Adapting to differences in pitch
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2891 related to sensing or controlling of force, position, temperature G01R31/2874 takes precedence; sensing of force G01L; sensing of position G01B, G01D; sensing of temperature G01K; controlling in general G05

Abstract

An adjustable load transmitter for adjusting an alignment between a probe card and a bridge beam of a wafer prober, where the probe card is separated from the bridge beam by a gap. The adjustable load transmitter located in the gap, the adjustable load transmitter comprising two rotatable plates adapted for transmitting a load via a load transmission path between the bridge beam and the wafer prober and each comprising two flat, non-parallel contact faces. The adjustable load transmitter removes an angular misalignment between the bridge beam and the set of plates by rotating each of the rotatable plates about a pre-determined adjustment angle such that two angles of inclination are adjusted to zero. The adjustable load transmitter establishes the load transmission path by closing a clearance between the bridge beam and the contact face.

Claims

1. An adjustable load transmitter for adjusting an alignment between a probe card and a bridge beam of a wafer prober, the probe card being separated from the bridge beam by a gap, the load transmitter comprising a set of plates adapted to be received inside the gap, the set comprising a first rotatable plate and a second rotatable plate, the set being adapted for transmitting a load via a load transmission path between the probe card and the bridge beam, the load transmission path comprising the first rotatable plate and the second rotatable plate, each of the plates comprising two flat contact faces, the contact faces of the first rotatable plate being non-parallel to each other, the contact faces of the second rotatable plate being non-parallel to each other, one of the contact faces of the first rotatable plate being in permanent surface contact with one of the contact faces of the second rotatable plate, each of the first rotatable plate and the second rotatable plate being adapted for being rotated relative to each other around one of their respective normal axes.

2. A wafer prober system, comprising:

a probe card,

a bridge beam, and

an adjustable load transmitter for adjusting an alignment between the probe card and the bridge beam, the probe card being separated from the bridge beam by a gap, the load transmitter comprising a set of plates adapted to be received inside the gap, the set comprising a first rotatable plate and a second rotatable plate, the set being adapted for transmitting a load via a load transmission path between the probe card and the bridge beam, the load transmission path comprising the first rotatable plate and the second rotatable plate, each of the plates comprising two flat contact faces, the contact faces of the first rotatable plate being non-parallel to each other, the contact faces of the second rotatable plate being non-parallel to each other, one of the contact faces of the first rotatable plate being in permanent surface contact with one of the contact faces of the second rotatable plate, each of the first rotatable plate and the second rotatable plate being adapted for being rotated relative to each other around one of their respective normal axes.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a set of drives, each of the set of drives being mechanically coupled to one of the plates and being adapted for either turning its assigned rotatable plate or shifting its assigned slide plate.

4. The system of claim 3, the drives comprising electrically controllable motors configured to:

remove an angular misalignment between the bridge beam and the contact face of the set of plates facing the bridge beam by rotating each of the rotatable plates about a pre-determined adjustment angle around its respective rotational axis, the pre-determined adjustment angles being determined such that two angles of inclination, defined in different non-parallel directions between the bridge beam and the contact face of the set of plates facing the bridge beam, are adjusted to zero; and

establish the load transmission path by closing a clearance between the bridge beam and the contact face of the set of plates facing the bridge beam.