Wafer inspection system

• US 20120136614A1
• Filed: 03/09/2011
• Published: 05/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: King Yuan Electronics Company Limited
• Original Assignee: King Yuan Electronics Company Limited
• Inventors: Liu, Ta Kang, Lee, Ming Hsien
• Application Number:
  US13/064,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20120136614A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/122
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/07385 using switching of signals between probe tips and test bed, i.e. the standard contact matrix which in its turn connects to the tester
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2831 Testing of materials or semi-finished products, e.g. semiconductor wafers or substrates G01R31/318511 takes precedence; testing during manufacture H01L22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2889 Interfaces, e.g. between probe and tester G01R31/31905 and G01R1/07364 take precedence
• 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

A wafer inspection system for inspecting a wafer comprises a platform, a probe card, a illuminator, a test server, at least one image processing device, a control circuit board, at least a test circuit board, a load board connected to the control circuit board and the at least a test circuit board, at least an image card, and at least a relay board. The probe card includes an opening hole and a plurality of probes for contacting the wafer to transmit and receive electrical signals. The illuminator illuminates on the wafer through the opening hole. The test server is controlled to execute test procedure and data process. The test circuit board transmits test signals and performs a determination on the received result signals. The relay board is connected to the probe card and the load board for switching the direction of data flow.

Claims

1. A wafer inspection system for inspecting a wafer, comprising:

a platform for receiving the wafer;

a probe card including an opening hole and a plurality of probes for directly contacting the wafer to transmit and receive electrical signals;

an illuminator for illuminating on the wafer through the opening hole of the probe card;

a test server connected to the illuminator for being controlled to execute test procedure and data process;

a load board;

at least a relay board connected to the probe card and the load board for switching a direction of data flow;

at least an image card respectively corresponding to and connected to the at least a relay board for processing received image signals;

at least an image processing device connected to the test server and the at least an image card for receiving and processing the image signals from the at least an image card, and sending a test result to the test server;

a control circuit board connected to the test server and the load board for receiving commands from the test server and sending control commands through the load board; and

at least a test circuit board connected to the load board for sending test signals according to received control commands, performing a determination on received result signals and sending a determined result to the control circuit board through the load board.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the test server sends a control command to the control circuit board, and the control circuit board controls the at least a test circuit board through the load board in order to send a test signal;

the at least a relay board switches to send the received test signal to the probe card;

the probe card transmits the test signal to the wafer through the probes, receives a response signal from the wafer, and sends the response signal to the at least a relay board;

the at least a relay board switches to send the response signal to the at least an image card or the load board.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least an image card processes the received response signal to generate an image signal, and transmits the image signal to the at least an image processing device for processing.

4. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the load board sends the received response signal to the at least a test circuit board for performing a determination, and the at least a test circuit board generates a result signal and sends it to the control circuit board for being further sent to the test server.

5. The system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a power circuit board connected to the load board for providing power.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least a relay board includes a plurality of relays, which respectively correspond to the plurality of probes of the probe card.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least a relay board respectively corresponds to the at least a test circuit board.

8. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wafer has a plurality of dies, and the test server is connected to the platform for being moved, so as to make the plurality of probes of the probe card contact one or a plurality of dies under test.

9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the test server is connected to the platform through GPIB interface.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least a relay board is connected to the load board through at least a planar cable, and connected to the at least an image card through at least a planar cable.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least an image card is respectively connected to the at least an image processing device through USB interface.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least a test circuit board is each a pin electronics card.