Apparatus and method of testing a wiring circuit

• US 11,016,143 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2019
• Issued: 05/25/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lim, Mee-hyun, Kim, Sung-yeol, Kim, Jae-hong, Kim, Taek-jin, Lee, Kyung-min
• Primary Examiner(s): Assouad, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pretlow, Demetrius R
• Application Number:
  US16/426,112
• Publication Number:
  US 20200132758A1
• Time in Patent Office: 726 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/308 using non-ionising electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical radiation investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means G01N21/00; image analysis G06T7/00

Abstract

An apparatus for testing a wiring circuit includes: a circuit substrate having wirings in the circuit substrate and pads on an upper surface of the circuit substrate and connected to the wirings; an electrode below a lower surface of the circuit substrate; an optical sensor above the upper surface of the circuit substrate and configured to detect a signal emitted from the upper surface of the circuit substrate; and an optical unit above the optical sensor and configured to irradiate light, wherein the optical sensor includes: an optical substrate whose optical characteristics are changed by the signal emitted from the upper surface of the circuit substrate; and a patterned reflective layer on a surface of the optical substrate facing the circuit substrate, the patterned reflective layer having a first region reflecting light incident on the optical substrate and a second region transmitting the light incident on the optical substrate.

Claims

1. An apparatus for testing a wiring circuit, the apparatus comprising:

a circuit substrate having wirings formed in the circuit substrate and pads formed on an upper surface of the circuit substrate and connected to the wirings;

an electrode located below a lower surface of the circuit substrate;

an optical sensor located above the upper surface of the circuit substrate and configured to detect a signal emitted from the upper surface of the circuit substrate; and

an optical unit located above the optical sensor and configured to irradiate light,

wherein the optical sensor comprises;

an optical substrate whose optical characteristics are changed by the signal emitted from the upper surface of the circuit substrate; and

a patterned reflective layer located on a surface of the optical substrate facing the circuit substrate, the patterned reflective layer having a first region for reflecting light incident on the optical substrate and a second region for transmitting the light incident on the optical substrate,

wherein the first and second regions of the patterned reflective layer are provided at the lowermost portion of the optical sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first region comprises a plurality of first lines extending in a first direction and spaced apart from each other in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the second region comprises a plurality of second lines extending in the first direction and spaced apart from each other in the second direction,

wherein the first lines and the second lines are alternately and repeatedly arranged.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first region is arranged to cross a first direction and a second direction which are orthogonal to each other and the second region is arranged in an area where the first region is not formed.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pads overlaps the first and second regions.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the signal emitted from the upper surface of the circuit substrate comprises an electric field and the optical sensor comprises an electro-optical sensor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, a wherein the signal emitted from the upper surface of the circuit substrate comprises a magnetic field and the optical sensor comprises a magneto-optical sensor.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the electrode and the optical sensor is spaced apart from the circuit substrate.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a signal processor configured to analyze the light reflected from the first region and calculate resistance data of the wirings; and

an image processor configured to detect position data of the pads by using the light transmitted through the second region.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to adjust a gap between the optical sensor and the circuit substrate and a tilt angle of the optical sensor.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light irradiated to the optical substrate has an incident angle.

11. An apparatus for testing a wiring circuit, the apparatus comprising:

an electric signal generator figured to generate an electric signal for generating an electric field;

a circuit substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface, the circuit substrate including wirings formed therein;

a first electrode located on a first portion of the circuit substrate;

a second electrode located on a second portion of the circuit substrate;

an optical sensor configured to detect an electric field emitted from an upper surface of the circuit substrate; and

an optical unit located on the optical sensor and configured to irradiate light,

wherein the optical sensor comprises;

an optical substrate whose optical characteristics are changed by the electric field emitted from the upper surface of the circuit substrate; and

a patterned reflective layer located on a surface of the optical substrate facing the circuit substrate, the patterned reflective layer having a first region for reflecting light incident on the optical substrate and a second region for transmitting the light incident on the optical substrate,

wherein the patterned reflective layer has a stripe pattern formed by the first and second regions, or wherein the patterned reflective layer has a mesh pattern formed by the first and second regions.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second electrode is located between the optical sensor and the optical unit, wherein the second electrode comprises a transparent electrode.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first and second electrodes are located together on the upper or lower surface of the circuit substrate, or wherein the first and second electrodes are located with the circuit substrate therebetween.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein pads electrically connected to the wirings are located on the upper surface of the circuit substrate.

15. An apparatus for testing a wiring circuit, the apparatus comprising:

a circuit substrate having wirings formed in the circuit substrate and pads formed on a first surface of the circuit substrate and connected to the wirings;

an electrode spaced apart from a second surface of the circuit substrate and generating a first electric field towards the second surface of the circuit substrate; and

an optical sensor spaced apart from the first surface of the circuit substrate and configured to detect a second electric field emitted from the first surface of the circuit substrate,

wherein the optical sensor comprises;

an optical substrate; and

a reflective layer disposed on the optical substrate and facing the circuit substrate, the reflective layer having a first region for reflecting light incident on the optical substrate and a second region for transmitting the light incident on the optical substrate,

wherein a signal image is obtained using the light reflected from the first region and an optical image is obtained using the light incident on the circuit substrate through the second region.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a controller configured to adjust a gap between the optical sensor and the circuit substrate and a tilt angle of the optical sensor.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising an optical unit located above the optical sensor and configured to irradiate light.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the gap and the tilt angle between the circuit substrate and the optical sensor is adjusted through only a focus adjustment of the optical unit without a position sensor.