KR20090067513A - Method of manufacturing a probe structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a probe structure is provided to reduce a manufacturing cost by preventing damage of an inspection target in an inspection process. A first etch process is performed to etch partially a first substrate in order to form the substrate including a first opening having a protruded shape. A second etch process is performed to etch the first opening of the first substrate in order to form the first substrate including a second opening having a round shape. The second opening of the first substrate is filled with solder in order to form a solder bump. A connective unit is formed on the second substrate having an electrical wiring. The connective unit(120) is connected with the electrical wiring. The solder bump of the second opening of the first substrate is arranged in an end of the connective unit of the second substrate. The solder bump of the second opening of the first substrate is transcribed in the connective unit of the second substrate.

Description

Method of manufacturing a probe structure

The present invention relates to a semiconductor inspection device, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a probe structure of a probe card for inspecting the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor device.

In general, a semiconductor package is used to electrically connect a semiconductor chip manufactured by a Fab process, which forms an electrical circuit on a silicon wafer used as a semiconductor substrate, as one device, and to be protected from external shock. It means the thing sealed with epoxy resin.

According to the recent miniaturization of semiconductor devices, a ball grid array (BGA) type package and a flip chip type package have received the most attention. The BGA type package and the flip chip type package may include electrode pads as solder balls and solder bumps, respectively, for miniaturization.

Such a semiconductor package is essentially subjected to an electrical die sorting (EDS) process to check for electrical property defects. In the EDS process, after the test apparatus applies an electrical signal through a probe structure of a probe card in contact with an electrode pad of the semiconductor device, the test apparatus receives a response signal corresponding thereto to test whether the semiconductor device is abnormal. .

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a general probe structure, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 1.

The probe structure 10 may include a contact part 12 for contacting an electrode pad of a semiconductor device, a beam part 14 integrally formed with the contact part 12, and a bump part connecting the beam part 14 and a probe card ( 16).

However, as shown in FIG. 2, as the contact portion 12 directly contacting the test object in the general probe structure 10 has a pointed shape, cracks may occur in the solder ball 20 or the solder ball may be generated during the test process. There is a problem that 22 is broken. This problem also occurs in solder bumps. In addition, in general, as the contact portion 120 is manufactured through a photolithography process, the process is complicated and manufacturing costs are high.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, one problem to be solved through embodiments of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a probe structure that can prevent the damage of the inspection object and reduce the manufacturing cost during the inspection.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the method of manufacturing a probe structure according to the present invention forms a first substrate with a first opening having a first shape having a pointed bottom surface by partially etching the first substrate. The first opening of the first substrate is etched second to form a first substrate having a second opening having a rounded bottom surface. Solder bumps are formed by filling solder in the second openings of the first substrate. A connection portion connected to the electrical wiring is formed on a second substrate having electrical wiring therein. Solder bumps filled in the second openings of the first substrate are aligned at the connection end of the second substrate. The solder bumps filled in the connection portions of the second substrate to the second openings of the first substrate are transferred.

In example embodiments, anisotropic etching may be performed using the first etching, and isotropic etching may be performed using the second etching.

According to another embodiment, the method of filling solder in the second opening of the first substrate may use injection molding.

According to another embodiment, the first substrate may use a substrate made of a transparent material.

According to another embodiment, the second opening provided in the first substrate may be formed in a shape having a depth greater than the width of the width.

Such a method for manufacturing a probe structure according to the present invention can be formed to have an end portion of the contact portion for contact with the inspection object to have a rounded shape to prevent damage to the inspection object.

In addition, by using the squeegee method, the process is simplified, and it is possible to repeatedly use the substrate to embed the solder paste, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the probe structure.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a probe structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar elements. In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions of the structure is shown to be larger than the actual size for clarity of the invention, or to reduce the actual size to illustrate the schematic configuration. Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described on the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

On the other hand, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

3 is a view schematically showing a probe structure manufactured by the method for manufacturing a probe structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a probe structure 100 manufactured through a method of manufacturing a probe structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be used to directly contact an object to be tested to perform an electrical property test.

Here, the inspection object may be an object (eg, an object made of solder) that is easily damaged due to a relatively weak area contacting the probe structure 100, such as a ball grid array (BGA) type semiconductor package and a flip chip. However, the inspection object is not limited thereto, and the probe structure 100 may be used for inspection of a general semiconductor device.

Probe structure 100 according to the present invention includes a contact portion 110 for contacting the test object, and a connection portion 120 for connecting the contact portion 110 and the probe card.

The contact portion 110 is made of solder, and the end portion thereof, that is, the contact surface which comes into contact with the inspection object has a round shape. In this way, the rounded surface comes into contact with the test object when it comes into contact with the test object to perform the test, thereby reducing damage to the test object such as a crack. In addition, since the contact portion 110 is made of the same material as that of the inspection object, such as solder balls or solder bumps, that is, a material having relatively weak strength, damage to the inspection object may be further reduced.

The connection part 120 has a cantilever shape. In detail, the connection part 120 is connected (bonded) to the probe card and extends in a vertical direction, and a beam part having one end connected (bonded) to the bump part 122 to form a cantilever shape ( 124). The contact part 110 is bonded to the other end portion of the beam part 124.

Here, the bump part 122 and the beam part 124 constituting the connection part 120 may be formed separately and bonded. Alternatively, the bump part 122 and the beam part 124 may be formed integrally.

As described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, a method of manufacturing a probe structure 100 that can prevent damage to an inspection object as the contact portion 110 for contacting the inspection object is made of solder and has a round shape. do.

4A through 4L are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a probe structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4A to 4G illustrate a step of forming an opening for forming a contact portion and filling a solder to form solder bumps 110a in the method of manufacturing a probe structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a mask film 212a is formed on the first substrate 210. Here, the first substrate 210 is made of a material having a melting point higher than that of the solder. In addition, it will be preferable to be made of a transparent material for ease of alignment in subsequent process steps. For example, the first substrate 210 may be made of glass. Alternatively, the first substrate 210 may be made of an opaque material having a melting point higher than that of the solder, such as silicon or a ceramic material. The mask layer 212a may include, for example, an oxide, a nitride, or an oxynitride.

Referring to FIG. 4B, after forming a photoresist film on the first substrate 210 on which the mask film 212a is formed, the photoresist film is exposed and developed to expose the contact portion on the mask film 212a. A first photoresist pattern 214 is formed to expose a region where an opening for forming 110 is to be formed.

Here, the conventional probe card is provided with a plurality of probe structures 100 may be manufactured by a method for forming a plurality of probe structures 100 in all processes. However, in the method of forming each probe structure 100 is the same, only the manufacturing method for one probe structure 100 will be described for convenience of description below.

Referring to FIG. 4C, a mask pattern 212b is formed on the substrate 100 by etching the mask layer 212a using the first photoresist pattern 214 as an etching mask. Here, the mask pattern 212b exposes an area where an opening for forming the contact portion 110 is to be formed, similarly to the first photoresist pattern 214. Thereafter, the first photoresist pattern 214 is removed using an ashing and / or strip process.

Referring to FIG. 4D, the first substrate 210 is partially etched first using the mask pattern 212b as an etching mask to form the first substrate 210 having the first opening 216a. do.

Here, anisotropic etching is used for the first etching for forming the first opening 216a in the first substrate 210. The anisotropic etching may use a dry etching method such as, for example, plasma etching. Accordingly, the first opening 216a provided in the first substrate 210 through the first etching has a sharp bottom surface, for example, a cone shape.

Referring to FIG. 4E, the first substrate 210 is partially etched by using the mask pattern 212b used for the first etching once again as an etching mask. That is, by first etching the first opening 216a of the first substrate 210 having the pointed bottom surface, the first substrate 210 having the second opening 216b is formed.

As mentioned above, a second opening 216b for forming the contact portion 110 is formed in the first substrate 210 by the first etching and the second etching. Here, isotropic etching is used for the second etching for forming the second opening 215b. The isotropic etching may use, for example, a wet etching method using an etching solution such as hydrofluoric acid (HF).

Therefore, the bottom surface of the second opening 216b provided in the first substrate 210 through the second etching has a rounded shape. Further, a first opening 216a is provided through a first etching (eg anisotropic etching), and a second opening 216b is formed by performing a second etching (eg isotropic etching) on the first opening 216a. Therefore, the second opening 216b has a shape whose depth is larger than the width.

As such, after the first substrate 210 having the second opening 216b having a rounded bottom surface is formed, the mask pattern 212b on the first substrate 210 is formed by an ashing and / or strip process. Remove

Referring to FIG. 4F, solder bumps 110a are formed by filling solder in the second openings 216b of the first substrate 210 formed through the first and second etchings. As a method of filling a solder in the said 2nd opening 216b, the squeegeeing method is mentioned, for example. The squeegeeing method naturally places a large amount of solder paste on one side of the first substrate 210 and naturally pushes the solder paste along the upper surface of the first substrate 210 through a separate member (for example, as written). The solder bumps 110a are formed by filling solder paste into the second openings 216b.

In contrast, a method of filling solder in the second opening 216b may include injection molding. Since a specific method for the injection molding method is already known through US Patent No. 6,231,333, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4G, after the solder is filled in the second opening 216b of the first substrate 210 to form the solder bump 110a, the solder filled in the second opening 216b is not completely hardened. Inverts the first substrate 210 in the state. Through this, a part of the solder filled in the second opening 216b is projected to the outside of the second opening 216b. When the solder bump 110a formed by filling in the second opening 216b in the subsequent process is bonded to the connection part 120, the height of the solder bump 110a is the height of the plane of the first substrate 210. If the contact with the connection unit 120 may not be easy. Therefore, the protrusion height of the solder bumps 110a is formed to be slightly higher than the height of the plane of the first substrate 210, thereby facilitating easy contact with the connection part 120.

However, when the solder is filled in the second opening 216b to form the solder bumps 110a, a series of operations for connecting the solder bumps 110a and the connection unit 120 within a short time are described. The effect can be obtained.

4H and 4I illustrate a step of forming a connection part 120 for connecting with the solder bump 110a in the method of manufacturing a probe structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4H, an organic insulating layer pattern 222 is formed on the second substrate 220 to expose an area for forming the bump part 122 of the connection part 120 with the organic insulating layer. That is, the organic insulating layer pattern 222 for forming the bump part 122 is formed on the second substrate 220.

Here, the second substrate 220 may be a space transformer (eg, a space transformer) included in the probe card. That is, when the probe structure 100 is connected to the probe card, the probe structure 100 may be a space transformer included in the probe card that is substantially connected. Accordingly, the second substrate 220 has an electrical wiring therein, and an electrode pad 220a connected to the electrical wiring therein is positioned in an area exposed to form the bump part 122.

After the organic insulating layer pattern 222 is formed, the bump part of the connection part 120 may be formed in an area exposed by the organic insulating layer pattern 222 by an electroplating process on the second substrate 220. 122). During the electroplating process, the electrode pad 220a is electrically connected to allow plating to be performed only on the electrode pad 220a. Alternatively, the bump part 122 may be formed using deposition. The bump part 122 includes a metal. Examples of the metals include nickel, cobalt, tungsten and nickel cobalt alloys.

Thereafter, the planarization process is performed until the surface of the organic insulating layer pattern 222 is exposed. Examples of the planarization process include chemical mechanical polishing, etch back, grinding, and the like. Accordingly, the upper surface of the bump part 122 is planarized to be parallel to the upper surface of the organic insulating layer pattern 222.

Referring to FIG. 4I, after the paste 223 is applied to the upper part of the bump part 122, the beam part 124 of the connection part 120 manufactured through a separate process is bonded to the upper part of the bump part 122. do. That is, the formation of the beam part 124 is not significantly different from the formation of the bump part 122 using the electroplating process, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted. At this time, the substrate used to form the beam unit 124 may be reused.

In the meantime, the bump part 122 and the beam part 124 are manufactured and bonded separately. Alternatively, the bump part 122 and the beam part 124 may be integrally formed. For example, after the organic insulating layer pattern 222 for forming the bump part 122 is formed, an organic insulating layer pattern for exposing a region for forming the beam part 124 on the organic insulating layer pattern 222 (not shown) ). After forming a seed film for electroplating in a region for forming the beam part 124, an electroplating process may be performed to form an integrated connection part 120 including the bump part 122 and the beam part 124. . After the integrated connection unit 120 is formed, a flattening process is performed, a pattern for forming the beam unit 124 is removed by an ashing and / or strip process, and the seed layer is removed by dry etching or wet etching.

4J and 4K illustrate bonding (bonding) the solder paste 110a to the connection part 120 in the method of manufacturing a probe structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4J, after the formation of the connection part 120 is completed on the second substrate 220, the solder bumps 110a formed by filling solder in the second openings 216b of the first substrate 210 are formed. In order to bond, the paste 224 is applied to one end of the upper surface of the beam part 124 of the connection part 120. For example, the paste 224 is applied to an upper surface of the other end facing one end connected to the bump part 122. The paste 224 is an adhesive subsidiary agent for bonding the connection part 120 and the solder bumps 110a. For example, solder may be used.

Referring to FIG. 4K, the solder formed by filling the second opening 216b of the first substrate 210 at the end of the connection part 120 with the paste 224 applied to the end of the connection part 120. The bumps 110a are aligned.

Next, when the solder bumps 110a are aligned at the bonding positions, the solder bumps 110a embedded in the second openings 216b of the first substrate 210 are connected to the connection portions 120 of the second substrate 220. Transcribe.

Here, the connection portion 120 and the solder bumps 110a are bonded while the organic insulating layer pattern 222 for forming the bump part 122 is not removed. It serves as a support for the beam unit 124. Therefore, the solder bumps 110a can be more strongly coupled to the beam part 124.

Meanwhile, although the paste 224 has been described as being applied to the connection part 120 to couple the solder bumps 110a, the paste 224 may be omitted. That is, the solder bumps 110a may be directly transferred to the connection part 120 to be coupled.

4L illustrates a step of forming the contact unit 110 in the method of manufacturing a probe structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4L, after the connecting portion 120 of the second substrate 220 and the solder bumps 110a of the first substrate 210 are combined, the first substrate 210 is separated. That is, the solder bump 110a is formed as the contact portion 110 contacting the test object by separating the first substrate 210 so that only the solder bump 110a remains on the connection portion 120.

At this time, the first substrate 210 separated from the solder bumps 110a is reused to form the solder bumps 110a through the filling of the solder. That is, the first substrate 210 may be used to repeatedly form the solder bumps 110a by the filling step of the solder.

When the contact part 110 is formed through the separation of the first substrate 210, the organic insulating layer pattern 222 used to form the bump part 122 is removed. The organic insulating layer pattern 222 may be removed after the probe structure 100 is formed. Alternatively, the organic insulating layer pattern 222 may be removed even when the bump part 122 or the connection part 120 is formed.

Meanwhile, the process of forming the first substrate 210 having the second openings 216b to form the contact portion 110 in contact with the inspection object in the aforementioned method for manufacturing the probe structure 100 has been described. However, as the solder bump 110a is formed by filling solder in the second opening 216b to form the contact portion 110, the first substrate 210 may be reused.

In other words, when the first substrate 210 having the second opening 216b is formed, the process of forming the first substrate 210 is omitted in the subsequent manufacturing process of the probe structure 100, and the second opening 216b is omitted. ) To manufacture the probe structure 100 through the process after the step of filling the solder into the solder bump (110a). Therefore, the manufacturing process of the probe structure 10 can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Although the detailed description of the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art or those skilled in the art will have the idea of the present invention described in the claims to be described later. It will be understood that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the method for manufacturing a probe structure according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention has a curved shape at the tip of the contact portion for directly contacting the inspection object for performing the inspection, so that the contact portion comes into contact with the inspection object. Damage can be prevented.

In addition, by forming an opening for forming a contact portion in the substrate, and forming a solder bump for forming the contact portion by filling a solder into the opening, the substrate having the opening can be repeatedly used to manufacture the probe structure. Can reduce the cost.

While the foregoing has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be able to variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. It will be appreciated.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general probe structure.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 1.

3 is a view schematically showing a probe structure manufactured by the method for manufacturing a probe structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A through 4L are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a probe structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: probe structure 110: contact portion

110a: solder paste 120: connection

122: bump part 124: beam part

210: first substrate 212a: mask film

212b: mask pattern 214: first photoresist pattern

216a: first opening 216b: second opening

220: second substrate 220a: electrode pad

222: organic insulating film pattern 223, 224: paste

Claims (5)

Partially etching the first substrate to form a first substrate having a first opening having a pointed bottom surface; Etching the first opening of the first substrate to form a first substrate having a second opening having a rounded bottom surface; Filling solder into a second opening of the first substrate to form solder bumps; Forming a connection portion connected to the electrical wiring on a second substrate having electrical wiring therein; Aligning solder bumps filled in a second opening of the first substrate at an end portion of the connection portion of the second substrate; And And transferring a solder bump filled in a connection of the second substrate to a second opening of the first substrate. The method of claim 1, wherein the first etching is performed by anisotropic etching, and the second etching is performed by isotropic etching. The method of claim 1 wherein the method of filling solder in the second openings of the first substrate is injection molding. The method of claim 3, wherein the first substrate comprises a substrate made of a transparent material. The method of claim 1, wherein the second opening provided in the first substrate is formed in a shape having a depth greater than a width of the width.

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