|Publication number||US6937044 B1|
|Application number||US 09/534,729|
|Publication date||Aug 30, 2005|
|Filing date||Mar 24, 2000|
|Priority date||Nov 20, 1992|
|Publication number||09534729, 534729, US 6937044 B1, US 6937044B1, US-B1-6937044, US6937044 B1, US6937044B1|
|Inventors||Fariborz Agahdel, Brad Griswold, Syed Husain, Robert Moti, William C. Robinette, Jr., Chung W. Ho|
|Original Assignee||Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (43), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (9), Classifications (8), Legal Events (6)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/542,685, filed Oct. 13, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,215 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/408,048, filed Mar. 21, 1995, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/979,719, filed Nov. 20, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,077.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the testing of semiconductor circuits and more particularly, to die carriers used to make electrical contact with the pads of a bare semiconductor circuit die during functional and burn-in testing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A major challenge in the production of multichip modules is the identification of defective integrated circuit chips. The yield rate of multichip modules can be significantly increased through the use of fully tested and burned-in die. The testing of die prior to packaging or assembly into multichip modules reduces the amount of rework which in turn decreases manufacturing costs.
Functional tests determine whether a semiconductor circuit operates in accordance with prescribed specifications. Burn-in tests identify latent or inherent manufacturing defects caused by factors like contamination or process variations during manufacture. Such defects can cause early failure. Burn-in tests subject the die to electrical stress at high power supply voltages with increased temperatures so as to accelerate such early failure to the point of detection.
One problem with the testing of bare die is that as circuit dimensions have become smaller, so have the pads on the die surfaces. Moreover, these smaller pads often are packed more closely together. As a result, it sometimes can be impractical to use devices such as probe cards to make electrical contact with die pads for testing purposes. Another problem with probe cards has been their relatively poor performance in testing high frequency signals.
Some of the shortcomings of probe cards have been overcome through the use of temporary die carriers. For example, gold can be applied to the contact pads of a die, and the die can be placed in a temporary carrier in which it is held in electrical contact with gold pads on the carrier through the application of pressure to the pad-to-pad interface. The use of gold, however, can be too expensive for many semiconductor processes. Another approach is to wire bond the die pads to an intermediate test package. Although the die can be removed from the package after testing by removal of the wire bonds, this can result in damage to the circuit. Consequently, some manufacturers include both the die and its intermediate test package in the final IC package in order to reduce the possibility of such damage.
Still another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,850 issued to Elder et al which teaches the use of an interconnect circuit formed in a resilient membrane to make temporary electrical contact with pads disposed on a die. The interconnect circuit is formed from alternating layers of polyimide dielectric and metal signal lines. Electrical contact bumps protrude from a top surface of the membrane and make electrical contact with individual signal lines. A semiconductor die is placed on the membrane and is aligned by visible means to ensure that the contact bumps are disposed opposite pads on the die. An insert plate is placed against a bottom surface of the membrane opposite the die. The interconnect circuit is wire bonded to a pin grid array (PGA) which can be plugged into a test socket base to communicate test signals to and from the carrier. A heat sink is clipped to the PGA, and the die is pressed between the heat sink and the membrane. The force exerted against the die is expected to cause the contact bumps to make electrical contact with the die pads.
While earlier carriers such as the one described above contain good design concepts there have been shortcomings with their use. For example, the gold coated bumps on the contact pads often do not make adequate contact with the die pads because of the build-up of an oxide layer on the die pads. In addition, the use of visual means to align the die with the flexible membrane can be somewhat clumsy and time consuming or may require elaborate vision and robotic systems. The use of wire bonding and the use of a PGA can be expensive. The wire bonding of the interconnect circuit to the PGA can make it difficult to interchange one interconnect circuit configured to test one type of die with another interconnect circuit configured to test another type of die. Furthermore, using the heat sink cavity to hold the die aligned to the membrane can be impractical and expensive.
Thus, there has been a need for an improved carrier for testing bare semiconductor circuit die. There has been a particular need for a carrier in which a flexible interconnect circuit can be easily aligned with the pads of a die. There also has been a need for an improved contact pad structure that can penetrate an oxide layer on the die pads. Furthermore, there has been a need for such a carrier in which test signals can be communicated to and from the carrier without the need to make wire bond connections or to use relatively expensive intermediate circuits such as PGAs to conduct signals to and from the carrier. In addition, there has been a need for a carrier in which one interconnect circuit can be readily interchanged with another interconnect circuit. The present invention meets these needs.
The present invention provides a new bare die carrier for use in testing semiconductor circuits. In a present embodiment, the carrier includes easily accessible I/O pads for conducting test signals to and from the carrier. This carrier has a fence that upstands from a flexible membrane and can be used to align the die with the interconnect circuit. It also includes a mechanism for adjusting the force with which the die is pressed against the interconnect circuit in order to ensure adequate electrical contact without causing damage.
A current implementation of the carrier includes a flexible interconnect circuit which overlays a top surface of a rigid substrate. The substrate defines an opening surrounded by a perimeter region. The interconnect circuit extends across the center opening so as to form a flexible membrane that spans the opening. A multiplicity of I/O pads are disposed about the perimeter of the substrate. Individual electrical conductors of the interconnect circuit are connected to individual I/O pads so as to form a multiplicity of individual electrical paths between the I/O pads and selected locations of the interconnect circuit where die contact pads are formed. A fence upstands from the interconnect circuit and is sized to receive a test die. A support member abuts against a bottom surface of the circuit. A top cap and a bottom cap are provided. The substrate and the die are secured between the top cap and the bottom cap.
The new carrier provides I/O pads which can be easily reached by circuit probes. There is no need to use expensive intermediate circuitry such as a PGA to communicate test signals with the carrier. The carrier can be easily dropped in a standard burn-in test socket so that the die in the carrier can be tested and burned in. The alignment fence obviates the need to visually align the die with the interconnect circuit. The novel carrier is a general purpose device. It can be used to house dies in a clean protected environment during transport of the die. By simply inserting a different substrate bearing a different interconnect circuit between the top and bottom caps, a different test die circuit design can be housed and tested. There is no need for elaborate steps, such as wire bonding to a PGA, to reconfigure the carrier to test a different type of die.
These and other purposes and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:
The present invention comprises a novel carrier for use in testing bare semiconductor circuit die. The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
Referring to the illustrative drawings of
Referring to the illustrative drawings of
Thus, the fence is disposed on and upstands from the portion of the interconnect circuit 32 that is surrounded by or circumscribed by the opening 18 through the substrate 16. Consequently, when a test die 22 is placed within the fence, the membrane can flex in cooperation with the support 24 to keep the interconnect circuit 32 planarized for better electrical contact with the die.
It should be understood that, although the conductors 34 of the interconnect circuit 32 of
Furthermore, while the interconnect circuit 32 of
In the present embodiment, the substrate 16 is formed from aluminum. However, other substrate materials such as copper, ceramic or silicon could be used. The polymer dielectric is polyimide. Polymer materials with an E value of 2 to 4 are particularly useful in this application. The interconnect conductors 34 are formed from copper, but other conductive materials such as aluminum could be employed.
During manufacture of the substrate/interconnect circuit assembly, the center opening is formed in the substrate and the polymer layer formed on the substrate. The top surface of the substrate 16 is first coated with pressure sensitive tape or photoresist, or possibly both, to provide mechanical and chemical protection for the electrical circuitry. A recess is then mechanically machined into the bottom surface of the substrate 16 through the polymer and into the aluminum. The recess is machined about 80% of the way through the substrate. For a 50 mil substrate, for example, the recess will be about 40 mils deep. The area of the recess will correspond to the size of the flexible membrane to be formed. Several recesses can be machined into a single large substrate to form multiple membranes, or single large recess can be machined, making one large membrane.
Any number of methods can be used to machine the recess. Milling, high-speed routing, EDM (electrostatic discharge machining), beadblasting through a mask can all be used, depending upon precision and cost constraints.
The recessed substrate is now chemically etched to remove the remaining 20% of the substrate thickness left in the bottom of the pocket, leaving intact the flexible membrane which spans the newly formed opening in the substrate. The bottom of the substrate is protected from the etchant by the backside polymer layer which forms a mask. Since the 20% remaining thickness of the substrate in the recess is thin relative to the thickness of the substrate in the recess area, little undercut occurs, even with an isotropic etchant.
Any number of etchants can be used as long as the insulating material used in forming the electrical circuits on the substrate is not chemically attacked by it. The etchant temperature must be carefully controlled to provide a constant etch rate. This is essential to controlling the tensile stress in the interconnect circuit. The protective layers on the top of the substrate are now removed.
The removal of the substrate from beneath a portion of the interconnect circuit leaves the flexible membrane 20 which spans the opening and defines the recess in the bottom surface of the substrate/interconnect circuit assembly in which the support member 24 is placed. In the current embodiment, the support member is formed from silicon so as to match the coefficient of thermal expansion of the silicon die under test. A top surface of the support member can have a polymer layer such as polyimide deposited on it to provide more compliance to the contact pads on the circuit.
Referring to the illustrative drawing of
Referring to the illustrative drawings of
Referring to the illustrative drawing of
Using partical plated contact pads obviates the need to devise elaborate mechanical schemes to generate a wiping action to push aside any oxide layer on pad 45. Instead, electrical contact is made by the particles penetrating through the oxide layer on pad 45 with a simple normal force.
The flexibility of the interconnect circuit membrane contributes to the achievement of electrical contact between each of the contact pads 40 and the die pads 45 for the following additional reasons. In practice, some contact pads 40 protrude upwards further from the interconnect circuit top surface than others. This is the result of typical manufacturing variations within prescribed tolerances. In order to ensure proper electrical contact with all such contact pads 40, however, it is necessary to equalize their height displacement. That is, it is necessary to planarize or level the pads 40 with respect to each other. Since the circuit membrane is compliant, a normal force applied by the properly aligned die 22 can push down those pads 40 that stand up too far so that all of the pads 40 are planarized. The compliance of the circuit membrane permits the pads 40 that jut upwards too far to be pushed downwards so as to be level with the other pads.
The purpose of the opening 18 is to afford additional compliance to the circuit 32. As an alernative, instead of providing an opening, the polymer dielectric of the fenced-in portion of the interconnect circuit could be made sufficiently thick to provide the desired degree of compliance. For example, it has been found that a polyimide layer approximately 36 microns thick can provide sufficient compliance in certain instances. As another alternative, instead of providing the opening, a thinned substrate region beneath the fenced-in portion of the interconnect circuit can provide the required compliance. For example, for a silicon or aluminum substrate, a thinned region approximately 5-10 mils thick can provide sufficient compliance depending upon the height tolerance in the manufacture of the pads 40 of the interconnect circuit. In each of these two alternative embodiments the substrate serves as a support for the interconnect circuit. Thus, the invention is not intended to be limited to a carrier with such a substrate opening.
From the foregoing discussion, it will be appreciated that the correct alignment of the die pads 45 with exposed contacts in the top surface of the membrane 20 is essential to the operation of the carrier. The purpose of the fence 23 is to register the die pads 45 with the exposed pads 40 of the membrane. The fence 23 obviates the need for an elaborate fixturing mechanism to achieve that alignment. The fence can be formed from any of a variety of materials such as, photoimagable polymers, photoimagable metals, mechanical plastics, a metal ring or any combination of these materials. Since the fence is formed by the same processing steps as the contact pads tight tolerances can be obtained for proper alignment operations.
An important consideration is the amount of force that must be applied to the die 22 in order to drive the particles 44 into conductive contact with the die pads 45. As explained above, a conductive coating layer, such as gold which is free of any oxide layer, is deposited on top of the particles 44 which are pressed against the die pad so as to penetrate any oxide layer on the die pad and form an electrical contact. Thus, sufficient force must be applied to drive the particles through any contaminant and to create electrical contact. The amount of force required can vary depending upon the number of pads on the test die. The more pads there are, the more force is required to create electrical contact with all of them.
The carrier of the present invention advantageously permits the application of a controlled amount of force to the die. One mechanism for applying that force will be explained with reference to the drawings of
A spacer 48 is interposed between the top cap 12 and the substrate/interconnect circuit assembly. In the preferred embodiment, the spacer is made of teflon material. However, other dielectric or metal materials could be used. The purpose of the spacer is to prevent damage to the interconnect circuit 32 and to ensure that the membrane 20 is not overstressed due to inadvertent application of excessive force. The substrate 16 rests upon the bottom cap 14. The silicon support 24 is disposed within the recess beneath the membrane 20 between the spring member 28 and the membrane 20. The polymer layer formed on the silicon support abuts against the bottom surface of the membrane. The spring member urges the silicon support against the die.
Fasteners 30, shown in
In the present embodiment, the spring member 28 is implemented using a spring which exerts a constant spring force within a certain range of displacement. That is, the spring member 28 applies the same force to the die regardless of variations in the thickness of the die and the carrier components (such as the top and bottom caps) within a prescribed tolerance range. Alternatively, an elastomer could be used as a spring member. As shown in
The polymer layer is formed on the surface of the support 24 with polyimide to provide a small amount of compliance under pressure. The silicon support 24 has a co-efficient of thermal expansion (CTE) which matches that of the silicon die under test. The use of a support with a CTE that matches that of the die helps to ensure that, as the die and the membrane expand at different rates with increased temperature (during burn-in testing for example) that the die pads 22 do not become misaligned with the exposed contacts 40 in the membrane 20.
The interconnect circuit 132 and a fence 123 overlay top surfaces of the substrate 116 and the support member 124. I/O pads 136 are formed about the top perimeter of the assembly 137. Bottom surfaces of the substrate 116 and the support member 124 are placed on to a resilient layer 139 formed from a resilient material such as an elastomer.
The carrier 137 of the alternative embodiment can be secured between top and bottom caps (not shown) similar to those described for the embodiment first described above. The resilient layer 139 can flex together with the interconnect circuit 132 that spans the gap 127. This keeps the contact pads 140, which are exposed on a top surface of the circuit 132, in a planar relationship with each other and thereby facilitates electrical contact with corresponding die contact pads (not shown). The gap 127 and the membrane that overlays it permit surface planarization between the contact pads 140 and the die pads 145, thus reducing the force required to make contact between the two types of pads.
Various modifications to the preferred embodiment can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the foregoing description is not intended to limit the invention which is described in the appended claims in which:
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|U.S. Classification||324/756.02, 324/762.01|
|International Classification||G01R1/04, G01R31/28|
|Cooperative Classification||G01R31/2884, G01R1/0483|
|European Classification||G01R1/04S3U, G01R31/28G4|
|Feb 6, 2006||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: K&S INTERCONNECT, INC., DELAWARE
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:KULICKE & SOFFA HOLDINGS, LLC;REEL/FRAME:017125/0192
Effective date: 20060206
|Apr 24, 2006||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SV PROBE PTE LTD., SINGAPORE
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KULICKE AND SOFFA INDUSTRIES, INC.;K&S INTERCONNECT, INC.;REEL/FRAME:017519/0082
Effective date: 20060303
|Mar 9, 2009||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Mar 20, 2009||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Mar 20, 2009||SULP||Surcharge for late payment|
|Feb 27, 2013||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8