Electricity: measuring and testing – Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components – Of individual circuit component or element
Patent
1994-11-29
1996-12-17
Wieder, Kenneth A.
Electricity: measuring and testing
Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components
Of individual circuit component or element
324756, 324757, G01R 3102
Patent
active
055857361
ABSTRACT:
A contact probe for semiconductor in-line process monitoring or device measurement is disclosed in this invention which uses gallium, indium or any low-melting and low-vapor pressure electrically conductive alloy as a contact probing material. The probe can be used to directly measure mobile ion density without requiring the formation of aluminum dots on the semiconductor wafers. The safety issues caused by high temperature operation are also eliminated. The time requirement for process-equipment qualification is significantly reduced because the preparation time for aluminum dot formation is now eliminated. In comparison to the mercury probes, since in this invention, the contact is formed at high temperature thus leading to better contacts between the probe and the wafer, which in turn resulting in higher measurement accuracy. Furthermore, the conventional pin slip problem during elevated temperature stress is eliminated by the use of the contact probe of this invention. The device disclosed in this invention includes a metal tube or cylinder surrounded by heating element. A capillary probe connected with a metal or alloy reservoir inside the tube. For conducting the measurement, the conductive material in the reservoir and the capillary probe is melted. The amount of the conductive material in contact with the semiconductor wafer is controlled by the diameter of the capillary and the pressure of the reservoir.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 3794912 (1974-02-01), Severin
patent: 4021735 (1977-05-01), Vieweg-Gutberlet et al.
patent: 4409547 (1983-10-01), Lederman
patent: 4521730 (1985-06-01), Shulman
patent: 5323035 (1994-06-01), Leedy
Choi Calvin
Ho Yoeh-Se
Hshieh Fwu-Iuan
Weang Jimmy S. X.
Hshieh Fwu-Iuan
Khosravi Kourosh Cyrus
Lin Bo-In
Wieder Kenneth A.
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