CA1303901C - Low profile inker - Google Patents
Low profile inkerInfo
- Publication number
- CA1303901C CA1303901C CA000570329A CA570329A CA1303901C CA 1303901 C CA1303901 C CA 1303901C CA 000570329 A CA000570329 A CA 000570329A CA 570329 A CA570329 A CA 570329A CA 1303901 C CA1303901 C CA 1303901C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- inker
- reservoir
- plunger
- support arm
- parallel
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- G01R31/00—Arrangements for testing electric properties; Arrangements for locating electric faults; Arrangements for electrical testing characterised by what is being tested not provided for elsewhere
- G01R31/28—Testing of electronic circuits, e.g. by signal tracer
- G01R31/282—Testing of electronic circuits specially adapted for particular applications not provided for elsewhere
- G01R31/2831—Testing of materials or semi-finished products, e.g. semiconductor wafers or substrates
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B43—WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES
- B43L—ARTICLES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING UPON; WRITING OR DRAWING AIDS; ACCESSORIES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING
- B43L13/00—Drawing instruments, or writing or drawing appliances or accessories not otherwise provided for
- B43L13/02—Draughting machines or drawing devices for keeping parallelism
- B43L13/022—Draughting machines or drawing devices for keeping parallelism automatic
- B43L13/024—Drawing heads therefor
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
- Testing Or Measuring Of Semiconductors Or The Like (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
A low profile inker for use in a semiconductor testing apparatus. A probe test head of the apparatus detects defective circuits on a semiconductor wafer and generates control signals in response thereto. The inker is connected to the testing apparatus by means of a support arm beneath the probe test head. An inker reservoir is connected to the support arm and has a substantially vertical needle extending therefrom with a tip thereof proximate the semiconductor wafer circuit under test.
A solenoid activated plunger arm is connected to the support arm in parallel with the reservoir and an angle pin connects the plunger to an inker filament disposed within the reservoir. The angle pin converts vertical movement of the solenoid operated plunger into parallel movement of the inker filament within the reservoir for forcing liquid onto the semiconductor wafer in order to mark defective circuits.
A low profile inker for use in a semiconductor testing apparatus. A probe test head of the apparatus detects defective circuits on a semiconductor wafer and generates control signals in response thereto. The inker is connected to the testing apparatus by means of a support arm beneath the probe test head. An inker reservoir is connected to the support arm and has a substantially vertical needle extending therefrom with a tip thereof proximate the semiconductor wafer circuit under test.
A solenoid activated plunger arm is connected to the support arm in parallel with the reservoir and an angle pin connects the plunger to an inker filament disposed within the reservoir. The angle pin converts vertical movement of the solenoid operated plunger into parallel movement of the inker filament within the reservoir for forcing liquid onto the semiconductor wafer in order to mark defective circuits.
Description
~3~3~
02 This invention relates in general to 03 marking devices, and more particularly to a low 04 profile inker for use within a semiconductor wafer 05 testing instrument.
~6 In the manufacture of integrated circult 07 chip wafers, there is a requirement for marking 08 defective circuits before the wafer is diced to 09 provide individual chips. Prior art marking devices have been developed for ejecting drops of magnetic ink 11 on defective circuits of a wafer under test.
12 Examples of conventional prior art inker 13 systems can be found with reference to the IJ.S.
14 patents 3,943,527 ~Hartmann), 3,345,567 (Turner et al), 3,185,927 (Margulis et al), 3,572,400 (Casner et 16 al) and 3,087,248 (Martin).
17 The conventional inkers of Turner et al, 18 Margulis et xl and Martin incorporate mechanical 19 apparatus for moving an inking element such as a pen or fibrous wick into contact with the defective 21 circuit for marking the wafer. A disadvantage of such 22 mechanical systems is that physical contact be-tween 23 the inker and wafer circuits may result in advertent 24 damage of the wafer.
The prior art apparatus disclosed in the 26 Hartmann patent utilizes a "spritzer-type" inker in 27 which magnetic ink is forced onto a defective circuit 28 through a needle by means of a solenoid activated 29 plunger connected on top of and in line with a reservoir for storing magnetic ink.
31 A disadvantage of prior art inkers such as 32 Hartmann is that the height of such inkers typically 33 interferes with passage of the pro~e test head which 34 is disposed above the inker. The height of the inker is a direct result of the in-line connection of the 36 solenoid activated plunger to the reservoir filament 37 and the resulting linear axis movement effected 38 therebetween. In other words, the overall length of ~;~U3~
02 the inker from the tip of the needle to the top of the 03 plunger is typically in the vicinity of 8 centimeters, 04 with the top-most portion of the plunger interferring 05 with movement of the probe test head.
06 Thus, in order to move the test head 07 according to prior art inkers such as Hartmann, the 08 inker is required to be manually moved. Movement of 09 the inker may result in a number of disadvantages such as high risk of probe card damage, difficult handling 11 of the inker from the undersurface of the probe test 12 head, and unsteady installation of the inker.
13 Furthermore, it has been found that excess ~ime is 14 required to move the inker in order to install a new socket adaptor for testing.
16 There has been an industry bias towards 17 in-line connection of the solenoid plunger and inker 18 reservoir for the principle reason that linear axis 19 movement of the solenoid plunger and inker Eilament i5 inherently easy to adjust for eliminating binding of 21 the inker filament within the reservoir in the event 22 of off-axis inclination of the plunger arm and inker 23 filament.
24 In an effort to overcome the excess height disadvantage of prior art in-line inkers such as 26 Hartmann, some manufacturers have produced in-line 27 solenoid plunger actuated inkers which are connected 28 to the testing apparatus at an oblique angle, and 29 utilize a curved inker needle extending from the reservoir to the wafer under test at an angle of 31 approximately 80. An example of such a prior art 32 inker system is the model B-100-LTX inker manufactured 33 by Xandex of Petaluma, California. A significant 34 disadvantage of prior art inkers utilizing curved inker needles is that the advantage of gravity feed is 36 lost over the vertically oriented in-line systems, 37 which places much greater reliance on relatively low 38 efficiency capillary action within the inker.
~3~i3~
02 According to the present invention, an 03 inker is provided wherein the solenoid actuated 04 plunger is disposed in parallel with the ink reservoir 05 on a main support arm and is connected to the inker 06 filament by means of a parallel activator or angle 07 pin. The parallel activator translates ver-tical 08 movement of the solenoid plunger into parallel 09 movement of the inker filament for forcing liquid from the reservoir onto the semiconductor wafer under 11 test. By positioning the solenoid plunger beside and 12 in parallel with a reservoir, the overall height of 13 the inker is reduced substantially (eg. typically on 14 the order of 2.5 centimeters) thereby removing the traditional obstruction to passage of the probe test 16 head as exemplified by the above discussed prior art.
17 In general, according to the present 18 invention, there is provided a low profile inker for 19 use in a probe instrument provided with a movable probe test head for testing circuits on a 21 semiconductor wafer and in response generating control 22 signals indicative o~ defective ones of the circuits.
23 The inker is comprised of a support arm connected to 24 the probe instrument beneath the test head; an inker reservoir mounted on the support arm for storing a 26 quantity of marking liquid, including a substantially 27 vertical inker filament for forcing the liquid from 28 the reservoir; a solenoid operated plunger mounted on 29 the support arm parallel to the reservoir, for receiving the control signals and in response moving 31 in a substantially vertical axis; a needle extending 32 substantially vertically downward from the reservoir 33 for directing the liquid forced from the reservoir 34 onto the defective circuits; and a parallel activator connecting the plunger and the inker filament for 36 translating vertical movement o~ the plunger into 37 parallel movement of the inker, .
~?3~Q~
02 filament thereby forcing the liquid onto the defective 03 circuits, whereby parallel mounting of the plunger and 04 reservoir on the support arm contributes to a low 05 overall height of the inker sufficient to allow free 06 passage of the movable test head over the inker.
07 A better understanding of the present 08 invention will be obtained with reference to the 09 detailed description below in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
11 Figure 1 is a side view of a prior art ~2 inker for use in a semiconductor testing instrument;
13 Figure 2 is a side view of an inker in 14 accordance with the present invention;
Figure 3 is a detailed side view of the 16 inker in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the 17 present invention; and 18 Figure 4 is a front view of the inker 1~ shown in Figure 3.
Turning to Figure 1, a prior art inker is 21 shown comprised of a reservoir 1 for storing marking 22 liquid such as magnetic ink, and a solenoid activated 23 plunger 2 mounted in line with the reservoir 1, the 24 reservoir and plunger both being mounted on a main support 3. The inker is connected via an additional 26 support ~ to the main body of the semiconductor 27 testing instrument, otherwise known as a prober.
28 The testing instrument is typically any of 29 a number of well known semiconductor tes~ers such as those manufactured by LTX, Fairchild or Megatest, 31 etc. The testing instrument is further comprised 32 typically of a chuck for holding a wafer under test 33 (not shown) disposed directly beneath the tip of a 3~ needle 5 extending from the reservoir 1 of the inker.
One or more probes 6 assembled on a probe card 36 7 contact the wafer circuit under test for detecting 37 defects, etc, by applying predetermined control test 38 signals thereto. A ring adapter 8 houses the ~3~'3~
02 probe card 7 and is attached to a plate 9 which in 03 turn is connected to portions of the interfacing 04 instrument denoted as the ring lOa, and the ~uzz 05 button ring lOb.
06 The probe test head typically contains 07 microprocessor intelligence for generating test 08 current to the probe leads 6 through the rings (i.e.
09 fuzz button ring lOb) which includes usually 60 metal spring pi~ conductors. The wafer i5 supported beneath 11 the probes 6 on the chuck (not shown) and moved into 12 various positions under control of the testing 13 instrument which also generates signals for energizing 14 the inker solenoid 2, in a well known manner. The operation of the probe test head in conjunction with 16 the inker is described in detail with reference to the 17 aforementioned U.S, patent of Hartmann.
18 As shown in Figure 1, the in-line 19 arrangement of solenoid plunge~ 2 with inker reservoir 1 re~ult~ in an obstruction to passage of the test 21 head over the fuzz button ring lOb.
22 Turning to Figures 2-4, an inker is shown 23 constructed in accordance with the present invention 24 comprised of a reservoir 11 mounted on a main support 13 in parallel with a solenoid 15 housing a plunger 26 arm 17. A parallel activator 18 is threaded into 27 plunger arm 17 for connecting the plunger arm to an 28 inker filament within the reservoir 11.
29 According to the present invention, the solenoid 15 is installed in parallel with the inker 31 reservoir 11 instead of being on the same axis as in 32 the prior art system of Figure 1. In the successful 33 prototype of the present invention, parallel 34 disposition of the solenoid with respect to the reservoir resulted in a decrease in overall height of 36 the inker by 2.5 centimeters, which was found to be 37 sufficient for allowing passag~ of the test head over 38 the fuzz button ring lOb of the testing instrument.
39 According to the prior ark inker of Figure ' 1;1~?3~p~
02 1, the support 3 was characterized by a total len~th 03 or height of approximately 5 centimeters which was 04 reduced according to the successful prototype of the 05 present invention as illustrated in Fi~ure 2, to a 06 length of 3 centimeters, for facilitating passage of 07 the test head over the fuzz button ring.
08 As shown with reference to Figure 3, a 09 bracket 14 is shown connected to main support 13 for supporting the solenoid 15 using two metal bolts 20 11 inserted through the support 13 and end plate 21. The , 12 plate 21 also serves as a support for the attachment 13 4 (Figure 2) holding the main support 13 to the test 14 instrument.
The parallel activator 18 is preferably in 16 the form of an angle pin o~ approximately 10 17 millimeters in length which is screwed into the 18 solenoid plunger 17.
19 In operation, the test instrument generates a control signal carried by solenoid leads 21 22, for energizing solenoid 15 which in turn causes 22 plunge~ 17 to be pulled within the solenoid against 23 the force of coiled spring 16. The parallel activator 24 or angle pin 18 translates vertical movement of the plunger 17 within solenoid 15 into parallel movement 26 of the inker filament within reservoir 11. This 27 effectively forces the marking liquid from the 28 reservoir 11 via needle 12 onto the semiconductor 2~ wafer circuit under test.
The needle 12 and activator 23 form part 3] of the reservoir 1. The activator is preferably a 32 plastic pin attached to a plastic inker filament (not 33 shown) within the reservoir. The activator 23 is 34 attached to the metal angle pin 18 by means of a ball and socket joint 19, wherein the angle pin 18 has a 36 filed head forming a bulbous portion.
37 The concept of parallel activation of the 38 inker filament by means of angle pin 18 is believed to ~l3~3~
Jl - 7 -02 be a significant departure from the axial activation 03 of prior art systems such as shown in Figure 1.
04 One of the industry biases towards axial 05 activation of the inker Eilament, and away from the 06 parallel activation of the present invention, is that 07 the probe or test instrument attachment 4 is required 08 to be securely connected to main support 3 (Figure 09 1). The attachment of the support 4 to the main support 3 in prior art systems was characterized by a 11 required length of typically 33 millimeters for 12 securely holding the inker to the support 4.
13 According to the present invention, the 14 metal plate 21 serves as a support for the attachment 4 and the solenoid 15, such that the overall length of 16 the attachment 4 may be reduced to approximately 12 17 millimeters.
18 As discussed above, the angle pin 18 must 19 be adjusted to a correct length within the plunger 17 in order that movement of the activator is directly in 21 line with the center axis of the reservoir 1 in order 22 for preventing the activator from binding and becoming 23 stuck within the reservoir.
24 Thus, an industry bias has developed toward the simple adjustment of the inker filament in 26 relation to the movement of the plunger arm as 27 provided by prior art axial movement systems.
28 According to the present invention, adjustment of the 29 angle pin 18 is effected by simply screwing the pin 18 into small threads within the plunger 17, as shown in 31 Figures 3 and 4.
32 A person understanding the present 33 invention may conceive o~ other variations or 34 modifications therein. All such variations and modifications ar~ believed to be within the sphere and 36 scope of the present invention as defined by the 37 claims appended hereto.
02 This invention relates in general to 03 marking devices, and more particularly to a low 04 profile inker for use within a semiconductor wafer 05 testing instrument.
~6 In the manufacture of integrated circult 07 chip wafers, there is a requirement for marking 08 defective circuits before the wafer is diced to 09 provide individual chips. Prior art marking devices have been developed for ejecting drops of magnetic ink 11 on defective circuits of a wafer under test.
12 Examples of conventional prior art inker 13 systems can be found with reference to the IJ.S.
14 patents 3,943,527 ~Hartmann), 3,345,567 (Turner et al), 3,185,927 (Margulis et al), 3,572,400 (Casner et 16 al) and 3,087,248 (Martin).
17 The conventional inkers of Turner et al, 18 Margulis et xl and Martin incorporate mechanical 19 apparatus for moving an inking element such as a pen or fibrous wick into contact with the defective 21 circuit for marking the wafer. A disadvantage of such 22 mechanical systems is that physical contact be-tween 23 the inker and wafer circuits may result in advertent 24 damage of the wafer.
The prior art apparatus disclosed in the 26 Hartmann patent utilizes a "spritzer-type" inker in 27 which magnetic ink is forced onto a defective circuit 28 through a needle by means of a solenoid activated 29 plunger connected on top of and in line with a reservoir for storing magnetic ink.
31 A disadvantage of prior art inkers such as 32 Hartmann is that the height of such inkers typically 33 interferes with passage of the pro~e test head which 34 is disposed above the inker. The height of the inker is a direct result of the in-line connection of the 36 solenoid activated plunger to the reservoir filament 37 and the resulting linear axis movement effected 38 therebetween. In other words, the overall length of ~;~U3~
02 the inker from the tip of the needle to the top of the 03 plunger is typically in the vicinity of 8 centimeters, 04 with the top-most portion of the plunger interferring 05 with movement of the probe test head.
06 Thus, in order to move the test head 07 according to prior art inkers such as Hartmann, the 08 inker is required to be manually moved. Movement of 09 the inker may result in a number of disadvantages such as high risk of probe card damage, difficult handling 11 of the inker from the undersurface of the probe test 12 head, and unsteady installation of the inker.
13 Furthermore, it has been found that excess ~ime is 14 required to move the inker in order to install a new socket adaptor for testing.
16 There has been an industry bias towards 17 in-line connection of the solenoid plunger and inker 18 reservoir for the principle reason that linear axis 19 movement of the solenoid plunger and inker Eilament i5 inherently easy to adjust for eliminating binding of 21 the inker filament within the reservoir in the event 22 of off-axis inclination of the plunger arm and inker 23 filament.
24 In an effort to overcome the excess height disadvantage of prior art in-line inkers such as 26 Hartmann, some manufacturers have produced in-line 27 solenoid plunger actuated inkers which are connected 28 to the testing apparatus at an oblique angle, and 29 utilize a curved inker needle extending from the reservoir to the wafer under test at an angle of 31 approximately 80. An example of such a prior art 32 inker system is the model B-100-LTX inker manufactured 33 by Xandex of Petaluma, California. A significant 34 disadvantage of prior art inkers utilizing curved inker needles is that the advantage of gravity feed is 36 lost over the vertically oriented in-line systems, 37 which places much greater reliance on relatively low 38 efficiency capillary action within the inker.
~3~i3~
02 According to the present invention, an 03 inker is provided wherein the solenoid actuated 04 plunger is disposed in parallel with the ink reservoir 05 on a main support arm and is connected to the inker 06 filament by means of a parallel activator or angle 07 pin. The parallel activator translates ver-tical 08 movement of the solenoid plunger into parallel 09 movement of the inker filament for forcing liquid from the reservoir onto the semiconductor wafer under 11 test. By positioning the solenoid plunger beside and 12 in parallel with a reservoir, the overall height of 13 the inker is reduced substantially (eg. typically on 14 the order of 2.5 centimeters) thereby removing the traditional obstruction to passage of the probe test 16 head as exemplified by the above discussed prior art.
17 In general, according to the present 18 invention, there is provided a low profile inker for 19 use in a probe instrument provided with a movable probe test head for testing circuits on a 21 semiconductor wafer and in response generating control 22 signals indicative o~ defective ones of the circuits.
23 The inker is comprised of a support arm connected to 24 the probe instrument beneath the test head; an inker reservoir mounted on the support arm for storing a 26 quantity of marking liquid, including a substantially 27 vertical inker filament for forcing the liquid from 28 the reservoir; a solenoid operated plunger mounted on 29 the support arm parallel to the reservoir, for receiving the control signals and in response moving 31 in a substantially vertical axis; a needle extending 32 substantially vertically downward from the reservoir 33 for directing the liquid forced from the reservoir 34 onto the defective circuits; and a parallel activator connecting the plunger and the inker filament for 36 translating vertical movement o~ the plunger into 37 parallel movement of the inker, .
~?3~Q~
02 filament thereby forcing the liquid onto the defective 03 circuits, whereby parallel mounting of the plunger and 04 reservoir on the support arm contributes to a low 05 overall height of the inker sufficient to allow free 06 passage of the movable test head over the inker.
07 A better understanding of the present 08 invention will be obtained with reference to the 09 detailed description below in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
11 Figure 1 is a side view of a prior art ~2 inker for use in a semiconductor testing instrument;
13 Figure 2 is a side view of an inker in 14 accordance with the present invention;
Figure 3 is a detailed side view of the 16 inker in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the 17 present invention; and 18 Figure 4 is a front view of the inker 1~ shown in Figure 3.
Turning to Figure 1, a prior art inker is 21 shown comprised of a reservoir 1 for storing marking 22 liquid such as magnetic ink, and a solenoid activated 23 plunger 2 mounted in line with the reservoir 1, the 24 reservoir and plunger both being mounted on a main support 3. The inker is connected via an additional 26 support ~ to the main body of the semiconductor 27 testing instrument, otherwise known as a prober.
28 The testing instrument is typically any of 29 a number of well known semiconductor tes~ers such as those manufactured by LTX, Fairchild or Megatest, 31 etc. The testing instrument is further comprised 32 typically of a chuck for holding a wafer under test 33 (not shown) disposed directly beneath the tip of a 3~ needle 5 extending from the reservoir 1 of the inker.
One or more probes 6 assembled on a probe card 36 7 contact the wafer circuit under test for detecting 37 defects, etc, by applying predetermined control test 38 signals thereto. A ring adapter 8 houses the ~3~'3~
02 probe card 7 and is attached to a plate 9 which in 03 turn is connected to portions of the interfacing 04 instrument denoted as the ring lOa, and the ~uzz 05 button ring lOb.
06 The probe test head typically contains 07 microprocessor intelligence for generating test 08 current to the probe leads 6 through the rings (i.e.
09 fuzz button ring lOb) which includes usually 60 metal spring pi~ conductors. The wafer i5 supported beneath 11 the probes 6 on the chuck (not shown) and moved into 12 various positions under control of the testing 13 instrument which also generates signals for energizing 14 the inker solenoid 2, in a well known manner. The operation of the probe test head in conjunction with 16 the inker is described in detail with reference to the 17 aforementioned U.S, patent of Hartmann.
18 As shown in Figure 1, the in-line 19 arrangement of solenoid plunge~ 2 with inker reservoir 1 re~ult~ in an obstruction to passage of the test 21 head over the fuzz button ring lOb.
22 Turning to Figures 2-4, an inker is shown 23 constructed in accordance with the present invention 24 comprised of a reservoir 11 mounted on a main support 13 in parallel with a solenoid 15 housing a plunger 26 arm 17. A parallel activator 18 is threaded into 27 plunger arm 17 for connecting the plunger arm to an 28 inker filament within the reservoir 11.
29 According to the present invention, the solenoid 15 is installed in parallel with the inker 31 reservoir 11 instead of being on the same axis as in 32 the prior art system of Figure 1. In the successful 33 prototype of the present invention, parallel 34 disposition of the solenoid with respect to the reservoir resulted in a decrease in overall height of 36 the inker by 2.5 centimeters, which was found to be 37 sufficient for allowing passag~ of the test head over 38 the fuzz button ring lOb of the testing instrument.
39 According to the prior ark inker of Figure ' 1;1~?3~p~
02 1, the support 3 was characterized by a total len~th 03 or height of approximately 5 centimeters which was 04 reduced according to the successful prototype of the 05 present invention as illustrated in Fi~ure 2, to a 06 length of 3 centimeters, for facilitating passage of 07 the test head over the fuzz button ring.
08 As shown with reference to Figure 3, a 09 bracket 14 is shown connected to main support 13 for supporting the solenoid 15 using two metal bolts 20 11 inserted through the support 13 and end plate 21. The , 12 plate 21 also serves as a support for the attachment 13 4 (Figure 2) holding the main support 13 to the test 14 instrument.
The parallel activator 18 is preferably in 16 the form of an angle pin o~ approximately 10 17 millimeters in length which is screwed into the 18 solenoid plunger 17.
19 In operation, the test instrument generates a control signal carried by solenoid leads 21 22, for energizing solenoid 15 which in turn causes 22 plunge~ 17 to be pulled within the solenoid against 23 the force of coiled spring 16. The parallel activator 24 or angle pin 18 translates vertical movement of the plunger 17 within solenoid 15 into parallel movement 26 of the inker filament within reservoir 11. This 27 effectively forces the marking liquid from the 28 reservoir 11 via needle 12 onto the semiconductor 2~ wafer circuit under test.
The needle 12 and activator 23 form part 3] of the reservoir 1. The activator is preferably a 32 plastic pin attached to a plastic inker filament (not 33 shown) within the reservoir. The activator 23 is 34 attached to the metal angle pin 18 by means of a ball and socket joint 19, wherein the angle pin 18 has a 36 filed head forming a bulbous portion.
37 The concept of parallel activation of the 38 inker filament by means of angle pin 18 is believed to ~l3~3~
Jl - 7 -02 be a significant departure from the axial activation 03 of prior art systems such as shown in Figure 1.
04 One of the industry biases towards axial 05 activation of the inker Eilament, and away from the 06 parallel activation of the present invention, is that 07 the probe or test instrument attachment 4 is required 08 to be securely connected to main support 3 (Figure 09 1). The attachment of the support 4 to the main support 3 in prior art systems was characterized by a 11 required length of typically 33 millimeters for 12 securely holding the inker to the support 4.
13 According to the present invention, the 14 metal plate 21 serves as a support for the attachment 4 and the solenoid 15, such that the overall length of 16 the attachment 4 may be reduced to approximately 12 17 millimeters.
18 As discussed above, the angle pin 18 must 19 be adjusted to a correct length within the plunger 17 in order that movement of the activator is directly in 21 line with the center axis of the reservoir 1 in order 22 for preventing the activator from binding and becoming 23 stuck within the reservoir.
24 Thus, an industry bias has developed toward the simple adjustment of the inker filament in 26 relation to the movement of the plunger arm as 27 provided by prior art axial movement systems.
28 According to the present invention, adjustment of the 29 angle pin 18 is effected by simply screwing the pin 18 into small threads within the plunger 17, as shown in 31 Figures 3 and 4.
32 A person understanding the present 33 invention may conceive o~ other variations or 34 modifications therein. All such variations and modifications ar~ believed to be within the sphere and 36 scope of the present invention as defined by the 37 claims appended hereto.
Claims (6)
1. In a probe instrument provided with a movable probe test head for testing circuits on a semiconductor wafer and in response generating control signals indicative of defective ones of said circuits, a low profile inker for marking said defective circuits, comprised of:
(a) a support arm connected to said probe instrument beneath said test head, (b) an inker reservoir mounted on said support arm for storing a quantity of marking liquid, including a substantially vertical inker filament for forcing said liquid from said reservoir, (c) solenoid operated plunger means mounted on said support arm parallel to said reservoir, for receiving said control signals and in response moving in a substantially vertical axis, (d) a needle extending substantially vertically downward from said reservoir for directing said liquid forced from said reservoir onto said defective circuits, and (e) parallel activator means connecting said plunger means and said inker filament for translating vertical movement of said plunger means into parallel movement of said inker filament thereby forcing said liquid onto said defective circuits, whereby parallel mounting of said plunger means and reservoir on said support arm contributes to a low overall height of said inker sufficient to allow free passage of said movable test head over said inker.
(a) a support arm connected to said probe instrument beneath said test head, (b) an inker reservoir mounted on said support arm for storing a quantity of marking liquid, including a substantially vertical inker filament for forcing said liquid from said reservoir, (c) solenoid operated plunger means mounted on said support arm parallel to said reservoir, for receiving said control signals and in response moving in a substantially vertical axis, (d) a needle extending substantially vertically downward from said reservoir for directing said liquid forced from said reservoir onto said defective circuits, and (e) parallel activator means connecting said plunger means and said inker filament for translating vertical movement of said plunger means into parallel movement of said inker filament thereby forcing said liquid onto said defective circuits, whereby parallel mounting of said plunger means and reservoir on said support arm contributes to a low overall height of said inker sufficient to allow free passage of said movable test head over said inker.
2. A low profile inker as defined in claim 1, wherein said support arm is connected to said probe instrument by means of a clip.
3. A low profile inker as defined in claim 2, wherein said solenoid operated plunger means is connected to said support arm by means of a bracket secured thereto by a pair of bolts.
4. A low profile inker as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said parallel activator means is comprised of an angle pin attached at one end via a threaded connection to said plunger means and at the other end via a ball-and-socket connection to said inker filament.
5. A low profile inker as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said reservoir is secured to said support arm by means of clip support.
6. A low profile inker as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said solenoid operated plunger means is further comprised of a solenoid coil connected via a pair of control leads to said test head for receiving said control signals, an electromagnetically actuated plunger arm disposed within said solenoid coil, said plunger arm being urged within said coil upon receipt of said control signals by said coil, and a coil spring for urging said plunger arm into an extended position outside of said solenoid coil.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000570329A CA1303901C (en) | 1988-06-24 | 1988-06-24 | Low profile inker |
| US07/348,503 US4992729A (en) | 1988-06-24 | 1989-05-08 | Low profile inker |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000570329A CA1303901C (en) | 1988-06-24 | 1988-06-24 | Low profile inker |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1303901C true CA1303901C (en) | 1992-06-23 |
Family
ID=4138271
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000570329A Expired - Lifetime CA1303901C (en) | 1988-06-24 | 1988-06-24 | Low profile inker |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4992729A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1303901C (en) |
Families Citing this family (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KR0152260B1 (en) * | 1988-07-08 | 1998-12-15 | 고다까 토시오 | Probe apparatus |
| US5532611A (en) * | 1995-05-26 | 1996-07-02 | International Business Machines Corporation | Miniature probe positioning actuator |
| US5917332A (en) * | 1996-05-09 | 1999-06-29 | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | Arrangement for improving defect scanner sensitivity and scanning defects on die of a semiconductor wafer |
| KR100256052B1 (en) * | 1997-07-29 | 2000-06-01 | 윤종용 | Inker testing apparatus and method therefor |
| US6296702B1 (en) | 1999-03-15 | 2001-10-02 | Pe Corporation (Ny) | Apparatus and method for spotting a substrate |
| JP2002190504A (en) * | 2000-12-22 | 2002-07-05 | Umc Japan | Mark formation method, device thereof and analyzer |
| US6702489B2 (en) * | 2002-07-03 | 2004-03-09 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd | Inking apparatus with multi-positioning capability |
| DE10258511A1 (en) * | 2002-12-14 | 2004-07-08 | Infineon Technologies Ag | Integrated circuit and associated packaged integrated circuit |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3125401A (en) * | 1964-03-17 | boone | ||
| US3686681A (en) * | 1970-04-20 | 1972-08-22 | Milgo Corp | Pen actuating mechanism for graphical display plotter |
| JPS63207143A (en) * | 1987-02-24 | 1988-08-26 | Canon Inc | Wafer prober |
-
1988
- 1988-06-24 CA CA000570329A patent/CA1303901C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1989
- 1989-05-08 US US07/348,503 patent/US4992729A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US4992729A (en) | 1991-02-12 |
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