MOUNTING DEVICE
A mounting device includes a mounting body for mounting thereon a target object to be subjected to a predetermined process; and a cooling mechanism for cooling the target object via the mounting table. The cooling mechanism includes a heat exchanger provided at a bottom surface of the mounting table, and a cooling unit having a heat absorbing unit for absorbing heat from a heat transfer medium of the heat exchanger. Further, the cooling unit is fixed to the heat exchanger through the heat absorbing unit.
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The present invention relates to a mounting device having a cooling mechanism for cooing a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or the like to a predetermined temperature in the case of processing the substrate at a low temperature; and, more particularly, to a mounting device capable of achieving cost reduction by simplifying the cooling mechanism.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA conventional mounting device is used for various processing apparatuses in a semiconductor manufacturing field. Here, a mounting device used for an inspection apparatus for inspecting electrical characteristics of a semiconductor wafer will be described as an example.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
When the semiconductor wafer W is subjected to low-temperature inspection, a coolant is cooled by a cooling unit 6 connected to the wafer chuck 1 and the semiconductor wafer W is cooled to a low temperature range of, e.g., about several tens of minus degrees, by circulating the cooled coolant through a coolant path in the wafer chuck 1, as can be seen from
When the coolant is cooled by the cooling/heating unit 6, the coolant in the coolant tank 61 circulates between the first coolant circulation path 62 and the wafer chuck 1 by the operation of the first pump 62A, thereby cooling the wafer chuck 1. The temperature of the coolant returned to the coolant tank 61 is increased. The temperature of the coolant in the coolant tank 61 is detected by the temperature sensor 61A, and the detection signal is sent to the temperature controller 64. The temperature controller compares a preset temperature with the detection temperature and drives the inverter 65 based on the temperature difference therebetween. The inverter 65 drives the Stirling engine 66 at a predetermined frequency based on the instruction signal from the temperature controller 64. In the Stirling engine 66, the coolant circulating in the second coolant circulation path 63 by the second pump 63A is cooled by a heat exchanger 67. The cooling/heating unit 6 shown in
However, the mounting device using the cooling/heating unit 6 shown in
In view of the above, the present invention provides a mounting device capable of achieving cost reduction and space saving of a cooling mechanism for cooling a target object, e.g., a semiconductor wafer or the like, mounted on a mounting body.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mounting device including: a mounting body for mounting thereon a target object to be subjected to a predetermined process; and a cooling mechanism for cooling the target object via the mounting table, wherein the cooling mechanism includes a heat exchanger provided at a bottom surface of the mounting table, and a cooling unit having a heat absorbing unit for absorbing heat from a heat transfer medium of the heat exchanger, and wherein the cooling unit is fixed to the heat exchanger through the heat absorbing unit.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments, given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in
As shown in
A probe card 20 is provided above the wafer chuck 11. The probe card 20 is installed at a head plate 30 forming a top surface of the prober chamber of the inspection apparatus via a card holder 20A. An alignment mechanism (not shown) is provided in the prober chamber to perform alignment between the semiconductor wafer W on the wafer chuck 1 and the probes 21 of the probe card 20.
When the semiconductor wafer W is subjected to low-temperature inspection, the semiconductor wafer W on the wafer chuck 11 is cooled to a predetermined temperature in a low-temperature range, e.g., several tens of minus degrees, by the cooling mechanism 12. While the semiconductor wafer W is being cooled, the alignment between the electrode pads of the semiconductor wafer W on the wafer chuck 11 and the probes 21 of the probe card 20 is performed by the alignment mechanism. Next, the wafer chuck 11 is raised by the elevation mechanism 15, and the electrode pads of the semiconductor wafer W are brought into electrical contact with the probes 21 of the probe card 20. In that state, the electrical characteristics of the devices formed on the semiconductor wafer W are inspected at a predetermined low temperature.
As shown in
The cooling unit 122 will be described with reference to
As shown in
Therefore, while the displacer and the piston are reciprocally moving within the first and the second cylinder while maintaining the specific phase difference therebetween, the stirling cycle in which the operation gas is repeatedly compressed and expanded is performed. Heat is absorbed at the leading end portion of the heat absorbing unit 122A and is radiated from a place between the displacer 122D and the piston 122H. Since the heat absorbing unit 122A is inserted into the heat exchanger 121 as shown in
The cooling mechanism 12 used in the present embodiment is directly attached to the bottom surface of the wafer chuck 11. Hence, unlike the conventional case in which the wafer chuck is cooled by using a coolant, it is possible to omit the coolant tank, the coolant circulation line, the circulation pump and the like. Since the installation space of such components becomes unnecessary, the structure of the cooling mechanism 12 can be largely simplified, and considerable cost reduction can be achieved.
In
Hereinafter, the operation will be explained. First, in order to inspect electrical characteristics of the semiconductor wafer W, the wafer chuck 11 of the mounting device 10 is previously cooled by the cooling mechanism 12. At this time, in the cooling mechanism 12, the driving mechanism 122I of the driving unit 122B of the cooling unit 122 is driven to reciprocally move the piston 122H along the second cylinder 122G, as shown in
While the wafer chuck 11 is being cooled by the cooling mechanism 12, the pre-aligned semiconductor wafer W is mounted on the wafer chuck 11. The semiconductor wafer W is aligned with respect to the probe card 20 by the alignment mechanism. Then, the elevation mechanism 15 is driven to raise the wafer chuck 11 cooled to a predetermined temperature (e.g., about −50° C.), and the electrode pads of the semiconductor wafer W and the probes 21 of the probe card 20 electrically contact with each other. In that state, the inspection is performed at a predetermined low temperature. Upon completion of the low-temperature inspection of the semiconductor wafer W, the semiconductor wafer W is returned from the wafer chuck 11 to the original location, and a next semiconductor wafer W is subjected to a low-temperature inspection.
As described above, in accordance with the present embodiment, the cooling mechanism 12 installed at the mounting device 10 includes: the heat exchanger 121 provided at the bottom surface of the wafer chuck 11; and the cooling unit 122 having the heat absorbing unit 122A for absorbing heat from the heat transfer medium 121A of the heat exchanger 121. Since the cooling unit 122 is fixed to the heat exchanger 121 through the heat absorbing unit 122A, the conventionally required components such as the coolant for cooling the wafer chuck 11, the coolant tank, the coolant circulation line and the like become unnecessary. Therefore, the structure of the cooling mechanism 12 is very simplified, and the space saving of the cooling mechanism 12 is achieved. Furthermore, the cost reduction can be achieved.
The present invention may be properly modified, if necessary, without being limited to the above-described embodiments. In the above-described embodiments, a mounting device used in an inspection apparatus has been described. However, the present invention can be widely applied to a mounting device having a function of cooling a target object. Besides, the heat transfer medium 121A of the heat exchanger 121 may be made of a material other than metal. Further, a Stirling cooler used as the cooling unit 122 is not limited to one described in the above-described embodiments. If necessary, the components thereof may be properly modified.
While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
Claims
1. A mounting device comprising:
- a mounting body for mounting thereon a target object to be subjected to a predetermined process; and
- a cooling mechanism for cooling the target object via the mounting table,
- wherein the cooling mechanism includes a heat exchanger provided at a bottom surface of the mounting table, and a cooling unit having a heat absorbing unit for absorbing heat from a heat transfer medium of the heat exchanger, and
- wherein the cooling unit is fixed to the heat exchanger through the heat absorbing unit.
2. The mounting device of claim 1, wherein the cooing unit is configured as a Stirling cooler.
3. The mounting device of claim 1, wherein the heat transfer medium is made of metal.
4. The mounting device of claim 1, further comprising a support body for supporting the mounting body at an outer periphery thereof and an elevation mechanism for vertically moving the support body.
5. The mounting device of claim 4, wherein the elevation mechanism is configured as a cylinder mechanism.
6. The mounting device of claim 1, wherein the substrate to be processed is subjected to an electrical characteristic inspection.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 23, 2012
Publication Date: Aug 30, 2012
Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED (Tokyo)
Inventor: Hiroshi YAMADA (Nirasaki City)
Application Number: 13/403,430
International Classification: F25D 13/00 (20060101);