Patent ID: 11965911
Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA NIHON MICRONICS
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. An inspection apparatus that makes an inspection of electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected using a contactor brought into electrical contact with an electrode of the object to be inspected, the inspection apparatus comprising:
a position adjusting unit including the contactor, a position adjusting section that adjusts a tip position of the contactor, and a load detecting section that detects a value of contact load between the contactor and the electrode;
a position deriving section that derives an initial position of the contactor in a specific direction based on a relationship between an amount of contact displacement of the contactor in the specific direction and the value of contact load between the contactor and the electrode; and
a movement performing section that moves the tip position of the contactor based on the initial position in the specific direction derived by the position deriving section,
wherein the position adjusting section adjusts a two dimensional position of the contactor relative to the electrode,
wherein, after the two dimensional position of the contactor is adjusted, the contactor is manually or automatically lowered towards the electrode until the contactor contacts the electrode, thereby causing displacement of the contactor in the specific direction,
wherein the position deriving section obtains at least two or more measurement results, including the amount of contact displacement of the contactor in the specific direction and the value of contact load obtained at the time, and derives the initial position of the contactor in the specific direction using a value of change in load per unit length, which was derived using the two or more measurement results, and
wherein the movement performing section performs a fine adjustment of the tip position of the contactor based on the initial position derived by the position deriving section.