Patent ID: 7969172
Filing Date: 2011-06-28
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
1. A probing method for, under the control of a control unit, moving a mounting table with a wafer mounted thereon to bring a plurality of probes of a probe card into electrical contact with a number of chips arranged in the wafer along an oblique direction and for conducting a test of electrical characteristics of the chips, wherein a predetermined number of chips are tested at a time, comprising: a first step of finding a first reference oblique chip row extending in the oblique direction and containing a center chip positioned at the center of the wafer and a plurality of first additional oblique chip rows arranged in parallel with the first reference oblique chip row in a first region at an upper side of the first reference oblique chip row wherein the first reference oblique chip row is a lowermost chip row in the first region and the first reference oblique chip row includes an uppermost chip row of the first region, and setting contact positions between the probes and the first oblique chip rows consisting of the first reference oblique chip row and the first additional oblique chip rows, wherein the contact positions are positions of the probes obtained by shifting the probes by a distance corresponding to the predetermined number of chips at a time using a chip positioned at a lower end of each first oblique chip row as a starting point; a second step of finding a second reference oblique chip row arranged in parallel with and next to the first reference oblique chip row in a second region at a lower side of the first reference oblique chip row and a multiplicity of second additional oblique chip rows arranged in the second region in parallel with the second reference oblique chip row, wherein the second reference oblique chip row is an uppermost chip row in the second region and the second additional oblique chip rows includes a lowermost chip row of the second region and setting contact positions between the probes and the second oblique chip rows consisting of the second reference oblique chip row and the second additional oblique chip rows wherein the contact positions are positions of the probes by shifting the probes by a distance corresponding to the predetermined numbers of chips at a time using a chip positioned at an upper end of each second oblique chip row as a starting point; and a third step of, based on the setting of the contact positions made in the first and second steps, setting a first index group containing contact positions disposed at one of a left and a right end portion of the wafer and sequentially setting next index groups for the remaining contact positions, each of the first and the next index groups being elongated in up and down directions, and setting an index transfer order of the respective contact positions along a serpentine course extending in the up and down directions from the first index group toward an index group disposed at the order end portion of the wafer.