Mercury probe

Abstract

The disclosed apparatus provides a mercury electrode for making non-destructive tests, especially for Schottky-diode tests of semi-conductors such as silicon. By developing vacuum under a test wafer on a support, a column of mercury is drawn into contact with the test wafer through a bore in the support that accurately establishes the area of the contact. The vacuum system also holds the test wafer securely in position, it avoids spillage of mercury, and additional circuit-completing contact can be made to the wafer with independently controlled pressure.

What is claimed is: .[.1. Electrical test apparatus, including means for supporting a test wafer at the face thereof to be tested, the supporting means providing a wafer-engaging face, a reservoir of mercury below said supporting means, means providing a passage from the reservoir through at least part of said supporting means to the wafer-engaging face thereof for enabling the mercury to contact said test face of the wafer, said passage means terminating in an aperture in said wafer-engaging face accurately determining an area of contact of the mercury to a wafer on said wafer-engaging face, said supporting means providing electrical insulation between the wafer and the mercury that contacts the wafer during use of the apparatus except for said determined contact area, means for developing a vacuum in the interface between the wafer-engaging face of said supporting means and the wafer near and at said aperture for drawing mercury from the reservoir to said contact area and for holding the wafer 
     
        against said wafer-engaging face..]. 2. Electrical test apparatus .[.according to claim 1, wherein.]..Iadd., including means for supporting a test wafer at the face thereof to be tested, the supporting means providing a wafer-engaging face, a reservoir of mercury below said supporting means, means providing a passage from the reservoir through at least part of said supporting means to the wafer-engaging face thereof for enabling the mercury to contact said test face of the wafer, said passage means terminating in an aperture in said wafer-engaging face accurately determining an area of contact of the mercury to a wafer on said wafer-engaging face, said supporting means providing electrical insulation between the wafer and the mercury that contacts the wafer during use of the apparatus except for said determined contact area, means for developing a vacuum in the interface between the wafer-engaging face of said supporting means and the wafer near and at said aperture for drawing mercury from the reservoir to said contact area and for holding the wafer against said wafer-engaging face, .Iaddend.said supporting means .[.includes.]. .Iadd. including .Iaddend.a chuck and a separate orifice plate on the chuck, a surface of said orifice plate providing said wafer-engaging face, said chuck and said orifice plate having aligned bores forming at least part of said passage means from the mercury reservoir to the wafer-engaging face, at least said orifice plate having a bore additional to said aligned bores providing part of said means for developing vacuum in the interface between the wafer-engaging face of said 
     
     
        orifice plate and the wafer. 3. Electrical test apparatus according to claim 2, including further means for developing vacuum in the interface between the chuck and the orifice plate to hold the latter in position 
     
     
        securely on the chuck. 4. Electrical test apparatus .[.according to claim 1,.]..Iadd., said apparatus including means for supporting a test wafer at the face thereof to be tested, the supporting means providing a wafer-engaging face, a reservoir of mercury below said supporting means, means providing a passage from the reservoir through at least part of said supporting means to the wafer-engaging face thereof for enabling the mercury to contact said test face of the wafer, said passage means terminating in an aperture in said wafer-engaging face accurately determining an area of contact of the mercury to a wafer on said wafer-engaging face, said supporting means providing electrical insulation between the wafer and the mercury that contacts the wafer during use of the apparatus except for said determined contact area, means for developing a vacuum in the interface between the wafer-engaging face of said supporting means and the wafer near and at said aperture for drawing mercury from the reservoir to said contact area and for holding the wafer against said wafer-engaging face, said apparatus .Iaddend.including an arm carrying at least one resilient contact, said arm being movable between one position for making contact with the wafer and another position remote from the wafer, and means for latching the arm in said contact-making position for establishing desired engagement of said resilient contact to 
     
     
        a wafer on the supporting means. 5. Electrical test apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said arm carries an additional resilient contact for enabling observation of the voltage-current characteristic of the engagement of the wafer with said one resilient contact and for enabling pulsing thereof for rendering the characteristic linear. .[.6. Electrical test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for developing a vacuum in said interface includes air-passage means about said aperture for establishing a relatively uniform sub-atmospheric pressure at least in that portion of the interface closely adjacent to and surrounding the aperture..]. .[.7. Electrical test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for developing a vacuum in said interface includes a groove in the wafer-engaging face surrounding said aperture, and wherein said means for developing a vacuum includes a vacuum port in the supporting means extending to said groove for establishing essentially uniform 
     
     
        sub-atmospheric pressure in said interface about said aperture..]. 8. Electrical test apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said vacuum developing means includes means about the aperture in the orifice plate for establishing relatively uniform sub-atmospheric pressure about said aperture in the interface between the wafer and the orifice plate, said last-named means including a groove surrounding said mercury passage in at 
     
     
        least one of said orifice plate and said chuck. 9. Electrical test apparatus including a support, an orifice plate on the support, said orifice plate having a flat surface for supporting a flat test wafer, said support and said orifice plate having aligned bores extending to an aperture in said flat surface, means for developing vacuum at the flat surface of the orifice plate at and near said aperture but only when a test wafer is disposed thereon for elevating mercury through said aligned bores to said aperture to form an electrode engaging a wafer on the orifice plate, said orifice plate being separably received on the support 
     
     
        for providing a desired electrode area in the orifice plate. 10. Electrical test apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said flat surface of the orifice plate has a circular groove centered about said aperture and forming part of said vacuum developing means for establishing 
     
     
        a relatively uniform sub-atmospheric pressure about said aperture. 11. Electrical test apparatus to claim 10 including a second circular groove in the interface between said orifice plate and said support of the same diameter as said first-mentioned circular groove and centered about said aperture, said vacuum developing means including a bore through said orifice plate interconnecting said grooves, and further vacuum passage means through said support opening into said second circular groove. 
     
     
        .Iadd.2.  Electrical test apparatus, including means for supporting a test wafer at the face thereof to be tested, the supporting means providing a wafer-engaging face, a reservoir of mercury below said supporting means, means providing a passage from the reservoir through at least part of said supporting means to the wafer-engaging face thereof for enabling the mercury to contact said test face of the wafer, said passage means terminating in an aperture in said wafer-engaging face accurately determining an area of contact of the mercury to a wafer on said wafer-engaging face, said supporting means providing electrical insulation between the wafer and the mercury that contacts the wafer during use of the apparatus except for said determined contact area, means for developing a vacuum in the interface between the wafer-engaging face of said supporting means and the wafer near and at said aperture for drawing mercury from the reservoir to said contact area and for holding the wafer against said wafer-engaging face, said supporting means including a support member bearing a readily separable orifice member that provides said wafer-engaging face, said orifice member having a first hole therethrough forming said aperture, said first hole constituting a portion of said passage means, said orifice member further having means including a second hole therethrough forming part of said vacuum developing means, said support member having a mercury-passage opening and a vacuum-passage opening therethrough communicating with said first and second holes in said orifice member, respectively, said openings forming portions of said passage means and of said vacuum-developing means, respectively..Iaddend. 
     
     
        .Iadd.13.  Electrical apparatus as in either of claims 12 and 15 wherein a plurality of said first holes of different sizes are provided which may be selectively located to constitute part of said passage means. .Iaddend. .Iadd.14. Electrical test apparatus as in either of claims 12 and 15, wherein said vacuum-developing means is arranged to develop vacuum between said orifice member and said member that supports the orifice member for 
     
     
        holding the orifice member securely in position. .Iaddend. .Iadd.15. Electrical test apparatus, including plural devices for making electrical contact to the test element, at least one of said devices including an orifice member providing a test-element-engaging face and a further member against which said orifice member is separably assembled, a reservoir of mercury, means including a first hole in said orifice member and a first opening in said further member for providing a mercury passage from the reservoir to said test-element-engaging face, the termination of said mercury passage in said test-element-engaging face being an aperture that accurately determines an area of contact of the mercury to a test element placed against said test-element-engaging face, said orifice member providing electrical insulation around said aperture, and means for developing a vacuum in the interface between the test element and said test-element-engaging face near and at said aperture for drawing mercury from the reservoir to said area of contact and for holding the test element against the test-element-engaging face, said vacuum-developing means including at least a second hole through said orifice member. 
     
     
        .Iaddend. .Iadd.16.  Electrical test apparatus, including a mercury reservoir, a member providing a test-i element-engaging face, means providing a passage from the reservoir through said member and terminating in a test aperture in said test-element-engaging face accurately determining an area of contact of the mercury to a test element to be placed against said element-engaging face, said member providing electrical insulation around said test aperture, said passage providing means including a metal tube spaced from said test-element-engaging face, said electrical test apparatus including means for making electrical connection from external test means to a test element when placed against said test-element-engaging face, said electrical connection means including said metal tube and mercury when in the passage means from the metal tube to said test aperture and in contact with a test element and wiring extending directly from said metal tube, and means for displacing mercury from the reservoir along the passage means to the aperture for making contact with the test element. .Iaddend. .Iadd.17. Electrical test apparatus as in claim 16, wherein said tube is made of metal that does not form an amalgam with mercury. .Iaddend. .Iadd.18. Electrical test apparatus as in claim 16, wherein said tube is made of stainless steel. .Iaddend. .Iadd.19. Electrical test apparatus as in claim 16 or 18, wherein said wafer engaging member is at least part of a support for the test wafer and wherein said reservoir is a container secured to a downward-facing area of the test wafer support. .Iaddend. .Iadd.20. Electrical test apparatus, including a mercury reservoir, a member providing a test-element-engaging face, means providing a passage from the reservoir through said member and terminating in a test aperture in said test-element-engaging face accurately determining an area of contact of the mercury to a test element to be placed against said test-element-engaging face, said member providing electrical insulation around said test aperture, said passage providing means including a metal tube spaced from said test-element-engaging face, said electrical test apparatus including means for making electrical connection from external test means to a test element when placed against said test-element-engaging face, said electrical connection means including said metal tube and mercury when in the passage means from the metal tube to said test aperture and in contact with the test element and wiring extending directly from said metal tube, and means for developing a vacuum in the interface between the test element and said test-element-engaging face near and at said aperture for drawing mercury from the reservoir into the passage means and along the passage means to said test aperture. .Iaddend.