IC Tester using an electron beam capable of easily setting a probe card unit for wafers & packaged IC's to be tested

Claim 1

An integrated circuit tester using an electron beam, comprising: a specimen chamber provided with a Z table and an X-Y table for holding a probe card unit to make electrical contact between electrical terminals of a specimen placed in said specimen chamber and lead wires led outside of said specimen chamber; an electron optical column disposed on said specimen chamber for radiating an electron beam to said specimen; a table drive system for driving said Z table in the direction of electron beam radiation and said X-Y table in X- and Y-directions in a plane perpendicular to the direction of electron beam radiation; said probe card unit comprising a plurality of electrical terminals which are arranged in a predetermined position relation on a top surface thereof to be connected to said electrical terminals of said specimen; said Z table including a fixed table provided with a plurality of downwardly protruding spring contact pins which are connected to said lead wires led outside of said specimen chamber and arranged in the same position relation as that of said electrical terminals on said probe card unit; and a probe card unit fixing mechanism attached to the undersurface of said fixed table and so arranged to allow said probe card unit to slide laterally along the undersurface of said fixed table and to move upward after the probe card unit reaches a predetermined lateral position, whereby the upward movement of said probe card unit results in the probe card unit being pressed against the undersurface of said fixed table and said spring contact pins being brought into electrical contact with their corresponding electrical terminals on the top surface of said probe card unit.