Fast non-contact flat panel inspection through a dual channel measurement system

Abstract

Research of the inspection and defect repair process for improving the production yield is becoming more important in the flat panel production process which remarkably expands in recent years. In this research, a new non-contact inspection method for the fast and accurate detection of electrical defects subject to repair in a-Si TFT circuits is proposed. The proposed method enables much faster inspection in comparison with the conventional Pin Probe inspection method which has been used for years. In addition, since it can not only detect defects in the target circuit but also specify the location of each defect, a more efficient process management can be realized by having such information in common with the repair system. Further, this non-contact method can eliminate a running cost which has been the most serious problem in the test process by removing the need to replace the pin probing fixtures which vary depending on the circuit type.