JP2000147005A - Contact unit and electrical connection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain objective contact pressure, despite causing effective slide action. SOLUTION: A contact unit arranges a flexible electrical connector 14 on a plate shape support body 12. The electrical connector 14 arranges a plurality of cable parts 28 with intervals in on a thin base member 26 arranged outside the support body 12 and is provided with a contact part 30 at each cable part 28. The support body 12 is provided with an elastic deformation part 18 which deforms elastically, when the contact part 30 is pressed to the part to be contacted so that one of side parts of the first or the second surface from among the parts near the contact part 30 deforms larger in extent than the other side part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a contact unit used for testing electrical characteristics of a device under test such as an integrated circuit, and an electrical connection device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of the electrical connection devices used for conducting an electric test of an integrated circuit, a plurality of electric wires are formed on one surface of a film having electric insulation and flexibility, and each electric wire has a hemispherical shape. There is a film-type probe card using a probe sheet on which protrusions (bump electrodes) are formed. In this electrical connection device, the bump electrode is pressed against a contacted portion such as a pad electrode of an integrated circuit.

[0003] This electrical connection device forms a projection on each electrical wiring, and uses a part of the electrical wiring and a corresponding part of the film as a probe element. There is an advantage that the production of the sheet is easy and the cost is low.

However, in this type of conventional electrical connection device, since adjacent probe elements are not independent, the amount of deformation of the probe element when the bump electrode and the contacted portion of the integrated circuit are relatively pressed. As a result, an effective rubbing action cannot be given to the contacted portion, and a good contact state cannot be obtained.

There has been proposed an electrical connection device in which a slit is formed between adjacent probe elements to form a finger-like probe element. However, in this electrical connection device, a desired contact pressure cannot be obtained between the bump electrode and the contacted portion because the probe element is only elastically deformed by its own spring property.

[0006]

Therefore, in this type of electrical connection device, it is important that a desired contact pressure can be obtained despite an effective rubbing action.

[0007]

A contact unit according to the present invention comprises: a plate-like support having first and second surfaces in front and back directions and a third surface intersecting the both surfaces; And an electrical connector arranged.

[0008] The electrical connection body includes a thin base member disposed at least over the first and third surfaces, and a plurality of wiring portions disposed at intervals on the base member, each of which includes at least the first wiring member. A wiring portion extending over the first and third surfaces; and a contact portion provided at a position of each wiring portion corresponding to the third surface and protruding from the wiring portion to a side opposite to the base member.

[0009] When the contact portion is pressed against the contacted portion, one of the first and second surfaces of the portion near the contact portion is more than the other portion. An elastic deformation portion that elastically deforms is provided so as to be greatly deformed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical connection device comprising: a frame having a plurality of contact units as described above; an opening in which the contact units are arranged in parallel with the contact portions being downward; And a plurality of pairs of mounting plates respectively mounted on the frame, the plurality of mounting plates being arranged in the opening so as to face each other via the corresponding contact units. The contact unit has the third surface side protruding downward from the frame.

[0011] In the electric connection body, the vicinity of each contact portion functions as a probe element. When the tip of the contact portion is pressed against a contacted portion such as an electrode portion of an integrated circuit, the elastic deformation portion elastically deforms together with the probe element,
A predetermined contact pressure is obtained between the contact portion and the contacted portion.

Further, since each probe element is deformed by the contact portion such that one portion in the thickness direction of the support is more deformed than the other portion, the contact portion is inclined with respect to the contacted portion, and An effective rubbing action occurs between the portion and the contacted portion.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the contact portion is pressed against the contacted portion, of the portions near the contact portion, the portion on one of the first and second surfaces. Is more deformed than the other side,
Since the support is provided with the elastically deformable portion which is elastically deformed, the desired contact pressure can be obtained despite the effective rubbing action.

[0014] The elastically deformable portion may be an elastic member disposed eccentrically on the side of the third surface and on one of the first and second surfaces. In this case, the elastic member can be disposed in the notch formed on the third surface side and open to at least one of the first and second surfaces and the third surface. .

[0015] Alternatively, the elastically deformable portion may be a portion formed by a cutout on the side of the third surface and opened to one of the first and second surfaces. Good.

[0016] The elastically deformable portion and the electrical connection body may have a slit opened to at least the third surface between adjacent contact portions. In this case, since the movement (deformation) of the adjacent probe elements is independent, the rubbing action is more reliably generated, and better contact is obtained.

The support has a plate-like portion having the first, second and third surfaces and the elastically deformable portion, and the support is disposed on a side of the plate-like portion opposite to the third surface. An elastic body forming a fourth surface opposite to the third surface, wherein the base member and each of the wiring portions further extend from the portion corresponding to the second surface to the fourth surface. The contact unit may further include a protruding electrode provided at a portion corresponding to the extension of each wiring portion.

[0018] The electrical connection device using the contact unit as described above further comprises a plurality of connection units arranged on the frame so as to correspond to the contact units and to face the protruding electrodes of the corresponding contact unit. A plurality of connection lands that are individually corresponding to the projection electrodes and are in contact with the corresponding projection electrodes on one surface, and each of the connection substrates includes a plurality of connection lands that individually correspond to the connection lands. A plurality of conductive through holes connected to the lands may be provided. With this configuration, the protruding electrode can be connected to the tester by the connector having the pin inserted into the through hole and the flat cable connected to the connector.

Each of the mounting plates has a plurality of members for engaging with the end surface of the contact unit, is attached to the frame by set screws, and is further spaced by the set screws. The attitude of the contact unit can be adjusted by a plurality of adjustment screws. With this configuration, it is possible to correct and adjust the variation in the height and the parallelism of the contact unit with the set screw and the adjustment screw.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a contact unit 10 comprises a support 12 in the form of a rectangular plate and a flexible member arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the support 12. And a thin electrical connection 14 having

The support 12 is provided with an elastic member 18 at one end in the width direction of the elongated plate-like portion 16 so as to be deviated to one side in the thickness direction of the plate-like portion 16 and the other end in the width direction. An elastic body 20 is disposed at each end, and a protruding portion 22 is formed on each end surface of the plate-shaped portion 16 in the longitudinal direction.

The plate portion 16 and the protruding portion 22 are integrally made of an electrically insulating material such as ceramic.
In the illustrated example, the elastic deformation portion 18 and the elastic body 20 are formed of an elastic member that is elastically deformable in three dimensions, such as silicone rubber.

The elastic member forming the elastically deformable portion 18 is formed at one end of the plate-like portion 16 in the width direction, and at least one surface in the thickness direction of the plate-like portion 16 and the plate-like portion 16 It is arranged in the notch 23 that opens to one end face in the width direction, and extends in the longitudinal direction of the plate-like portion 16.

The elastic body 20 extends in the longitudinal direction of the plate portion 16. Each protruding portion 22 extends in the width direction of the plate-shaped portion 16 and has a plurality of hemispherical recesses 24 that are open to the end surface (two in the illustrated example) spaced apart in the longitudinal direction. .

The electrical connector 14 has a plurality of wiring portions 28 on the outer surface of a cylindrical film member 26 made of an electrically insulating resin such as polyimide, and one end of each wiring portion 28 has a contact portion 30. And a protruding electrode 32 such as a bump electrode is provided at the other end of each wiring portion 28.

The wiring portion 28 is a wiring pattern formed on the base member 26 by an appropriate method such as a printed wiring technology, and extends in the longitudinal direction of the support 12 so as not to contact with each other. In the illustrated example, the wiring portion 28 is formed in a U shape, but may be formed in a ring shape extending around the support 12.

In the electrical connector 14, a plurality of wiring portions 28 are formed on one surface of a flat film member 26, and a contact portion 30 and a protruding electrode 32 are formed on each wiring portion 28. Contact part 30 and protruding electrode 3
2 correspond to one end face and the other end face in the width direction of the support 12 and the wiring portion 28 extends in a U-shape.
2, and can be attached to the support 12 by an appropriate technique such as bonding.

Each of the contact portions 30 and the protruding electrodes 32
It is formed of a conductive metal material such as nickel, and protrudes from the wiring portion 28 to the side opposite to the support 12. Each contact portion 30 is a protruding electrode that is slightly longer than the protruding electrode 32 so that it can act as a probe.

The contact unit 10 also has slits 34 formed in the electrical connector 14 and the support 12 from one end in the width direction between the adjacent wiring portions 28. The slit 34 extends from one end surface in the width direction of the support 12 to the electric connection body 14, the plate-like portion 16, and the elastic deformation portion 18. Therefore, a part of the adjacent wiring part 28 and a part in the vicinity thereof,
In particular, a portion in the vicinity of the contact portion 30 independently acts as a probe element that can be elastically deformed.

In the illustrated example, the device under test 36 to be tested is an integrated circuit, and the contact portion 38 is a pad electrode.
Each contact unit 10 is manufactured so as to have the same pattern as the arrangement pattern of the contact location 38.
Are located. The device under test, that is, the integrated circuit 36 has a plurality of electrode pads as contacted portions 38 on one surface. One such integrated circuit 36 is an uncut IC on a semiconductor wafer.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, the electrical connection device 40 includes a plurality of contact units 10 as described above.
A frame 42 formed in a disc shape from an electrically insulating material such as ceramic, a plurality of mounting plates 44 individually corresponding to the contact units 10 and mounting the corresponding contact units 10 to the frame 42, The frame 4 is placed in a state where the frame 4 faces the protruding electrode 32 of the corresponding contact unit 10.
And a plurality of elongated connection substrates 46 arranged in two.

The contact unit 10 includes a projection electrode 32
Are arranged on the frame 42 in parallel with the pair of mounting plates 44 in a state where the contact portions 30 are on the lower side and the thickness direction is the same direction.

The frame 42 includes the contact unit 10
A rectangular opening 48 in the center, a downwardly extending opening wall 50 around the opening 48, and a rectangular inward flange 52 projecting into the opening 48 at the top. Each contact unit 10 has a portion on the contact portion 30 side protruding downward from the frame 42.

Each mounting plate 44 is assembled to the opening wall 50 by a set screw 54 penetrating the opening wall 50 in the thickness direction so as to face the corresponding end surface of the contact unit 10. Each mounting plate 44 has a pair of ball plungers 56 spaced apart in the vertical direction.

Although the specific structure of the ball plunger 56 is not shown, the ball and the compression coil spring are arranged in a cylindrical member, and one end of the cylindrical member is closed by an appropriate means such as a lid. This is a known locking tool having a structure in which a ball is biased by a compression coil spring so that a part of the ball protrudes from the other end of the cylindrical member.

The ball plunger 56 is arranged at a position facing the recess 24 of the corresponding contact unit 10 with the ball side facing inside.

Each contact unit 10 is inserted from below into a pair of opposed mounting plates 44 and is releasably engaged with the ball of the ball plunger 56 in the recess 24. Thereby, each contact unit 10 is gripped by the pair of mounting plates 44 facing each other.

Each mounting plate 44 is assembled to the flange 52 by a set screw 58 penetrating the flange 52 of the frame 42 in the vertical direction, a pair of guide pins 60, and a pair of adjustment screws 62. The set screw 58 is arranged at the center position of the square, and the guide pin 60 and the adjusting screw 62 are arranged at intervals in the diagonal direction of the square with the set screw 58 interposed therebetween.

The set screw 58 passes through the flange 52 and is screwed to the mounting plate 44. The guide pin 60 is fixed to one of the mounting plate 44 and the flange 52 and penetrates the other. The adjusting screw 62 is connected to the flange 5
2 and is in contact with the upper surface of the mounting plate 44. Therefore, by adjusting the screwing amount of the adjusting screw 62 with the set screw 58 loosened, the posture of the contact unit 10 can be adjusted. Can be modified and adjusted.

Each connection board 46 is mounted on the mounting plate 44 at each end by a pair of set screws 64 spaced in the width direction and guide pins 66 provided between the set screws. ing. Each set screw 64 is screwed to the mounting plate 44 through the connection board 46. The guide pin 66 is provided on one of the mounting plate 44 and the connection board 46, and the other is slidably fitted.

Each connection board 46 is provided with the contact unit 1
A plurality of connection lands 68 respectively corresponding to the zero protruding electrodes 32 are provided on one surface, and conductive through holes 70 respectively corresponding to the connection lands 68 and connected to the corresponding connection lands are provided. . Each connection board 46 is attached to the attachment plate 44 in a state where the connection lands 68 are in contact with the protruding electrodes 32. Each set screw 66 is loosened when the posture of the contact unit 10 is adjusted.

The electrical connecting device 40 is, for example, loosely assembling each mounting plate 44 to the opening wall 50 with a set screw 54, loosely assembling the flange 52 with a set screw 58, and connecting each connection board 46 to the mounting plate with a set screw 64. 44, then each contact unit 10 is inserted into the opening 48 from below, and then the posture of each contact unit 10 is adjusted to tighten the set screws 54, 60, and then the set screw 64 is tightened. Assembled.

When assembled in the electrical connection device 40, each contact unit 10
And can be slightly displaced with respect to the mounting plate 44 against the spring force of the ball plunger 56.

The connection pin 74 of the connector 72 is inserted into each through hole 70. The connector 72 is provided at one end of a flat cable 76 that connects each contact unit 10 to a test head of a tester.

The electrical connection device 40 is arranged at the test station of the tester, and connects each contact unit 10 to the test head of the tester by a plurality of flat cables 76. The integrated circuit 36 is arranged on a test table of the tester.

At the time of the conduction test, the contact portion 30 is pressed against the pad electrode 38 of the integrated circuit 36. Thereby, the integrated circuit 36 includes the contact part 30, the wiring part 28, the projecting electrode 32, the connection land 68, the through hole 70, the connector 7
2 and a flat cable 76 are electrically connected to the test head of the tester.

When the contact portion 30 is pressed against the pad electrode 38, the elastic deformation portion 18 is elastically deformed, and a predetermined contact pressure is obtained between the contact portion 18 and the pad electrode 38 of the integrated circuit 36. Further, the elastic deformation portion 18 is
Since each probe element is displaced to one side in the thickness direction of FIG. 2, each probe element is depressed such that a portion on one side in the thickness direction of the support 12 is more deformed than a portion on the other side, as shown in FIG. As a result, the contact portion 30 is inclined with respect to the pad electrode 38, and an effective rubbing action occurs between the contact portion 30 and the pad electrode 38.

In the electrical connection device 40, since each contact unit 10 can be slightly displaced against the frame 42 and the mounting plate 44 against the spring force of the ball plunger 56, it is thermally expanded and contracted as a whole. Even so, there is no possibility that the positional relationship between the contact units 10 changes significantly.

When conducting an energization test on an object to be inspected having a different arrangement pattern of the contact portion 38, the contact portion 3
0 may be replaced with another contact unit arranged in a state corresponding to the arrangement pattern of the contacted location.

Instead of the elastically deforming portion being an elastically deforming portion 18 using an elastic member such as rubber, as shown in FIG. A portion formed by the cutout portion 80 opened to one surface in the thickness direction may be an elastic deformation portion 82.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
2 is in the state shown in FIG. 7A when the contact portion 30 is not pressed against the pad electrode 38, but is in the state shown in FIG. 7B when the contact portion 30 is pressed against the pad electrode 38. Then, the support 12 is elastically deformed so that one side in the width direction is greatly deformed. Thereby, the contact portion 3
0 gives an effective rubbing action to the electrode portion.

As shown in FIG. 2, an electrical insulating layer 84 covering the wiring portion 28 may be provided on the electrical connector 10. In this way, even when a plurality of contact units 10 are stacked, electrical contact between the wiring portions 28 of adjacent contact units 10 is prevented.

Instead of forming the contact portion 30 in the wiring portion 28 in advance, all the contact portions of the electrical connection device 40 may be formed in the wiring portion after the electrical connection device 40 is assembled. With this configuration, the contact portion can be easily formed in an arrangement that accurately corresponds to the arrangement pattern of the contacted location.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the present invention can be applied to an interface for connecting a probe card to a test head of a tester and a contact unit used for the interface. In addition, the present invention is applicable not only to the contact unit and the electrical connection device used for the conduction test of the integrated circuit, but also to the contact unit and the electrical connection device used for the conduction test of another flat test object such as a liquid crystal substrate. Can be applied. Therefore, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of a contact unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the contact unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the contact unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the electrical connection device using the contact unit shown in FIG. 1, with the flat cable removed.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 4;

7A and 7B are cross-sectional views illustrating another example of use of the contact unit, in which FIG. 7A illustrates a state in which a contact portion is not pressed against a contacted portion, and FIG. Indicates the status that is being performed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Contact unit 12 Support body 14 Electrical connection body 16 Plate-shaped part 18, 82 Elastic deformation part 20 Elastic body 23, 80 Notch part 26 Base member 28 Wiring part 30 Contact part 32 Projection electrode 34 Slit 36 Inspection object (integrated circuit) 38 contacted portion (pad electrode) 40 electrical connection device 42 frame 44 mounting plate 46 connection board 48 opening 54, 58, 64 set screw 56 ball plunger 62 adjustment screw 60, 66 guide pin 68 connection land 70 through hole 72 connector 74 Connection pin 76 Flat cable

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A plate-shaped support having first and second surfaces in front and back directions and a third surface intersecting with both surfaces,
An electrical connector disposed on the support, wherein the electrical connector comprises a thin base member disposed at least over the first and third surfaces, and a plurality of spacers disposed at intervals on the base member. A wiring portion extending at least over the first and third surfaces, and a wiring portion corresponding to the third surface, the wiring portion being opposite to the base member from the wiring portion. A contact portion protruding from the contact portion, wherein when the contact portion is pressed against a contacted portion, the portion near one of the first and second surfaces of the portion near the contact portion A contact unit including an elastically deformable portion that is elastically deformed so that is deformed more than a part on the other side. 2. The elastic deformation portion is an elastic member disposed on the side of the third surface and eccentrically disposed on one of the first and second surfaces. 2. The contact unit according to 1. 3. The elastically deformable portion is a portion formed by a notch on the side of the third surface and opening to one of the first and second surfaces. 2. The contact unit according to 1. 4. The elastic deformation section and the electric connection body,
4. The contact unit according to claim 1, wherein the contact unit has at least a slit opened to the third surface between adjacent contact portions. 5. 5. The support according to claim 1, wherein the first, second and third supports are provided.
And a plate-like portion having the elastically deformable portion, and an elastic body disposed on the opposite side of the plate-like portion from the third surface to form a fourth surface opposite to the third surface. Wherein the base member and each of the wiring portions each have an extension extending from the portion corresponding to the second surface to the fourth surface, and the contact unit further includes the extension of each wiring portion. Comprising protruding electrodes provided at portions corresponding to the portions,
The contact unit according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4. 6. A frame having a plurality of contact units according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and an opening in which the contact units are arranged in parallel with the contact portions facing downward. A plurality of pairs of mounting plates respectively corresponding to the contact units and mounting the corresponding contact units to the frame, wherein the plurality of pairs of mounting plates are arranged in the opening in a state where they are opposed to each other via the corresponding contact units. An electrical connection device, wherein the contact unit has the third surface side protruding downward from the frame. 7. Each mounting plate has a plurality of members that engage with the end face of the contact unit, is attached to the frame by set screws, and is further spaced apart by the set screws. The electrical connection device according to claim 6, wherein the posture of the contact unit can be adjusted by a plurality of adjustment screws set. 8. The contact unit according to claim 5, wherein the contact unit is an electrical connection device,
Furthermore, a plurality of connection boards arranged on the frame in a state facing the protruding electrodes of the corresponding contact units individually corresponding to the contact units,
Each connection board is provided on one surface with a plurality of connection lands individually corresponding to the projection electrodes and being in contact with the corresponding projection electrodes, and connected to the corresponding connection lands individually corresponding to the connection lands. The electrical connection device according to claim 7, further comprising a plurality of conductive through holes.