CN108780115B

CN108780115B - Test socket and conductive particles

Info

Publication number: CN108780115B
Application number: CN201780014904.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑永倍
Original assignee: ISC Co Ltd
Current assignee: ISC Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-05-11
Filing date: 2017-05-11
Publication date: 2020-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-11
Also published as: CN108780115A; TW201743341A; KR101739537B1; TWI645422B; WO2017196094A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a test socket and conductive particles. The test socket includes: a plurality of conductive portions arranged at positions corresponding to terminals of the test target device and spaced apart from each other in a surface direction of the test socket, each of the conductive portions including a plurality of conductive particles contained in an elastic insulating material and aligned in a thickness direction of the test socket; and an insulating support body arranged between the conductive parts spaced apart from each other to support the conductive parts and insulate the conductive parts from each other in a surface direction, wherein each of the conductive particles includes: a body having a cylindrical shape; and at least two protrusions protruding from the upper end of the body, wherein a recess depressed toward the body is provided between the protrusions adjacent to each other, and an angle between inner surfaces of the protrusions facing each other is an obtuse angle greater than 90 °.

Description

Test socket and conductive particles

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a test socket and conductive particles, and more particularly, to a test socket and conductive particles configured to maintain conductivity for a long time even when the test socket frequently contacts a test target device.

Background

Generally, a test socket is used during a test process to check whether a manufactured device has a defect or an error. For example, when an electrical test is performed to check whether a manufactured device (test target device) has a defect or an error, the test target device and a test apparatus are not brought into direct contact with each other but are indirectly connected to each other through a test socket. This is because the test equipment is relatively expensive and causes difficulty and high cost when worn or damaged by frequent contact with the test target device, thereby requiring replacement by new test equipment. Accordingly, a test socket may be detachably attached to an upper side of a test apparatus, and then a test target device to be tested may be electrically connected to the test apparatus by contacting the test target device to the test socket instead of contacting the test target device to the test apparatus. Thereafter, the electrical signals generated by the self-test apparatus may be transmitted to the test target device via the test socket.

Such a test socket is referred to as an "anisotropic conductive connector", and related art anisotropic conductive connectors are shown in fig. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrating an anisotropic conductive connector of the related art, and fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the anisotropic conductive connector shown in fig. 1.

The anisotropic conductive connection member 10 includes: an elastic anisotropic conductive film 15 having conductivity in the thickness direction of the elastic anisotropic conductive film 15; and a frame plate 20 including a metal material and supporting the elastic anisotropic conductive film 15.

As shown in fig. 3, a plurality of through holes 21 are formed side by side in the length direction and the width direction of the frame plate 20, the plurality of through holes 21 having a rectangular cross-sectional shape and being extendable in the thickness direction of the frame plate 20. In the illustrated example, a plurality of position holes for aligning and placing the anisotropic conductive connection members 10 are formed in the peripheral region of the frame plate 20.

In the surface direction of the elastic anisotropic conductive film 15, a plurality of conductive connection portions 16 for connecting to the electrodes are arranged at intervals in a pattern corresponding to the electrode pattern. In detail, a plurality of conductive connection portion groups each including a plurality of conductive connection portions 16 arranged according to grid points of a pattern are arranged side by side in the length direction and the width direction of the elastic anisotropic conductive film 15. Further, in the present example, a plurality of conductive non-connection portions 18, which may extend in the thickness direction thereof, are arranged around the conductive connection portion group at a position spaced apart from each other where the conductive connection portion group is not arranged, the conductive non-connection portions 18 being arranged in the surface direction at the same pitch as the arrangement of the conductive connection portions 16. The conductive connection portion 16 and the conductive non-connection portion 18 are insulated from each other by an insulation portion 17 arranged between the conductive connection portion 16 and the conductive non-connection portion 18. Each of the conductive connection portion 16 and the conductive non-connection portion 18 includes magnetic conductive particles that are closely arranged in an insulating elastic polymer in a thickness direction thereof, and the insulating portion 17 includes the insulating elastic polymer. In the example shown, each of the conductive connection portions 16 includes protruding

portions

16A and 16B protruding from both sides of the insulating portion 17, respectively. In addition, the elastic anisotropic conductive film 15 is integrally fixed to the frame plate 20, and is supported by the frame plate 20 in such a manner that the conductive connection portion groups are respectively located in the through holes 21 of the frame plate 20, and the conductive non-connection portions 18 are placed on the frame plate 20.

Such an anisotropic conductive connection member of the related art can be manufactured as follows.

First, the frame plate 20 as shown in fig. 3 is manufactured. Next, a flowable molding material is prepared by dispersing the magnetic conductive particles P into a liquid polymer molding material that can be cured into an insulating elastic polymer. In addition, as shown in fig. 3, a mold 50 for forming an elastic anisotropic conductive film is prepared. Next, the frame plate 20 is aligned and disposed over the upper surface of the lower mold 56 of the mold 50 using spacers (not shown in the drawings), and the upper mold 51 of the mold 50 is aligned and disposed over the frame plate 20 using spacers (not shown in the drawings). Next, the prepared molding material is filled in the molding space formed by the upper mold 51, the lower mold 56, the partition walls, and the frame plate 20 to form the molding material layer 15A.

Next, an electromagnet or a permanent magnet is placed on the upper surface of the ferromagnetic substrate 52 of the upper mold 51 and the lower surface of the ferromagnetic substrate 57 of the lower mold 56, so that a parallel magnetic field having a non-uniform intensity distribution can be applied in the thickness direction of the forming material layer 15A. That is, a parallel magnetic field having a relatively high magnetic strength between the magnetic member 54A of the upper mold 51 and the magnetic member 59A of the lower mold 56 corresponding to the magnetic member 54A is applied in the thickness direction of the forming material layer 15A. Next, as shown in fig. 4, the conductive particles P dispersed in the forming material layer 15A are gathered in a region between the magnetic member 54A of the upper mold 51 and the magnetic member 59A of the lower mold 56, and are aligned in the thickness direction of the forming material layer 15A.

In this state, the forming material layer 15A is cured, thereby forming the elastic anisotropic conductive film 15 fixed to the frame plate 20. The elastic anisotropic conductive film 15 includes: a conductive connection part 16 and a conductive non-connection part 18 including conductive particles P closely arranged between the magnetic member 54A of the upper mold 51 and the magnetic member 59A of the lower mold 56; and an insulating part 17 having no conductive particles P or having very few conductive particles P, and the insulating part 17 is arranged between the conductive connecting part 16 and the conductive non-connecting part 18. In this way, the anisotropic conductive connection member 10 is manufactured.

Such an anisotropic conductive connector includes a conductive portion in which conductive particles are arranged in an elastic insulating material, and the conductive portion frequently contacts a terminal of a test target device. As described above, when the terminal of the test target device frequently contacts the conductive portion, the conductive particles distributed in the elastic insulating material may be easily separated from the elastic insulating material. In particular, since the conductive particles have a spherical shape, the conductive particles can be more easily separated from the elastic insulating material. As described above, if the conductive particles are separated, the conductivity of the anisotropic conductive connection member may be reduced, and thus test reliability may be negatively affected.

A technique for solving the problems associated with the spherical conductive particles of the prior art is disclosed in korean patent No. 1019721 entitled "test socket with conductive cylindrical particles" filed by the applicant of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, such a test socket 30 includes: conductive portions 31 respectively including a plurality of conductive pillar particles 311, the plurality of conductive pillar particles 311 being contained in an elastic insulating material; and an insulating support body 32 supporting the conductive portion 31. Since the conductive pillar particles 311 are distributed in the conductive portion 31 of the test socket 30, the contact area between adjacent conductive pillar particles 311 can be relatively large, and thus the resistance of the test socket 30 can be reduced, thereby providing a stable electrical connection. In addition, since the conductive pillar particles 311 have a relatively large contact area with the elastic insulating material compared to the spherical conductive particles of the prior art, the adhesion between the conductive pillar particles 311 and the elastic insulating material is strong, and thus the conductive pillar particles 311 may not be easily separated from the elastic insulating material even when the test is repeatedly performed.

Although the conductive pillar particles 311 provide improved conductivity compared to spherical conductive particles, if the conductive pillar particles 311 closely arranged in the conductive portion 31 are not vertically aligned as shown in fig. 6(a), the conductive pillar particles 311 may be compressed into a non-aligned state due to a compressive force as shown in fig. 6 (b). In this case, the contact points between the conductive pillar particles 311 may not be maintained, and the conductive pillar particles 311 may not return to their original positions even when the compressive force is released.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

The present invention is provided to solve the above problems. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a test socket configured to prevent conductive particles from being separated from a conductive portion during frequent contact to ensure a firm electrical connection between the conductive particles while the conductive portion is compressed and expanded, and to provide a conductive particle.

Technical solution

To achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides a test socket configured to be placed between a test target device and a test apparatus to electrically connect terminals of the test target device to pads of the test apparatus, the test socket including: a plurality of conductive portions arranged at positions corresponding to the terminals of the test target device and spaced apart from each other in a surface direction of the test socket, each of the conductive portions including a plurality of conductive particles contained in an elastic insulating material and aligned in a thickness direction of the test socket; and an insulating support body arranged between the conductive parts spaced apart from each other to support the conductive parts and insulate the conductive parts from each other in the surface direction, wherein each of the conductive particles includes: a body having a cylindrical shape; and at least two protrusions protruding from an upper end of the body, wherein a recess recessed toward the body is provided between the protrusions adjacent to each other, and an angle between inner surfaces of the protrusions facing each other is an obtuse angle greater than 90 °.

The shape and size of the body may be such that the conductive particles may stand in the thickness direction when aligned in the resilient insulating material with a magnetic field.

Each of the bodies has a h/w greater than 1, where h refers to a vertical length measured from the upper end to a lower end of the body, and w refers to a horizontal length of the body perpendicular to the vertical length.

Each of the bodies has a w/d greater than 1, where d refers to the thickness of the body.

The mutually facing inner surfaces of the protrusions may be inclined to guide the protrusions of adjacent conductive particles into the recesses.

A lateral surface may be disposed between the upper and lower ends of the body, and the lateral surface may be inwardly recessed from the upper and lower ends of the body toward a central portion of the body.

A plurality of concave and convex portions may be provided on a lateral surface of the body.

At least two protrusions may protrude from a lower end of the body.

The protrusions on the upper end and the lower end of the body may be symmetrical with respect to the body.

To achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides conductive particles for use in a test socket configured to be placed between a test target device and a test apparatus to electrically connect terminals of the test target device to pads of the test apparatus, wherein the conductive particles include a plurality of conductive particles aligned in a conductive portion of the test socket in a thickness direction of the test socket, the conductive particles being arranged in an elastic insulating material, and the conductive particles arranged in the conductive portion come into contact with each other to make the conductive portion conductive when the terminals of the test target device press the conductive portion, wherein each of the conductive particles includes: a body having a cylindrical shape; and at least two protrusions protruding from an upper end of the body, wherein a recess recessed toward the body is provided between the protrusions adjacent to each other, and an angle between inner surfaces of the protrusions facing each other is an obtuse angle greater than 90 °.

The body may be elongated in a direction such that the conductive particles may stand in the thickness direction of the test socket when the conductive particles are aligned in the elastic insulating material by a magnetic field.

The conductive particle may further include at least two protrusions that may protrude from a lower end of the body.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, the angle between the inner surfaces of the conductive particles of the test socket facing each other is an obtuse angle (i.e., greater than 90 °), and thus a point contact can be maintained between the coupled conductive particles, thereby improving contact stability.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a test socket of the related art.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the test socket shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating how the test socket shown in fig. 1 is manufactured.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating another example of a test socket of the prior art.

Fig. 6(a) and 6(b) are diagrams illustrating problems in the conventional technique of fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a test socket according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the test socket shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating one of the conductive particles located in the conductive portion of the test socket shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 10 to 12 are schematic views illustrating a process for manufacturing a test socket.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged view illustrating the operation of the test socket shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 14 and 15 are views illustrating conductive particles according to other embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a test socket will be explained in detail according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the test socket 100 is in the form of a sheet having a predetermined thickness, and is configured to block current in a surface direction of the test socket 100 and conduct current in a thickness direction of the test socket 100 to electrically connect the terminal 131 of the test target device 130 to the pad 141 of the test apparatus 140 in a vertical direction. The test socket 100 may be used to perform electrical tests on the test target device 130.

The test socket 100 includes a conductive portion 110 and an insulating support 120. The conductive portion 110 extends in the thickness direction, and when the conductive portion 110 is pressed in the thickness direction, the conductive portion 110 may be compressed and may conduct current in the thickness direction. The conductive parts 110 are spaced apart from each other in the surface direction and the insulating supports 120 are arranged between the conductive parts 110 so that current may not flow between the conductive parts 110. The conductive portion 110 and the insulating support 120 will now be described in detail.

The upper end of the conductive part 110 may contact the terminal 131 of the test target device 130, and the lower end of the conductive part 110 may contact the pad 141 of the test apparatus 140. A plurality of conductive particles 111 are vertically aligned in the elastic insulating material between an upper end and a lower end of each of the conductive portions 110. When the conductive parts 110 are pressed by the test target device 130, the conductive particles 111 may contact each other and conduct current. That is, when the conductive part 110 is not pressed by the test target device 130, the conductive particles 111 are slightly spaced apart from or in contact with each other, and when the conductive part 110 is pressed and compressed by the test target device 130, the conductive particles 111 may be firmly in contact with each other, and thus may conduct current.

Specifically, the conductive portion 110 is formed by closely vertically arranging the conductive particles 111 in an elastic insulating material, and the conductive portion 110 is located at a position approximately corresponding to the terminal 131 of the test target device 130.

Preferably, the elastic insulating material may comprise an insulating polymer substance having a cross-linked structure. Such crosslinked polymeric materials can be obtained using a variety of curable polymeric forming materials. Specific examples of the crosslinked polymer substance include: conjugated diene rubbers such as polybutadiene rubber, natural rubber, polyisoprene rubber, styrene-butadiene copolymer rubber, or acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer rubber; a hydrogenation product of a conjugated diene rubber; a block copolymer rubber such as a styrene-butadiene-diene block copolymer rubber or a styrene-isoprene block copolymer rubber; hydrogenation products of block copolymer rubbers; chloroprene rubber; a urethane rubber; polyester rubber; epichlorohydrin rubber; a silicone rubber; ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber; and an ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer rubber. Silicone rubber can be used because of its better formability and electrical properties.

Preferably, the silicone rubber is obtainable from a liquid silicone rubber by crosslinking or condensation. The liquid silicone rubber may preferably be at least 10^-1The shear rate measured in seconds is not higher than 10⁵Viscosity of poise. The liquid silicone rubber may be one of a condensation-cured silicone rubber, an addition-cured silicone rubber, and a silicone rubber having a vinyl group or a hydroxyl group. Specific examples of the liquid silicone rubber may include dimethyl silicone raw rubber, methyl vinyl silicone raw rubber, and methyl phenyl vinyl silicone raw rubber.

Each of the conductive particles 111 includes a body 112 having a pillar shape as a whole and a protrusion 113 protruding from upper and lower ends of the body 112.

The body 112 has an approximately cylindrical shape, specifically, a thin quadrangular prism shape. Although the body 112 is described as having a quadrangular prism shape in the above examples, the body 112 is not limited thereto. For example, the body 112 may have a polygonal prism shape.

The body 112 is shaped and sized such that the conductive particles 111 can stand in the thickness direction by aligning the conductive particles 111 in the elastic insulating material using a magnetic field. That is, when the test socket 100 is manufactured, the mold 150 is filled with the liquid silicone rubber in which the conductive particles 111 are distributed, and a magnetic field is applied in one direction to linearly arrange the conductive particles 111 at positions corresponding to the conductive parts 110. For this process, it is important to determine the size of the body 112 so that the conductive particles 111 can stand in one direction. To this end, the body 112 may have a long column shape extending in one direction.

Specifically, h/w of each of the bodies 112 is greater than 1, where "h" refers to a vertical length from an upper end to a lower end of the body 112, and "w" refers to a horizontal length of the body 112 perpendicular to the vertical length. When the h/w ratio is greater than 1, the vertical length of the body 112 is greater than the horizontal length of the body 112, and thus the body 112 can easily stand in a direction parallel to the thickness direction. Therefore, when the conductive particles 111 are aligned in the thickness direction, the protrusions 113 extending from the adjacent bodies 112 may be easily coupled to each other. However, if the h/w ratio is less than 1, the conductive particles 111 may be oriented differently, and thus, the protrusions 113 may not be easily coupled to each other.

Additionally, the body 112 has a w/d greater than 1, where "d" refers to the thickness of the body 112. That is, the body 112 may have a rectangular horizontal cross-section rather than a square horizontal cross-section. When the w/d of the body 112 is greater than 1, the conductive particles 111 may be oriented in a specific direction. That is, the conductive particles 111 may not rotate to a random angle but may be oriented in a specific direction with respect to the central axis of the body 112 (passing through the center of the body 112 in parallel with the vertical length of the body 112), and thus the protrusions 113 of the upper and lower conductive particles 111 may be easily coupled to each other. However, if the w/d ratio is less than 1, the conductive particles 111 may be rotated to different angles, and thus, the protrusions 113 of the conductive particles 111 may not be easily coupled to each other. The w/d ratio may preferably be greater than 1, more preferably 2 or greater than 2, and even more preferably 5 or greater than 5.

If the size of the body 112 is determined as described above, the protrusions 113 of the conductive particles 111 may be easily coupled to each other when the conductive particles 111 are aligned with each other.

In addition, a lateral surface 1121 for connecting the upper end surface and the lower end surface is formed between the upper end portion and the lower end portion of each of the bodies 112, and the lateral surface 1121 is recessed inward from the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the body 112 toward the central portion of the body 112. That is, the elastic insulating material may be filled even in the concave central portion of the lateral surface 1121, and thus the separation of the conductive particles 111 from the conductive portion 110 may be minimized.

At least two protrusions 113 may protrude from an upper end of each of the bodies 112. In addition, the protrusion 113 protruding from the lower end of the body 112 may have a shape or form corresponding to that of the protrusion 113 protruding from the upper end of the body 112. A recess 1132 is formed between adjacent protrusions 113 to be recessed toward the body 112. Preferably, the angle θ between the inner surfaces 1131 of the recesses 1132 formed between adjacent protrusions 113 may be an obtuse angle (i.e., greater than 90 °). The angle θ between the inner surfaces 1131 may have any value greater than 90 °. Preferably, the angle θ may be in the range of 95 ° to 170 °, and more preferably in the range of 100 ° to 160 °.

As described above, since the angle θ between the inner surfaces 1131 is greater than 90 °, the conductive particles 111 contained in the mold 150 may be tightly aggregated by magnetic force when the test socket is manufactured. In detail, as shown in fig. 10, the conductive particles 111 are included in the liquid elastic material at a distance from each other before being aligned by magnetic force, and when the conductive particles 111 are closely concentrated by a magnetic field as shown in fig. 11, the protrusions 113 of the conductive particles 111 may contact each other due to a large angle θ between the inner surfaces 1131. Then, as the magnetic field is continuously applied, the conductive particles 111 may be securely coupled to each other. In this way, the test socket 100 can be manufactured as shown in fig. 12.

In a state in which the conductive particles 111 are coupled to each other as described above, if the liquid elastic material is cured, the manufacturing of the test socket 100 is completed. Thereafter, when the pad terminals 131 of the test target device 130 press the upper side of the conductive part 110, the coupling between the conductive particles 111 is maintained while the relatively upper conductive particles 111 among the conductive particles 111 are rotated to some degree as shown in fig. 13.

In addition to the shape of the conductive particles 111, materials that can be used to form the conductive particles 111 will now be described.

The conductive particles 111 may be formed of a magnetic material to easily align the conductive particles 111 along magnetic lines in a vertical direction. For example, the conductive particles 111 may be the following particles: particles of a magnetic metal, such as nickel, iron, or cobalt; particles of an alloy of the magnetic metal; particles containing such a magnetic metal; or particles including such particles as core particles and plated with a conductive metal such as gold, silver, palladium, or rhodium which is difficult to oxidize.

However, the conductive particles 111 do not always need to include magnetic core particles. For example, the conductive particles 111 may include: core particles formed of an inorganic material such as a nonmagnetic metal, glass, or carbon; core particles formed of a polymer such as polystyrene or polystyrene crosslinked with divinylbenzene; or core particles formed by breaking elastic fiber filaments or glass fiber filaments into particles having a length equal to or less than a certain value, wherein the core particles may be coated with a conductive magnetic substance such as cobalt or nickel-cobalt alloy, or may be coated with a conductive magnetic substance and a conductive metal that is difficult to oxidize.

The insulating support 120 insulates the conductive parts 110 from each other and supports the conductive parts 110. Preferably, the insulating support 120 may be formed of the same silicone rubber as the elastic insulating material used to form the conductive part 110. However, the insulating support 120 is not limited thereto. That is, the insulating support 120 may be formed of an insulating material different from that used to form the elastic insulating material.

The test socket 100 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention may be used to test the test target device 130 as follows.

First, as shown in fig. 7, the test socket 100 is placed over the test equipment 140. In detail, the test socket 100 is placed such that the lower end portion of the conductive portion 110 contacts the pad 141 of the test apparatus 140. Thereafter, as shown in fig. 8, the test target device 130 is moved down to bring the terminals 131 of the test target device 130 into contact with the conductive parts 110. At this time, if the test target device 130 is further lowered, the test target device 130 starts to press the conductive part 110, and the ends of the conductive particles 111 of the conductive part 110 contact each other and are thus electrically connected to each other. At this time, if the test equipment 140 generates a predetermined electrical signal, the electrical signal is transmitted to the test target device 130 through the test socket 100.

In detail, when the terminals 131 of the test target device 130 press the conductive parts 110, the conductive parts 110 are compressed in the thickness direction of the conductive parts 110 as shown in fig. 13. In this process, the conductive particles 111 coupled to each other by the protrusions 113 are maintained in a coupled state while rotating relative to each other, and thus electrical signals can be reliably transmitted through the conductive particles 111.

In addition, when the terminal 131 of the test-target device 130 moves away from the conductive part 110, the conductive part 110 returns to its original coupled state as shown in fig. 12. Therefore, even when the terminal of another test target device presses the conductive part 110, the conductive part 110 can maintain the electrical connection.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the test socket 100 has the following effects.

First, since the angle between the inner surfaces 1131 of the conductive particles 111 of the test socket 100 facing each other is an obtuse angle (i.e., greater than 90 °), one-point contact between the coupled conductive particles 111 can be maintained, thereby improving contact stability.

In addition, since the body 112 has a pillar shape with an h/w ratio greater than 1, the body 112 can be easily vertically aligned when the test socket 100 is manufactured.

In addition, protrusions 113 for promoting bonding between the conductive particles 111 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the well-formed body 112, and the conductive particles 111 are coupled to each other in the conductive part 110, this coupling structure enables contact between the conductive particles 111 to be maintained even when the conductive part 110 is compressed by the test target device 130, and thus, conductivity of the conductive particles 111 can be maintained.

In addition, since the body 112 is concave at the central region thereof, a contact area between the body 112 and the elastic insulating material is increased, and thus the body 112 may not be easily separated from the conductive part 110.

In addition, since the thickness d of the body 112 of the conductive particles 111 is less than the width w of the body 112, the conductive particles 111 may be easily aligned in the vertical direction, and thus the conductive particles 111 may be easily coupled to each other.

In addition, since the protrusions 113 are inserted into the recesses 1132 formed between the protrusions 113, when the test socket 100 is used, the contact between the adjacent conductive particles 111 may be maintained at one point, and thus the contact stability may be improved.

The test socket 100 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows.

Referring to fig. 14, a lateral surface 1121 of a concave central region of the conductive particle 111' may be provided with a concave-convex portion 1122 thereon. If the plurality of concave and convex portions are provided on the lateral surface as described above, the elastic insulating material can be filled between the concave and convex portions, and thus the separation of the conductive particles can be reliably prevented.

In the above described embodiments, the lateral surfaces are linearly inclined. However, as shown in fig. 15, the lateral surface of the conductive particle 111 ″ may be provided with a concave-convex portion 1123 having a constant width in the vertical direction.

In the above-described embodiment, the angle between the mutually facing inner surfaces 1131 of the adjacent protrusions 113 is an obtuse angle (i.e., greater than 90 °). However, the angle may be equal to or greater than 90 °.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments or modified examples of the present invention, and various other modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A test socket configured to be placed between a test target device and test equipment to electrically connect terminals of the test target device to pads of the test equipment, the test socket comprising:

a plurality of conductive portions arranged at positions corresponding to the terminals of the test target device and spaced apart from each other in a surface direction of the test socket, each of the conductive portions including a plurality of conductive particles contained in an elastic insulating material and aligned in a thickness direction of the test socket; and

an insulating support body arranged between the conductive portions spaced apart from each other to support the conductive portions and insulate the conductive portions from each other in the surface direction,

wherein each of the conductive particles comprises:

a body having a cylindrical shape;

at least two protrusions protruding from an upper end of the body; and

at least two protrusions protruding from a lower end of the body,

wherein a recess portion recessed toward the body is provided between the protruding portions adjacent to each other, and

the angle between the mutually facing inner surfaces of the projections is an obtuse angle greater than 90,

wherein the mutually facing inner surfaces of the protrusions are inclined to guide the protrusions of the adjacent conductive particles into the recesses.

2. The test socket of claim 1, wherein the body is shaped and sized such that the conductive particles stand in the thickness direction when aligned in the resilient insulating material with a magnetic field.

3. The test socket of claim 2, wherein h/w of each of the bodies is greater than 1, wherein h refers to a vertical length measured from the upper end to a lower end of the body, and w refers to a horizontal length of the body perpendicular to the vertical length.

4. The test socket of claim 3, wherein each of the bodies has a w/d greater than 1, where d refers to a thickness of the body.

5. The test socket of claim 1, wherein a lateral surface is disposed between the upper and lower ends of the body and is inwardly recessed from the upper and lower ends of the body toward a central portion of the body.

6. The test socket of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a plurality of asperities are provided on a lateral surface of the body.

7. The test socket of claim 1, wherein the projections on the upper end and the lower end of the body are symmetrical with respect to the body.

8. A conductive particle for use in a test socket configured to be placed between a test target device and test equipment to electrically connect a terminal of the test target device to a pad of the test equipment,

wherein the conductive particles include a plurality of conductive particles aligned in a conductive portion of the test socket in a thickness direction of the test socket, the conductive particles are arranged in an elastic insulating material, and when the terminal of the test target device presses the conductive portion, the conductive particles arranged in the conductive portion come into contact with each other to make the conductive portion conductive,

wherein each of the conductive particles comprises:

a body having a cylindrical shape;

at least two protrusions protruding from an upper end of the body; and

at least two protrusions protruding from a lower end of the body,

9. The conductive particle of claim 8, wherein the body is elongated in a direction such that the conductive particle stands in the thickness direction of the test socket when the conductive particle is aligned in the elastic insulating material by a magnetic field.