CN111721979B

CN111721979B - Probe card testing device and signal switching module thereof

Info

Publication number: CN111721979B
Application number: CN201910203560.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李文聪; 谢开杰; 刁盈铭; 郑孟杰; 陈彦辰
Original assignee: Taiwan Zhonghua Precision Measurement Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Taiwan Zhonghua Precision Measurement Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-18
Filing date: 2019-03-18
Publication date: 2023-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 2039-03-18
Also published as: CN111721979A

Abstract

The invention discloses a probe card testing device and a signal switching module thereof. The signal transfer module comprises a substrate, a plurality of test modules and a plurality of first electric connectors. The substrate has a top surface and a bottom surface. The plurality of test modules are arranged on the top surface and are positioned in the wafer test area. Each test module comprises a central area and a plurality of test metal pads surrounding the central area. The plurality of first electrical connectors are located in the signal transfer area and electrically coupled to the plurality of test modules. Each first electric connector comprises a plurality of electric contacts, the electric contacts are arranged on the top surface, and at least part of the electric contacts are electrically coupled with a plurality of test metal pads of the corresponding test module through a plurality of signal fan-out circuits. The first electrical connectors are electrically coupled to the second electrical connectors, respectively. Therefore, the needle implantation operation time of the conductive probe can be greatly shortened, and the maintenance difficulty of the probe card testing device can be greatly reduced.

Description

Probe card testing device and signal switching module thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a probe card testing device and a signal transfer module thereof, and more particularly to a probe card testing device and a signal transfer module thereof suitable for testing a peripheral chip.

Background

Since peripheral chips (e.g., CMOS image sensor, LCD driver chip, or memory …) are typically tested using a cantilever probe card (Cantilever Probe Card), the probe card requires a manual wire-bonding process to connect signals, and the wire-bonding process takes a long time, and the difficulty of wire-bonding and maintenance is greatly increased in the case of multi-die testing. Another test method is to use a micro-electromechanical Probe Card (MEMS Probe Card) for testing, however, the limitation of such a Probe Card is that a ceramic substrate must be used, and the structure of such a Probe Card is not easy to repair, for example: when the probe is damaged, in maintenance, a new probe must be welded on in addition to the removal of the probe, which must rely on equipment and is not easy to complete by manual operation.

Accordingly, the present inventors considered that the above-mentioned drawbacks could be improved, and have intensively studied and combined with the application of scientific principles, and finally have proposed an invention which is reasonable in design and effectively improves the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the technical problem of providing a probe card testing device aiming at the defects in the prior art.

The embodiment of the invention discloses a probe card testing device, which is defined with a wafer testing area and a signal transfer area positioned at the periphery of the wafer testing area, and the probe card testing device comprises: a signal transfer module includes: a substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface on opposite sides; the plurality of test modules are arranged on the substrate and positioned in the wafer test area; each test module comprises a central area and a plurality of test metal pads arranged along the periphery of the central area; the first electric connectors are arranged on the substrate and positioned in the signal transfer area, and are respectively and electrically coupled with the test modules; wherein each first electrical connector comprises a plurality of electrical contacts; the plurality of signal fan-out lines are arranged on the substrate; at least part of the electrical contacts of the plurality of electrical contacts of each first electrical connector are electrically coupled to the plurality of test metal pads of the corresponding test module through part of the signal fan-out lines of the plurality of signal fan-out lines respectively; a probe head module located at one side of the top surface of the signal transfer module, and the probe head module comprises: a positioning seat; the probe assemblies are arranged on the positioning seat body in a penetrating manner, are positioned in the wafer testing area and correspond to the signal switching modules in position respectively; each probe assembly comprises a plurality of conductive probes which are annularly arranged, one ends of the conductive probes penetrate out of the positioning seat body and respectively abut against the plurality of test metal pads of the corresponding test module, and the other ends of the conductive probes penetrate out of the positioning seat body and are used for abutting against an object to be tested; and the test circuit board is positioned on one side of the bottom surface of the signal transfer module, is provided with a plurality of second electric connectors positioned in the signal transfer area, and is electrically coupled with the plurality of first electric connectors respectively.

Preferably, in each probe assembly, a plurality of the conductive probes are operable to receive test signals from the object under test and to transmit the test signals to the test circuit board sequentially through a corresponding plurality of the test metal pads of the test module, a corresponding first electrical connector, and a corresponding second electrical connector.

Preferably, in the test module corresponding to each first electrical connector, the number of the plurality of electrical contacts is greater than or equal to the number of the plurality of test metal pads.

Preferably, in the test module corresponding to each first electrical connector, a pitch between each test metal pad and an adjacent test metal pad is defined as a first pitch, a pitch between each electrical contact and an adjacent electrical contact is defined as a second pitch, and the second pitch is greater than the first pitch.

Preferably, the probe card testing device further comprises a supporting plate body arranged between the signal transfer module and the testing circuit board; wherein the bottom surface of the substrate has insulating property and can be abutted against the supporting plate body, and the bottom surface of the substrate is not provided with any metal pad or circuit.

Preferably, the probe card testing device further comprises a high frequency signal transmission cable located in the wafer testing area and penetrating through the top surface and the bottom surface of the substrate; the test module further comprises a high-frequency signal metal pad, one end of the high-frequency signal transmission cable is electrically connected with the high-frequency signal metal pad, and the other end of the high-frequency signal transmission cable is electrically connected with a signal receiving metal pad of the test circuit board in the wafer test area so as to form a high-frequency signal transmission path.

Preferably, the probe card testing device can be used for receiving a plurality of light rays, and the light rays sequentially penetrate through the testing circuit board, the signal switching module and the probe head module and then irradiate the object to be tested to generate a plurality of photoelectric testing signals.

Preferably, each first electrical connector penetrates through the top surface and the bottom surface of the substrate, and each second electrical connector is arranged on one side surface of the test circuit board facing the signal transfer module; each first electric connector corresponds to the corresponding second electric connector in position, and each first electric connector is detachably plugged into the corresponding second electric connector to form a male-female base connector framework.

Preferably, each of the first electrical connectors is disposed on the top surface of the substrate, and each of the second electrical connectors is disposed on a side surface of the test circuit board facing the signal transfer module; the signal transfer module further comprises a plurality of flexible flat cables, and each first electric connector can be electrically coupled with the corresponding second electric connector through one of the flexible flat cables to form a flexible flat cable connector structure.

Preferably, the probe card testing device further comprises a protective cover body, wherein the protective cover body is covered on the testing circuit board so as to form a containing space with the testing circuit board in a surrounding manner; the substrate of the signal transfer module, the test module, the first electrical connector, the flexible flat cable and the second electrical connector are all arranged in the accommodating space; the protective cover body is provided with a through hole in the wafer test area, and one ends of the conductive probes can penetrate through the through holes of the protective cover body to be propped against the object to be tested.

Preferably, the probe card testing device further comprises a protective cover body and a probe head fixing seat, wherein the probe head fixing seat is positioned at the inner side of the protective cover body, the probe head fixing seat is used for arranging the probe head module, and the protective cover body is covered on the testing circuit board so as to form a containing space with the testing circuit board in a surrounding manner; the substrate of the signal transfer module, the test module, the first electrical connector, the flexible flat cable and the second electrical connector are all arranged in the accommodating space.

Preferably, the signal transfer module further comprises a flexible circuit board, wherein the flexible circuit board is located between the plurality of test modules and the substrate, and the plurality of test metal pads and the plurality of signal fan-out circuits are formed on a surface of the flexible circuit board opposite to the substrate so as to form a flexible circuit board which can be separated from the substrate together with the flexible circuit board.

Preferably, a part of the signal fanout lines of the plurality of signal fanout lines is defined as an outer layer signal fanout line, and another part of the signal fanout lines of the plurality of signal fanout lines is defined as an inner layer signal fanout line; the outer layer signal fan-out lines are arranged on the top surface of the substrate, and the inner layer signal fan-out lines penetrate through the inner layer of the substrate to be electrically connected with the test module and the first electric connector respectively.

The embodiment of the invention also discloses a signal transfer module of the probe card testing device, which is defined with a wafer testing area and a signal transfer area positioned at the periphery of the wafer testing area, and the signal transfer module of the probe card testing device comprises: a substrate; the plurality of test modules are arranged on the substrate and positioned in the wafer test area; each test module comprises a central area and a plurality of test metal pads arranged along the periphery of the central area; the first electric connectors are arranged on the substrate and positioned in the signal transfer area, and are respectively and electrically coupled with the test modules; wherein each first electrical connector comprises a plurality of electrical contacts; the plurality of signal fan-out lines are arranged on the substrate; at least part of the electrical contacts of the plurality of electrical contacts of each first electrical connector are electrically coupled to the plurality of test metal pads of the corresponding test module through part of the signal fan-out lines of the plurality of signal fan-out lines respectively; the first electrical connectors are configured to be electrically coupled to second electrical connectors disposed on a test circuit board.

In summary, according to the probe card testing device disclosed by the embodiment of the invention, the structure arrangement and the connection relation of the plurality of testing modules and the plurality of first electric connectors of the signal transfer module, the positioning seat body and the plurality of probe assemblies of the probe head module, the test circuit board of the test circuit board and other assemblies can replace the traditional probe card for peripheral chip testing to connect signals in a manual wire-drawing welding pin mode, so that the plurality of conductive probes can perform the pin-planting operation in a straight up and down mode, the pin-planting operation time of the conductive probes is greatly shortened, and the maintenance difficulty of the probe card testing device is greatly reduced.

For a further understanding of the nature and the technical aspects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings, which are included to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention (omitting a probe head module).

Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial schematic view of the area IV of fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic top view of a probe card testing apparatus (omitting a probe head module) according to a fifth and sixth embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 10 is a partially enlarged schematic view of the region X of fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a schematic plan view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a ninth embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 12 is a schematic plan view of a probe card testing apparatus according to a tenth embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The following embodiments of the present invention are described in terms of specific examples, and those skilled in the art will appreciate the advantages and effects of the present invention from the disclosure herein. The invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications and various other uses and applications, all of which are obvious from the description, without departing from the spirit of the invention. The drawings of the present invention are merely schematic illustrations, and are not intended to be drawn to actual dimensions. The following embodiments will further illustrate the related art content of the present invention in detail, but the disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used herein to describe various components or signals, these components or signals should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used primarily to distinguish one element from another element or signal from another signal. In addition, the term "or" as used herein shall include any one or combination of more of the associated listed items as the case may be. Further, as used herein, the term "electrically coupled" refers to one of "indirectly electrically connected" and "directly electrically connected".

First embodiment

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. The present embodiment discloses a probe card testing device 100. The probe card testing apparatus 100 is particularly suitable for testing peripheral chips (such as CMOS image sensor, LCD driver chip, or memory …), but the invention is not limited thereto. Further, the probe card testing device 100 includes a signal transfer module 1, a probe head module 2 disposed at one side of the signal transfer module 1, a testing circuit board 3 disposed at the other side of the signal transfer module 1, a pressing structure 5 disposed between the signal transfer module 1 and the probe head module 2, and a supporting board 4 disposed between the signal transfer module 1 and the testing circuit board 3. In the embodiment, the test circuit board 3, the support board 4, the signal transfer module 1, the pressing structure 5, and the probe head module 2 are stacked sequentially along a thickness direction T, but the invention is not limited thereto.

It should be noted that, in order to facilitate understanding of the present embodiment, the drawings only show the partial configuration of the probe card testing apparatus 100, so as to clearly show the connection relationship and the respective component configurations of the probe card testing apparatus 100. The respective component configurations of the probe card testing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment and the connection relationships thereof will be described below.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, in the present embodiment, the probe card testing apparatus 100 defines a wafer testing area R1 and a signal transfer area R2 located at the periphery of the wafer testing area R1.

The signal transfer module 1 includes a substrate 11, a plurality of test modules 12, and a plurality of first electrical connectors 13. It should be noted that, although the signal transfer module 1 of the present embodiment is described as being collocated with the probe head module 2, the test circuit board 3, the supporting board body 4, and the pressing structure 5, the practical application of the signal transfer module 1 is not limited thereto. That is, the signal transfer module 1 may be a product sold separately or may be used with other components.

Further, in the present embodiment, the substrate 11 has a substantially circular plate shape, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the substrate 11 may also have a rectangular plate shape, a polygonal plate shape, or other shapes according to the design requirements of the product. Furthermore, the substrate 11 has a top surface 111 and a bottom surface 112 on opposite sides. The top surface 111 of the substrate 11 is a flat surface with insulating properties, and can provide test metal pads 122 and signal fan-out lines 123 as described below. Furthermore, the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11 is a flat surface with insulating properties, and can be abutted against the supporting plate 4. Preferably, the portion of the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11, which is abutted against the support plate body 4, is not provided with any metal pad or circuit. That is, only the top surface 111 of the substrate 11 of the present embodiment is provided with metal pads or traces, but the bottom surface 112 is not provided with metal pads or traces.

The plurality of test modules 12 are disposed on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11, the plurality of test modules 12 are disposed in the wafer test region R1, and the plurality of test modules 12 are electrically coupled to the plurality of first electrical connectors 13, respectively. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the plurality of test modules 12 are arranged in a matrix (as shown in fig. 3), but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a plurality of the test modules 12 may be staggered or otherwise arranged with respect to one another, for example. As shown in fig. 4, each of the test modules 12 includes a central region 121 and a plurality of test metal pads 122, and the plurality of test metal pads 122 are spaced apart from each other and disposed along the periphery of the central region 121.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the test metal pad 122 is illustrated as a square, but in practical application, the shape of the test metal pad 122 may be adjusted and changed (e.g. circular, rectangular, or irregular) according to design requirements.

With continued reference to fig. 1 to 4, the signal transfer module 1 further includes a plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11, and the plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 are spaced apart from each other and are arranged in a divergent manner. The signal fan-out lines 123 pass through the wafer test region R1 and the signal transfer region R2. That is, the plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 are all disposed across the wafer test region R1 and the signal transfer region R2. In the present embodiment, each of the test modules 12 (including the central area 121 and the plurality of test metal pads 122) and the plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 are directly formed on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11 through a photolithography process, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In more detail, the central area 121 of each test module 12 does not have any metal pads and wires and can expose the top surface 111 of the substrate 11 in accordance with the peripheral chip structure. Each of the test metal pads 122 can have a conductive probe 221 described below provided thereon. Furthermore, each of the signal fan-out lines 123 is capable of transferring the signals tested by the conductive probes 221 from the wafer test region R1 to the signal transfer region R2, and then to the first electrical connector 13.

With continued reference to fig. 4, each of the first electrical connectors 13 includes a plurality of electrical contacts 131, and the plurality of electrical contacts 131 are disposed on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11. That is, the electrical contacts 131, the test metal pads 122 and the signal fan-out lines 123 are disposed on a common plane (e.g., the top surface 111), but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, if the number of test points of the wafer to be tested is too large or the distribution density is too dense, the substrate 11 may be a multi-layer structure with an inner layer, and the plurality of electrical contacts 131, the plurality of test metal pads 122, or the plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 may be disposed in the multi-layer structure of the substrate 11 in a scattered manner, for example, according to design requirements, so as to avoid occurrence of short circuits. Further, in the present embodiment, in each of the first electrical connectors 13 and the corresponding test module 12, the number of the electrical contacts 131 is equal to the number of the test metal pads 122, and the electrical contacts 131 are electrically coupled to the test metal pads 122 of the corresponding test module 12 through at least part of the signal fan-out lines 123, respectively, but the invention is not limited thereto. In an embodiment of the invention, the number of the electrical contacts 131 of each of the first electrical connectors 13 may be greater than the number of the test metal pads 122 of the corresponding test module 12, and at least some of the electrical contacts 131 of the plurality of electrical contacts 131 are electrically coupled to the corresponding test metal pads 122 of the corresponding test module 12 through at least some of the signal fan-out lines 123 of the plurality of signal fan-out lines 1233, respectively (not shown).

According to the above configuration, the signals received by the test metal pads 122 can be transferred to a plurality of columnar conductors (not numbered) inside the first electrical connector 13 through the plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 and the plurality of electrical contacts 131, respectively.

Further, in each of the first electrical connectors 13 and the corresponding test module 12, a pitch between each of the test metal pads 122 and an adjacent test metal pad 122 is defined as a first pitch P1, a pitch between each of the electrical contacts 131 and an adjacent electrical contact 131 is defined as a second pitch P2, and the second pitch P2 is greater than the first pitch P1. That is, the signal transfer module 1 in the present embodiment includes a signal fan-out structure, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention not shown, a plurality of the signal fan-out lines 123 may be preferably covered with a solder mask (e.g. green paint) to prevent the signal fan-out lines 123 from being damaged or oxidized.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the probe head module 2 is located on one side of the top surface 111 of the substrate 11 of the signal transfer module 1 (as shown in fig. 1, the upper side of the signal transfer module 1). That is, the top surface 111 of the substrate 11 of the signal transfer module 1 faces the probe head module 2 along the thickness direction T.

More specifically, the probe head module 2 includes a positioning seat 21 and a plurality of probe assemblies 22. The positioning seat 21 includes an upper guide plate (not shown), a lower guide plate (not shown) spaced apart from the upper guide plate, and a spacer plate (not shown) disposed between the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate, but the invention is not limited thereto.

The plurality of probe assemblies 22 are arranged on the positioning seat body 21 in a penetrating way, and the plurality of probe assemblies 22 are arranged in the wafer testing area R1. Furthermore, the plurality of probe assemblies 22 correspond in position to the plurality of test modules 12 of the signal transfer module 1, respectively. More specifically, each of the probe assemblies 22 includes a plurality of conductive probes 221, the plurality of conductive probes 221 are arranged in a ring shape, and the plurality of conductive probes 221 correspond to the plurality of test metal pads 122 of the corresponding test module 12, respectively, in position. In each of the probe assemblies 22, one end of the conductive probe 221 passes through the positioning seat 21 and is respectively abutted against the plurality of test metal pads 122 of the corresponding test module 12, and the other end of the conductive probe 221 passes through the positioning seat 21 and is used for abutting against an object to be tested O. In one embodiment of the present invention, a length direction of each of the conductive probes 221 is preferably substantially perpendicular to the top surface 111 of the substrate 11.

Note that, the conductive probe 221 is in a conductive and flexible strip structure in the present embodiment, but the conductive probe 221 of the present invention is not limited to a rectangular conductive probe, a circular conductive probe, or a conductive probe with other structures.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the test circuit board 3 is located on one side of the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11 of the signal switching module 1. That is, the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11 of the signal transfer module 1 faces the test circuit board 3 along the thickness direction T.

In the present embodiment, the test circuit board 3 has a substantially circular plate shape, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the test circuit board 3 may also have a rectangular plate shape, a polygonal plate shape, or other shapes according to the design requirements of the product.

Furthermore, the test circuit board 3 is provided with a plurality of second electrical connectors 31, the plurality of second electrical connectors 31 are located in the signal transfer region R2, and the plurality of second electrical connectors 31 are electrically coupled to the plurality of first electrical connectors 13, respectively.

Further, the test circuit board 3 is configured to be electrically coupled to a test machine (not shown). That is, the plurality of second electrical connectors 31 are electrically coupled to the testing machine for analyzing the signals received by the testing circuit board 3. The electrical coupling manner between the test circuit board 3 and the test machine can be adjusted and changed according to the design requirement. For example, in other embodiments of the invention not shown, the test circuit board 3 may also be directly integrated into the test machine.

According to the above configuration, in each of the probe assemblies 22, the plurality of conductive probes 221 can be used to receive the test signals from the object to be tested O, and the test signals are sequentially transmitted to the test circuit board 3 through the plurality of test metal pads 122 of the corresponding test module 12, the plurality of electrical contacts 131 of the corresponding first electrical connector 13, and the corresponding second electrical connector 31, and finally transmitted to the test machine to analyze the signals received by the test circuit board 3.

It should be noted that, as shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, each of the first electrical connectors 13 penetrates through the top surface 111 and the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11, and each of the first electrical connectors 13 is one of a male connection plug and a female connection socket. Each of the second electrical connectors 31 is provided on a side surface of the test circuit board 3 facing the signal transit module 1, and each of the second electrical connectors 31 is the other of a male connection plug and a female connection socket. Each first electrical connector 13 corresponds to a corresponding second electrical connector 31 in position, and each first electrical connector 13 is detachably plugged into the corresponding second electrical connector 31 to form a male-female connector structure. According to the above configuration, the signals received by the plurality of test metal pads 122 can be respectively transferred to the plurality of columnar conductors (not shown) inside the first electrical connector 13 through the plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 and the plurality of electrical contacts 131, and then the signals can be respectively transferred to the plurality of columnar conductors (not shown) inside the second electrical connector 31, and further transferred to the inside of the test circuit board 3.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the supporting board 4 is clamped between the test circuit board 3 and the substrate 11, wherein the supporting board 4 has a plurality of through holes 41, and the plurality of through holes 41 are located in the signal transfer region R2.

Further, the second electrical connectors 31 respectively protrude from a surface of the test circuit board 3 facing the signal transferring module 1, and the second electrical connectors 31 are respectively disposed in the through holes 41. When each first electrical connector 13 is plugged into the corresponding second electrical connector 31 to generate an electrical connection, the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11 is abutted against the supporting plate 4. Therefore, when the first electrical connector 13 and the second electrical connector 31 are plugged with each other, no gap is generated between the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11 and the support plate body 4, so that the reliability of the electrical connection between the first electrical connector 13 and the second electrical connector 31 can be effectively improved.

With continued reference to fig. 1 and 3, the pressing structure 5 is disposed between the signal transfer module 1 and the probe head module 2. The hold down structure 5 is configured to hold down (the first electrical connector 13 of) the signal transit module 1 and the hold down structure 5 is configured to set up the probe head module 2. In more detail, the pressing structure 5 includes a pressing plate 51 and a plurality of screws 52. The pressing plate 51 is disposed on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11. The pressing plate 51 includes a plurality of screw holes (not shown) located in the signal transferring region R2. The screws 52 penetrate through the screw holes of the pressing plate 51, respectively, so as to fix the pressing plate 51 to the base plate 11. The screws 52 further penetrate through the signal transfer module 1, the support plate 4, and the test circuit board 3 along the thickness direction T, so that the pressing plate 51 can press the signal transfer module 1, the support plate 4, and the test circuit board 3, and the first electrical connectors 13 are respectively adjacent to the second electrical connectors 31, thereby improving the electrical connection characteristics between the signal transfer module 1 and the test circuit board 3, and the electrical transmission path between the test circuit board 3 and the signal transfer module 1 can be achieved without using any soldering material. In addition, in the present embodiment, when the plurality of screws 52 penetrate the signal transferring module 1, the supporting board 4, and the test circuit board 3, the plurality of screws 52 only touch the insulating substrate material, but not any conductive pad or conductive line. Furthermore, the plurality of probe assemblies 22 of the probe head module 2 can further penetrate through the pressing plate 51 to be electrically connected to the plurality of test modules 12 of the signal transfer module 1 respectively.

Second embodiment

As shown in fig. 5, which is a second embodiment of the present invention, the present embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the two embodiments are the same and are not described herein, but the difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that the probe card testing device 100 of the present embodiment is further provided with a structure capable of testing high frequency signals.

More specifically, the probe card testing apparatus 100 further includes a high frequency signal transmission cable 6. The high-frequency signal transmission cable 6 is located in the wafer test region R1, and the high-frequency signal transmission cable 6 penetrates through the top surface 111 and the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11 and also penetrates through the support plate body 4. At least one of the test modules 12 further includes a high-frequency signal metal pad 124, and the high-frequency signal metal pad 124 and the test metal pad 122 are jointly surrounded by the central region 121 of the test module 12.

Furthermore, one end of the high-frequency signal transmission cable 6 is electrically connected to the high-frequency signal metal pad 124, and the other end of the high-frequency signal transmission cable 6 is electrically connected to a signal receiving metal pad 32 of the test circuit board 3 located in the wafer test region R1, so as to form a high-frequency signal transmission path.

Third embodiment

As shown in fig. 6A, which is a third embodiment of the present invention, the present embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the differences between the present embodiment and the first embodiment are that the probe card testing apparatus 100 of the present invention is further provided with a light-transmitting structure capable of transmitting the light L, so as to be suitable for testing other peripheral chips (such as a cmos image sensor) requiring light transmission, thereby increasing the versatility of the probe card testing apparatus 100.

More specifically, in this embodiment, the board surface of the test circuit board 3 is made of an opaque insulating material, and the test circuit board 3 is formed with a plurality of through holes 33 in the wafer test area R1 to provide a plurality of light rays L penetrating therethrough. In the above-mentioned plural through holes 33, plural optical lenses (not shown) are respectively plugged, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The supporting plate 4 has a light hole 42 formed in the wafer testing region R1. The substrate 11 of the signal transfer module 1 is preferably a transparent glass substrate, and the upper and lower guide plates of the positioning seat 21 of the probe head module 2 are also preferably transparent glass substrates, but the invention is not limited thereto. The plurality of through holes 33, the light transmission holes 42, the light-transmissive substrate 11, and the light-transmissive positioning base 21 together form a plurality of light transmission paths.

According to the above configuration, the probe card testing device 100 can be used for receiving a plurality of light rays L, and the light rays L sequentially penetrate through a plurality of light transmission paths (not shown) and then irradiate the object to be tested O to generate a plurality of photoelectric test signals.

The plurality of conductive probes 221 can be used to receive the photoelectric test signals, and the photoelectric test signals sequentially pass through the plurality of test metal pads 122 of the corresponding test module 12, the plurality of electrical contacts 131 of the corresponding first electrical connector 13, and the corresponding second electrical connector 31, and are transmitted to the test circuit board 3, and finally transmitted to the test machine to analyze the signals received by the test circuit board 3.

Fourth embodiment

As shown in fig. 6B, which is a fourth embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is similar to the above-mentioned third embodiment, and the differences between the present invention and the above-mentioned third embodiment are that the through holes 33 of the present invention are not plugged with any optical lenses, the substrate 11 of the signal transfer module 1 is formed with a plurality of openings 113 in the wafer test area R1, and the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate of the positioning seat 21 are also formed with a plurality of

openings

211, 212 in the wafer test area R1, respectively. The plurality of through holes 33, the light transmitting holes 42, the plurality of openings 113 of the substrate 11, and the plurality of

openings

211, 212 of the positioning base 21 may together form a plurality of light transmission paths (not shown).

According to the above configuration, the probe card testing device 100 can be used for receiving a plurality of light rays L, and the light rays L sequentially penetrate through a plurality of light transmission paths and then irradiate the object to be tested O to generate a plurality of photoelectric testing signals.

Fifth embodiment

As shown in fig. 7A and fig. 8, which are a fifth embodiment of the present invention, the first embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the two embodiments are not repeated herein, but the difference between the first embodiment and the first embodiment is that the first electrical connector 13 and the second electrical connector 31 of the first embodiment are a male-female connector structure, and the first electrical connector 13 and the second electrical connector 31 of the embodiment are a flexible flat cable connector structure.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, each of the first electrical connectors 13 is provided on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11, and each of the second electrical connectors 31 is provided on a side surface of the test circuit board 3 facing the signal transit module 1. The signal transfer module 1 further includes a plurality of flexible flat cables 14, and each of the first electrical connectors 13 can be electrically coupled to a corresponding second electrical connector 31 through one of the flexible flat cables 14 to form the flexible flat cable connector structure (such as FPC or FFC).

Further, in the present embodiment, each of the first electrical connectors 13 and the corresponding second electrical connector 31 are disposed in a staggered manner (as shown in fig. 7). Furthermore, each of the flexible flat cables 14 preferably spans the edge of the top surface 111 of the substrate 11 and extends toward the second electrical connector 31 to electrically connect to the second electrical connector 31 disposed on the test circuit board 3. That is, each of the flexible flat cables 14 does not need to penetrate through the top surface 111 and the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11, and each of the first electrical connectors 13 does not need to penetrate through the top surface 111 and the bottom surface 112 of the substrate 11.

It should be noted that the supporting plate 4 is disposed between the substrate 11 and the test circuit board 3, and the supporting plate 4 is a rigid iron member in this embodiment for supporting the substrate 11 and the test module 12 disposed on the supporting substrate 11. Since the first electrical connector 13 and the flexible flat cable 14 do not need to penetrate the substrate 11, the supporting board 4 does not need to have a through hole 41 in the present embodiment.

Further, in the present embodiment, the probe card testing device 100 further includes a protective cover 7. The protective cover 7 is disposed on the test circuit board 3, so as to form a containing space 71 surrounding the test circuit board 3. The substrate 11, the test module 12, the first electrical connector 13, the flexible flat cable 14, and the second electrical connector 31 of the signal transfer module 1 are disposed in the accommodating space 71, so that the protective cover 7 can prevent the above components from being damaged by the outside. The protective cover 7 may be made of transparent or non-transparent materials, and the protective cover 7 may be disposed on the test circuit board 3 by screwing or adhering, which is not limited by the present invention. In addition, the protective cover 7 has a through hole 72 formed in the wafer testing region R1, and one end of the conductive probes 221 can be inserted through the through hole 72 of the protective cover 7 to be abutted against the object to be tested O.

As shown in fig. 8, in another aspect, in the flexible flat cable connector structure of the present embodiment, the plurality of first electrical connectors 13 are disposed on the substrate 11 in a ring-shaped arrangement, the plurality of second electrical connectors 31 are disposed on the test circuit board 3 in a ring-shaped arrangement, and the plurality of second electrical connectors 31 are circumferentially disposed around the plurality of first electrical connectors 13 and are electrically coupled to the plurality of first electrical connectors 13 through the plurality of flexible flat cables 14, respectively.

Sixth embodiment

As shown in fig. 7B, which is a sixth embodiment of the present invention, the present embodiment is similar to the fifth embodiment, and the two embodiments are the same and not described herein, but the probe card testing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment further includes a probe head fixing base 8. The probe head fixing seat 8 and the protective cover 7 are independent components, and the probe head fixing seat 8 is positioned on the inner side of the protective cover 7. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the probe head holder 8 is configured to set the probe head module 2, and the plurality of probe assemblies 22 of the probe head module 2 can further penetrate the probe head holder 8 to be electrically connected to the plurality of test modules 12 of the signal switching module 1, respectively.

Seventh embodiment

As shown in fig. 9, which is a seventh embodiment of the present invention, the present embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the two embodiments are not repeated herein, but the difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that the test module 12 of the first embodiment is directly formed on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11, but the test module 12 of the present embodiment is not directly formed on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, the signal transfer module 1 further includes a flexible circuit board 15. The flexible circuit board 15 is located between the plurality of test modules 12 and the substrate 11, and the plurality of test metal pads 122 and the plurality of signal fan-out circuits 123 are formed on a surface of the flexible circuit board 15 opposite to the substrate 11 through a photolithography process, so as to form a flexible circuit board separable from the substrate 11 together with the flexible circuit board 15.

Eighth embodiment

As shown in fig. 10, which is an eighth embodiment of the present invention, the present embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the two embodiments are not repeated herein, but the difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that the plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 of the first embodiment are all disposed on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11 to form a single-layer signal fan-out structure.

Unlike the first embodiment described above, the substrate 11 of the present embodiment is a multilayer structure having an inner layer. A portion of the signal fanout lines 123 of the plurality of signal fanout lines 123 of the present embodiment are defined as outer layer signal fanout lines 1231 (as continuous lines in fig. 10), and another portion of the signal fanout lines 123 of the plurality of signal fanout lines 123 are defined as inner layer signal fanout lines 1232 (as discontinuous lines in fig. 10). The outer signal fan-out lines 1231 are disposed on the top surface 111 of the substrate 11, and the inner signal fan-out lines 1232 penetrate through the inner layer of the substrate 11 to be electrically connected to the test module 12 and the first electrical connector 13, respectively, so as to form a multi-layer signal fan-out structure. Therefore, when the circuit design of the signal switching module 1 is too dense, the signal switching module 1 can avoid the occurrence of the condition that a plurality of circuits are easy to be short-circuited with each other through the design of the multi-layer signal fan-out structure.

Ninth embodiment

As shown in fig. 11, which is a ninth embodiment of the present invention, the present embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the two embodiments are not repeated herein, but the difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that the pressing structure 5 of the first embodiment is an integrally formed component, which can be used to simultaneously press the signal transfer module 1 (to improve the electrical connection characteristics of the first electrical connector 13 and the second electrical connector 31) and set the probe head module 2.

Unlike the first embodiment, the probe card testing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment further includes a probe head holder 8. The probe head fixing seat 8 and the pressing structure 5 are independent components, and the probe head fixing seat 8 is positioned on the inner side of the pressing structure 5. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the probe head holder 8 is configured to set the probe head module 2, and the plurality of probe assemblies 22 of the probe head module 2 can further penetrate the probe head holder 8 to be electrically connected to the plurality of test modules 12 of the signal switching module 1, respectively. The pressing structure 5 is configured to press the (first electrical connectors 13 of the) signal switching module 1 so that the plurality of first electrical connectors 13 are respectively adjacent to the plurality of second electrical connectors 31, thereby improving the electrical connection characteristics between the signal switching module 1 and the test circuit board 3. That is, the pressing structure 5 of the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above, and can be used only to press the signal transfer module 1, and cannot be used to set the probe head module 2.

Tenth embodiment

Fig. 12 is a tenth embodiment of the present invention, which is similar to the ninth embodiment, and the two embodiments are not repeated herein, but the difference between the present embodiment and the ninth embodiment is that the probe card testing apparatus 100 of the present invention may not need to provide the pressing structure 5. That is, each of the first electrical connectors 13 and the corresponding second electrical connector 31 may be electrically connected to each other only by plugging or by a flexible flat cable, without providing the pressing structure 5.

Advantageous effects of the embodiment

In summary, in the probe card testing device 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the invention, the structure arrangement and the connection relationship of the plurality of testing modules 12 and the plurality of first electrical connectors 13 of the signal transfer module 1, the positioning seat 21 and the plurality of probe assemblies 22 of the probe head module 2, and the test circuit board 3 of the test circuit board 3 can replace the conventional probe card for peripheral chip testing to connect signals in a manual wire-drawing welding pin manner, so that the plurality of conductive probes 221 can perform the pin-planting operation in a straight-up and straight-down manner, thereby greatly reducing the pin-planting operation time of the conductive probes 221 and greatly reducing the maintenance difficulty of the probe card testing device 100.

In addition, the plurality of test metal pads 122 and the plurality of signal fan-out lines 123 of the present embodiment and the plurality of electrical contacts 131 of the first electrical connectors 13 are disposed on a common plane (e.g. the top surface 111 of the substrate 11) to form a single-layer signal fan-out structure. The single-layer fan-out structure can be matched with the structural design that the plurality of first electrical connectors 13 are respectively electrically coupled with the plurality of second electrical connectors 31, so as to transfer the test signals from the signal transfer module 1 to the test circuit board 3, thereby facilitating the use and maintenance of the probe card testing device 100.

Further, the signal transfer module 1, the probe head module 2, the test circuit board 3, the support plate 4, and the pressing structure 5 of the probe card testing device 100 of the present embodiment are configured to be separable from each other. Therefore, when any component of the probe card testing device 100 of the embodiment has an abnormal condition, the component can be directly replaced; the probe card is different from the existing cantilever probe card in that the probe card needs to be disassembled and welded again on the circuit board; if the probe seat has a problem, the probe in an area needs to be removed, then the probe is re-welded and the level of the probe is adjusted, so that the process is complicated.

Furthermore, the probe card testing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is further provided with a light-transmitting structure capable of transmitting the light L, so as to be suitable for testing other peripheral chips (such as a cmos image sensor) requiring light transmission, thereby increasing the versatility of the probe card testing apparatus 100.

The foregoing description is only of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, but all equivalent changes and modifications according to the claims of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A probe card testing apparatus, wherein the probe card testing apparatus defines a wafer testing area and a signal transfer area located at the periphery of the wafer testing area, the probe card testing apparatus comprising:

a signal transfer module includes:

a substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface on opposite sides;

the plurality of test modules are arranged on the substrate and positioned in the wafer test area; each test module comprises a central area and a plurality of test metal pads arranged along the periphery of the central area;

a plurality of first electrical connectors arranged on the substrate and located in the signal transfer area,

the first electric connectors are respectively and electrically coupled with the test modules;

wherein each first electrical connector comprises a plurality of electrical contacts; a kind of electronic device with high-pressure air-conditioning system

A plurality of signal fan-out lines disposed on the substrate; at least part of the electrical contacts of the plurality of electrical contacts of each first electrical connector are electrically coupled to the plurality of test metal pads of the corresponding test module through part of the signal fan-out lines of the plurality of signal fan-out lines respectively;

Wherein a plurality of the electrical contacts of each first electrical connector are disposed on the top surface of the substrate;

wherein the plurality of electrical contacts, the plurality of test metal pads and the plurality of signal fan-out lines are commonly disposed on the top surface of the substrate so as to be located on the same plane;

a probe head module located at one side of the top surface of the signal transfer module, and the probe head module comprises:

a positioning seat; a kind of electronic device with high-pressure air-conditioning system

The probe assemblies are arranged on the positioning seat body in a penetrating manner, are positioned in the wafer testing area and correspond to the signal switching modules in position respectively;

each probe assembly comprises a plurality of conductive probes which are annularly arranged, one ends of the conductive probes penetrate out of the positioning seat body and respectively abut against the plurality of test metal pads of the corresponding test module, and the other ends of the conductive probes penetrate out of the positioning seat body and are used for abutting against an object to be tested; and

the test circuit board is positioned on one side of the bottom surface of the signal transfer module and is provided with a plurality of second electric connectors positioned in the signal transfer area, and the second electric connectors are respectively and detachably spliced or respectively electrically coupled with the first electric connectors through a plurality of flexible flat cables.

2. The probe card testing apparatus of claim 1, wherein in each probe assembly, a plurality of the conductive probes are operable to receive test signals from the test object and to sequentially pass the test signals through a corresponding plurality of the test metal pads of the test module, a corresponding first electrical connector, and a corresponding second electrical connector to the test circuit board.

3. The probe card testing device of claim 1, wherein in each of the first electrical connectors and the corresponding testing module, the number of the plurality of electrical contacts is greater than or equal to the number of the plurality of testing metal pads.

4. The probe card testing device of claim 1, wherein in each of the first electrical connectors and the corresponding test module, a pitch between each of the test metal pads and an adjacent test metal pad is defined as a first pitch, a pitch between each of the electrical contacts and an adjacent electrical contact is defined as a second pitch, and the second pitch is greater than the first pitch.

5. The probe card testing device according to claim 1, further comprising a support plate disposed between the signal transfer module and the test circuit board; wherein the bottom surface of the substrate has insulating property and can be abutted against the supporting plate body, and the bottom surface of the substrate is not provided with any metal pad or circuit.

6. The probe card testing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a high frequency signal transmission cable located in the wafer testing area and extending through the top and bottom surfaces of the substrate; the test module further comprises a high-frequency signal metal pad, one end of the high-frequency signal transmission cable is electrically connected with the high-frequency signal metal pad, and the other end of the high-frequency signal transmission cable is electrically connected with a signal receiving metal pad of the test circuit board in the wafer test area so as to form a high-frequency signal transmission path.

7. The probe card testing device according to claim 1, wherein the probe card testing device is capable of receiving a plurality of light beams, and sequentially transmitting the plurality of light beams through the test circuit board, the signal switching module, and the probe head module, and then irradiating the test object to generate a plurality of photoelectric test signals.

8. The probe card testing device according to claim 1, wherein each of the first electrical connectors penetrates through the top surface and the bottom surface of the substrate, and each of the second electrical connectors is disposed on a surface of the test circuit board facing the signal transfer module; each first electric connector corresponds to the corresponding second electric connector in position, and each first electric connector is detachably plugged into the corresponding second electric connector to form a male-female base connector framework.

9. The probe card testing device of claim 1, wherein each of the first electrical connectors is disposed on the top surface of the substrate, and each of the second electrical connectors is disposed on a side surface of the test circuit board facing the signal transfer module; the signal transfer module further comprises a plurality of flexible flat cables, and each first electric connector can be electrically coupled with the corresponding second electric connector through one of the flexible flat cables so as to form a flexible flat cable connector structure.

10. The probe card testing device according to claim 9, further comprising a protective cover body, wherein the protective cover body covers the test circuit board to form a containing space with the test circuit board; the substrate of the signal transfer module, the test module, the first electrical connector, the flexible flat cable and the second electrical connector are all arranged in the accommodating space; the protective cover body is provided with a through hole in the wafer test area, and one ends of the conductive probes can penetrate through the through holes of the protective cover body to be propped against the object to be tested.

11. The probe card testing device according to claim 9, further comprising a protective cover and a probe head fixing seat, wherein the probe head fixing seat is located at the inner side of the protective cover, the probe head fixing seat is used for setting the probe head module, and the protective cover is covered on the test circuit board to form a containing space with the test circuit board; the substrate of the signal transfer module, the test module, the first electrical connector, the flexible flat cable and the second electrical connector are all arranged in the accommodating space.

12. The probe card testing device according to claim 1, wherein the signal transfer module further comprises a flexible circuit board, the flexible circuit board is located between the plurality of testing modules and the substrate, and the plurality of testing metal pads and the plurality of signal fan-out circuits are formed on a surface of the flexible circuit board opposite to the substrate, so as to form a flexible circuit board separable from the substrate together with the flexible circuit board.

13. The probe card testing device of claim 1, wherein a portion of the signal fanout lines of the plurality of signal fanout lines are defined as outer signal fanout lines and another portion of the signal fanout lines of the plurality of signal fanout lines are defined as inner signal fanout lines; the outer layer signal fan-out lines are arranged on the top surface of the substrate, and the inner layer signal fan-out lines penetrate through the inner layer of the substrate to be electrically connected with the test module and the first electric connector respectively.

14. The signal transfer module of the probe card testing device is characterized in that the probe card testing device is defined with a wafer testing area and a signal transfer area positioned at the periphery of the wafer testing area, and the signal transfer module of the probe card testing device comprises:

a substrate;

the plurality of test modules are arranged on the substrate and positioned in the wafer test area; each test module comprises a central area and a plurality of test metal pads arranged along the periphery of the central area; and

a plurality of first electrical connectors disposed on the substrate and located in the signal transfer region

The first electric connectors are respectively and electrically coupled with the test modules; wherein each first electrical connector comprises a plurality of electrical contacts; a kind of electronic device with high-pressure air-conditioning system

Wherein, a plurality of the electrical contacts of each first electrical connector are arranged on the top surface of the substrate;

the first electrical connectors are configured to be detachably plugged into each other or electrically coupled to the second electrical connectors disposed on a test circuit board through a plurality of flexible flat cables.