CN114594291A

CN114594291A - Probe apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN114594291A
Application number: CN202011410046.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张晋源; 胡峻豪; 谢学承; 陈明辉
Original assignee: Chroma ATE Suzhou Co Ltd
Current assignee: Chroma ATE Suzhou Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-04
Filing date: 2020-12-04
Publication date: 2022-06-07

Abstract

The invention provides a probe device, which comprises a signal transmission element, a probe, a first fixing element, a second fixing element and a probe, wherein the signal transmission element comprises a first transmission part and a second transmission part; the lower fixing element compensates the mechanical strength of the signal transmission element, so that the width of the signal transmission element can be reduced, and the effect of densely arranging the probe devices can be achieved.

Description

Probe apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a probe apparatus, and more particularly, to a probe apparatus having a signal transmission device and upper and lower fixing members.

Background

The inspection items of the integrated circuit are full of traces, such as electrical characteristics including short circuit, open circuit, signal distortion, voltage level, impedance and the like, and element functions, and because the integrated circuit has a large number of contacts, the inspection cannot be performed one by one, so that a probe card is disclosed; in addition, the array substrate of the display panel is also covered with a large number of transistors, wires and pads, and a probe card is also required to be used for detecting finished products and semi-finished products.

The design of the probe card is that a probe is arranged according to the relative position of each node to be checked, and an alignment mark is arranged corresponding to an identification mark on the circuit to be checked; when the probe card is used, the alignment mark on the probe card is aligned to the identification mark on the tested circuit to complete alignment, then the probes apply various test signals to various electronic elements and wires in the integrated circuit through the nodes, and the response signals are received and then the computer program is used for calculating to generate the detection result.

The probe card has a main length part extending towards the pad of the circuit to be tested in a horizontal direction, and the tail end of the probe card is bent at an angle or directly contacted with the pad of the circuit to be tested in a horizontal posture.

When the cantilever type probe is applied to the detection of the high-frequency electronic element with the high-density connecting pads, in order to make the cantilever type probe not easy to deform and influence the detection result, the cantilever type probe must keep a certain thickness or diameter to maintain proper rigidity and elasticity of the probe, so that the cantilever type probe cannot be arranged densely and cannot be corresponding to the detection of the high-frequency electronic element with the high-density connecting pads, although the high-density arrangement of a large number of probes is achieved by developing a three-dimensional alternative arrangement mode of the probes with different lengths, the problem that the connecting pads of the element to be detected are punctured due to uneven stress of the probes is caused.

With the benefit of the progress of photolithography, other manufacturers have developed mems probe cards to produce probes in large batches, which utilize electroplating steps in conjunction with photolithography to achieve the fabrication of high-precision micro probes, and combine with piezoelectric materials to make each probe have a design of forced feedback under pressure, thereby ensuring consistent probe contact force, minimizing unnecessary influence factors, and improving the reliability of test results. However, as the density of the pads of the high frequency electronic device is more and more dense, and the flatness of the surface of the circuit to be tested is not uniform, the height difference of the contacts is caused, and the probes must be able to correspond to each contact with different heights and still maintain good electrical contact, so the design of each probe must have elasticity to avoid the chip damage or the probe damage caused by too large contact force difference of the probe and the misalignment of the detection result. However, the height difference-compliant probes must be manufactured by electroplating and photolithography, which is difficult to manufacture and thus expensive to manufacture, and a special mask, which is expensive, must be customized, which is always costly.

In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, there is a need in the market for a high-density probe arrangement that is easy to maintain, less prone to damage the circuit pads to be tested, and has low manufacturing cost and low operation cost. In view of the above, the probe apparatus provided by the present invention has the characteristics of multi-stage elastic buffer and vertical contact, and can meet the requirements of easy maintenance, no damage to the circuit to be tested, high density arrangement and low cost.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a probe apparatus, which is divided into: a signal deriving device, a signal transmitting device, a lower fixing device and a probe; the signal transmission element is arranged above the lower fixing element to reinforce the mechanical strength of the signal transmission element with reduced width and thickness, so that the probe can be applied to finer probes to achieve the purposes of easy maintenance, no damage to the tested circuit, high-density arrangement and low cost.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a probe apparatus, which utilizes a signal transmission device including a first transmission portion and a second transmission portion with different widths to make the first transmission portion have better elasticity than the second transmission portion, and a probe is disposed under the first transmission portion with elasticity to achieve the purpose of preventing the probe from damaging the circuit to be tested.

To achieve the above objects and advantages, one embodiment of the present invention provides a probe apparatus, comprising: a signal transmission element arranged below the upper fixing element and comprising a first transmission part and a second transmission part, wherein a first width of the first transmission part is greater than a second width of the second transmission part; one end of the probe is electrically connected and arranged below the second transmission part; the lower fixing element is arranged below the signal transmission element, one end of the lower fixing element is provided with a first through hole, a first groove is arranged below the end of the lower fixing element, the probe penetrates through the first through hole of the lower fixing element, and the probe is located in the first groove.

In an embodiment of the invention, a first groove is formed below the end of the lower fixing element, and the probe is located in the first groove.

In an embodiment of the invention, the apparatus further includes a signal deriving device electrically connected to and disposed above the first transmitting portion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further includes an upper fixing element disposed above the signal transmission element.

In an embodiment of the invention, the substrate is disposed below the lower fixing element and has an opening, and the position-limiting member is disposed in the opening of the substrate corresponding to the first groove, and the probe penetrates through the position-limiting member.

In an embodiment of the invention, the second through hole further has a first aperture portion and a second aperture portion, and a first aperture of the first aperture portion is smaller than a second aperture of the second aperture portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the signal deriving element has a first diameter portion and a second diameter portion, a first diameter of the first diameter portion corresponds to the first aperture of the first aperture portion, and a second diameter of the second diameter portion corresponds to the second aperture of the second aperture portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first through hole further has a third aperture portion and a fourth aperture portion, and a third aperture of the third aperture portion is larger than a fourth aperture of the fourth aperture portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the probe has a third diameter portion and a fourth diameter portion, a third diameter of the third diameter portion corresponds to the third aperture of the third aperture portion, and a fourth diameter of the fourth diameter portion corresponds to the fourth aperture of the fourth aperture portion.

Drawings

FIG. 1: which is an exploded view of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2: which is a schematic front view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3: it is another front view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4: it is another front view of an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5: which is a further front view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[ brief description of the drawings ]

A probe device

10.. a signal deriving device

A lead-out part

A first diameter portion

A second diameter portion

Bottom part

A fixation element

A second groove

A second through hole

A first aperture portion

A second aperture portion

30.. signal transmission element

A first transmission part

A second transmission part

Lower fixation element

First groove

A first through-hole

A third aperture portion

444

A probe

52.. output part

A third diameter portion

56.. fourth diameter portion

58.. detection part

A substrate

Opening 62

A stop member

A third through hole

80.

82.. pad

A first diameter

D2.. second diameter

Third diameter

D4.. fourth diameter

First aperture

Second aperture

E3.. third aperture

E4.. fourth aperture

First width of

Second width

Detailed Description

In order to provide a further understanding and appreciation for the structural features and advantages achieved by the present invention, the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments is provided:

the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate various embodiments of the invention. The inventive concept may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein.

Although certain terms are used herein to refer to particular elements, those skilled in the art will understand that various terms are used herein to describe the same element, either by name or by definition, and not by definition, but by definition, they are defined by the limits of the term "about". In the following description and in the claims, the terms "include" and "comprise" are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean "include, but not limited to.

In view of the disadvantages of the conventional probe card, such as difficulty in maintenance, damage to the contacts of the circuit to be tested, high cost, and difficulty in densification, the present invention provides a probe apparatus, which is divided into: the signal guiding element, the upper fixing element, the signal transmission element, the lower fixing element and the probe are clamped by the upper fixing element and the lower fixing element to reinforce the mechanical strength of the signal transmission element with reduced width and thickness, so that the probe card is applicable to finer probes, and the defects of difficult maintenance, easy damage to the contact of a tested circuit, high cost, difficult densification and the like of the conventional probe card are overcome.

The characteristics and the matching structure of a probe device according to the present invention will be further described as follows: first, please refer to fig. 1, which is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the probe apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a signal transmission element 30, such as an elastic steel sheet, including a first transmission portion 32 having a first width W1, and a second transmission portion 34 having a second width W2 opposite to the first transmission portion 32, so that the elasticity and flexibility of the first transmission portion 32 are better than those of the second transmission portion 34; a lower fixing element 40, such as a heat-resistant ceramic material, insulating engineering plastic material strip, in the embodiment, one end of the lower fixing element 40 has a first through hole 44 and a lower portion of the end has a first groove 42; the probe 50 is a spring probe with a double-ended solid copper needle, for example, and a hollow spring, and includes an output portion 52, a third diameter portion 54, a fourth diameter portion 56, and a detection portion 58.

In the present embodiment, the signal lead-out device 10 further comprises a signal lead-out element 10 and an upper fixing element 20, wherein the signal lead-out element 10 is, for example, a copper thimble, and has a lead-out portion 12 for welding a signal line, a first diameter portion 14, a second diameter portion 16 and a bottom portion 18; the upper fixing element 20 is, for example, a heat-resistant ceramic material, insulating engineering plastic material strip, and in the present embodiment, the upper fixing element 20 has a second groove 22 at a lower portion of one end and a second through hole 24 at the other end.

In the present embodiment, the package further includes a substrate 60 and a limiting member 70, wherein the substrate 60 is, for example, a teflon sheet or a ceramic sheet, and has an opening 62; the limiting member 70 is, for example, an impact-resistant bump or a ceramic block made of ABS engineering plastic, and the limiting member 70 has a third through hole 72.

Referring to fig. 2 and fig. 3, fig. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the invention, and fig. 3 is another front view of the embodiment of the invention. As shown, in the present embodiment, the first through hole 24 of the upper fixing element 20 has a first aperture portion 242 having a first aperture E1, and a second aperture portion 244 having a second aperture E2; the second through hole 44 of the lower fixing member 40 has a third bore 442 having a third bore E3 and a fourth bore 444 having a fourth bore E4.

The connection relationship and the resulting effect of the elements are described below; the lower fixing element 40 is disposed below the signal transmitting element 30, the first through hole 44 at one end of the lower fixing element 40 is used for the probe 50 to pass through, and provides additional supporting force to reinforce the mechanical strength of the first transmitting portion 32 and the second transmitting portion 34, and the first width W1 of the first transmitting portion 32 is greater than the second width W2 of the second transmitting portion 34, so as to fix, for example, screw, and adhere, at least one point of the second transmitting portion 34 with a wider width to the lower fixing element 40, thereby avoiding the problem of the signal transmitting element 30 slipping and loosening.

In the present embodiment, the other end of the lower fixing element 40 can provide a support when the signal guiding element 10 is inserted and disposed above the first transmitting portion 32, and the signal transmitting element 30 can be clamped by the upper fixing element 20 and the lower fixing element 40, so as to provide a more stable structure.

The signal leading-out element 10 is inserted into the second through hole 24 of the first end of the upper fixing element 20, and is inserted into an upper part of the first transmission part 32 and electrically connected with the first transmission part 32; the first diameter portion 14 of the signal deriving element 10 has a first diameter D1 corresponding to the first aperture portion 242 of the second through hole 24, and the second diameter portion 16 of the signal deriving element 10 has a second diameter D2 corresponding to the second aperture portion 244 of the second through hole 24; the signal transmission element 30 is disposed below the upper fixing element 20 and the signal deriving element 10, and the second transmission portion 34 thereof is exposed to the second groove 22 of the upper fixing element 20.

Continuing with the above, because the first diameter D1 is approximately the first aperture E1 and the second diameter D2 is approximately the second aperture E2. Therefore, the guiding element 10 is loosely fitted with the first diameter portion 14, the second diameter portion 16 and the first aperture portion 242, the second aperture portion 244 of the second through hole 24 respectively; moreover, since the first diameter D1 is smaller than the second diameter D2, and the first aperture E1 is smaller than the second aperture E2, the second diameter portion 16 of the signal deriving element 10 abuts against the first aperture portion 242 of the second through hole 24, and the bottom 18 of the signal deriving element 10 is forced to be inserted and disposed above the first transmission portion 32, so that the signal deriving element is firmly inserted and well electrically connected to the first transmission portion 32.

Similarly, third diameter portion 54 has a first diameter D3, fourth diameter portion 56 has a fourth diameter D4, third diameter D3 approximates third bore diameter E3 and fourth diameter D4 approximates fourth bore diameter E4. Therefore, the probe 50 is loosely matched with the third and

fourth hole portions

442, 444 of the first through hole 44 by the third and

fourth diameter portions

54, 56, respectively; moreover, since the third diameter D3 is larger than the fourth diameter D4, and the third aperture E3 is larger than the fourth aperture E4, the third diameter portion 54 of the probe 50 abuts against the fourth aperture 444 of the first through hole 44, and at the same time, the output portion 52 of the probe 50 is forced to abut against a lower portion of the second transmission portion 34, and is retained in the first through hole 44 and is electrically connected to the first transmission portion 32 of the signal transmission element 30.

Finally, the substrate 60 is located below the probes 50 and the lower fixing member 40, and has an opening 62 identical to the limiting member 70; the limiting member 70 is fixed on the substrate 60 by the insertion opening 62, and has a third through hole 72 for the probe 50 to pass through.

Please refer to fig. 4, which is a schematic front view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, in the embodiment, when the probe apparatus 1 moves toward the pad 82 of the circuit board 80 under test, the detecting portion 58 of the probe 50 abuts against the pad 82, the probe 50 is pushed by the reaction force of the pad 82 to move toward the second transmission portion 34, and the second transmission portion 34 is bent toward the second groove 22 of the upper fixing element 20, so that the elastic force of the second transmission portion 34 provides a restoring force to ensure that the detecting portion 58 abuts against the pad 82 and then the electrical connection is good, and the limiting member 70 abuts against the lower fixing element 40 at the top of the first groove 42, so as to limit the probe 50 from stopping rising to keep the second transmission portion 34 of the signal transmission element 30 to be repeatedly used within the elastic deformation range, thereby preventing the probe from being damaged due to plastic deformation.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5 again, fig. 5 is a schematic front view of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, in the present embodiment, after the detection is completed, the probe apparatus 1 moves in a direction away from the pad 82 of the circuit board 80 to be tested, and the elasticity of the second transmission portion 34 provides the restoring force again to restore the probe 50 to the original position.

In this embodiment, the lower fixing element supports the signal transmission element to reinforce the mechanical strength of the signal transmission element with reduced width and thickness, so that the width of the probe device of the invention can be reduced and the probe device can be applied to finer probes, a plurality of probe devices of the invention can realize a probe card arranged in high density and be applied to the detection of high-frequency electronic elements, and the lower fixing element is utilized to further avoid the welding between the signal transmission element and the signal derivation element and the welding between the signal transmission element and the probe, so that the structure of the embodiment can be applied to a high-temperature environment higher than the melting point of a welding point; in addition, the probe can keep not to be inclined vertically with the connecting pad of the tested circuit through the limit of the first through hole and the third through hole, the probe is not easy to wear to form an acute angle and is not easy to pierce or scratch the connecting pad, and the limit part further limits the pressing stroke of the probe module to avoid overvoltage to cause the damage of the tested circuit element or the connecting pad; moreover, the probe device circuit of the invention is formed by connecting the signal leading-out element, the signal transmission element and the probe 3 sections in series, each element can be respectively manufactured and assembled in a row without adopting expensive photoetching process, and the fault in the three elements can be replaced by only separating the upper fixing element from the signal transmission element during maintenance, thereby achieving the purpose of easy maintenance and low cost.

The signal leading-out element and the probe are provided with two ends of solid metal and a hollow middle section, the elastic body is arranged on the middle section, one end of the signal transmission element corresponding to the probe is exposed out of the second groove, and the limiting element is provided with a through hole to protect the probe and keep vertical when the needle enters and exits; when the probe device is used for detecting and pressing a circuit to be detected, the elastic body in the middle section of the probe provides a first section of buffer, the elastic body in the middle section of the signal leading-out element provides a second section of buffer, and one end of the signal transmission element, corresponding to the probe, is abutted against the probe and then elastically deforms towards the second groove, so that an additional third section of buffer is generated; the limiting element solves the problem that the probe is worn to generate an acute angle so as to avoid damaging a tested circuit; the elastic deformation part of the invention is arranged at one end of the signal transmission element corresponding to the probe, and the problems of abrasion or fatigue deformation and the like are mainly caused, so the whole probe device can be repaired only by replacing the signal transmission element, the maintenance is simple, a user can quickly finish the repair without purchasing spare parts, the probe is replaced only without replacing the signal transmission element and the signal derivation element, the manufacturing of the probe does not need to carry out a photoetching process through a photomask, and the aim of reducing the cost can be achieved.

In summary, the present invention provides a probe apparatus, which uses an upper fixing element and a lower fixing element to sandwich a signal transmission element to reinforce the mechanical strength of the signal transmission element, so as to reduce the width of the probe apparatus and achieve the purposes of easy maintenance, high density arrangement and low cost, and further, the signal transmission element is controlled to generate controlled elastic deformation during the probe detection process so as to achieve the purpose of not damaging the circuit to be detected.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A probe apparatus, comprising:

a signal transmission element, which comprises a first transmission part and a second transmission part, wherein a first width of the first transmission part is larger than a second width of the second transmission part;

one end of the probe is electrically connected and arranged below the second transmission part; and

the lower fixing element is arranged below the signal transmission element, one end of the lower fixing element is provided with a first through hole, and the probe penetrates through the first through hole of the lower fixing element.

2. The probe apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first recess is formed below the end of the lower fixing element, and the probe is disposed in the first recess.

3. The probe apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a signal deriving element electrically connected to and disposed above the first transmitting portion.

4. The probe apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an upper mounting element disposed above the signal transmission element.

5. The probe apparatus according to claim 3, wherein one end of the upper fixing element has a second groove, the probe is located below the second groove, and the signal deriving element is disposed through a second through hole at the other end of the upper fixing element.

6. The probe apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a substrate, which is arranged below the lower fixing element and is provided with an opening; and

a limiting member disposed in the opening of the substrate corresponding to the first groove, wherein the probe penetrates through the limiting member.

7. The probe apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second through hole further has a first aperture portion and a second aperture portion, and a first aperture of the first aperture portion is smaller than a second aperture of the second aperture portion.

8. The probe apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the signal deriving element has a first diameter portion and a second diameter portion, a first diameter of the first diameter portion corresponds to the first aperture of the first aperture portion, and a second diameter of the second diameter portion corresponds to the second aperture of the second aperture portion.

9. The probe apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first through hole further has a third aperture portion and a fourth aperture portion, and a third aperture of the third aperture portion is larger than a fourth aperture of the fourth aperture portion.

10. The probe apparatus of claim 9, wherein the probe has a third diameter portion and a fourth diameter portion, a third diameter of the third diameter portion corresponding to the third aperture of the third aperture portion, and a fourth diameter of the fourth diameter portion corresponding to the fourth aperture of the fourth aperture portion.