JP2000028642A - Contact probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a sufficient contact appropriately by absorbing fluctuations in the height of electrode terminal of a member to be inspected. SOLUTION: An elongated hole 30 which does not open to the forward end of a film 21 is made between respective pattern wirings 22, 22 in the vicinity of a forward end 21a of the film. A beam part of the film 21 is provided between the forward end part and the elongated hole 30. The film 21 is composed of two layers of a resin film PI and a metal film 26, and the elongated hole 30 is made through the resin film PI and the metal film 26. The elongated holes 30 are arranged in the region of narrow linear part of the pattern wiring 22 following a contact pin 22a, in parallel with the pattern wiring 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a contact probe which is mounted on a probe device and performs an electrical test by bringing contact pins into contact with a contact object such as a semiconductor IC chip or a liquid crystal device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a contact probe provided with contact pins is used on a printed circuit board in order to electrically test a semiconductor chip such as an IC chip or an LSI chip or a member to be inspected such as an LCD (liquid crystal display). Is used. For example, in the contact probe 1 shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of pattern wirings 2 are formed on a film 3, and the tips of these pattern wirings 2 are arranged so as to protrude from the film 3 to be contact pins 2 a. . The film 3 is made of a resin film such as a polyimide resin. In this technique, for example, a plurality of pattern wirings 2 manufactured by a photolithography method are used as contact pins 2a to reduce the pitch of multiple pins, and each pattern wiring 2 has the same pitch including a contact probe 2a. Precisely arranged in a plane,
It is designed to be able to contact electrode terminals such as pads and bumps of a semiconductor IC chip with high precision. By incorporating such a contact probe 1 into a probe device,
Used for testing C chips and the like.

For example, in a probe device 5 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, for example, a top clamp 7 is mounted on a printed circuit board 6 having a central window 6a, and a tip 1a of the contact probe 1 is attached to the lower surface thereof with a double-sided tape. The mounting base 8 attached with the center window 6a
To the top clamp 7 with bolts or the like. Then, the base 1b of the contact probe 1 is
, The base 1 b is pressed against the lower surface of the printed circuit board 6 by the elastic body 10 of the bottom clamp 9 and fixed. In this state, the wiring lead-out portion of the pattern wiring 2 in the base 1b is pressed through the window to the electrode 6b of the printed circuit board 6 and is kept in contact. The tip 1a of the contact probe 1 is shown in FIG.
To be held in a downwardly inclined state.

In such a state, the semiconductor IC chip 13
Are brought into contact with the contact pins 2a and subjected to an electrical test. Here, when the contact pins 2a contact each other, the probe device 5 is positioned with respect to the IC chip 13, and the IC chip 13 is relatively raised to perform overdrive. Conductive contact can be made. By the way, the contact pins 2a of the contact probe 1 are usually provided with, for example, about 300 to 1000 pins corresponding to the number of the bumps 13a of the semiconductor IC chip 13, and the contact pins 2a are overdriven with respect to the bumps 13a. In this case, good contact results can be obtained for all the contact pins 2a by overdrive of, for example, about 80 to 100 μm from the first contact by any of the contact pins 2a.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, semiconductor ICs
Regarding the bumps 13a of the chip 13 and so on, no matter how accurately the bumps 13a are formed, the bumps 13a shown in FIG.
In some cases, a height variation may occur in units of microns between 1, 13a-2. On the other hand, since the film 3 is formed in a plane together with the contact pins 2a, the adjacent contact pins 2a-1 and 2a-2 remain in the plane, and the height variation cannot be sufficiently absorbed. Therefore, in FIG. 12, a sufficient overdrive amount can be applied to the bump 13a-1 having a high height, but the overdrive amount becomes small for the bump 13a-2 having a relatively low height. In addition, there is a problem that the contact pressure becomes unstable and a sufficient contact cannot be obtained. In particular, when a metal film is laminated on the film 3, the rigidity and flatness of the film 3 are further increased, so that the contact with the bump 13a-2 becomes further insufficient.

In such a case, if a necessary amount of overdrive is applied to the bump 13a-2 of the low contact, the contact pin 2a presses the other bumps 13a having a relatively high height. Are excessively large, foreign matter such as dust adhering to the contact portions of the contact pins 2a is increased due to strong rubbing, and the life of the contact pins 2a is reduced. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances.
An object of the present invention is to provide a contact probe capable of absorbing a variation in height of an object to be contacted so as to make an appropriate and sufficient contact.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a contact probe in which a plurality of pattern wirings are provided on a film, and the leading ends of the pattern wirings project from the leading end of the film to form contact pins. A hole that does not open at the leading edge of the film is provided between the pattern wirings near the leading end of the film. Because the hole improves the flexibility of the film between the pattern wirings near the tip, even if the electrode terminals of the inspected member have height variations,
If the contact pins are brought into contact with each other by overdriving, the film near the contact pins is bent in the hole in accordance with the height variation of the electrode terminals and displaced in the vertical direction, that is, the direction perpendicular to the plane direction in which the film extends. Since the contact pins are distorted in a wavy manner, the contact pins can be displaced in the vertical direction following the height variations to absorb the height variations, and can be contacted with an appropriate overdrive amount. Moreover, because of this, the relative movement amount of the contact probe from the first contact to the last contact can be small, so that excessive overdrive is not applied to other contact pins. In addition, the gap between the hole and the leading edge of the film is not removed, and by forming a beam, each contact pin is stretched mutually at the time of contact, and the contact pin is displaced in the vertical direction. Also, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of displacement in the plane direction.

The film is formed by laminating a resin film on which pattern wiring is adhered and a metal film,
The hole may be formed through the resin film and the metal film. Since the hole is formed so as to penetrate the entire thickness direction of the film, the flexibility of the film is high, and the followability of the contact pin to the height variation of the electrode terminal is further improved. Further, the film may be formed by laminating a resin film on which pattern wiring is adhered and a metal film, and the hole may be formed penetrating the metal film. In addition to being able to achieve impedance matching by laminating metal films, the flexibility of the film can be improved by forming holes only in a relatively rigid metal film, and a resin film having high flexibility By not forming a hole in the contact pin, the positional displacement of the contact pin in the planar direction can be further suppressed. A plurality of holes are formed on the film in a substantially linear manner intermittently or continuously along the pattern wiring. The holes are preferably arranged between all the pattern wirings.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used for the same parts or members as in the above-mentioned prior art, and the description thereof will be omitted.
1 to 5 relate to an embodiment, FIG. 1 is a plan view of a contact probe, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of the contact probe shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a tip of the contact probe shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the contact probe shown in FIG. 3 along the line BB, and FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a state where the contact probe according to the embodiment is brought into contact with bumps. The contact probe 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is, for example, an IC probe, and has a structure in which a pattern wiring 22 formed of Ni or a Ni alloy is adhered to one surface of a film 21 with an adhesive. Each tip of the plurality of pattern wirings 22 protrudes from the tip 21a of 21 to form a contact pin 22a. The positioning holes 2 are provided on both sides of the film 21.
5a, 25a, 25b, 25b are perforated.

The film 21 is a two-layer tape in which a metal film (copper foil) 26 is integrally laminated on a resin film PI such as a polyimide resin on which the pattern wiring 22 is adhered. The metal film 26 can be used as a ground, which makes it possible to design the impedance matching up to the vicinity of the tip of the probe device 5, and can prevent the adverse effect even when performing a test in a high frequency range. Further, the film 21 is provided with a window 27 for transmitting a signal obtained from the pattern wiring 22 to the printed circuit board 6 via the lead-out wiring 22b.

Further, in the contact probe 20 shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of pattern wirings 22 are formed as parallel lines having relatively wide intervals at the base 21b of the film 21 having the window 27, and are bent so that the intervals gradually become narrower at the distal end side. , A plurality of pattern wirings 22 in the region of the leading end 21 a of the film 21.
Constitutes a straight portion 29 whose interval is narrowed and parallel to each other, and is a contact pin 22a protruding from the leading edge 21c of the film 21 on an extension of the straight portion 29. In the region of the linear portion 29 on the film 21, substantially linear long holes 30 penetrating the film 21 are formed between the adjacent pattern wirings 22, 22 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). In the embodiment, the elongated holes 30 are provided between all the pattern wirings 22 in the linear portion 29. In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, the long holes 30 are formed at the front edge 21c from which the contact pins 22a of the film 21 project.
The opening 27 is formed so as to extend from the front edge 21 c to the window 27 side toward the window 27 and extend toward the window 27. It is preferable that both ends in the longitudinal direction of the long hole 30 are formed in a substantially arc shape. The long hole 30 is the straight portion 2 in FIG.
9, but may extend to the base 21b side.

The long holes 30 are formed, for example, between the pattern wirings 22 of the film 21 by using a laser beam or the like, and then the pattern wirings 22 are attached with an adhesive or the like. Alternatively, the pattern of the long holes 30 may be formed between the pattern wirings 22 and 22 with a laser beam or the like in a state where the pattern wiring 22 is attached to the film 21. The contact pins 22a protruding from the film 21 are formed to be longer than conventional ones.
The flexibility of 2a itself can be increased, and a more uniform contact pressure can be obtained.

Further, a leading end 21 of the film 21 shown in FIG.
5A, the film 21 is left over the entire length of the distal end edge 21c between the distal end edge 21c of the film 21 from which the contact pins 22a protrude and the distal end of the long hole 30, and this is referred to as a beam portion 31. By forming the long hole 30 in the front end 21a of the film 21, the flexibility of the front end 21a on both sides of the pattern wiring 22 can be increased as compared with other portions. By forming the long holes 30 in a straight line parallel to the pattern wirings 22, in the region of the long holes 30, a direction parallel to each pattern wiring 22 and perpendicular to the plane of the film 21 (the vertical direction, ie, FIG. To the Z direction). Further, since the beam portion 31 is left near the leading edge 21c of the film from which the contact pins 22a protrude, displacement of the contact pins 22a in the arrangement direction (X direction shown in FIGS. 3 and 5) can be prevented.

Contact probe 2 according to the present embodiment
No. 0 has the above-described configuration. The contact probe 20 is mounted on the above-described probe device 5 and the electrode terminals of the member to be inspected, for example, the bumps 13a of the IC chip 13
And perform an electrical test. In this case, for example, I
Even if the heights of a large number of bumps 13a arranged on the C chip 13 vary in units of microns, the contact pins 22a are displaced in the Z direction according to the height variations of the bumps 13a and have an appropriate contact pressure. Can be contacted. That is, when the probe device 5 is positioned with respect to the IC chip 13 and the IC chip 13 is relatively raised and overdriven, any one of the contact pins 2
2a makes first contact with the corresponding bump 13a, and then contacts other bumps 13a.

At the same time, as shown in FIG. 5, overdrive is applied to the contact pin 22a-1 corresponding to the bump 13a-1 adjacent to the bump 13a-2 having a relatively low height. The contact pin 22a-2 corresponding to the relatively low bump 13a-2 is
The distal end portion 21a of the film 21 bends in the region of the long holes 30 provided on both sides thereof and relatively curves in the Z direction. As a result, the contact pin 22a-2 is displaced below the adjacent contact pin 22a-1. Therefore, the contact pin 22a-2 also contacts the bump 13a-2 having a low height with a large contact pressure, and a sufficient overdrive amount can be secured. In addition, since the leading end of the film 21 is connected by the beam portion 31, the film 21 hardly extends in the lateral direction, and the contact pins 22 attached to the film 21 are not extended.
a-2 is the other contact pin 22a or bump 13a-
2 is suppressed from being displaced in the lateral direction. Therefore, if this contact probe 22 is used, without applying excessive contact pressure to each contact pin 22a, the height variation between the bumps 13a can be absorbed and the relative movement from the first contact can be made by a short distance relative to the conventional one. It is possible to reach the last contact and secure a sufficient overdrive amount with a smaller load.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, without applying an excessive contact pressure to each contact pin 22a, the height variation between the bumps 13a is absorbed and a smaller overdrive compared to the prior art is achieved. A sufficient amount of overdrive can be secured. Therefore, the load applied to each contact pin 22a can be reduced, a more uniform overdrive can be applied, the amount of foreign substances such as dust adhering to the contact pins 22a can be reduced, and the life can be improved.

Next, a modified example of this embodiment will be described by using the same reference numerals for the same parts as those in the above-described embodiment.
FIG. 6 shows a first modification of the contact probe 20 according to the embodiment. In the contact probe 34 shown in FIG. In place of the long holes 30, a plurality of holes 35 having an appropriate shape, for example, a substantially circular or elliptical hole are formed between the holes 22 and 22 in a substantially straight line. This hole 35 is formed, for example, through the resin film PI of the film 21 and the metal film 26. In addition, in a plurality of holes 35 formed in a substantially linear shape at an interval from each other, a connecting portion 36 is formed between the adjacent holes 35. The beam portion 31 is left between the most distal hole 35 on the film 21 and the distal edge 21c of the film 21. According to this structure, when the overdrive is applied, the film 21 near the contact pins 22a is made flexible to allow a slight displacement in the Z direction for each contact pin 22a, and the beam 21 of the film 21 extends in the plane direction. The position shift can be prevented by the portion 31 and the connecting portion 36.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a contact probe 37 showing a second modification of the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, a straight line portion 29 of the pattern wiring 22 at the leading end 21a of the film 21 is adjacent. Pattern wiring 22, 2
A straight long hole 38 is formed between the two.
The long holes 38 are formed through the metal film 26 of the film 21, but are not formed in the resin film PI. Even in this case, the resin film PI is flexible because of its high flexibility, and has high rigidity.
By forming a long hole 38 in the front end 2 of the film 21
The flexibility of 1a is improved. Therefore, when the overdrive is performed, the contact pins 22a can follow the height variation of the bumps 13a and absorb the variation, and can press and contact the bump 13a-2 having a small height with a sufficient contact pressure. In addition, by using the metal film 26 as the ground, impedance matching can be performed up to the tip of the probe device 5. In order to manufacture such a contact probe 37, masking the film 21 and etching the metal film 26 to form
8 may be formed.

The shape of the hole formed between the pattern wirings 22 at the leading end 21a of the film 21 is as follows.
Various shapes can be adopted without being limited to the above embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of circular or elliptical holes 35 may be arranged and the long holes 30 may be alternately arranged. Further, it is not always necessary to dispose the long holes 30 or the holes 35 between all the pattern wirings 22, 22.
It may be perforated.

[0020]

As described above, in the contact probe according to the present invention, the hole which does not open at the leading edge of the film is provided between the pattern wiring near the leading end of the film. In order to improve the flexibility of the film between the pattern wirings, even if there is a variation in the height of the electrode terminals of the inspected member, when overdrive is applied, the vicinity of the contact pins according to the height of the electrode terminals Since the film is displaced and curved at the hole, each contact pin is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the film, thereby absorbing height variations and making contact with an appropriate overdrive amount. In addition, since the relative movement amount of the electrode terminal or the contact probe from the first contact to the last contact is small, excessive overdrive is not applied to other contact pins. Therefore, adhesion of foreign matter to the contact pins can be suppressed, and the life can be improved. In addition, since the gap between the hole and the leading edge of the film is not removed, it is possible to prevent each contact pin from being displaced in the planar direction at the time of contact.

The film is formed by laminating a resin film on which pattern wiring is adhered and a metal film,
Since the hole is formed through the resin film and the metal film, the flexibility of the film is high, and the followability of the contact pin to the height variation of the electrode terminal is further improved. In addition, the film is formed by laminating a resin film and a metal film on which the pattern wiring is adhered, and since the holes are formed through the metal film, impedance matching can be achieved and the film can be formed. In addition to being able to improve the flexibility, since the holes are not formed in the highly flexible resin film, the positional displacement of the contact pins in the planar direction can be further suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a contact probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the contact probe shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a distal end portion of the contact probe shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of the contact probe shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of essential parts of a bump and a contact probe showing a state where overdrive is applied.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a main part, similar to FIG. 3, showing a first modified example of the contact probe according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4, showing a second modified example of the contact probe according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of a principal part similar to FIG. 3, showing a third modification of the contact probe according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a tip portion of a conventional contact probe.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional probe device.

FIG. 11 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a conventional probe device.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a main part of a bump and a contact probe showing a state where overdrive is applied in a conventional probe device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20, 34, 37 Contact probe 21 Film 22 Pattern wiring 22a, 22a-1, 22a-2 Contact pin PI resin film 26 Metal film 30 Slot 31 Beam 35, 38

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2G011 AA15 AA21 AB06 AB08 AC14 AE03 AE22 2H092 MA57 NA30 4M106 AA02 BA01 DD05 DD06 DD10 DD11 5E077 BB12 BB32 CC06 DD14 HH02 HH04 HH10 JJ24 JJ27

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A contact probe in which a plurality of pattern wirings are provided on a film, and a tip of the pattern wiring projects from a tip of the film to form a contact pin. A contact probe, wherein a hole that does not open at the leading edge of the film is provided between the wirings. 2. The film is formed by laminating a resin film on which pattern wiring is adhered and a metal film,
2. The contact probe according to claim 1, wherein the hole is formed through the resin film and the metal film. 3. The film is formed by laminating a resin film on which pattern wiring is adhered and a metal film,
2. The contact probe according to claim 1, wherein the hole is formed through the metal film.