JP2004294063A - Probe and probe card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a probe and a probe card, obtaining enough contact pressure with an object and obtaining stable resisting contact. <P>SOLUTION: This probe card is used for measuring various electric characteristics of a liquid crystal display 200 (a semiconductor integrated circuit). The probe card includes: a probe 110 coming into contact with a gold bump 210 formed on the liquid crystal display 200; and a base plate 120 to which the probe 110 is mounted. The probe 110 is constituted of an alloy composed of nickel, beryllium, copper and titanium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a probe and a probe card for measuring various electrical characteristics of a semiconductor integrated circuit.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, rhenium tungsten (see Patent Document 1) or a beryllium-copper alloy (see Patent Document 2) has been used as a probe material in a probe card for measuring various electrical characteristics of a semiconductor integrated circuit. General. A probe made of rhenium tungsten and a probe made of beryllium-copper will be described below with reference to FIG.
[0003]
Since a probe made of rhenium tungsten has a high Young's modulus, a sufficient contact pressure can be obtained with a gold bump formed as a contact target on a semiconductor integrated circuit. In addition, since the needle diameter can be reduced to a minimum of 90 μm due to a high Young's modulus, it is possible to arrange the needles even at a narrow pitch interval (35 μm pitch interval).
[0004]
On the other hand, the probe made of beryllium-copper is difficult to adhere to the tip of the probe due to its material and the material to be measured, so that the tip needs to be cleaned only once every 300 to 500 times. In addition, since dirt is hard to adhere, stable resistance contact can be obtained even when used continuously.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-289874 A [Patent Document 2]
JP 2001-228170 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of a probe made of rhenium tungsten, dirt or the like on a gold bump is likely to adhere to the tip due to its material. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the tip of the probe must be cleaned once every 30 to 50 times. In addition, since the probe is apt to be contaminated with dirt, there is a disadvantage that stable resistance contact cannot be obtained when the probe is used continuously.
[0007]
On the other hand, beryllium-copper probes have a drawback that, since their Young's modulus is low, sufficient contact pressure with the object to be measured cannot be obtained. Moreover, since the needle diameter is as large as 130 or 150 μm at minimum due to the low Young's modulus, there is a drawback that the needles cannot be arranged at a pitch interval of 45 μm or less.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel probe and a probe card which do not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The probe of the present invention is a probe used for measuring a quantity of electricity, characterized in that it is made of an alloy composed of at least nickel, beryllium, copper and titanium.
[0010]
More preferably, the probe when the material to be contacted is gold, copper, aluminum or a solder material, wherein the copper is 15.0 to 35.0 mass% or less, and the beryllium is 1.30 to 1.80 mass%. And a nickel-based alloy containing 0.10 to 1.00 mass% of titanium.
[0011]
More preferably, the probe is preferably a nickel-based alloy further containing 0.50 mass% or less of iron.
[0012]
A probe card according to the present invention is a probe card for measuring various electrical characteristics of a semiconductor integrated circuit, and includes the above-described probe.
[0013]
More preferably, the probe is in contact with a pointing pad, a bump, or a lead frame of a package of the semiconductor integrated circuit.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a table for explaining various characteristics of a probe.
[0015]
The probe card 100 listed here is a probe card used for measuring various electrical characteristics of the liquid crystal display 200 (semiconductor integrated circuit), and includes a probe 110 that contacts a gold bump 210 formed on the liquid crystal display 200; A substrate 120 to which the probe 110 is attached. Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.
[0016]
The probe 110 is made of an alloy made of nickel, beryllium, copper, and titanium, and has a distal end 111 bent downward and a proximal end 112 connected to a wiring pattern of a substrate 120 described later. ing. The probe 110 is a nickel-based alloy containing 15.0 to 35.0 mass% or less of copper, 1.30 to 1.80 mass% of beryllium, and 0.10 to 1.00 mass% of titanium. The reason for adding a small amount of titanium is to suppress grain boundary precipitation, and if the grain boundary precipitation proceeds excessively, the strength is reduced. In addition, heat resistance can be improved by adding titanium. Note that the tip portion 111 of the probe 110 is a portion in contact with the gold bump 210.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, the probe 110 made of the above-described alloy has the characteristics of a hardness of 518 Hv, a tensile strength of 1864 N / mm ² , and a Young's modulus of 183 Gpa, and has a Young's modulus and a hardness higher than that of a rhenium tungsten probe. Although it is low and has low tensile strength, it has higher Young's modulus and hardness and higher tensile strength than the beryllium-copper probe.
[0018]
Since the probe 110 has the above-described Young's modulus, hardness, and tensile strength, a sufficient contact pressure with the gold bump 210 can be obtained, and the needle diameter can be reduced to a minimum of 90 μm. By thus reducing the needle diameter, the probe 110 can be attached to the substrate 120 at a narrow pitch.
[0019]
In addition, the probe 110 made of such a nickel-based alloy also has such a property that the dirt on the gold bump 210 is hard to adhere due to its material. For this reason, even if it is used a plurality of times, stable resistance contact can be obtained, and the number of times of cleaning the tip can be reduced.
[0020]
A wiring pattern (not shown) is formed on the front surface of the substrate 120, and a substantially ring-shaped probe fixing member 121 is mounted on the back surface side. The base end 112 of the probe 110 is electrically connected to the wiring pattern. The lower surface of the probe fixing member 121 is an inclined surface 121 when attached to the substrate 120. The probe is fixed to the substrate 120 by fixing the middle part of the probe 110 to the inclined surface 121 with the insulating adhesive 122.
[0021]
Although the probe card 100 is a so-called cantilever type in which the probe 110 is inclined with respect to the substrate 210, the present invention includes a so-called vertical operation type in which each probe is perpendicular to the substrate. Of course.
[0022]
Hereinafter, a method of using the probe card 100 will be described.
[0023]
First, the probe card 100 is lowered, and the probe 110 is brought into contact with the gold bump 210 of the liquid crystal display 200.
[0024]
In this state, the electric characteristics of the liquid crystal display 200 are measured by pushing it down. At this time, since the probe 110 has a high Young's modulus and the like as described above, a sufficient contact pressure with the gold bump 210 can be obtained. In addition, since the material is hardly adhered with dirt, a stable resistance contact can be obtained even when used a plurality of times.
[0025]
In the case of such a probe card 100, stable resistance contact can be obtained and a sufficient contact pressure with the gold bump 210 can be obtained, so that stable measurement of various electrical characteristics of the liquid crystal display can be performed. . Further, since the minimum needle diameter of the probe 110 can be reduced to 90 μm, the probes 110 can be arranged at a narrow pitch interval, and as a result, there is an advantage in achieving high integration. In addition, since the number of times of cleaning the distal end portion 111 of the probe 110 can be reduced, maintenance is easy and cost reduction can be achieved in this regard.
[0026]
The design can be changed as follows.
[0027]
The probe 110 is a nickel-based alloy containing 15.0 to 35.0 mass% or less of copper, 1.30 to 1.80 mass% of beryllium, 0.10 to 1.00 mass% of titanium, and 0.50 mass% or less of iron. However, it is also possible to use a nickel-based alloy further containing 0.50 mass% or less of iron. As described above, by further including iron, the crystal of the probe 100 is miniaturized, so that the yield strength is improved and the elongation is increased. That is, the Young's modulus and the like can be improved. The probe 110 is not limited to the composition ratio described above, and may be any alloy made of at least nickel, beryllium, copper, and titanium.
[0028]
Note that, here, the contact is made with the gold bump of the liquid crystal display 200, but in addition, the contact can be made with a contact target made of copper, aluminum, or a solder material and used to measure the quantity of electricity. Specifically, it can be used to measure a quantity of electricity by contacting a pointing pad of a semiconductor integrated circuit, a bump other than gold, or a lead frame of a package.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
The probe according to claim 1 of the present invention is a probe used for measuring an electric quantity, which is characterized by being formed of an alloy composed of nickel, beryllium, copper, and titanium.
[0030]
The probe according to claim 2 of the present invention is the probe according to claim 1, wherein the material to be contacted is gold, copper, aluminum or a solder material. It is a nickel-based alloy containing beryllium of 30 to 1.80 mass% and titanium of 0.10 to 1.00 mass%.
[0031]
In the probe according to the first and second aspects, since the Young's modulus is high, a sufficient contact pressure with the contact target can be obtained. Further, since the needle diameter can be reduced, the needles can be arranged at a narrow pitch interval. In addition, since the number of times of cleaning can be reduced due to the material, there is an effect that maintenance is easy.
[0032]
A probe according to a third aspect of the present invention is the probe according to the second aspect, characterized in that the probe is a nickel-based alloy further containing 0.50 mass% or less of iron.
[0033]
In the case of such a probe according to the third aspect, by including iron, the crystal is refined, the proof stress is improved, and the elongation is increased. That is, since the Young's modulus and the like can be improved, the above-mentioned characteristics become remarkable.
[0034]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a probe card for use in measuring various electrical characteristics of a semiconductor integrated circuit, comprising the probe according to the first, second or third aspect.
[0035]
According to the probe card of the fourth aspect, since the probe can obtain a sufficient contact pressure with the object to be measured and a stable resistance contact, the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor integrated circuit can be stabilized. Can be measured. Further, since the needle diameter of the probes can be reduced, they can be arranged at a narrow pitch interval, and as a result, high integration can be achieved. In addition, the probe can be easily maintained because the number of times of cleaning is small, and as a result, the cost can be reduced.
[0036]
A probe card according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the probe card according to the fourth aspect, wherein the probe is in contact with a pointing pad, a bump, or a lead frame of a package of the semiconductor integrated circuit.
[0037]
According to the probe card of the fifth aspect, it can be used for measuring various electrical characteristics of the semiconductor integrated circuit by coming into contact with various objects to be contacted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a table for explaining various characteristics of a probe.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 100 probe card 110 probe 120 substrate 200 liquid crystal display 210 gold bump

Claims (5)

A probe used for measuring an amount of electricity, wherein the probe is made of an alloy including nickel, beryllium, copper, and titanium. 2. The probe according to claim 1, wherein the material to be contacted is gold, copper, aluminum, or a solder material. A probe comprising a nickel-based alloy containing 0.10 to 1.00 mass% of titanium. The probe according to claim 2, wherein the probe is a nickel-based alloy further containing 0.50 mass% or less of iron. A probe card used for measuring various electrical characteristics of a semiconductor integrated circuit, comprising the probe according to claim 1, 2 or 3. 5. The probe card according to claim 4, wherein the probe is in contact with a pointing pad, a bump, or a lead frame of a package of the semiconductor integrated circuit.

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