JP2005338040A - Probe - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid physical damage by grinding waste by preparing a guide section on the opposite side to face side contacting inspected objects at the front edge of the probe, removing shavings caused due to the probe equally to either side of probe. <P>SOLUTION: The guide section 10 is established on the opposite side (the top surface side 14) to face side (the contacting lateral face 1a) contacting inspected objects at the front edge of the probe 1, so as to remove shavings, which are caused during the period the probe 1 slides on electrode padding face 3a, to either sides equally in the direction of an arrowhead S indicating sliding of the probe 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a probe used in a probe apparatus for performing an electrical inspection such as a circuit test on an object to be inspected which is a device such as a semiconductor chip.

  In general, when an electrical inspection of a semiconductor chip or the like is performed, a probe device presses a contact pin called a probe from above on an electrode pad provided on the semiconductor chip or a bump formed on the electrode pad. Then, an electrical inspection of the semiconductor chip or the like is performed. At this time, when the semiconductor chip is electrically connected to a tester or the like, it is connected via a circuit board called a probe card to which a probe is attached.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the probe according to the prior art cuts out one surface of the contact side surface 1a that comes into contact with the object to be inspected (semiconductor chip) at the tip of the cylindrical probe 1, and sets the contact side surface 1a and the obtuse angle α. An inclined surface 1b is formed, and an intersecting ridge line 2 between the inclined surface 1b and the contact side surface 1a is a contact portion of the object to be inspected (semiconductor chip) to the electrode pad surface 3a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the probe 1 is attached to the probe card 6 having a hole 6 a in the center by a holding ring 7, and the end 1 e of the probe 1 is placed on the probe card 6 via the solder 5. It is connected to the formed wiring (not shown). The probe card 6 is connected to a tester 8 for performing an electrical inspection of the inspection object 4 (semiconductor chip).

In the electrical inspection of the inspection object 4, the probe card 6 descends in the direction of arrow P by a certain amount from above the inspection object 4, so that the intersecting ridge line 2 at the tip of the probe 1 contacts the electrode pad surface 3 a. At the same time, the tip of the probe 1 slides with respect to the electrode pad surface 3a in the direction of the tip of the probe 1, that is, in the direction of the arrow S (see FIG. 2). The pad 3 is pressed. Thereby, the tester 8 is electrically connected to the inspection object 4 via the probe card 6 and the probe 1 and can execute an electrical inspection (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-31746 A

  However, in the probe having such a configuration, when the electrode pad surface 3a is mainly made of aluminum, as shown in FIG. 4, when the probe 1 slides on the electrode pad surface 3a in the direction of the arrow S, it intersects. The aluminum oxide on the electrode pad surface 3a is scraped off by the ridge line 2, and the shavings 9 accumulate on the inclined surface 1b at the tip of the probe 1, the gap between the tip 1c and the electrode pad surface 3a, and thus after the electrical inspection is completed. When the probe card 6 rises and the probe 1 moves in the arrow T direction, the shavings 9 are left in a state of being greatly raised on the electrode pad surface 3a.

  Therefore, when a contact pin is pressed onto the electrode pad 3 by wafer level burn-in (WLBI) in a later process, or when wire bonding or stud bump formation is performed on the electrode pad 3, When the contact pin descends to bite the shavings 9, or the initial ball before wire bonding or stud bump formation bites the shavings 9, high stress is generated in the region immediately below the shavings 9, and the electrode pad 3 Physical damage could occur in the underlying circuit structure.

  The present invention is directed to solving the problems of the prior art, and when the probe slides on the electrode pad surface on the side opposite to the surface side contacting the object to be inspected at the tip of the probe. It is an object of the present invention to provide a probe that is provided with a guide portion for evenly releasing the shavings generated on the right and left sides of the probe to avoid physical damage caused by the shavings.

  In order to achieve this object, a probe according to the present invention is a probe used in a probe apparatus that performs an electrical inspection on an object to be inspected, and the surface on the side where the tip of the probe comes into contact with the object to be inspected In the upper half near the tip on the opposite side, a cut-out portion having a convex curved surface is provided on the inside of the probe in a symmetric manner radially from the center of the tip.

  According to the said structure, the shavings of the electrode pad which generate | occur | produce with a probe at the time of a test | inspection can be made low and substantially equal on the electrode pad surface.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the electrode pad shavings generated by the probe when inspecting the object to be inspected can be made low and substantially even on the electrode pad surface, so that the stress generated directly under the shavings is conventional. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of physical damage to the circuit structure under the electrode pad in the subsequent process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1A is a side view showing a probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a front view seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG. Here, components having equivalent functions corresponding to the components described in FIG. 2 showing the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the probe 1 slides on the electrode pad surface 3a on the side (upper surface side 14) opposite to the surface (contact side surface 1a) on the side of the probe 1 that contacts the object to be inspected. A guide portion 10 is provided as a cutting portion for evenly releasing the shavings generated at the time to the left and right in the arrow S direction in which the probe 1 slides. As shown in FIG. 1B, the guide portion 10 is bilaterally symmetric when the tip of the probe 1 is viewed from the upper surface side 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the guide portion 10 includes a surface 11 and a corner portion 12. As shown in FIG. 1B, the corner portion 12 is a curved surface convex toward the inside of the probe 1 as viewed from the upper surface side of the tip of the probe 1 and is radially from the tip. An angle β is formed in the acute angle portion 13 at the center of the tip of the probe 1 in order to distribute shavings by the left and right corner portions 12.

  Further, assuming that the diameter of the probe 1 as the surface 11 is D, the depth H from the upper surface side 14 is preferably D / 4 or more and D / 2 or less at the tip of the probe 1. The surface 11 may be a curved surface that intersects the corner portion 12. Further, the cross-sectional shape of the probe 1 may be a polygon such as a quadrangle. At that time, the diameter D is the height of the probe 1 as seen from the side. Further, the shape of the guide portion 10 at the tip of the probe 1 is not limited to the shape subjected to honing as shown in FIG.

  By providing such a guide portion 10, shavings generated when the probe 1 slides on the electrode pad surface 3 a is distributed to the left and right evenly with the sliding of the probe 1, and is high on the outer periphery of the scrub portion. The thickness can be kept low. For this reason, even if the contact pin by wafer level burn-in (WLBI) is pressed on the electrode pad surface or the initial ball is pressed for wire bonding or stud bump formation in the post-inspection process, it occurs directly under the shavings The stress to be suppressed can be kept lower than before, and physical damage to the circuit structure under the electrode pad can be prevented.

  The probe according to the present invention generates the electrode pad shavings generated by the probe low and substantially evenly on the electrode pad surface when inspecting an object to be inspected, such as a semiconductor chip. This is useful for electrical inspection or the like in which a circuit test using a probe is performed by suppressing the stress to be applied to prevent physical damage to the circuit structure under the electrode pad.

(A) which shows the probe in embodiment of this invention is a side view, (b) is the front view seen from the arrow A direction of (a) Side view showing a conventional probe Side view showing a probe device using a conventional probe Side view showing accumulated state of shavings on electrode pad surface by conventional probe

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe 1a Contact side surface 1b Inclined surface 1c Tip part 1e Terminal part 2 Crossing ridgeline 3 Electrode pad 3a Electrode pad surface 4 Inspected object (semiconductor chip)
5 Solder 6 Probe card 6a Air hole 7 Holding ring 8 Tester 9 Chip 10 Guide part 11 Surface 12 Corner part 13 Acute angle part 14 Upper surface side

Claims (1)

A probe used in a probe apparatus for performing an electrical inspection on an object to be inspected,
The probe tip is opposite to the surface in contact with the object to be inspected, and an upper half near the tip is symmetric with respect to the center of the tip and is radially radiated with a convex curved cutout inside the probe. A probe characterized by that.

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