JP2006242685A - Contact probe card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the structure of a contact probe card for inspecting a fine electronic circuit element, disposed in a compact state from a surface of a substrate on a side opposite to the circuit element (a surface on a side that is not provided with probe card). <P>SOLUTION: With respect to this contact probe card, in an area of a transparent substrate 1 on one surface side thereof, connection lines 2 to be connected to a measuring instrument are disposed, and the plurality of connection lines 2 are in a parallel state. Elastically deformable ring-shaped probes 3 are firmly fixed substantially rectilinearly to the severally corresponding connection lines 2, in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the connection lines 2 that is in the parallel state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact probe used for inspecting whether or not an inspection object based on each element constituting an electronic circuit element arranged on a silicon wafer, a wafer chip, a liquid crystal substrate, or the like has a predetermined performance. It is about the card.

For electronic circuit elements typified by semiconductor elements and liquid crystal devices, it is necessary to inspect whether or not they have a predetermined performance during and after manufacture using various inspection devices.
However, due to recent downsizing (compact) of electronic equipment, the area to be inspected by contact probe card tends to be very narrow. For this reason, in contact probe card, a plurality of wires connected to measuring instruments are connected in parallel. In addition, it is necessary to realize connection with the measurement site after connecting with each corresponding probe.

  In such a case, it is necessary to perform inspection while confirming whether or not a plurality of probes are normally in contact with a narrow inspection site where the objects are arranged. In the case of the substrate used in the above, since an opaque synthetic resin is adopted, it is impossible to visually check the state of contact as described above from the surface opposite to the side to which the probe is connected, Inevitably, the contact state must be confirmed from the side of the contact portion.

  In order to solve such an inconvenience, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-265578 (Patent Document 1) uses a transparent substrate, passes a linear spring pin through the transparent substrate, and is positioned at the tip of the spring pin. The structure which uses the contactor currently used as a probe is employ | adopted.

  However, in the case of the above configuration, the presence of the spring pin penetrating the transparent substrate cannot sufficiently see the state of the contact located at the tip from the opposite side of the transparent substrate. A curved confirmation method of visually checking the contact state of the contact through a prism provided at the edge of the contact must be adopted.

  However, in such a configuration, even if a folding transparent substrate is employed, it is extremely insufficient in that the contact state of the contact that is each probe cannot be confirmed visually.

  Moreover, since the spring pin has a structure penetrating the transparent substrate, there is a problem in that the spring pin exhibits sufficient spring property, that is, elasticity between the substrate and the inspection object. Since it penetrates the transparent substrate and is in a protruding state, it is impossible to realize a compact design.

  As a configuration in which a probe by elastic deformation is interposed between the substrate and the inspection object instead of using such a spring pin, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-212287 (Patent Document 2) discloses a substrate (however, transparent It is not limited to the substrate.) As a probe interposed between the non-inspection object and a non-inspected object, a spiral coil spring that winds a conductive wire several times and forms a hollow inside is adopted. And an insulating support member made of an elastic material fitted into the hollow portion of the coil spring so that a portion where a gap is generated between the coil spring and the coil spring is not substantially formed. It is disclosed (see FIG. 5 of Patent Document 2).

  In the above configuration, in order to wind the coil spring a plurality of times, a predetermined space is inevitably required, and for inspection of minute electronic circuit elements arranged in a compact state on the printed insulating sheet. In addition, in order to fit the coil spring as described above into the insulating support substrate, a complicated manufacturing process is required.

JP-A-6-265578. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-212287.

  The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art as described above, and the surface opposite to the substrate (the surface on which the probe card is not provided) with respect to fine electronic circuit elements arranged in a compact state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a configuration of a contact probe card that can be inspected.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the basic configuration of the present invention is a region in which a connection line for connecting to a measuring instrument is arranged on one side of a transparent substrate, and a plurality of the connection lines are in a parallel state. The ring-shaped probe that can be elastically deformed is composed of a contact probe card that is fixed to each corresponding connection line substantially linearly along a direction orthogonal to the direction of the connection line forming the parallel state. .

  In the present invention, as in the basic configuration described above, by adopting a transparent substrate, the success or failure of the contact relationship between the probe and the circuit element to be inspected is not accompanied by troublesome visual inspection from the side surface. It is possible to confirm by seeing through from the opposite side of the transparent substrate, and on the other hand, by arranging the ring-shaped probes side by side, the probes are arranged side by side corresponding to the circuit elements at a narrow interval, and It is possible to realize a uniform contact state with respect to each circuit element by a sufficient elastic state.

  FIG. 1A is a plan view showing an arrangement state of the connection lines 2 on the transparent substrate 1, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing a state where the connection lines 2 and the ring-shaped probe 3 are fixed. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, in the present invention, in order to achieve contact with circuit elements arranged at a narrow interval, the connection line 2 is in a parallel state on one side surface of the transparent substrate 1. A plurality of probes are arranged in a substantially straight line with respect to the corresponding connecting line 2 along a direction orthogonal to the parallel direction, and are fixed.

  FIG. 1A shows an embodiment in which probes are arranged in a single row, but the arrangement of the probes is not limited to such a single row, but also in FIGS. 2A and 2B. As shown in FIG. 2, an arrangement of a plurality of rows (two rows in the case of FIG. 2) can also be adopted. The substantially linear arrangement is as shown in FIG. 1A because the contact point 32 between the connection line and the probe 3 is substantially linear.

  In the case of such a multi-row arrangement, the probe does not have to be fixed to the connection lines 2 adjacent to each other as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In the case of FIG. 2, the connection lines 2 are sequentially fixed to each other with an interval of the connection lines 2 by two).

The method for fixing the connecting wire 2 and the probe is not particularly limited, and for example, a method of welding with ultrasonic waves, or a method of fixing the periphery with a resin after contacting both can be employed. .
However, as shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 3, the base plate 31 and the connecting wire 2 integrally plated with the ring probe 3 are welded (in practice, ultrasonic welding is often used in many cases). It can be ensured that the fixing method by doing so firmly fixes the ring-shaped probe 3 and the connecting wire 2.

  As the ring-shaped probe 3 or the ring-shaped probe 3 and the base plate 31, a nickel alloy is convenient for combining conductivity and elasticity. Therefore, in the embodiment of FIG. In many cases, gold that is easily welded to the connection wire 21 on the front surface side is used, and other metal is often used as the connection wire 22 on the back surface side in consideration of adhesion to the transparent substrate 1 and the like. (For example, like the Example mentioned later, in the case of the glass-made transparent substrate 1, favorable adhesiveness with glass can be exhibited by employ | adopting chromium as the connecting wire 22 of a back surface side. ).

  In an abutting circuit element, an insulating film is formed between the abutting portion of the probe due to the formation of an oxide film, which may hinder the inspection.

In order to clear such an obstacle, as shown in FIGS. 1 (b), 2 (b), 3 and 4 (a), (b), the tip of the ring-shaped probe 3 or the vicinity thereof is used. It is preferable to provide a projection 30 so as to penetrate the oxide film so that the tip reaches the circuit element (this design can also be formed by plating).
However, as shown in FIGS. 1 (b), 3, 4 (a), and (b), the ring-shaped probe 3 is brought into contact when the protrusion 30 is decentered from the tip position. When it is lifted away from the position, it may be advantageous to lift the protrusion 30 in a state of being scratched upward while in contact with the oxide film.

  As shown in FIGS. 1B and 3, the ring-shaped probe 3 comes into contact with each other when it is pressed inside the front end of the ring-shaped probe card and inside the rear end (transparent substrate 1 side end). An embodiment characterized by the provision of a stopper 33 that can be used can be employed.

  In the present embodiment, when the ring-shaped probe 3 is flattened by pressing it against the circuit element via the ring-shaped probe 3, the stoppers 33 on the front end inner side and the rear end inner side are in contact with each other, Further flattening can be prevented, and consequently damage due to material fatigue of the ring-shaped probe 3 can be avoided.

  The ring shape may be any shape as long as it is in the lateral direction closed in a side view and is gradually narrowed on the substrate side and the contact part side. In many cases, the above polygon is employed (since there is a problem in elastic deformation in the case of a triangle. In the case of FIG. 4C, a quadrilateral case is shown).

  In the case of a quadrangle as shown in FIG. 4C, since the tip has already protruded, it is unnecessary to provide the projection 30 at the tip as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2B. Become.

  The embodiment is characterized in that glass is used as the transparent substrate 1.

  When such glass is adopted, the smoothness of the substrate surface can be increased as compared with the case of synthetic resin, and when connecting the connecting wire 2, the connecting wire 2 is used in the case of synthetic resin. When the glass substrate is disposed, the transparent substrate 1 is softened and easily deformed. On the other hand, in the case of glass, since the softening point is generally higher than that of the synthetic resin, the deformation can be reduced or prevented. .

In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, when forming a multi-layer connection line 2, it is possible to realize a stable connection line 2 and probe arrangement by causing little or no thermal deformation by ultrasonic welding. it can.
In the case of the transparent substrate 1 made of glass, chromium is suitable as the metal for the connection line on the back surface side that is directly bonded to the glass, and another metal is superimposed on the chromium. In the case of the third embodiment, a layer made of nickel alloy on the surface side, a layer made of intermediate gold, and a layer made of chromium on the innermost side (outermost surface) are formed.

  In the present invention, since a large number of probes can be easily arranged on a substrate, the printed circuit board is inspected after manufacturing individual contact probe cards corresponding to individual printed circuit boards on which electronic circuit elements are arranged. In terms of what to do, it has applicability as well as adaptability.

The embodiment of this invention by the arrangement | sequence state of the probe by 1 row is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view. The embodiment of this invention by the arrangement | sequence state of the probe by 2 rows is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view. It is a sectional side view of an embodiment by superimposing the connection line on the surface side and the connection line on the back surface side which are formed integrally with the probe. It is a side view which shows embodiment of a ring-shaped probe, (a) has shown the circular probe, (b) has shown the elliptical probe, (c) has shown the square probe.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transparent substrate 2 Connection line 21 Front side connection line 22 Back side connection line 3 Ring-shaped probe 30 Protrusion 31 Base plate 32 Contact 33 of connection line and probe 33 Stopper

Claims (8)

  On one side of the transparent substrate, a connection line for connecting to the measuring instrument is arranged, and in a region where a plurality of the connection lines are in a parallel state, a ring probe that can be elastically deformed is connected to the parallel probe. The contact probe card based on adhering to the connection line corresponding substantially linearly along the direction orthogonal to the direction of the connection line which forms a state.   The contact probe card according to claim 1, wherein glass is used as the transparent substrate.   2. The contact probe card according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of ring-shaped probes are arranged in a straight line.   2. The contact probe card according to claim 1, wherein a base plate integrally molded with the ring probe is welded to the connection line.   The contact probe card according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is provided at or near the tip of the probe.   6. The contact probe card according to claim 5, wherein the protrusion is decentered from the position of the tip of the ring-shaped probe.   2. The contact probe card according to claim 1, further comprising a stopper that can come into contact with each other when the ring-shaped probe card is pressed inside the front end and the rear end (transparent substrate side end).   The contact probe card according to claim 1, wherein the ring shape is any one of an annular shape, a large annular shape, and a polygonal annular shape.

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