JP2007071699A - Perpendicular type probe card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a perpendicular type probe card which is easy in assembling and causes no connection failure. <P>SOLUTION: The perpendicular type probe card has a probe board 41 having a plurality of tester terminal connection parts on one side, a plurality of head connection parts 102 on the other side and wiring inside, a probe head 71 having a plurality of spring probes 91 and a wiring conversion member 61 having a plurality of prove contact parts 66 contacting the spring probes, a plurality of board contact parts 62 contacting a plurality of the head contact parts 102 on the other side and wiring inside. The wiring conversion member 61 is a flexible substrate and is provided with an anistropic-conductivity pressurizing rubber plate 51 placed in between the probe board 41 and the wiring conversion member 61. A plurality of head connection parts 102 and a plurality of board contact parts 62 are connected via the anistropic-conductivity pressurizing rubber plate 51. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a probe card for connecting an electrode of an object to be inspected and a terminal of the tester in order to perform an electrical test of the object to be inspected by a tester, and more particularly to a vertical type probe card in which spring probes are arranged.

  Many semiconductor devices, for example, semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) are formed on a wafer, and an operation test is performed at the stage of formation on the wafer, and defective ones are excluded from the subsequent assembly process. The operation inspection is also performed at the stage where the IC module is assembled. In recent years, a wiring layer is further formed on a wafer on which an IC is formed, and a wafer level CSP (Chip Size Package) in which solder balls or solder bumps are formed in a matrix on the wiring layer is formed. It is widely practiced to cut CSP chips to produce CSP chips, and wafer level CSP inspection is also performed. In the wiring layer, wiring for connecting the electrode pads of the IC and solder balls or solder bumps is formed. The electrode pads of the IC are mainly arranged around the chip and the arrangement pitch is narrow. However, in the CSP chip, the solder balls or solder bumps can be arranged on almost the entire surface of the chip, so that the arrangement pitch of the solder balls or solder bumps can be widened. it can.

  A prober is a device that holds a wafer that is an object to be inspected and connects the electrode pads of each IC formed on the wafer and the terminals of a tester, and has a probe group that contacts the electrodes of the object to be measured. A probe card is provided. When the object to be measured is an IC on a wafer, the electrode pitch of the IC has a narrow arrangement pitch, so a cantilever is used as a probe. When the object to be measured is a wafer level CSP, since the solder balls or solder bumps of the CSP chip have a relatively wide arrangement pitch, a spring probe having a movable tip is used as a probe. A probe card using a spring probe is called a vertical probe card. The present invention relates to a vertical probe card.

  In the prober, it is important to securely connect the electrode of the inspection object to the connection terminal of the tester. Therefore, if a connection failure occurs in any part of the probe card, it is necessary to remove and repair the probe card immediately. For example, when a connection failure or breakage of the spring probe occurs, the spring probe in which the failure has occurred is replaced. In recent years, in order to increase the integration density of IC chips and improve the throughput of inspection, probe cards have been provided with thousands of spring probes, and the probability of occurrence of defects in one spring probe and its wiring path Also gets higher.

  Patent Document 1 describes a vertical probe card using a spring probe having a leaf spring.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a vertical probe card using a spring probe. As shown in FIG. 1, the vertical probe card includes a probe board 21, a wiring conversion member 25, and a probe head 29. Reference numeral 30 is a fastening member for fastening them. The probe board 21 has a plurality of tester terminal connection electrodes 22 on the upper surface, a plurality of head connection electrodes 24 on the lower surface, and a wiring 23 that connects corresponding portions of the plurality of tester terminal connection electrodes 22 and the plurality of head connection electrodes 24 inside. Have The probe board 21 is made according to the tester, and has a common shape if used in the same tester.

  The probe head 29 has a group of spring probes arranged according to the arrangement of solder balls or solder bumps of the CSP chip to be inspected. Here, an example in which a movable spring probe is used for both the probe 32 that contacts the solder ball or the solder bump and the probe 31 that contacts the probe contact electrode 28 of the wiring conversion member 25 is shown. A probe head having a spring probe and a plurality of spring probes is described in Patent Document 2 and will not be described.

  The wiring conversion member 25 has a plurality of board contact electrodes 26 in contact with the plurality of head connection electrodes 24 of the probe board 21 on the upper surface and a plurality of probe contact electrodes 28 in contact with the probe 31 of the spring probe on the lower surface. The board contact electrode 26 and a plurality of probe contact electrodes 28 are connected with corresponding wirings 27. In other words, the wiring conversion member 25 has a function of converting the electrode arrangement of the CSP chip into the electrode arrangement of the probe board 21 corresponding to the tester.

  In the basic configuration of the vertical probe card shown in FIG. 1, the probe 32 is movable because of variations in the height of solder balls or solder bumps in the CSP chip and variations in the tip position of the probe 32 in the probe head 29. If it is within the movable range of the probe 32, it is absorbed and good contact can be made. In addition, since the probe 31 is movable, variations in the height of the probe contact electrode 28 of the wiring conversion member 25 are absorbed within the movable range of the probe 31 and good contact can be made.

  Contact between the head connection electrode 24 of the probe board 21 and the board contact electrode 26 of the wiring conversion member 25 is made by pressing the wiring conversion member 25 against the probe board 21 by the fastening member 30. Further, since the connection between the tester terminal connection electrode 22 on the upper surface of the probe board 21 and the connection terminal of the tester is made by a movable spring pin (not shown), a good connection is made.

JP2003-240801 JP2002-286807

  In the configuration of FIG. 1, a printed circuit board using a highly rigid epoxy resin or the like is used for the wiring conversion member. Therefore, deformation such as swell and warpage occurs in the printed circuit board. Therefore, the wiring conversion member 25 is pressed against the probe board 21 by the fastening member 30 so that the wiring conversion member 25 becomes flat. However, some deformation is unavoidable, and the board contact electrode 26 on the upper surface and the lower surface of the lower surface. There is a problem that the height position of the probe contact electrode 28 varies. as mentioned above. Since the probe 31 of the probe head 29 is movable, the variation in the height position of the probe contact electrode 28 is absorbed within the movable range of the probe 31 and good contact can be made.

  On the other hand, the board contact electrode 26 is in direct contact with the head connection electrode 24 of the probe board 21. However, if the height of the board contact electrode 26 varies, there is a problem in that normal contact is not performed and connection failure occurs.

  In recent years, even in wafer level CSP inspection, a burn-in test is performed in which the wafer level CSP is inspected at a high temperature or a low temperature. For this reason, a heater and a chiller through which a coolant flows are provided below the stage mounting surface. When the stage and the mounted wafer are overheated or cooled for the burn-in test, the probe card disposed in the vicinity is also overheated or cooled, and is further deformed, resulting in poor connection.

  In order to avoid such a problem, until now, the probe board 21, the wiring conversion member 25, and the probe head 29 have been firmly fixed and screwed with a fastening member. However, the present situation is that the connection failure cannot be sufficiently eliminated even if the fixing is performed firmly.

  Furthermore, due to such strong fixing, there is a problem that the replacement work cannot be easily performed even when the spring probe is damaged.

  Further, in the actual assembly work of the probe card, there is a problem that the screwing strength of each part is adjusted so that connection failure does not occur, and the work is complicated. In addition, due to such problems, maintenance work has been extremely difficult.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to realize a vertical probe card that is easy to assemble and does not cause poor connection.

  In order to achieve the above object, the vertical probe card according to the first aspect of the present invention uses a flexible multilayer substrate as a wiring conversion member.

  That is, the vertical probe card according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of tester terminal connection portions on one side, a plurality of head connection portions on the other side, and the plurality of tester terminal connection portions in the inside. A probe board having wiring for connecting corresponding portions of the plurality of head connection portions, a probe head having a plurality of spring probes, a plurality of probe contact portions that contact the plurality of spring probes on one side, and the other side A vertical probe having a plurality of board contact portions in contact with the plurality of head connection portions, and a wiring conversion member having wirings for connecting the plurality of probe contact portions and corresponding portions of the plurality of board contact portions therein It is a card | curd, Comprising: The said wiring conversion member is a flexible substrate, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the wiring conversion member is a flexible substrate, the wiring conversion member is deformed and comes into contact with the probe board when pressed. Therefore, the plurality of head connection portions of the probe board and the plurality of board contact portions of the wiring conversion member are reliably in contact with each other, so that connection failure does not occur.

  Since it is difficult to align and attach the flexible board, for example, the flexible board, which is a wiring conversion member, is positioned and bonded and fixed to a metal attachment frame, and then provided on the flexible board using a jig. By detecting the alignment mark and the hole provided in the probe head (bottom board) with optical means, the spring probe and the pad of the flexible substrate are positioned with high accuracy.

  In the vertical probe card according to the second aspect of the present invention, an anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate is provided between the probe board and the wiring conversion member, and the head connection portion and the board contact portion are provided with an anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate. Connected through.

  That is, the vertical probe card according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of tester terminal connection portions on one side, a plurality of head connection portions on the other side, and the plurality of tester terminal connection portions on the inside. A probe board having wiring for connecting corresponding portions of the plurality of head connection portions, a probe head having a plurality of spring probes, a plurality of probe contact portions that contact the plurality of spring probes on one side, and the other side A vertical probe having a plurality of board contact portions in contact with the plurality of head connection portions, and a wiring conversion member having wirings for connecting the plurality of probe contact portions and corresponding portions of the plurality of board contact portions therein A card comprising an anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate provided between the probe board and the wiring conversion member, the plurality of head connection portions and the plurality of bolts. De contact portion, characterized in that it is connected through the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the contact between the head connection portion and the board contact portion is performed via the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate, the position of the board contact portion of the wiring conversion member is set to some extent. If positioning is performed with accuracy, poor connection will not occur. Anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate is a conductive sheet such as metal particles dispersed in a flexible sheet-like insulating material. Are connected to form a conductive path, and the insulating state is maintained except for the portion to which pressure is applied. In particular, in the case where the conductive particles are arranged in a row in a direction perpendicular to the plate, only a narrow portion can be made conductive. Specifically, at least one of the electrode of the probe board that is the head connection part and the electrode of the wiring conversion member that is the board contact part is formed so as to protrude from the surroundings, and the wiring conversion member is pressed against the probe board and fixed. As a result, a large pressure is applied only to the electrode portion, resulting in a conductive state.

  If the wiring conversion member is a flexible substrate by combining the first aspect and the second aspect, and an anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate is provided between the probe board and the wiring conversion member, more reliable connection is possible. .

  The spring probe preferably has a movable probe on one or both sides.

  If the electrode of the object to be inspected is a solder ball or a solder bump, the tip of the spring probe that contacts the solder ball or solder bump has a quadrant shape, and the solder ball or solder bump even if contacted Since the contact is made by piercing the side surface without damaging the top of the head, even if the solder contacts the tip, the contact can be made surely and the cleaning is easy.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the contact of the electrodes between the members constituting the probe card can be performed more reliably, connection failure does not occur and assembly is easy, so that the spring probe can be replaced. Maintenance becomes easier.

  According to the present invention, since the reliability of electrical contact inside the probe card is improved and connection failure does not occur, the reliability of the probe card is improved.

  As a result, inspection at a high frequency, inspection of an IC chip with a narrow pitch of electrode arrangement, and a burn-in test can be performed.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, the exchange of the probe is facilitated, and the maintainability of the probe card is improved.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the mounting portion of the probe head of the vertical probe card according to the embodiment of the present invention. Except for this part, it is the same as the conventional vertical probe card, and the description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vertical probe card of the embodiment includes a stiffener 40, a probe board 41 attached to the stiffener 40, an anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51, and a flexible substrate 61 functioning as a wiring conversion member. The probe head 71, the fastening member 81, and the fastening member 46 on the probe board 41 side. The stiffener 40 has a hole 42 in which the fastening member 46 is accommodated, a screw hole 43, and the like. The probe board 41 has a positioning hole 44 and the like. Although not shown here, the probe board 41 has a plurality of tester terminal connection electrodes on the upper surface, a plurality of head connection electrodes on the lower surface, a plurality of tester terminal connection electrodes, and a plurality of heads, as in the prior art. Wirings for connecting the connection electrodes are provided inside.

  The anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51 is formed by arranging conductive particles such as metal particles in a flexible sheet-like insulating material by a magnetic field, and when a partial pressure is applied, The part is dented and the conductive particles are connected to form a conductive path, and the insulating state is maintained except for the part where pressure is applied. The anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51 used here is manufactured by Paricon, and conductive particles are arranged in a row in a direction perpendicular to the rubber plate 51, and can transmit signals up to 40 GHz. It has high frequency characteristics, high temperature resistance up to 150 ° C., and narrow pitch characteristics that allow electrodes to be formed with a narrow pitch between pads.

  The flexible substrate 61 is a multilayer flexible substrate, and a plurality of board contact electrodes connected to the head connection electrode of the probe board 41 via the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51 are provided on one surface, and the other surface is provided on the other surface. A plurality of probe contact electrodes that contact the spring probe 91 of the probe head 71 are provided, and wirings that connect the plurality of board contact electrodes and the plurality of probe contact electrodes are provided therein. Positioning of the connection electrode between the flexible board 61 and the probe board 41 in which a conduction path is ensured through the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51 is performed by using the hole provided in the flexible board 61 and the hole 44 of the probe board 41. Fix with positioning pins 49.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the probe head 71, showing a state in which the probe head 71 is assembled, and is upside down from FIG. 4 shows a state in which one spring probe 91 of the probe head 71 is held, and FIG. 5 shows a structure of one spring probe 91.

  First, the structure of the spring probe 91 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, one spring probe 91 accommodates two probes 92 and 93 slidably held in a metal cylinder 94. The probes 92 and 93 have a large diameter at one end and are prevented from coming out of the cylinder 94 by a constricted portion provided in the cylinder 94. A spring 97 is provided between the probes 92 and 93 inside the cylinder 94 and urges the probes 92 and 93 outward. The tip of the probe 92 that contacts the solder ball or solder bump of the IC chip has a quadrilateral shape, and does not damage the top of the solder ball or solder bump even if touched, but contacts the side surface of the solder ball or solder bump. Therefore, even when the solder contacts the tip, the contact can be reliably made. In addition, the tip can be easily cleaned.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the probe head 71 includes a bottom board 73, an intermediate board 74, and a top board 75 made of an insulating material. As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom board 73 is provided with a hole having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the probe 93 of the spring probe 91 and a hole having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the cylinder 94 of the spring probe 91 in two stages. It has been. The intermediate board 74 is provided with a hole having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the cylinder 94 of the spring probe 91. Further, the top board 75 is provided with a hole having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the probe 92 of the spring probe 91 and a hole having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the cylinder 94 of the spring probe 91 in two stages. Such holes are provided as many as the number of the spring probes 91, and the holes have high positional accuracy. In the state as shown in FIG. 4, the cylinder 94 of the spring probe 91 is sandwiched between the bottom board 73 and the top board 75 and does not fall off. When replacing the spring probe 91, the top board 75 is removed with the bottom board 73 facing down as shown in FIG. In this state, the spring probe 91 can be easily removed from the hole.

  As described above, the probe head 71 can be positioned simply by aligning the positioning pins and the like, and the assembly and replacement of the spring probe 91 can be easily performed.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the bottom board 73, the intermediate board 74, and the top board 75 are assembled with each other with high positioning accuracy by the positioning pins 76, 78, 90, and the like. It is fixed at 78. Reference numeral 77 is a disc spring (spring washer), which will be described later. Since the probe head 71 is described in detail in Patent Document 2 and the like, further explanation is omitted here.

  Further, referring back to FIG. 2, the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51, the flexible substrate 61, and the probe head 71 are fixed to the probe board 41 by a fastening member 81 and a fastening member 46 on the probe board 41 side. The fastening member 46 on the probe board 41 side is positioned by a positioning pin 49 having a screw at the tip, and fastened by the screw and a nut 84 (and a screw (not shown) fastened to the screw hole 83 through the hole 48). The probe board 41, the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51, the flexible substrate 61, and the probe head 71 are fixed by being fixed to the member 81. In fixing, the alignment mark of the flexible substrate 61 is optically detected and positioned and then fixed. Further, the clamped probe board 41, anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51, flexible substrate 61, probe head 71, fastening member 81, and fastening member 46 block are fixed to the stiffener 40 by screws 85.

  As described above, the probe card of the present embodiment can be positioned simply by aligning the positioning pins and the like, and is easy to assemble and easy to maintain.

  In the above embodiment, the spring probe 91 having movable probes as shown in FIG. 5 is used. However, a spring probe in which only one probe is movable and the other probe is fixed is used. It is also possible to use it.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a connection portion of the probe board 41, the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51, the flexible substrate 61, and the probe head 71. A plurality of head connection electrodes 102 are provided on the lower surface of the probe board 41. Reference numeral 103 is an insulating layer. A plurality of board contact electrodes 62 are provided on the upper surface of the flexible substrate 61, and a plurality of probe contact electrodes 66 are provided on the lower surface. The upper surface of the board contact electrode 62 is higher than the upper surface of the insulating layer 63. Reference numeral 64 is a wiring layer connecting the board contact electrode 62 and the probe contact electrode 66, and reference numerals 63 and 65 are insulating layers.

  When the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51, the flexible substrate 61, and the probe head 71 are pressed against the probe board 41 by the fastening member 81 and the fastening member 46, the upper surface of the board contact electrode 62 is high. Are pressed strongly against the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51, a conductive path is formed only in that portion of the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51, and the board contact electrode 62 is electrically connected to the head connection electrode 102. It becomes a state. Therefore, the fastening member 81 and the fastening member 46 are required to have sufficient rigidity so as to strongly press the flexible substrate 61 and the probe board 41 with the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 51 interposed therebetween. Further, the spring washer 77 shown in FIG. 3 is provided at a plurality of locations around the group of spring probes, and operates so as to press the flexible board 61 against the probe board 41 in a state where the probe head 71 is fixed to the probe board 41. To do.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that various modifications are possible.

  The present invention is applicable to any vertical probe card. For example, in the embodiment, the inspection target is the wafer level CSP, but it can also be used for a prober for inspecting things other than the wafer level CSP.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the prior art example of a vertical type probe card. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the attachment part of the probe head of the vertical type probe card of the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of a probe head, and shows the state which assembles a probe head. It is a figure which shows the state holding one spring probe of a probe head. It is a figure which shows the structure of one spring probe. It is a figure explaining the connection part of a probe board, an anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate, a flexible substrate, and a probe head.

Explanation of symbols

41 Probe board 51 Anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate 61 Flexible substrate (wiring conversion member)
71 Probe head

Claims (7)

A probe board having a plurality of tester terminal connection portions on one side, a plurality of head connection portions on the other side, and wiring for connecting corresponding portions of the plurality of tester terminal connection portions and the plurality of head connection portions inside When,
A probe head having a plurality of spring probes;
A plurality of probe contact portions that contact the plurality of spring probes on one side, a plurality of board contact portions that contact the plurality of head connection portions on the other side, and the plurality of probe contact portions and the plurality on the inside A vertical probe card having a wiring conversion member having a wiring connecting a corresponding portion of the board contact portion of
The vertical probe card, wherein the wiring conversion member is a flexible substrate.   The vertical probe card according to claim 1, further comprising a metal attachment frame to which the wiring conversion member that is a flexible substrate is bonded and fixed. A probe board having a plurality of tester terminal connection portions on one side, a plurality of head connection portions on the other side, and wiring for connecting corresponding portions of the plurality of tester terminal connection portions and the plurality of head connection portions inside When,
A probe head having a plurality of spring probes;
A plurality of probe contact portions that contact the plurality of spring probes on one side, a plurality of board contact portions that contact the plurality of head connection portions on the other side, and the plurality of probe contact portions and the plurality on the inside A vertical probe card having a wiring conversion member having a wiring connecting a corresponding portion of the board contact portion of
An anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate provided between the probe board and the wiring conversion member,
The vertical probe card, wherein the plurality of head connecting portions and the plurality of board contact portions are connected via the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate. An anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate provided between the probe board and the wiring conversion member,
The vertical probe card according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of head connection portions and the plurality of board contact portions are connected via the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate.   4. The pressure application member that applies pressure to the probe board and the wiring conversion member so that the plurality of head connection portions and the plurality of board contact portions compress the anisotropic conductive pressure rubber plate. Or the vertical type probe card of 4.   The vertical probe card according to claim 1, wherein the spring probe has a movable probe on at least one side.   The vertical probe card according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a tip of the spring probe has a quadrant shape on a side in contact with an electrode of an object to be inspected.

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