JP2009300190A - Probe - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a probe capable of ensuring a sufficient overdrive amount, and ensuring sufficient mounting strength even when a grounding area is small. <P>SOLUTION: The probe 1 is constituted of a bonding part 2 to be bonded to an electrode of a probe card; an arm part 3 extending from the bonding part 2; and a tip 4 provided on the tip of the arm part 3, to be brought into contact with an electrode of a workpiece. The arm part 3 is constituted by piling a plurality of cantilevers 5, 5' in multistage, and a fixed end of the upper-stage cantilever 5' is provided on a free end of a beam 8 of the lower-stage cantilever 5, and each cantilever 5, 5' is arranged so that each free end is positioned in the alternate state, and each beam 8, 8' of the cantilevers 5, 5' is constituted of two beams, namely, the first beam 9 and the second beam 10, and the first beam 9 and the second beam 10 are arranged on the upper and lower sides at prescribed intervals, and have a shape wherein both ends are fixed mutually. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a probe used for a probe card used for testing a chip on a semiconductor wafer.

  Measurement of electrical characteristics of an LSI chip or the like is performed by bringing a probe of a probe card into contact with an electrode to be inspected. At the time of measurement, in order to ensure electrical connection between the electrode and the probe, an oxide film on the electrode surface is scraped off at the tip of the probe by overdrive to expose the conductive portion of the electrode. Therefore, as a conventional probe shape, for example, a method of securing a predetermined overdrive amount and scrub amount using a cantilever shape as described in JP-A-2007-86025 is used. Yes.

In recent years, the reduction in size and weight has been progressing mainly in mobile devices, and accordingly, the integration and speeding up of semiconductor wafers have been rapidly progressing. Due to the high integration, the pitch of electrode pads has been reduced, and the probe is required to cope with a narrower pitch, and the reduction of the probe and the contact area of the probe have been advanced.
JP 2007-86025 A

  As described above, as the probe shrinks, there arises a problem that a predetermined overdrive amount cannot be secured. This is a problem that arises because there is a demand for securing a larger amount of overdrive within the restriction that the amount of deformation of the probe at the time of touchdown to the electrode to be inspected falls within the elastic deformation region. However, the amount of deformation is limited due to the shape of the probe and the characteristics of the material, and the amount of overdrive is not sufficient.

In addition, as the above-described reduction in the contact area of the probe progresses, it becomes difficult to ensure the mounting strength of the probe, and depending on the force applied to the probe during touchdown, the probe may be peeled off from the grounded location. As a result, it has been difficult to ensure the mounting strength of the probe.

  The present invention provides a probe that can secure a sufficient overdrive amount and a sufficient mounting strength even when the grounding area is small in order to solve the problems of the conventional probe. The purpose is to provide.

  The probe of the present invention is a probe comprising a joint portion joined to an electrode of a probe card, an arm portion extending from the joint portion, and a tip portion provided at the tip of the arm portion and in contact with an electrode of an inspection object The arm portion is configured by stacking a plurality of cantilevers in multiple stages, and a fixed end of the upper cantilever is provided at the free end of the beam of the lower cantilever so that the free ends are staggered. Each cantilever is arranged, and the beam of the cantilever is composed of two beams, a first beam and a second beam, and the first beam and the second beam are arranged vertically at a predetermined interval. The two ends are fixed to each other.

  Further, in order to reduce the ground contact area, the contact portion, the connection portion between the arm portion and the joint portion, and the ground portion to the electrode of the joint portion may be arranged in a substantially straight line in the vertical direction. preferable.

  The cantilever has two stages, and the beam length of the first stage cantilever connected to the joint is the beam length of the second stage cantilever connected to the tip of the first stage cantilever beam. It is also possible to make it shorter than the length of.

  The probe of the present invention is a probe comprising a joint portion joined to an electrode of a probe card, an arm portion extending from the joint portion, and a tip portion provided at the tip of the arm portion and in contact with an electrode of an inspection object The arm portion is configured by stacking a plurality of cantilevers in multiple stages, and a fixed end of the upper cantilever is provided at the free end of the beam of the lower cantilever so that the free ends are staggered. Each cantilever is arranged, and the beam of the cantilever is composed of two beams, a first beam and a second beam, and the first beam and the second beam are arranged vertically at a predetermined interval. Since the both ends are fixed to each other, a larger overdrive amount can be secured.

  Further, in order to reduce the ground contact area, the contact portion, the connection portion between the arm portion and the joint portion, and the ground portion to the electrode of the joint portion are arranged in a substantially straight line in the vertical direction. Even when the ground contact area is small, sufficient mounting strength can be ensured.

  The cantilever has two stages, and the length of the beam of the first stage cantilever connected to the joint is set to the length of the beam of the second stage cantilever connected to the tip of the beam of the first stage cantilever. By changing the setting to make it shorter than the length of the probe, the first and second stage beams bend in the same direction (the direction in which the free end is lowered) when the probe tip scrub is suppressed or overdriven. The advantage is obtained.

  The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of the probe 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The probe 1 of the first embodiment is in contact with the electrode of the inspection object provided at the joint 2 joined to the electrode of the probe card, the arm 3 extending from the joint 2, and the tip of the arm 3. It is comprised from the front-end | tip part 4 to do.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the arm portion 3 extends vertically from the joint portion 3, and then the first stage cantilever 5 in which the beam 8 extends in the horizontal direction, and the first stage cantilever 5. A fixed end is provided at the free end of the first beam 8 so as to be parallel to the beam 8 of the first cantilever 5 at a predetermined interval and at the tip opposite to the first cantilever 5. And the second cantilever 5 ′.

The first-stage cantilever 5 and the second-stage cantilever 5 ′ have a double cantilever shape in which each beam 8, 8 ′ is composed of two beams, a first beam 9 and a second beam 10. Is used. The first beam 9 and the second beam 10 are vertically arranged at a predetermined interval, and both ends of the first beam 9 and the second beam 10 are fixed to each other.

By using such a double cantilever shape, when the cantilevers are stacked in two steps, the two cantilevers move up and down at the tip during overdrive, and the second step (side closer to the tip) lowers the free end. The eyes are pulled by the second stage deformation to prevent the deformation of the free end, and the two beams are deformed to secure a large overdrive amount in the elastic deformation region. Become.

Further, as described above, by arranging the first and second cantilevers 5 and 5 ′ alternately, the cantilevers 5 and 5 ′ are restrained in opposite directions, and further, the cantilevers By using 5, 5 ′ as a double cantilever, the scrub amount of the probe 1 can be suppressed.

Further, the grounding portion 6 of the joint portion 2 that is a portion that is actually joined to the probe card electrode of the probe 1 includes the tip portion 4, a connection portion 7 between the joint portion 2 and the arm portion 3, and It is provided at a position so that it is substantially straight on the top and bottom.

  Thus, the connection part 7 of the said front-end | tip part 4 which contacts with a test object, the said junction part 2 used as the base of the said arm part 3, and the grounding part 6 with the electrode of the said junction part 2 are turned up and down. By arranging them in a substantially straight line, the force applied to the probe 1 at the time of touchdown is applied almost perpendicularly to the grounding portion 6, and it is possible to sufficiently secure the mounting strength of the probe even in a small grounding area. .

  How the probe 1 of the present embodiment is deformed at the time of touchdown will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the probe 1 in a deformed state at the time of touchdown.

  When the tip 4 moves downward as shown in FIG. 2 at the time of touchdown, the second-stage cantilever 5 ′ is deformed so as to rotate clockwise around the root as indicated by an arrow. . On the other hand, the first-stage cantilever 5 is deformed so as to rotate leftward about the root as indicated by an arrow.

As described above, when the first cantilever 5 and the second cantilever 5 ′ are deformed in the opposite directions, the tip portion 4 is less moved in the horizontal direction and the scrub amount is suppressed. Become.

  Then, the two-stage cantilevers 5 and 5 ′ are deformed in opposite directions, so that the amount of vertical movement of the tip 4 is larger than that of a conventional single-arm probe, and the amount of overdrive is sufficient. Can be secured.

  Next, a probe 1 ′ according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a side view of the probe 1 ′ of the second embodiment.

The probe 1 ′ includes a joint portion 2 joined to an electrode of a probe card, an arm portion 3 ′ extending from the joint portion 2, and a tip that is provided at the tip of the arm portion 3 ′ and contacts an electrode of an inspection object It consists of part 4.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the arm portion 3 ′ includes a first cantilever 5 that extends vertically from the joint portion 3 and then a beam 8 extends in the horizontal direction, and the first cantilever. The fixed end is positioned at the free end of the fifth beam 8 so as to be parallel to the beam 8 of the first stage cantilever 5 at a predetermined interval and in the direction opposite to the first stage cantilever 5. The second cantilever 5 ′ provided and the free end of the beam 8 of the second cantilever 5 ′ are parallel to the beam 8 ′ of the second cantilever 5 ′ at a predetermined interval, And it is comprised from the 3rd-stage cantilever 5 '' provided with the fixed end so that a front-end | tip may become a direction opposite to the said 2nd-stage cantilever 5 '. The cantilevers 5, 5 ′, 5 ″ are double as each beam 8, 8 ′, 8 ″ is composed of the first beam 9 and the second beam 10, as in the first embodiment. A cantilever shape is used.

As described above, in this embodiment, the cantilever 5, 5 ′, 5 ″ having three stages of double cantilevers is stacked and used on the arm portion 3 ′. By using three-stage cantilevers 5, 5 ′, 5 ″, which is one stage higher than in the first embodiment, compared to the first embodiment using two-stage cantilevers 5, 5 ′, the elastic deformation region Thus, it becomes possible to secure a larger overdrive amount.

Further, even when the number of cantilevers increases, it is possible to suppress the scrub amount as in the first embodiment by restraining the three-stage cantilevers 5, 5 ′, 5 ″ in different directions. Become.

  Described below with reference to FIG. 4 is how the probe 1 ′ of the present embodiment undergoes deformation during touchdown. FIG. 4 is a side view of the probe 1 ′ in a deformed state at the time of touchdown.

  When the tip 4 is moved downward as shown in FIG. 4 at the time of touchdown, the third stage cantilever 5 ″ is deformed so as to rotate rightward about the root as indicated by an arrow. To do. The second cantilever 5 ′ is deformed so as to rotate leftward about the root as indicated by an arrow. On the other hand, the first-stage cantilever 5 is deformed so as to rotate rightward about the root as indicated by an arrow.

Thus, even if the number of steps increases, the first and third cantilevers 5 and 5 '' and the second cantilever 5 'are deformed in the opposite directions, so that the tip 4 has a horizontal movement amount. Since the number can be reduced, the amount of scrub of the probe 1 ′ can be suppressed.

  The three cantilevers 5, 5 'and 5' 'are deformed, so that the amount of vertical movement of the tip 4 is larger than that of the first embodiment, and a sufficient amount of overdrive is ensured. It becomes possible to do.

  Here, the probe using the two or three-stage cantilever-shaped arms has been described. However, the number of stages is not limited to this, and it is possible to use four or more stages. It can be changed according to the amount and scrub amount.

  Further, the thickness and length of the cantilevers 5, 5 ', 5 "can be appropriately changed according to the stress applied to the arm. The distance between the two beams constituting the cantilever-shaped cantilevers 5, 5 ′, 5 ″ can be appropriately set according to the scrub amount and the stress.

  Next, a probe 1 ″ according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a side view of the probe 1 ″ of the third embodiment.

  Similar to the probe 1 of the first embodiment, the probe 1 '' of the third embodiment is composed of the two-stage cantilevers 5 and 5 ', but the first-stage cantilever 5 and the second-stage cantilever. The 5 'beam length is different. In the first embodiment, the grounding portion 6 of the joint portion 2 includes the tip portion 4, the connection portion 7 between the joint portion 2 and the arm portion 3, and a position that is substantially straight up and down. In order to do this, the length of the beam was almost the same.

  However, in this embodiment, the beam 8 ′ of the second stage cantilever 5 ′ is longer than the beam 8 of the first stage cantilever 5. By adopting such a shape, as shown in FIG. 6, the amount of deformation of the tip portion 4 can be increased compared to the first embodiment, so that a larger overdrive amount can be secured. It becomes.

  In order to use such a shape, the spring constant of the first cantilever 5 must be higher than that of the second cantilever 5 '. For this purpose, for example, the thickness of the beam 8 of the first cantilever 5 is made thinner than the beam 8 'of the second cantilever 5'. It is also possible to change the spring constant using other methods.

  By using such a structure, the probe 1 ″ of the present invention can secure a further overdrive amount.

The side view of the probe of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the deformation | transformation state of the probe of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The side view of the probe of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the deformation | transformation state of the probe of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The side view of the probe of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the deformation | transformation state of the probe of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe 2 Joint part 3, 3 'Arm part 4 Tip part 5, 5', 5 '' Cantilever 6, 6 'Grounding part 7 Connection location 8, 8', 8 '' Beam 9 1st beam 10 2nd beam

Claims (3)

A probe composed of a joint portion joined to an electrode of a probe card, an arm portion extending from the joint portion, a tip portion provided at the tip of the arm portion and in contact with an electrode of an inspection object,
The arm part is configured by stacking a plurality of cantilevers in multiple stages,
The fixed end of the upper cantilever is provided at the free end of the beam of the lower cantilever, and each cantilever is arranged so that the free ends are staggered,
The cantilever beam is composed of two beams, a first beam and a second beam. The first beam and the second beam are vertically arranged at a predetermined interval, and both ends are fixed to each other. A probe characterized by its shape.   2. The contact portion, a connection portion between the arm portion and the joint portion, and a grounding portion to the electrode of the joint portion are arranged substantially in a straight line in the vertical direction. Probe.   The cantilever has two stages, and the length of the beam of the first stage cantilever connected to the joint is the length of the beam of the second stage cantilever connected to the tip of the beam of the first stage cantilever. The probe according to claim 1, wherein the probe is shorter than the length.

Images