JP2913617B2 - Vertical probe card - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a vertical probe card used for measuring various electrical characteristics of a semiconductor integrated circuit, and more particularly to a vertical probe card in which a probe can be easily replaced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows a conventional vertical probe card.
This will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a conventional vertical probe card of this type includes a plurality of probes 500 and a substrate 5 to which the probes 500 are attached.
10 and a probe support 520 provided on the back side of the substrate 510.

[0006] The probe 500 has a contact portion 501 at the front end contacting the electrode 610 of the semiconductor integrated circuit 600, and a rear end connected to a wiring pattern formed on the substrate 510 by connection means 540 such as a gold wire. Connecting part 50
It is 3. The contact portion 501 and the connection portion 50
A buckling part 502 having a substantially horizontal U-shape is provided between the buckling part 502 and the third part. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the contact portion 501 contacts the electrode 610, the buckling portion 502 buckles to secure a predetermined contact pressure between the contact portion 501 and the electrode 610. The purpose is.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the probe support 520 includes two guide plates 521 and 522 having through holes 521A and 522A, and the two guide plates 521 and 522. And a connector 523 for attaching the 522 to the substrate 510. Two guide plates 521, 522
The through holes 521A and 522A are portions through which the contact portions 501 of the probe 500 penetrate, and are formed corresponding to the arrangement patterns of the electrodes of the semiconductor integrated circuit 600 whose electrical characteristics are to be measured.

On the other hand, a predetermined wiring pattern (not shown) is formed on the front surface of the substrate 510. The substrate 510 has a through hole 511 through which the connection portion 503 of the probe 500 passes (see FIG. 6). The connection portion 503 penetrating the through hole 511 is connected to the wiring pattern.

[0006]

However, such a conventional vertical probe card has the following problems. That is, such a vertical probe card usually uses several hundred to several thousand probes. Therefore, when a probe is worn or broken, only the probe is replaced at present.

[0007] The replacement of the probe is performed after the solder for the wiring pattern of the connection portion is removed and the probe to be replaced is removed from the board. In particular, since the probe has a buckling portion, it is difficult to extract the probe to be replaced through the through hole of the substrate. For this reason,
The probe is replaced after disassembling the probe support. It is possible to remove the probe without disassembling the probe support, but this requires cutting and removing the probe in the vicinity of the buckling part. This is practically impossible because there is a possibility that the probe may be cut even without the probe. Also, even after removing the probe to be replaced from the board, a new probe is passed through the through hole of the board and the through holes of the two guide plates, and the height dimension with the contact portion of the other probe is further aligned, After aligning the directions of the buckling portions so as not to come into contact with another probe, it is necessary to solder the connection portion and the wiring pattern. As described above, in the probe card provided with a large number of probes, the replacement of the probes must be performed by a skilled person with great care.

In the conventional vertical probe card, the thickness of the substrate is about 6 mm and the thickness of the probe support is about 10 mm, so that at least the probe has a length of about 20 mm. In recent semiconductor integrated circuits in which signal speeds have increased, signal transmission paths, that is, probes and wiring patterns need to be as short as possible to prevent problems such as signal attenuation and crosstalk. In the structure of the vertical probe card, the length of the probe is limited to about 20 mm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vertical probe card using a shorter probe as well as making it easier to replace the probe even if the probe has more probes.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vertical probe card comprising: a plurality of measuring probes having a buckling portion which buckles when a contact portion at the tip contacts an electrode of a semiconductor integrated circuit; A first substrate provided with a wiring pattern to which a connection portion at a rear end of the probe for connection is provided; a second substrate detachably mounted on the first substrate; A plurality of circuit connection probes each having a buckling portion that is inserted into a through-hole opened corresponding to the arrangement of the wiring pattern and has a buckling portion that buckles when a contact portion at the tip comes into contact with the wiring pattern; The probe for connection and the probe for circuit connection have a substantially circular cross section, the buckling part is formed narrower than the other parts except the contact part, and the contact part and the buckling part are formed in a straight line. The first substrate has a measurement pro Through hole blanking is inserted is opened,
The second substrate is provided with a connection wiring pattern to which a connection portion at a rear end of the circuit connection probe is connected.

The probe used in the vertical probe card according to the second aspect has a rear end connecting portion connected to the wiring pattern, and the connecting portion extends linearly from the buckling portion and the contact portion. A vertical portion to be provided, and a horizontal portion bent in a direction substantially orthogonal to the vertical portion. The vertical portion penetrates a through hole and is connected to a wiring pattern at the horizontal portion. It has become.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a vertical probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a probe used in a vertical probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic partial front view showing a state in which a buckling portion of a probe used in a vertical probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention is bent, and FIG. 4 is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view when a measurement probe is replaced in a vertical probe card.

In the vertical probe card according to the embodiment of the present invention, the contact portion 110A at the front end has the semiconductor integrated circuit 600.
A first substrate provided with a plurality of measurement probes 100A having a buckling portion 120A that buckles when contacting the electrode 610, and a wiring pattern 910A to which a connection portion 130A at the rear end of the measurement probe 100A is connected 900A
A second substrate 900B detachably mounted on the first substrate 900A; and a second substrate 900B
A plurality of circuit connection probes 100B each having a buckling portion 120B inserted into a through hole 901A opened corresponding to the arrangement of the wiring pattern 910A and buckling when a contact portion 110B at the tip contacts the wiring pattern 910A.
And

First, the measurement probe 100A and the circuit connection probe 100B are formed of a thin wire such as tungsten, and are formed in a substantially L-shape as a whole. That is, the measurement probe 100A and the circuit connection probe 100B are connected to the contact portion 110 having a sharp tip.
A, 110B, and rear connection portions 130A, 130B,
The connecting portions 130A, 130B and the contact portions 110A,
110B, buckling portions 120A, 120B between the contact portions 110A, 110B and the buckling portions 120A, 120B.
Are bent in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction. The measurement probe 100A and the circuit connection probe 100B
Has a substantially circular cross section.

A conductive metal which is difficult to oxidize and has a low resistance value is applied to the tips of the contact portions 110A and 110B by plating or the like. For example, Rh, Pd, I
r and Pt. These metals are used as contact portions 110A, 1
When it is attached to the tip of 10B, aluminum, which is a constituent material of the electrode 610, is less likely to adhere.
0A and 110B are less likely to be oxidized, with the result that the contact resistance value is stabilized.

The buckling portions 120A and 120B are formed thinner than other portions except the contact portions 110A and 110B. Therefore, when a vertical force is applied to the contact portions 110A and 110B, the buckling portions 120A and 120B buckle as shown in FIG. Such buckling part 12
As a method of forming 0A and 120B, there are polishing with a polishing grindstone, electrolytic polishing and the like.

The connecting portion 130A is connected to the measuring probe 1
00A is a portion that connects to the wiring pattern 910A of the first substrate 900A. The connecting portion 130A is provided with the buckling portion 1
A vertical portion 131A connected linearly from 20A and a horizontal portion 1 bent substantially orthogonally from the vertical portion 131A.
32A. The horizontal part 132A is a vertical part 131A.
Extend in a direction substantially orthogonal to the
0A and the buckling portion 120A are also bent in a substantially orthogonal direction.

The connection portion 130B is a portion for connecting the circuit connection probe 100B to the connection wiring pattern 910B of the second substrate 900B. This connection 1
30B includes a vertical portion 131B connected linearly from the buckling portion 120B, and a horizontal portion 132B bent substantially orthogonally from the vertical portion 131B. Horizontal part 132B
Is extended in a direction substantially orthogonal to the vertical portion 131B, so that it is also bent in a direction substantially orthogonal to the contact portion 110B and the buckling portion 120B.

The measuring probe 10 thus formed
0A, the bent portion of the circuit connection probe 100B, that is, the vertical portion 131 of the connection portions 130A and 130B.
A, 131B and contact parts 110A, 11B from bending points 133A, 133B, which are boundaries between horizontal parts 132A, 132B.
The dimensions up to the leading end of 0B are all set to the same value. Therefore, when all the measurement probes 100A are inserted into the through holes 9010A of the first substrate 900A described later, the height positions of the tips of the contact portions 110A are aligned, and all the circuit connection probes 100B are mounted on the second substrate 900A described later. 90
When the contact portion 110B is inserted into the through-hole 901B of 0B, the height positions of the tips of the contact portions 110B are aligned.

The first substrate 900A is a plate material having an insulating property, and has a plurality of through holes 901A corresponding to the arrangement of the measurement probe 100A. This through-hole 901A is connected to the connecting portion 1 of the measuring probe 100A.
This is the portion into which the vertical portion 131A of 30A enters. Also,
At a corner of the first substrate 900A, a second substrate 9 described later is provided.
A through hole 902A for mounting 00B is also provided.

On the front side of the first substrate 900A, a predetermined wiring pattern 910A made of copper foil or the like is formed by etching or the like. This wiring pattern 910A
As shown in FIG.
It is formed near A. Note that the dimension between the through hole 901A and the wiring pattern 910A is the same as that of the measurement probe 1.
In order to secure the connection with 00A, the measurement probe 100
The length is set slightly shorter than the length of the horizontal portion 132A of A.

The wiring pattern 910A of the first substrate 900A is not limited to being simply formed as a land, but may be formed of a land and a wiring. As will be described later, the first substrate 900A changes the arrangement of the measurement probe 100A depending on the arrangement of the electrodes 610 of the semiconductor integrated circuit 600, whereas the second substrate 900B has a plurality of types of first substrates 900A. This is because it is necessary to match the arrangement of the circuit connection probe 100B on the second substrate 900B because it can be adapted.

On the other hand, a probe support 200A is provided on the back side of the first substrate 900A. The probe support 200A is substantially the same as the probe support 200 in the vertical probe card according to the above-described first embodiment, and the contact portion 110A of the measurement probe 100A.
And a guide plate 210A having a through hole 211A formed therein, and the guide plate 210A
And a connector 230A to be attached to 00A. The through hole 211A of the guide plate 210A is a portion through which the contact portion 110A of the measurement probe 100A penetrates,
It is formed corresponding to the arrangement pattern of the electrodes 610 of the semiconductor integrated circuit 600 whose electric characteristics are to be measured.

That is, the first substrate 900A, the measurement probe 100A and the probe support 200A attached thereto are configured in accordance with the arrangement pattern of the electrodes 610 of the semiconductor integrated circuit 600 for measuring various electrical characteristics. -ing However, the wiring pattern 910A is
All are set constant without being influenced by the arrangement pattern of the electrodes 610.

On the other hand, the second substrate 900B is formed by laminating a glass epoxy resin plate, a polyimide film, or the like, and has a multilayer wiring (not shown). In the second substrate 900B, a through hole 901B is formed. The through hole 901B is a portion into which the circuit connection probe 100B is inserted, and the contact portion 110B of the inserted circuit connection probe 100B slightly projects from the back surface. Also, the second substrate 90
0B, the second substrate 900B is placed at the corner of the first substrate 90B.
A through-hole 902B is provided for attachment to 0A.

On the surface of the second substrate 900B, a predetermined connection wiring pattern 910B made of copper foil or the like to which the horizontal portion 132B of the circuit connection probe 100B is connected is formed by etching or the like. The end of the connection wiring pattern 910B is formed as a land portion 911B through the through hole 9B.
It extends to the vicinity of 01B. The through-hole 90
The dimension between 1B and the land portion 911B is set slightly shorter than the length of the horizontal portion 132B of the circuit connection probe 100B in order to secure the connection with the circuit connection probe 100B.

The connection wiring pattern 910B formed on the second substrate 900B is connected to a multilayer wiring (not shown) formed on the second substrate 900B.
The multilayer wiring is connected to a connector (not shown), and is connected to a tester (not shown) via the connector. That is, the signal transmission between the semiconductor integrated circuit 600 and the tester is performed via the measurement probe 100A, the wiring pattern 910A, the circuit connection probe 100B, the connection wiring pattern 910B, the multilayer wiring, and the connector.

First substrate 900A and second substrate 900B
Are connected by connecting means 810 such as bolts and nuts. In this connection, the first substrate 900A and the second
A flexible spacer 950 made of rubber or the like is interposed between the substrate 900B and the substrate 900B. This spacer 950
Is a contact portion 110B of the circuit connection probe 100B,
This is to ensure electrical connection with the wiring pattern 910A of the first substrate 100A. That is, this is because the spacer 950 is deformed between the first substrate 900A and the second substrate 900B, so that the contact pressure between the contact portion 110B and the wiring pattern 910A can be appropriately adjusted.

A first substrate 900A is attached to a second substrate 900B.
Are connected, the contact portion 110B of the circuit connection probe 100B is pressed against the wiring pattern 910A. Therefore, the buckling portion 120B of the circuit connection probe 100B buckles as shown in FIG. Thereby, the contact portion 1
Suitable contact pressure between 10B and wiring pattern 910A is ensured.

The electrical characteristics of the semiconductor integrated circuit 600 are measured using such a vertical probe card. The contact pressure between the electrode 610 and the measurement probe 100A depends on the buckling portion of the measurement probe 100A. Secured by 120A deflection.

If this vertical probe card is used repeatedly, the measuring probe 100A may be damaged. The replacement of the damaged measurement probe 100A is performed as follows.

First, the second substrate 900B is replaced with the first substrate 9
Remove from 00A. Thereby, the first substrate 900A
Exposes the surface. Next, the measuring probe 1 to be replaced
The solder connecting 00A and wiring pattern 910A is removed. At the same time, the adhesive (not shown) fixing the measurement probe 100A and the first substrate 900A in the through hole 901A is removed. Thus, the measurement probe 100A to be replaced is physically separated from the first substrate 900A. The measurement probe 100A to be replaced is pulled upward from the first substrate 900A.
Thus, the measurement probe 100A to be replaced has been completely removed from the vertical probe card.

A new measuring probe 100A is mounted on the vertical probe card. First, the measurement probe 100A is inserted into the through hole 901A of the first substrate 900A from above with the contact portion 110A first. At this time, the contact portion 1
Needless to say, 10A is inserted into a predetermined through hole 221A of the guide plate 210A. Horizontal portion 13 of connecting portion 130A
2A is placed on a predetermined wiring pattern 910A. Vertical part 1
An adhesive (not shown) is attached to the bending point 133A at the boundary between the horizontal section 132A and the base section 31A to measure the probe 100A.
Is fixed to the first substrate 900A. At the same time, the horizontal portion 132A and the wiring pattern 910A are connected by solder (not shown). By doing so, the contact portion 110A of the new measurement probe 100A is attached to the first substrate 900A in a state where the contact portion 110A of the other measurement probe 100A is aligned with the height position.

When the replacement of the damaged measuring probe 100A is completed, the second substrate 900B is replaced with the first substrate 90.
Attach to 0A. It should be noted that even when the circuit connection probe 100B of the second substrate 900B is damaged, the second substrate 9
00B is removed from the first substrate 900A and replaced.
However, unlike the measurement probe 100A, the overdrive is not applied to the circuit connection probe 100B, so that the buckling portion 120B does not repeatedly bend, so that the risk of breakage is extremely low.

In such a vertical probe card, when measuring various electrical characteristics of semiconductor integrated circuits 600 of different types, that is, semiconductor integrated circuits 600 having different arrangement patterns of the electrodes 610, the first substrate 100A The following can be exchanged for the corresponding one.

[0036]

In the vertical probe card according to the first aspect, a plurality of measurement probes having buckling portions that buckle when a contact portion at the tip contacts an electrode of the semiconductor integrated circuit, A first substrate provided with a wiring pattern to which an end connection portion is connected, a second substrate detachably mounted on the first substrate, and an arrangement of the wiring pattern on the second substrate A plurality of circuit connection probes having a buckling portion which is inserted into a through hole opened corresponding to the contact portion and which buckles when a contact portion at the tip comes into contact with the wiring pattern, wherein the measurement probe and the circuit The connection probe has a substantially circular cross section, a buckling portion formed thinner than other portions except the contact portion, the contact portion and the buckling portion are formed in a straight line, The measurement probe is inserted into the substrate That through-holes are opened, the connection wiring pattern connecting portion is connected to the rear end of said second probe for circuit connection to the substrate is provided.

For this reason, the replacement of the measuring probe is much simpler than the conventional one. That is, since the buckling portion is formed by making it thinner than other portions, the contact portion and the buckling portion can be formed in a straight line, and as a result, the measurement probe is pulled straight out of the first substrate. This is because it became possible.

Also, if only the first substrate or less is replaced,
It is possible to support a plurality of types of semiconductor integrated circuits.

Further, in the vertical probe card according to the second aspect, the probe has a connection portion at a rear end connected to the wiring pattern, and the connection portion extends linearly from the buckling portion and the contact portion. A vertical portion to be provided, and a horizontal portion bent in a direction substantially orthogonal to the vertical portion. The vertical portion penetrates a through hole and is connected to a wiring pattern at the horizontal portion. It is configured as follows.

Therefore, when attaching the probe to the substrate, the horizontal portion may be placed on the substrate while the contact portion at the tip is inserted into the through hole of the substrate, and the horizontal portion may be connected to the wiring pattern. The probe can be attached to the substrate without supporting the probe. This has the effect of facilitating not only probe replacement work in the vertical probe card but also assembly work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a vertical probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a probe used in the vertical probe card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic partial front view showing a state in which a buckling portion of a probe used in the vertical probe card according to the embodiment of the present invention is bent.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view when a measurement probe is replaced in the vertical probe card according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional vertical probe card of this type.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a main part of a conventional vertical probe card of this type.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100A Measurement probe 110A Contact part 120A Buckling part 130A Connection part 100B Circuit connection probe 110B Contact part 120B Buckling part 600 Semiconductor integrated circuit 610 Electrode 900A First substrate 901A Through hole 910A Wiring pattern 900B Second substrate

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-50322 (JP, A) JP-A-2-206765 (JP, A) JP-A-7-50321 (JP, A) JP-A-7-502 218543 (JP, A) JP-A-2-281166 (JP, A) JP-A 7-36068 (JP, U) JP-A 57-4755 (JP, U) JP-A 62-12876 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01R 1/06-1/073 G01R 31/28 H01L 21/66

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of measurement probes each having a buckling portion that buckles when a contact portion at the tip contacts an electrode of a semiconductor integrated circuit, and a wiring pattern to which a connection portion at a rear end of the measurement probe is connected. A first substrate provided, a second substrate detachably mounted on the first substrate, and inserted into a through-hole formed in the second substrate in accordance with the arrangement of the wiring pattern. A plurality of circuit connection probes having a buckling portion that buckles when a contact portion at the tip contacts the wiring pattern, and the measurement probe and the circuit connection probe have substantially It is circular, the buckling part is formed thinner than the other parts except the contact part, the contact part and the buckling part are formed in a straight line, and the measurement probe is inserted into the first substrate. Through holes are formed in the second substrate. Is a vertical probe card provided with a connection wiring pattern to which a connection portion at a rear end of a circuit connection probe is connected. 2. The probe has a rear-end connecting portion connected to a wiring pattern, the connecting portion includes a vertical portion extending linearly from a buckling portion and a contact portion, and a vertical portion extending from the vertical portion. The vertical portion according to claim 1, further comprising a horizontal portion bent in a direction substantially orthogonal to the vertical portion, wherein the vertical portion penetrates a through hole and is connected to a wiring pattern at the horizontal portion. Type probe card.