JP4566248B2 - Vertical coil spring probe - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vertical coil spring probe used to measure electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device.

  This type of vertical coil spring probe includes a contact pin that contacts an electrode of a semiconductor device and a cylindrical body into which a guide element that is a rear end portion of the contact pin is inserted. A lower cylindrical portion connected to the upper portion, an upper cylindrical portion, and a coiled spring portion between the lower cylindrical portion and the upper cylindrical portion (see Patent Document 1).

  The cylindrical body is laser processed or machined to create the spring portion from an intermediate portion of the conductive cylinder.

Japanese Patent No. 4031007

  However, since the vertical coil spring probe is fine, a high processing technique is required to produce the cylindrical body by the laser processing or machining. That is, the accuracy varies depending on the level of the engineer, and the cost is high, which is not suitable for mass production.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vertical coil spring probe suitable for mass production.

In order to solve the above problems, a vertical coil spring probe according to the present invention includes a base part, a contact pin provided on a lower surface of the base part, a contact pin having a linear guide provided on the upper surface of the base part, and a base A coil spring that is installed on the upper surface of the part and into which the guide of the contact pin is inserted. The coil spring includes an upper end winding part whose inner peripheral surface slides on the upper end of the guide, The upper end winding part has a flat inner surface, the upper end part is sharpened, and the guide element has an elastic deformation part continuous with the lower end part of the end winding part. A cylindrical main body, a ring-shaped flange provided on the outer peripheral surface of the main body, and a cylindrical upper end connected to the main body , the flange extending from the base of the contact pin They are arranged at intervals, of the body portion Diameter They become smaller than the outer diameter of the upper portion, a central axis of said body portion and the central axis of the upper portion is collinear.

  Such a vertical coil spring probe is suitable for mass production because the coil spring can be easily created with high accuracy simply by winding a wire. Moreover, since the inner peripheral surface of the upper end winding portion of the coil spring is a flat surface, when the upper end portion of the guide slides in the upper end winding portion, the upper end portion of the guide and the upper end winding portion The sliding area with the inner peripheral surface increases, and the electrical connection between them is stabilized. Therefore, the electrical resistance value of the entire probe can be reduced. Further, when the upper end of the upper end winding portion is sharpened, it is possible to easily break through the oxide film on the electrode when contacting the electrode of the probe unit. Therefore, the electrical connection between the upper end winding portion and the electrode can be stabilized.

  The coil spring preferably has a configuration in which a wire having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section is wound. In this way, when a wire rod having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section is used, the inner peripheral surface of the upper seat winding portion can be made flat only by winding the wire rod and creating the upper end winding portion. Therefore, post-processing of the inner peripheral surface of the upper end winding portion is not necessary, which is more suitable for mass production.

  The coil spring preferably has a configuration in which the plated wire is wound. If an attempt is made to perform plating after winding the wire to create a coil spring, the coil spring is fine, so that the plating solution does not enter the coil spring, and there is a portion that is not plated on the inner peripheral surface of the coil spring. Although there is a possibility, as described above, if the wire rod is wound after being plated, the entire coil spring can be uniformly plated.

Another vertical coil spring probe according to the present invention is provided on a base portion, a contact pin provided on a lower surface of the base portion, a contact pin having a linear guide provided on an upper surface of the base portion, and an upper surface of the base portion. And a coil spring into which the guide pin of the contact pin is inserted. The upper end winding portion has a flat inner peripheral surface, the upper end portion is sharpened, and the guide element includes the upper end portion and the base portion. The outer diameter of the cylindrical main body between the upper end and the upper end is cylindrical, and the central axis of the upper end and the central axis of the main body are the same. It is on a straight line. In this case, portions other than the upper end of the guide do not contact the inner peripheral surface of the coil spring. That is, since the sliding area of the guide with the coil spring can be reduced, the forward movement of the guide in the coil spring when the coil spring is compressed and the return of the guide in the coil spring when the coil spring is restored. And the load hysteresis can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, a vertical coil spring probe according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a vertical coil spring probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the probe, and FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the probe.

  The vertical coil spring probe A shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes a contact pin 100A and a coil spring 200A attached to the contact pin 100A. Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.

  The contact pin 100A includes a cylindrical contact 110A, a cylindrical guide 120A having an outer diameter larger than that of the contact 110A, a contact 110A on the lower surface, and a base portion 130A provided with the guide 120A on the upper surface. Are integrally configured. Each part of the contact pin 100A is created by cutting the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical body having conductivity such as platinum alloy or beryllium copper.

  The contact 110A has a sharpened tip. Thus, a predetermined contact pressure is secured at the tip of the contact 110A with the conductive pad 11 of the semiconductor device 10 described later, and the oxide film on the conductive pad 11 can be easily broken through.

  The base portion 130A is a disk-shaped portion having an outer diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the coil spring 200A. A lower end winding portion 220A of the coil spring 200A is installed on the base portion 130A.

  The guide 120A is a cylindrical connecting portion 121A (upper end portion) whose outer diameter is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the coil spring 200A, and a lower portion of the connecting portion 121A and has an outer diameter larger than that of the connecting portion 121A. It has a small cylindrical main body portion 122A and a flange portion 123A provided on the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 122A.

  The main body 122A is inserted into the lower end winding portion 220A and the elastic deformation portion 230A of the coil spring 200A with a gap. As a result, the sliding area between the guide 120A and the coil spring 200A is reduced. The main body 122A is a guide bar that guides the expansion / contraction direction of the elastic deformation portion 230A.

  The flange portion 123A is a ring body having an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the coil spring 200A. The flange portion 123A is pushed into the lower end winding portion 220A when the main body portion 122A is inserted into the lower end winding portion 220A and the elastic deformation portion 230A of the coil spring 200A.

  The connecting portion 121A is slidably inserted vertically into the upper end winding portion 210A of the coil spring 200A. When this connecting portion 121A slides on the inner peripheral surface 211A of the upper end winding portion 210A, a stable electrical connection between the connecting portion 121A and the upper end winding portion 210A is ensured. The connecting portion 121A slides in the up and down direction within the upper end winding portion 210A when the elastic deformation portion 230A of the coil spring 200A expands and contracts.

  The dimension obtained by combining the length dimension of the connecting portion 121A and the length dimension of the main body portion 122A (that is, the length dimension of the guide element 120A) is such that the contact element 110A presses against the electrode 11 of the semiconductor device 10 described later, and is elastic. It is shorter than the length dimension of the coil spring 200A in a state where the deforming portion 230A is compressed. That is, the connecting portion 121A is prevented from protruding upward from the coil spring 200A in a state where the elastic deformation portion 230A is compressed.

  The coil spring 200A is formed by winding a wire rod (for example, stainless steel, piano wire, amorphous alloy, etc.) having a substantially rectangular shape in cross-sectional view plated with nickel gold (Ni + Au). This coil spring 200A has an upper end winding portion 210A, a lower end winding portion 220A, and an elastic deformation portion 230A provided between the upper end winding portion 210A and the lower end winding portion 220A. .

  The lower end winding portion 220A is inserted with the main body portion 122A of the contact pin 100A and the flange portion 123A. The flange portion facing portion of the lower end winding portion 220A is crimped and fixed to the flange portion 123A. Thus, the coil spring 200A can be easily attached to the contact pin 100A.

  The elastic deformation portion 230A is a coil portion that can be expanded and contracted along the main body portion 122A of the contact pin 100A.

  The inner peripheral surface 211A of the upper end winding portion 210A forms a flat surface by connecting the first surface of the wire material vertically. Thus, the sliding area between the inner peripheral surface 211A of the upper end winding portion 210A and the outer peripheral surface of the connection portion 121A of the contact pin 100A is increased.

  The outer peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the upper end winding portion 210A is a tapered surface that gradually decreases upward, and is sharpened. Accordingly, the upper end winding portion 210A can easily break through the oxide film on the connection pad 420 of the connection substrate 400 of the probe unit B described later.

  The vertical coil spring probe A having such a configuration is assembled as follows. First, nickel wire (Ni + Au) plating is performed on a wire having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section. Then, the said wire is wound around the rod which is not illustrated so that the 1st surface of the said wire may be continued up and down, and the lower seat winding part 220A is created. Then, the wire rod is wound around the rod member at a coil interval to create an elastic deformation portion 230A. Then, the said wire is wound around the said rod so that the 1st surface of the said wire may be continued up and down, and 210 A of upper end winding parts are created. Thereby, the inner peripheral surface 211A of the upper end winding portion 210A becomes a flat surface.

  The guide spring 120A of the contact pin 100A is inserted into the coil spring 200A created in this way from the lower end winding portion 220A side, and the lower end winding portion 220A is installed on the base portion 130. At this time, the flange portion 123A of the guide 120A is pushed into the lower end winding portion 220A.

  Thus, by inserting the guide 120A into the coil spring 200A, the main body 122A is inserted into the lower seat winding portion 220A and the elastic deformation portion 230A with a gap, and the connection portion 121A is inserted into the upper seat. It is inserted into the winding part 210A.

  Thereafter, the lower end winding portion 220A is crimped together with the flange portion 123A. Thereby, the coil spring 200A is fixed to the guide 120A.

  The vertical coil spring probe A assembled in this way is assembled into the probe unit B. Hereinafter, the probe unit B will be described with reference to the drawings. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the probe unit, and FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the upper end of the vertical coil spring probe of the unit, where (a) is a coil spring having a substantially circular cross-sectional view. FIG. 4B is a diagram when a coil spring having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section is used.

  The probe unit B is disposed above the casing 300, a plurality of vertical coil spring probes A that can contact the plurality of conductive pads 11 of the semiconductor device 10, a casing 300 that stores and holds the vertical coil spring probes A, and the like. And a connection board 400. This will be described in detail below.

  The casing 300 includes an upper guide plate 310, a lower guide plate 320, and a spacer 330 provided between the upper guide plate 310 and the lower guide plate 320.

  The lower guide plate 320 is provided with a plurality of circular lower guide holes 321 at locations corresponding to the positions of the plurality of conductive pads 11 of the semiconductor device 10. The diameter of the lower guide hole 321 is larger than the outer diameter of the contact 110A of the vertical coil spring probe A and smaller than the outer diameter of the base portion 130A. Accordingly, the contact 110A of the vertical coil spring probe A is inserted into the lower guide hole 321 so as to be movable up and down.

  Further, the base portion 130 </ b> A of the contact 110 </ b> A of the vertical coil spring probe A is placed on the edge portion of the lower guide hole 321 of the lower guide plate 320.

  The upper guide plate 310 is provided with a plurality of upper guide holes 311 having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the upper end winding portion 210A of the vertical coil spring probe A. The upper guide hole 311 is arranged concentrically with the lower guide hole 321. The upper end winding portions 210A of the vertical coil spring probe A are inserted into the upper guide holes 311 respectively. The upper guide plate 310 is attached to the connection substrate 400 via a support means (not shown).

  The connection substrate 400 includes a plurality of connection pads 410 and 420 provided on the upper and lower surfaces thereof, and a plurality of internal wirings 430 that connect the connection pads 410 and 420, respectively. The upper end winding portions 210A of the vertical coil spring probe A are in contact with the connection pads 420, respectively. Accordingly, the vertical coil spring probe A is held between the connection substrate 400 and the edge of the lower guide hole 321 of the lower guide plate 320, and the elastic deformation portion 230A of the coil spring 200A is held in a compressed state. Note that a measuring device (not shown) is connected to the connection pad 410.

  The probe unit B having such a configuration is assembled as follows. First, the vertical coil spring probes A are inserted into the upper guide holes 321 of the casing 300 from above. Then, the contacts 110A of the vertical coil spring probe A are inserted into the lower guide holes 311 of the casing 300, respectively. Then, the lower surface of the base portion 130 of the vertical coil spring probe A comes into contact with the edge portion of the lower guide hole 311 of the lower guide plate 320.

  Thereafter, the connection pads 420 of the connection substrate 400 are brought into contact with the upper end winding portions 210A of the vertical coil spring probe A, respectively. In this state, the connection substrate 400 is brought close to the casing 300. As a result, the elastic deformation portion 230A of the coil spring 200A of the vertical coil spring probe A is compressed between the connection substrate 400 and the base portion 130A.

  In this state, the upper guide plate 310 of the casing 300 is attached to the connection substrate 400 via the support means.

  The probe unit B assembled in this way is attached to the prober of the measurement apparatus and used for a measurement test for measuring electrical characteristics of the semiconductor device 10. The measurement process will be described below, and the operation of each part of the probe unit B will be described.

  First, the prober is operated. Then, the semiconductor device 10 is sequentially conveyed to the measurement position. When the semiconductor device 10 is located at the measurement position, the probe unit B is brought relatively close to the semiconductor device 10, and the contacts 110 </ b> A of the plurality of vertical coil spring probes A of the probe unit B are connected to the plurality of conductive pads 11 of the semiconductor device 10. In contact with each other. Then, the contacts 110 </ b> A are pressed against the conductive pads 11 of the semiconductor device 10 by the urging force of the elastic deformation portion 230 </ b> A of the vertical coil spring probe A.

  Thereafter, when the probe unit B is brought relatively close to the semiconductor device 10, the contacts 110 </ b> A are pressed against the conductive pads 11. As a result, the contact pin 100A moves upward, and the elastic deformation portion 230A of the coil spring 200A is compressed between the base portion 130 of the contact pin 100A and the connection substrate 400, respectively. At this time, the contacts 110A move finely on the conductive pad 11, and the oxide film on the conductive pad 11 is removed. Further, the upper end portion of the upper end winding portion 210A comes into pressure contact with the connection pad 420 of the connection substrate 400, and breaks through the oxide film on the connection pad 420. Further, the connecting portion 121A of the contact pin 100A slides upward in the upper end winding portion 210A of the coil spring 200A.

  Since the inner peripheral surface 211A of the upper end winding portion 210A is a flat surface, the sliding area with the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion 121A increases. Therefore, the stable contact of both is ensured and the electrical resistance of the vertical coil spring probe A is reduced. Therefore, a signal emitted from the electrode 11 of the semiconductor device 10 is stably sent to the measurement apparatus through the contact pin 100A, the upper end winding part 210A, and the connection substrate 400, and the measurement test of the semiconductor device 10 is performed by the measurement apparatus. Is called.

  Thereafter, when the probe unit B is moved away from the semiconductor device 10, the elastic deformation portions 230 </ b> A of the coil spring 200 </ b> A are restored, and the contact pins 100 </ b> A are moved downward by the biasing force. At this time, the connecting portion 121A of the contact pin 100A slides downward in the upper end winding portion 210A of the coil spring 200A. Then, the base portion 130 of the contact pin 100 </ b> A comes into contact with the edge portion of the lower guide hole 311 of the lower guide plate 320.

  In the case of the vertical coil spring probe A as described above, the coil spring 200A can be easily created with high accuracy simply by winding the wire, and thus is suitable for mass production.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5A, when a coil spring (hereinafter referred to as a circular coil spring) created by winding a wire having a substantially circular cross-sectional view is used, the inner peripheral surface of the upper end winding portion is uneven. Since each convex portion (that is, each top portion of the wire) is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion 121A, the sliding area between the upper end winding portion and the connecting portion 121A is reduced, and the entire probe The electrical resistance value increases. Therefore, it cannot be used for the measurement test. If a wire rod having a substantially circular cross section is used, it is difficult to form a tapered surface at the upper end of the upper end winding portion.

  In this respect, as shown in FIG. 5B, in the vertical coil spring probe A, the inner peripheral surface 211A of the upper end winding portion 210A of the coil spring 200A is a wire having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section, and the first surface is vertically oriented. Since it is flattened by winding it in line, the sliding area between the inner peripheral surface 211A of the upper end winding portion 210A and the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion 121A increases, and the electrical resistance value of the entire probe decreases. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem such as attenuation of a signal for measurement, so that the measurement test can be used as described above. In addition, when a wire having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section is used, it is easy to form a tapered surface at the upper end of the upper end winding portion 210A.

  Moreover, since the cross section of the coil spring 200A is substantially rectangular, even if the width and height of the cross section are the same as that of the circular coil spring, the cross sectional area is larger than that of the circular coil spring. For this reason, the coil spring 200A is suitable as a coil spring for a probe because the strength of the spring itself is stronger than that of a circular coil spring in cross section and has a good linearity.

  Furthermore, the outer diameter of the main body portion 122A is smaller than the outer diameter of the connection portion 121A, and the guide 120A is inserted into the lower end winding portion 220A and the elastic deformation portion 230A of the coil spring 200A with a gap. ing. That is, the sliding area between the guide 120A and the coil spring 200A is reduced. For this reason, even if the coil spring 200A is formed by winding a wire having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section, the movement of the guide 120A in the coil spring 200A during the compression of the coil spring 200A and the restoration of the coil spring 200A It is possible to reduce the load hysteresis with the backward movement of the coil spring 200A of the guide 120A at the time.

  Such a vertical coil spring probe A is installed on the base portion, a contact pin provided on the lower surface of the base portion, a contact pin having a linear guide provided on the upper surface of the base portion, and an upper surface of the base portion. And a coil spring into which the guide pin of the contact pin is inserted. The coil spring is capable of contacting an upper end portion of the guide member and an elastic member continuous with the lower end portion of the upper end turn portion. As long as the inner peripheral surface of the upper end winding portion is a flat surface, the design can be arbitrarily changed.

  As for the coil spring 200 </ b> A, the coil spring 200 </ b> A that is formed by winding a wire material having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section in the above embodiment is used. As long as the coil spring has an elastically deforming portion, the design can be arbitrarily changed. For example, it is possible to use a coil spring in which a wire rod having a substantially circular cross-sectional view is wound, and to make the inner peripheral surface of the upper end winding portion a flat surface by polishing or the like.

  As for the method of attaching the coil spring 200A to the contact pin 100A, it is possible to use a well-known attachment means other than the caulking described above. For example, the lower end of the coil spring 200A may be bonded to the lower end of the guide 120A or the base 130, or the lower end of the coil spring 200A may be a convex portion provided on the base 130 of the contact pin 100A. You may make it fit. Note that the coil spring 200A may not be attached to the contact pin 100A, and may simply be installed on the base portion 130.

  The design of the contact pin 100A can be arbitrarily changed as long as it has a base part, a contact provided on the lower surface of the base part, and a linear guide provided on the upper surface of the base part.

  The design of the base part 130 can be arbitrarily changed as long as the coil spring 200A can be installed.

  The contact 110A is not limited to a cylindrical portion. For example, it may have a substantially curved or U-shaped shape or a protruding shape.

  The shape, material, etc. of each part of the vertical coil spring probe can be arbitrarily changed as long as the same function can be realized. Similarly, the probe unit may have any configuration as long as it includes this vertical coil spring probe.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a vertical coil spring probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic exploded perspective view of the probe. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the probe. It is a schematic sectional drawing of a probe unit. It is a schematic sectional view showing an upper end portion of the vertical coil spring probe of the unit, (a) is a view when a coil spring having a substantially circular shape in cross section is used, (b) is a coil spring having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section. It is a figure at the time of using.

Explanation of symbols

A Vertical coil spring probe 100A Contact pin 110A Contact 120A Guide 121A Connection (upper end)
122A body (other than the top)
130A Base part 200A Coil spring 210A Upper end winding part 211A Inner peripheral surface 220A Lower side winding part 230A Elastic deformation part

Claims (4)

A contact pin having a base, a contact provided on the lower surface of the base, and a linear guide provided on the upper surface of the base;
A coil spring that is installed on the upper surface of the base portion and into which a guide for the contact pin is inserted,
The coil spring has an upper end winding portion whose inner peripheral surface slides with the upper end portion of the guide, and an elastic deformation portion continuous to the lower end portion of the upper end winding portion,
The upper end winding part, the inner peripheral surface is a flat surface, the upper end is sharpened,
The guide has a cylindrical main body, a ring-shaped flange provided on the outer peripheral surface of the main body, and a cylindrical upper end connected to the main body. The flange is a contact pin. It is arranged at a distance from the base part of
The outer diameter of the main body is smaller than the outer diameter of the upper end,
The vertical coil spring probe according to claim 1, wherein a central axis of the upper end portion and a central axis of the main body portion are on the same straight line . A contact pin having a base, a contact provided on the lower surface of the base, and a linear guide provided on the upper surface of the base;
A coil spring that is installed on the upper surface of the base portion and into which a guide for the contact pin is inserted,
The coil spring has an upper end winding portion whose inner peripheral surface slides with the upper end portion of the guide, and an elastic deformation portion continuous to the lower end portion of the upper end winding portion,
The upper end winding part, the inner peripheral surface is a flat surface, the upper end is sharpened,
The guide element has an outer diameter of a cylindrical main body portion between the upper end portion and the base portion that is smaller than an outer diameter of the upper end portion, and the upper end portion is cylindrical.
The vertical coil spring probe according to claim 1, wherein a central axis of the upper end portion and a central axis of the main body portion are on the same straight line . The vertical coil spring probe according to claim 1 or 2,
The vertical coil spring probe is characterized in that the coil spring has a configuration in which a wire rod having a substantially rectangular shape in section is wound. The vertical coil spring probe according to claim 3,
The vertical coil spring probe is characterized in that the coil spring has a configuration in which the plated wire is wound.

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