JP5373437B2 - Socket probe card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a probe card with a probe having a high aspect ratio in its height direction, mounted thereon at a narrow pitch and with high precision. <P>SOLUTION: The probe card is equipped with a substrate having a socket for fixing the probe. The probe is composed of: a mounting part having two projections to be fitted in the socket of the probe card; an arm part extending from the mounting part; and a head part disposed at the head of the arm part. The socket disposed on the substrate is composed of two fitting parts. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a socket type probe card in which a probe is fixed to a socket provided on a substrate.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, probe cards used for semiconductor wafer inspection have become increasingly finer as semiconductor wafers are highly integrated, and probe cards in which needles are arranged at a pitch of about 70 μm to 80 μm are used.

There are several types of probe cards, such as a vertical probe card and a cantilever probe card, and the probe shape and fixing method are different. Among them, the cantilever probe card has a solder as a probe fixing method. There are used a method of fixing to a substrate using a method (see Patent Documents 1 and 2), or a method of forming a probe on a substrate using a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems).

JP 2002-158264 A Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-196914

However, when the probe is formed using the MEMS technology as described above, it is possible to arrange the probe with a narrow pitch with high accuracy, but it is difficult to form a probe with a large aspect ratio in the height direction in a wide range. Since only a probe with a small aspect ratio can be formed, there is a problem that only a probe with a low overdrive margin can be used.

In addition, when fixing using solder, since a probe having a large aspect ratio in the height direction can be formed in advance and bonded to the substrate, a probe with a high overdrive margin can be used. There was a problem that it was difficult to mount with a narrow pitch and high accuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem and to provide a probe card capable of mounting a probe having a high aspect ratio in the height direction with a narrow pitch and high accuracy.

The probe card of the present invention is a probe card comprising a substrate provided with a socket for fixing a probe, wherein the probe is a mounting portion provided with two protrusions fitted to the socket of the probe card, the mounting And a socket provided on the substrate. The socket is provided with two fitting parts. The arm part extends from the arm part, and the tip part is provided at the tip of the arm part.

Provide a convex part that contacts the bottom surface of the probe mounting part between the two fitting parts and holds the probe mounting part parallel to the substrate, or provide a spare fitting part in the socket be able to.

Adjacent sockets may be arranged in a shifted manner, and two types of probes provided with the protrusions at different positions of the mounting portion may be fitted to the socket and alternately arranged.

The probe card of the present invention is a probe card comprising a substrate provided with a socket for fixing a probe, wherein the probe is a mounting portion provided with two protrusions fitted to the socket of the probe card, the mounting The socket provided on the board is composed of two fitting parts, and has an aspect ratio in the height direction. The arm part extends from the arm part and the tip part provided at the tip of the arm part. It is possible to mount a large probe with a narrow pitch, high accuracy, and easily.

When a probe is fitted between the two fitting parts by contacting the bottom surface of the probe mounting part and holding the probe mounting part parallel to the substrate, Directional positioning can be accurately performed.

By providing a spare fitting part in the socket, one probe fitting part is destroyed when the probe is replaced, the probe is removed, and the remaining fitting part and the spare fitting part are used as a new socket. New probes can be implemented.

It is possible to arrange the probes at a narrower pitch by shifting the adjacent sockets and alternately arranging the two types of probes with the projections at different positions on the mounting part by fitting them into the sockets. It becomes.

It is a schematic sectional drawing of the probe card of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the part by which the probe of the probe card of 1st Embodiment is being fixed to the socket. It is a perspective view of a probe and a socket. It is an enlarged view of the part by which the probe of the probe card of 2nd Embodiment is being fixed to the socket. It is a figure which shows the replacement | exchange procedure of a probe. It is a perspective view of the probe and socket of the probe card of a 3rd embodiment. It is a side view of two types of probes used in a 3rd embodiment. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of a socket. It is a figure which shows the formation process of a socket.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the probe card 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion where the probe 4 of the probe card 1 of the first embodiment is fixed to a socket.

As shown in FIG. 1, the probe card 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an external terminal 6 connected to a tester pogo pin and a main board 2 having an internal wiring 5, and the main board 2. And a probe substrate 3 on which the probe 4 is mounted.

The probe 4 is mounted on the probe substrate 3, the arm portion 9 extending from the mounting portion 7 and having spring properties, and the tip of the arm portion 9 is in contact with the electrode of the object to be inspected Further, the probe is a cantilever type probe composed of a distal end portion 10, and two protrusions 8 are provided on the bottom surface for fitting and fixing to a socket provided on the probe substrate 3.

The probe board 3 is provided with a plurality of sockets comprising two fitting portions 11 for fixing the probe 4 on the board. As shown in FIG. 2, the two protrusions 8 of the probe 4 are engaged with the two fitting portions 11, so that the probe 4 is fixed to the probe substrate 3. The fitting portion 11 has a U-shaped planar shape, and a central cross-sectional shape is an inverted L shape. The protrusion 8 is fitted and fixed to the inverted L-shaped portion. The reason why the planar shape of the fitting portion 11 is U-shaped is to prevent the probe 4 from moving in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the two fitting portions 11 are arranged.

Also, in order to align the tips of the probes 4 and prevent poor contact during inspection, the probes 4 need to be fixed horizontally with respect to the probe substrate 3. Therefore, a convex portion 12 is provided between the two fitting portions 11 in order to hold the probe 4 horizontally. The convex portion 12 has a surface whose upper surface is parallel to the probe substrate 3 and has a predetermined length capable of holding the mounting portion 7 of the probe 4. The probe 4 is formed on the upper surface of the convex portion 12. The mounting portion 7 is held so that the bottom surface thereof is horizontal, and the protrusion 8 is fitted to the fitting portion 11, whereby the probe 4 is horizontally fixed to the probe substrate 3 with a socket. The Rukoto. The fitting portion 11 is electrically connected to a wiring or a through hole inside the probe substrate 3, and the probe 4 is electrically connected by forming the fitting portion 11 with a conductor. It will be. Moreover, when the convex part 12 is provided, the method of electrically connecting the convex part 12 with the probe board | substrate 3 instead of the fitting part 11 can also be used.

The method for fixing the probe 4 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the two protrusions 8 are positioned between the two fitting portions 11 constituting the socket of the probe substrate 3. As described above, it is set above the substrate 3. When the positioning is completed, the probe 4 is pressed against the probe substrate 3 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. At this time, the two protrusions 8 are temporarily deformed so as to approach each other, and return to the original shape when fitted into the two fitting parts 11, and as shown in FIG. Is held in contact with the convex portion 12, and the probe 4 is fixed to the socket of the probe substrate 3.

In this way, the probe card 1 of the present invention can easily fix the probe 4 to the probe substrate 3 without using solder or the like, so it is also necessary to consider the influence of the heat of adjacent probes during probe mounting. Further, the probes can be arranged at a narrow pitch. In addition, it is possible to easily mount a probe having a large aspect ratio in the height direction with a narrow pitch and high accuracy.

The shapes of the fitting portion 11 and the protrusion 8 are not particularly limited, and may be any shape as long as the probe 4 is fixed to the probe substrate 3 with a socket. A shape that is difficult to come off once fitted is preferable. Such a shape not only shortens the probe mounting time, but also improves the reliability of the probe card.

Various methods can be used to form the probe 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the fitting portion 11 has an inverted L-shaped central cross section, and such a shape is collectively shown. It is difficult to form the socket directly on the substrate and it is not preferable to fix the socket formed separately on the substrate. For example, the fitting portion 11 and the convex portion 12 may be formed by laminating a plating layer. The method of forming is used.

As the procedure, first, a seed film 21 is first formed on the surface of the probe substrate 3, and then a photoresist made of a photosensitive organic material is applied to the seed film 21 as shown in FIG. 9A. A resist layer 22 is formed by coating on the surface, and a predetermined shape that is the first layer of the fitting part 11 and the convex part 12, if the fitting part 11 is a U-shape, the convex part 12 For example, a rectangular opening 23 is provided at a predetermined position. Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, a nickel / cobalt plating layer that forms the first layer of the fitting portion 11 and the convex portion 12 is formed in the opening 23 by electroplating.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9C, the resist layer 22 is removed, and as shown in FIG. 9D, the seed layer 21 and the fitting portion 11 exposed by removing the resist layer 22 are exposed. The sacrificial layer 24 made of copper is formed by covering the first layer and the convex portion 12 to form a sacrificial layer 24 made of copper, and the first layer of the fitting portion 11 is exposed as shown in FIG. The surface of the sacrificial layer 24 is polished.

When the polishing is finished and the first layer of the fitting portion 11 is exposed, a photoresist is applied on the first layer of the fitting portion 11 and the sacrificial layer 24 as shown in FIG. The resist layer 25 is formed again by coating, and an opening 26 is provided in accordance with the shape of the second layer of the fitting portion 11. As shown in FIG. 9G, the opening 26 is filled with nickel / cobalt by electroplating to form the second layer of the fitting portion 11.

After the fitting portion 11 and the convex portion 12 are formed in this way, the resist layer 25, the sacrificial layer 24, and the seed film 21 are removed, and the state shown in FIG. The fitting part 11 and the convex part 12 are formed on the surface. Here, the fitting portion 11 is formed of two layers, but the number of layers can be appropriately selected according to the thickness and shape of the fitting portion 11.

In this way, if the socket is formed by laminating the plating layers, the socket pitch will be such that adjacent sockets do not come into contact without considering the effect of heat during probe mounting, depending on the shape of the socket. Therefore, it is possible to mount probes at a narrower pitch.

As described above, in the probe card of the present invention, in order to increase the reliability, it is preferable that the probe once fixed to the socket cannot be easily removed. However, if an inspection is performed using a probe card, the probe may be damaged during the inspection, and at this time, a quick response is required. In particular, considering the cost, it is preferable to replace only the damaged probe with a new probe rather than replacing the probe card or the substrate. Therefore, as a second embodiment, a probe card 1 'that can easily replace only a damaged probe will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the probe card 1 ′ of the second embodiment is fixed to the main board 2 having the external terminals 6 and the internal wirings 5 connected in contact with the pogo pins of the tester. And a probe substrate 3 on which the probe 4 is mounted. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the socket of the probe card 1 of 1st Embodiment is provided with the reserve fitting part 13 used as the 3rd fitting part. Since the entire structure of the probe card 1 'is the same as that of the first embodiment, detailed description other than the socket will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the probe board 3 of the probe card 1 ′ is provided with a spare fitting portion 13 in addition to the two fitting portions 11, and the socket is composed of three fitting portions 11 and 13. Is done. The spare fitting portion 13 is arranged in the same arrangement as the two fitting portions 11, and is provided on the outer side of the two facing fitting portions 11, or on the left and right sides of the fitting portion 11 in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, it is provided outside the center-side fitting portion 11.

Similar to the first embodiment, the two fitting portions 11 are used to fix the probe 4 at the beginning, and the fixing method and the like of the probe 3 are the same as those of the first embodiment. The four protrusions 8 are fitted to the two fitting portions 11 and fixed to the socket, and the state in which the probe 4 is mounted is as shown in FIG. 4, and the spare fitting portion 13 is in an unused state. Become. At this time, similarly to the first embodiment, a convex portion 12 is provided between the two protrusions 11, and the probe 4 is held horizontally by the convex portion 12. Further, as will be described later, the fitting portion 11 on the center side may be removed, so that the electrical connection between the probe board 3 and the socket needs to be secured by the remaining fitting portion 11 or the convex portion 12. is there.

Next, the usage method of the spare fitting part 13 is demonstrated. It is assumed that a probe card 1 'is used and a certain probe is broken. Here, the damaged probe 'is assumed to be the probe 4' shown on the left side of FIG. In order to replace the probe 4 ′, it is necessary to remove the probe 4 ′ from the probe substrate 3. Therefore, when a force is applied to the probe 4 ′ toward the fitting portion 13, the fitting portion 11 that fixes the probe 4 ′ is closer to the third fitting portion 13 (FIG. 4). The fitting portion 11 (second from the left) can be removed as shown in FIG.

When the fitting portion 11 is removed, as shown in FIG. 5A, the probe 4 ′ is in a state in which only one protrusion 8 is engaged with the fitting portion 11, so that it can be easily removed from the socket. Can do. Therefore, when the probe 4 ′ is removed from the socket, as shown in FIG. 5B, one fitting portion 11 is removed, and the remaining fitting portion 11 and the spare fitting portion 13 face each other. It becomes a state. Therefore, the remaining fitting portion 11 and fitting portion 13 function as a new socket. When removing the fitting portion 11 and when removing the probe 4 ′, the probe 4 ′ is not damaged, but the fitting portion 11 and the convex portion 12 that need to be left are reused. Care must be taken not to damage them.

Next, as shown in FIG.5 (c), the new replacement probe 14 is fixed to the new socket comprised by the fitting part 11, the spare fitting part 13, and the convex part 12 in the meantime. . The replacement probe 14 has a shape similar to that of the probe 4 ′, and the shape of the arm portion 9 and the tip portion 10 is exactly the same, but the interval between the two protrusions 8 ′ of the replacement probe 14 is the same as that of the probe 4 ′. Are different, and accordingly, the shape of the mounting portion 7 is also different. The interval between the two protrusions 8 ′ of the replacement probe 14 matches the interval between the fitting portion 11 and the fitting portion 13, and is wider than the interval between the two protrusions 8 of the probe 4 ′ before replacement.

In this way, the spare fitting portion 13 is added to the socket, and the remaining fitting portion 11 and the replacement probe 14 that matches the spare fitting portion 13 are prepared, thereby using the socket. Thus, the probe 4 ′ firmly fixed can be easily replaced with a new probe. As a result, it is possible to quickly cope with the probe breakage.

Next, a probe card 1 '' according to a third embodiment in which probes can be arranged at a narrower pitch will be described. FIG. 6 shows a state before the probes 15 and 16 of the probe card 1 ″ of the third embodiment are fixed to the socket.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the probe card 1 ″ of this embodiment, unlike the previous embodiments, the sockets are not arranged in a line, and the positions of adjacent sockets are shifted. The arrangement of the socket is a major feature of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the probe card 1 '' of the present embodiment is fixed to the main board 2 having the external terminal 6 and the internal wiring 5 connected in contact with the pogo pins of the tester, and the main board 2. And a probe substrate 3 on which the probe 4 is mounted. Since the probe card 1 ″ of the present embodiment is characterized by the arrangement of the sockets, a detailed description of the sockets other than the probes 15 and 16 fixed to the sockets is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, the positions of adjacent sockets are different and are alternately arranged. Specifically, the fitting portion 17 of the second row socket is shifted to the right side with respect to the fitting portion 11 of the first row socket, and the convex portion 12 between the two fitting portions 11 in the first row. The second row left side fitting portions 17 are arranged in a row, the odd row sockets are arranged in the same row as the first row sockets, and the even row sockets are the second row sockets. Are arranged in the same order.

When the sockets are arranged in this way, if the probes having the same shape are used, the tips of the probes are aligned in two rows. In the present embodiment, the 2 shown in FIGS. Various types of probes 15 and 16 are used. The probes 15 are arranged in odd rows and the probes 16 are arranged in even rows. In the probes 15 and 16, the shapes of the arm portion 9 and the tip portion 10 are the same, but the positions of the protrusions 19 and 20 provided on the mounting portion 7 are different. The protrusion 19 is aligned with the position of the fitting portion 11, and the protrusion 20 is aligned with the position of the fitting portion 17. The probe 15 having the protrusion 19 and the probe 16 having the protrusion 20 are provided in two types. By using the probe, the tip 10 can be aligned in a row.

In this way, by shifting the position of the adjacent socket, the adjacent fitting portions 11 and 17 are shifted, and when the sockets are arranged in a row, the interval between the adjacent fitting portions is larger than the contact distance. As shown in FIG. 8, adjacent sockets can be arranged so as to overlap each other, and accordingly, the probes can be arranged at a narrower pitch.

As described above, in the present invention, by fixing the cantilever type probe to the substrate using the socket, it is possible to easily mount a probe having a large aspect ratio in the height direction with a narrow pitch and high accuracy. It becomes. In addition, by using various types of sockets, convenience can be improved and probes can be mounted at a narrow pitch.

1, 1 ′, 1 ″ probe card 2 main board 3 probe board 4, 4 ′ probe 5 internal wiring 6 external terminal 7 mounting part 8, 8 ′ protrusion 9 arm part 10 tip part 11 fitting part 12 convex part 13 reserve Fitting part 14 replacement probe 15 probe 16 probe 17 fitting part 18 convex part 19 protrusion 20 protrusion 21 seed film 22 resist layer 23 opening 24 sacrificial layer 25 resist layer 26 opening

Claims (1)

A probe card comprising a substrate provided with a socket for fixing a probe,
The probe is composed of a mounting part provided with two protrusions fitted to a socket of a probe card, an arm part extending from the mounting part, and a tip part provided at the tip of the arm part,
Sockets provided on the substrate, Ri Do two fitting portions,
Protruding portions that are in contact with the bottom surface of the probe mounting portion between the two fitting portions and that hold the probe mounting portion in parallel to the substrate are provided, and a spare fitting portion is provided in the socket. A probe card characterized by