JP6969930B2 - probe - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a probe used for measuring the characteristics of an inspected object.

Probes are used to measure the characteristics of integrated circuits and the like without separating them from the wafer. In an inspection using a probe, one end of the probe is brought into contact with the object to be inspected, and the other end of the probe is placed on a substrate and electrically connected to a tester (hereinafter referred to as "land"). .) Contact.

In the inspection, it is necessary to secure the electrical connection between the probe or the object to be inspected and the probe. For this reason, overdrive (OD) is applied to strongly press the probe against the object to be inspected, and the probe and land are preloaded by elastically deforming the probe. For this reason, a structure is adopted in which the probe is provided with a portion that is elastically deformed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-281583

In order to apply both preload and OD by elastic deformation of one probe, it is necessary to increase the total length of the probe. For example, a probe having a total length of about 8 mm is used. Such a long-length probe is prone to bending due to use. As a result, there has been a problem that contact between adjacent probes (hereinafter referred to as "adjacent short") occurs.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a probe capable of suppressing an adjacent short circuit between probes.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a tubular barrel having a spring portion formed by a plurality of spiral notches penetrating the side surface without intersecting each other, and a tip portion exposed from an open end of the end portion of the barrel. and a plunger rod shape which is joined to the barrel in a state, the spring portion, Ri multiple spiral shape der central axis comprises a plurality of wires respectively constituting the same coil spring wire diameter of the plurality of strands There probe that different are provided together.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a probe capable of suppressing an adjacent short circuit between probes.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the probe which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the result of having compared the bending amount of the barrel of the probe which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, and the barrel of a comparative example, and FIGS. The results of the comparison are shown below. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the probe which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the barrel of the probe which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 4 (a) is a side view, FIG. 4 (b) is along the IV-IV direction of FIG. 4 (a). It is a cross-sectional view. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the barrel of the probe which concerns on 1st modification of 2nd Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 5 (a) is a side view, FIG. 5 (b) is V of FIG. 5 (a). It is sectional drawing along the −V direction. FIG. 6A is a schematic view showing another configuration of the barrel of the probe according to the first modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6A is a side view, and FIG. 6B is FIG. 6A. It is sectional drawing along the VI-VI direction of. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the barrel of the probe which concerns on the 2nd modification of 2nd Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 7A is a side view, FIG. 7B is a VII of FIG. 7A. It is a cross-sectional view along the −VII direction. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the barrel of the probe which concerns on the 3rd modification of 2nd Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 8 (a) is a side view, FIG. 8 (b) is VIII of FIG. 8 (a). It is a cross-sectional view along the −VIII direction. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another configuration of the barrel of the probe according to the third modification of the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the probe which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the barrel of the probe which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention, FIG. 11 (a) is a side view, FIG. 11 (b) is along the XI-XI direction of FIG. 11 (a). It is a cross-sectional view. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other structure of the barrel of the probe which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention, FIG. It is a cross-sectional view along.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings below, the same or similar parts are designated by the same or similar reference numerals. However, the drawings are schematic, and the length and thickness ratio of each part are different from the actual ones. In addition, there are parts where the relationships and ratios of the dimensions of the drawings are different from each other.

(First Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a tube-shaped barrel 10 having a spring portion having a spiral notch formed through a side surface, and an opening at an end portion of the barrel 10. A rod-shaped plunger 20 joined to the barrel 10 with the tip exposed from the end is provided. A plurality of spiral notches are formed in the spring portion of the barrel 10 so as not to intersect each other. That is, the spring portion has a multiple spiral shape composed of a plurality of strands each constituting a coil spring having the same central axis.

The probe shown in FIG. 1 includes two plungers 20 joined to the barrel 10 with the tips exposed from the open ends of both ends of the barrel 10. At the joint portion 30, the insertion portion of the plunger 20 inserted inside the barrel 10 and the barrel 10 are joined. The barrel 10 and the plunger 20 may be welded by spot welding or may be bonded by an adhesive. In FIG. 1, which shows the entire probe, the portion inserted inside the barrel 10 of the plunger 20 is not shown (the same applies hereinafter).

The probe is used, for example, to determine the electrical properties of the subject to be inspected. That is, the tip of one plunger 20 shown in FIG. 1 comes into contact with the object to be inspected, and the tip of the other plunger 20 comes into contact with a land such as a wiring board.

A conductive material is used for the barrel 10 and the plunger 20 to inspect the electrical properties of the object to be inspected. For example, a nickel (Ni) material or the like is used for the barrel 10, and an AgPdCu material or the like is used for the plunger 20.

Since a part of the barrel 10 is a spring portion, the barrel 10 can be expanded and contracted in the axial direction. Therefore, the plunger 20 can be brought into contact with the inspected body or the wiring board by a predetermined pressure. That is, an OD of an appropriate strength can be applied so that the probe is strongly pressed against the object to be inspected. In addition, the probe and land can be preloaded by elastically deforming the probe. It should be noted that, for example, using a photolithography technique or the like, a notch can be formed on a part of the side surface of the barrel 10 by etching to form a spring portion.

The spring portion of the barrel 10 of the probe shown in FIG. 1 has a double helix shape composed of two strands each constituting a coil spring having the same central axis. Therefore, as described below, the amount of deflection of the probe can be reduced as compared with the case where the spring portion has a single spiral shape.

2 (a) to 2 (e) show the deflection amount of the barrel 10A of the comparative example having a single spiral spring portion and the deflection amount of the barrel 10 having the double spiral spring portion. An example compared by analysis is shown. The comparison was made by shrinking each of the barrel 10 and the barrel 10A by a predetermined length (hereinafter referred to as "stroke amount").

FIG. 2A shows a state in which the stroke amount is 0. The length of the barrel 10 and the barrel 10A is 8 mm, respectively.

2 (b) to 2 (e) show states in which the stroke amounts are 10 μm, 20 μm, 30 μm, and 40 μm, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2 (b) to 2 (e), in the barrel 10 having a double helix-shaped spring portion, as the stroke amount increases, the distance between the strands increases around the middle of both ends. , The amount of deflection is small. On the other hand, in the barrel 10 of the comparative example, the amount of bending increases as the stroke amount increases.

As described above, the amount of bending of the barrel 10 can be reduced by forming the spring portion into a multiple spiral shape. Further, in the comparative example, a large deflection occurs in a certain direction, but in the barrel 10 having a spring portion having a multiple spiral shape, the stress directions are dispersed and a small deflection is generated in each of a plurality of directions. That is, the magnitude and direction of the deflection can be controlled by forming the spring portion into a multiple spiral shape.

As described above, in the probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the deflection of the probe due to OD, preload, etc. at the time of inspection can be controlled by forming the spring portion of the barrel 10 into a multiple spiral shape. .. As a result, according to the probe shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of adjacent short circuits between the probes.

(Second embodiment)
In the probe according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3, one of the coil springs constituting the multiple spiral shape of the spring portion of the barrel 10 is a heat dissipation coil spring C1 having higher heat dissipation than the other coil springs. .. For example, for the heat radiating coil spring C1, a material having a higher thermal conductivity than that of the other coil springs C2 is used.

When using the probe, an electric current flows through the probe to the inspected object. At this time, it is assumed that the Joule heat generated in the probe causes settling (heat settling) in the spring portion formed in the barrel 10. When the spring portion is settled, the stylus pressure of the probe in contact with the inspected object or the land decreases, and the allowable current value of the probe decreases. As a result, a current of a magnitude required for inspection cannot be passed through the inspected object, and a situation may occur in which the inspected object cannot be sufficiently inspected.

On the other hand, according to the probe according to the second embodiment, since the spring portion of the barrel 10 has the heat radiating coil spring C1, the Joule heat is rapidly sent to the outside of the spring portion using the heat radiating coil spring C1 as a heat conduction path. Heat is dissipated. Therefore, the temperature rise of the spring portion is suppressed and the settling does not occur. Therefore, the allowable current value of the probe does not decrease.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, for example, the heat radiating coil spring C1 is made of a conductive substrate 11 and a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the substrate 11 and comes into contact with the substrate 11. A structure having a heat radiating material 12 or the like can be adopted. The heat radiating material 12 shown in FIG. 4B is surrounded by the substrate 11 and embedded inside the substrate 11. In the heat radiating coil spring C1, the heat radiating material 12 arranged in the spring portion serves as a heat conduction path, and Joule heat generated in the spring portion is radiated to the outside of the spring portion by heat conduction.

It is preferable that the heat radiating material 12 has conductivity because an electric current is passed through the barrel 10 when the object to be inspected is inspected. For example, gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al) and the like are preferably used as the heat radiating material 12. Ni or the like is preferably used for the substrate 11. By using a conductive material for the entire spring portion, the allowable current value of the probe is increased.

In the barrel shown in FIG. 4A, an example in which one band-shaped heat radiating material 12 is arranged in the center of the spring portion is shown, but the method of arranging the heat radiating material 12 is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of rows of heat radiating materials 12 arranged apart from each other in the width direction perpendicular to the stretching direction may be arranged inside the substrate 11 along the stretching direction of the heat radiating coil spring C1. Alternatively, a plurality of heat radiating materials 12 may be laminated in the film thickness direction of the substrate 11.

The material of the heat radiating material 12 is a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the substrate 11, but the hardness of the heat radiating material 12 may be higher than the hardness of the substrate 11. For example, when the substrate 11 of the barrel 10 is Ni, the heat radiating material 12 made of a material having a hardness higher than that of Ni is used. As a result, the rigidity of the barrel 10 is increased, and the settling of the spring portion can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the allowable current value of the probe and prevent a short circuit between adjacent probes.

As described above, in the probe according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the Joule heat generated in the spring portion is transmitted through the heat dissipation coil spring C1 and is quickly dissipated to other than the spring portion. Therefore, the temperature rise of the spring portion is suppressed, and the settling of the spring portion does not occur. Therefore, according to the probe according to the second embodiment, it is possible to control the deflection of the probe to suppress the occurrence of an adjacent short circuit between the probes and suppress the decrease in the allowable current value of the probe. Others are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment, and duplicate description is omitted.

<First modification>
In the probe according to the first modification of the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a part of the heat radiating material 12 embedded in the base 11 of the heat radiating coil spring C1 is used. , Exposed on the surface of the barrel 10. That is, it differs from the probes shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) in that the entire heat radiating material 12 is not surrounded by the substrate 11.

In the probes shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the heat radiating material 12 embedded in the substrate 11 is spirally arranged along the stretching direction of the heat radiating coil spring C1. By exposing the heat radiating material 12 on the surface of the heat radiating coil spring C1, the Joule heat generated in the spring portion can be efficiently radiated to the periphery of the probe.

5 (a) and 5 (b) show an example in which the heat radiating material 12 is continuously arranged. However, a plurality of heat radiating materials 12 may be arranged apart from each other along the stretching direction of the heat radiating coil spring C1.

Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the heat radiating material 12 embedded inside the base 11 and the heat radiating material 12 partially exposed on the surface of the barrel 10 are attached to the base 11. It may be laminated in the film thickness direction. In the example shown in FIG. 6A, each heat radiating material 12 is arranged along the stretching direction of the heat radiating coil spring C1.

According to the probe according to the first modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, the Joule heat generated in the spring portion is generated by exposing a part of the heat radiating material 12 to the surface of the spring portion in the heat radiating coil spring C1. Can efficiently dissipate heat around the probe.

<Second modification>
In the probe according to the second modification of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the heat radiating material 12 is arranged so as to be entirely exposed on the surface of the substrate 11. That is, it differs from the first modification in that the heat radiating material 12 does not have a portion embedded in the substrate 11.

7 (a) and 7 (b) show an example in which the heat radiating material 12 is arranged only on the outer surface of the heat radiating coil spring C1 facing the outside. However, the heat radiating material 12 may also be arranged on the side surface of the heat radiating coil spring C1 so as to surround the periphery of the substrate 11.

According to the probe according to the second modification of the second embodiment, by arranging the heat radiating material 12 on the surface of the substrate 11, the Joule heat generated in the spring portion can be quickly dissipated to the periphery of the probe. can. Therefore, the spring portion does not settle, and the decrease in the allowable current value of the probe can be suppressed.

<Third modification example>
In the probe according to the third modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the heat radiating material 12 is entirely exposed on the surface of the substrate 11. It has an arranged surface region 121 and an embedded region 122 that is partially in contact with the surface region 121 and embedded in the substrate 11. That is, the heat radiating material 12 embedded in the substrate 11 and the heat radiating material 12 arranged on the surface of the barrel 10 are integrated.

The surface region 121 and the embedded region 122 of the heat radiating material 12 are arranged so as to be spirally stretched along the stretching direction of the heat radiating coil spring C1. It should be noted that a plurality of embedded regions 122 extending in parallel may be embedded in the substrate 11. For example, in the heat dissipation coil spring C1 shown in FIG. 9, two rows of embedded regions 122 are arranged. Further, the surface region 121 is continuously arranged from the side surface of the heat radiating coil spring C1 to the outer surface so as to surround the periphery of the substrate 11.

According to the probe according to the third modification of the second embodiment, the Joule heat generated inside the spring portion of the barrel 10 can be quickly dissipated to other than the spring portion.

In the above, an example is shown in which the wire diameters of the strands of each coil spring constituting the multiple spiral shape are the same, but the wire diameters of the strands may be different from each other. For example, by making the wire diameter of the heat radiating coil spring C1 wider than that of other coil springs, the heat radiating property is improved. Further, the heat radiating coil spring C1 may be formed of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the material of the other coil springs C2. For example, Au, Ag, Cu, Al and the like are used as the material of the heat radiating coil spring C1, and Ni and the like are used as the material of the other coil spring C2.

(Third embodiment)
In the probe according to the third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, an insulating layer 40 made of an insulating material is arranged on the outermost side of the spring portion of the barrel 10. Therefore, even if adjacent probes come into contact with each other, the probes are electrically insulated by the insulating layer 40, so that a short circuit between the probes can be suppressed. Others are the same as the probe shown in FIG.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11B, the insulating layer 40 is arranged only on the outer surface 101 facing the outside of the spring portion. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) to 12 (b), the insulating layer 40 may be arranged on the outer surface 101 and the side surface 102 of the coil spring. 12 (a) to 12 (b) are examples in which the heat radiating material 12 is embedded in the substrate 11 and the insulating layer 40 is arranged on the heat radiating coil spring C1 and the other coil springs C2.

According to the structure shown in FIG. 11A, the insulating layer 40 can be easily formed on the spring portion. On the other hand, according to the structure shown in FIG. 12A, short-circuiting between probes can be suppressed more reliably.

When the heat radiating material 12 is arranged on the surface of the substrate 11 as in the probe shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the insulating layer 40 is arranged outside the heat radiating material 12. Others are substantially the same as those of the first and second embodiments, and duplicate description is omitted.

(Other embodiments)
Although the invention has been described by embodiment as described above, the statements and drawings that form part of this disclosure should not be understood to limit the invention. This disclosure will reveal to those skilled in the art various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques.

For example, although the case where the barrel 10 has a double spiral spring portion has been described above, the spring portion may have a triple spiral shape or more. In that case, in the probe according to the second embodiment, at least one of the coil springs is a heat dissipation coil spring configured to have higher heat dissipation than the other coil springs.

Further, although the example of the probe in which the plunger 20 is attached to both ends of the barrel 10 has been described above, the plunger 20 is attached to only one end of the barrel 10 and the other end of the barrel 10 is a land. The present invention can also be applied to a probe that comes into contact with such as.

As described above, it goes without saying that the present invention includes various embodiments not described here. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the matters specifying the invention relating to the reasonable claims from the above description.

10 ... Barrel 11 ... Base 12 ... Heat dissipation material 20 ... Plunger 30 ... Joint 40 ... Insulation layer C1 ... Heat dissipation coil spring

Claims (12)

A tube-shaped barrel with springs formed by multiple spiral cuts penetrating the sides without crossing each other,
A rod-shaped plunger joined to the barrel with the tip exposed from the open end of the barrel end is provided.
The spring portion, multiple spiral shape der central axis comprises a plurality of wires respectively constituting the same coil spring is, the probe wire diameter of the plurality of strands is characterized Rukoto different from each other. The probe according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the coil springs each of the plurality of strands is a heat-dissipating coil spring having higher heat dissipation than the other coil springs. The probe according to claim 2, wherein the heat-dissipating coil spring uses a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the other materials of the coil spring. The heat dissipation coil spring
With a conductive substrate,
The probe according to claim 3, wherein the probe is made of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the substrate and has a heat radiating material that comes into contact with the substrate. The probe according to claim 4, wherein the heat radiating material is surrounded by the substrate and embedded inside the substrate. The probe according to claim 4, wherein a part of the surface of the heat radiating material embedded in the substrate is exposed on the surface of the barrel by the spring portion. The heat radiating material surrounded by the substrate and embedded inside the substrate and the heat radiating material whose surface is partially exposed on the surface of the barrel are laminated in the film thickness direction of the substrate. The probe according to claim 4, wherein the probe is characterized in that. The probe according to claim 4, wherein the heat radiating material is arranged so as to be entirely exposed on the surface of the substrate. The claim is characterized in that the heat radiating material has a surface region which is entirely exposed and arranged on the surface of the substrate, and an embedded region which is partially in contact with the surface region and embedded in the substrate. 4. The probe according to 4. The probe according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the heat radiating material has conductivity. The probe according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein an insulating layer made of an insulating material is arranged on the outermost side of the spring portion. The probe according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the coil springs each of the plurality of strands is made of a material different from that of the other coil springs.

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