JPH10104271A - Contact probe and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To connect a contact probe with an electrode in a circuit to be checked stably, connect it easily even if electrodes in the circuit to be checked are arranged densely, make it compact, reduce its manufacturing cost, and facilitate the wiring into an external inspection device. SOLUTION: A plurality of projection parts 6 are arranged and formed in one direction in a rubber part 4 as an elastic base material. Electricity conducting layers 7 are formed through a flexible printed wiring board (FPC) base 8 as an intermediate base material on each projection part 6 of thin rubber part 4, respectively. A contact consisting of this electricity conducting layers 7, the base 8, and the projection part 6 in the rubber part is formed by folding back a fine pitch part of FPC by putting the electricity conducting layers on an outer side, fixing the rubber part on an inner side, laser-machining the electricty conducting layers 7 on a mask, and etching the base and the rubber part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to electrically connecting electrodes of these electronic devices to an external measuring device for testing a liquid crystal display substrate, a high-density printed wiring board, and similar devices. And a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Contact probes for electrically connecting circuits such as a liquid crystal display substrate include a spring probe shown in FIG. 8 and a needle probe shown in FIG. The terminals of such a contact probe are brought into contact with the electrodes of the circuit to electrically connect the electrodes and an external measuring device,
An inspection voltage is applied to the electrode, and an output voltage is measured.

A spring probe 110 shown in FIG. 8 is fixed to a fixed block 111 and has a needle-like terminal 113.
A compression spring 117 is provided in a cylindrical probe main body 115 into which a. Thus, the terminal 113 is elastically urged by the compression spring 117 in a direction in which the terminal 113 advances from the probe main body 115. The number of the terminals 113 and the number of the probe main bodies 115 are provided corresponding to the number and positions of the electrodes 120 of the device under test.

When inspecting a liquid crystal display substrate or the like using the contact probe 110, the position of the electrode 120 and the terminal 113 are aligned, and the fixed block 111 is arranged so that the terminal 113 is pressed against the electrode 120.

A needle type probe 13 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes an elastic needle-like terminal 133 bonded to a rigid substrate (RPC) 131 with an adhesive 135,
3 is arranged so as to extend from the rigid substrate 131 in a direction parallel to the surface thereof.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional probe has the following problems. First, FIG.
The spring probe 110 shown in Fig. 1 requires a certain thickness because the compression spring 117 is provided inside the main body. Therefore, when the probes 110 are arranged on a straight line, the arrangement density is restricted by the thickness of the probes 110. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, when testing a high-density circuit 121, a plurality of probes 110 are required.
Need to be arranged in a zigzag pattern. However, when the plurality of probes 110 are arranged in a zigzag pattern in this manner, the circuit 121 to be inspected needs a large area indicated by L in the figure as an inspection space as shown in FIG. For this reason, when the circuit 121 to be inspected is small, it cannot be inspected. Further, when the probes 110 are arranged in a staggered manner as described above, it is necessary to form a unit that accurately arranges the probes 110 at the staggered positions.
The manufacturing cost of the inspection device increases.

On the other hand, in the needle type probe 130, it is easy to arrange the terminals 133 in a line at a high density, but the terminals 133 are bent into an L-shape or the like in order to have a spring property. For this reason, when the terminal 133 is brought into contact with the circuit to be inspected and pressed, as shown in FIG. 11, the terminal 133 is deformed and the contact position with the circuit is changed. Therefore, when the electrodes of the circuit to be inspected are small, there is a problem that alignment becomes difficult and stable contact cannot be obtained.

Both types of probes have the disadvantage that wiring from the probe to the inspection device is difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and can be stably connected to an electrode of a circuit to be inspected, and a case where the electrodes of the circuit to be inspected are densely arranged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a contact probe which can be easily connected, is small, has a low manufacturing cost, and can be easily wired to an external inspection device, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a contact probe comprising: an elastic base formed by arranging a plurality of protrusions in one direction; A conductive layer formed via an intermediate base material, and a bending line parallel to the arrangement direction of the protrusions, wherein the surface of the conductive layer was bent so as to be outward. It is characterized by the following.

In the first contact probe according to the present invention, the conductive layer and the intermediate substrate are formed by bonding a flexible printed wiring board on an elastic base material and using the conductive layer of the flexible printed wiring board as a mask by laser light. It is preferable that it is formed by carrying out.

According to a second contact probe of the present invention, there is provided an elastic substrate formed by arranging a plurality of convex portions in one direction, and a conductive layer formed on each of the convex portions of the elastic substrate. And a configuration in which the conductive layer is bent such that the surface of the conductive layer is outward at a bending line parallel to the arrangement direction of the protrusions.

In the second contact probe,
It is preferable that the conductive layer is formed by bonding a flexible printed wiring board on an elastic base material and processing the conductive layer of the flexible printed wiring board using a laser beam as a mask.

In the method for manufacturing a contact probe according to the present invention, the flexible printed wiring board is bent with its conductive layer outside, and the flexible printed wiring board and the elastic base are sandwiched between the elastic base on the back side of the base. Joined,
By irradiating the tip of the bent portion with a laser beam and etching the entire base of the flexible printed wiring board and a part of the elastic base material inside the base of the flexible printed wiring board using the conductive layer as a mask, a plurality of projections of the elastic base are formed. A plurality of terminals each having a base and a conductive layer laminated thereon are formed.

In another method of manufacturing a contact probe according to the present invention, a flexible printed wiring board is bent with its conductive layer inside, and the flexible printed wiring board and the elastic base material are sandwiched by the elastic base material on the conductive layer side. And irradiating the tip of the bent portion with a laser beam to etch away the base of the flexible printed wiring board, and etching a part of the elastic base material using the conductive layer as a mask to form a plurality of elastic base materials. A plurality of terminals each having a conductive layer laminated on the projection are formed.

In the present invention, a plurality of projections of the elastic base material are arranged along the bending line, and the conductive layer is formed on each projection with or without the intermediate base material. Have been. For this reason, even if there is a variation in the height of the circuit to be inspected, the elastic projections are deformed independently of the other parts, so that the connection can be stably performed. In addition, such a convex portion and an intermediate base material and a conductive layer or a conductive layer thereon are formed by bonding a flexible printed wiring board on an elastic base material and using the conductive layer of the flexible printed wiring board as a mask to form the entire base. Alternatively, it can be formed by etching a part of the elastic base material with a laser beam.

In the contact probe thus obtained, probe contacts can be arranged at the wiring pitch of the flexible printed wiring board, and the wiring of the flexible printed wiring board can be formed at a very small pitch with a very small pitch by a thin film forming technique. In the present invention, the arrangement pitch of the contacts can be extremely small because they can be formed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the electrodes of the circuit to be inspected have a high density, the electrical contacts can be achieved by contacting the contacts arranged in a line at an extremely small pitch. The space needed for is small enough. Also,
Since the flexible printed wiring board can be manufactured by laser beam etching, the manufacturing cost is low. Furthermore, if a flexible printed wiring board is used, it can be directly led out and connected to an external inspection device. In addition, since the elastic base material and the FPC are processed at the same time, there is no need for alignment such as when they are individually processed and then bonded.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a contact probe according to an embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is a front view, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of (a), and (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of (b). A flexible printed wiring board (hereinafter abbreviated as FPC) 1 has a fine pitch section 2 in which wirings are arranged at a small pitch and a normal section 3 in which wirings are arranged at a relatively large pitch. The direction parallel to the wiring arrangement direction is folded as a bending line. A rubber member 4 as an elastic base material is disposed at the innermost part of the folded portion in contact with the inner surface of the FPC 1, and a support plate 5 is disposed on the rubber member 4 so as to be sandwiched between the FPCs 1. Have been. The rubber member 4 and the support plate 5 are joined to the inner surface of the FPC by an adhesive or the like.

In this embodiment, the rubber member 4
Has a plurality of protrusions 6 arranged at a predetermined pitch in the bending direction, as shown in FIG. Then, a base 8 (intermediate base material) of the FPC 1 is laminated on each projection 6, and a conductive layer 7 of the FPC 1 is laminated on the base 8. This conductive layer 7 becomes a probe terminal.

In the contact probe of this embodiment configured as described above, while supporting the support plate 5 with the folded portion of the FPC 1 downward, the folded portion is pressed onto the circuit to be inspected, and the circuit to be inspected is pressed. Are brought into contact with the respective conductive layers 7 of the contact probe of the present embodiment. Then, each electrode of the circuit to be inspected is connected to an external inspection device via the normal section 3 of the FPC 1. Thereafter, the external inspection device applies an inspection voltage to each electrode of the circuit to be inspected via the FPC 1 and measures an output voltage to perform an electrical test of the circuit.

In this embodiment, the arrangement pitch of the conductive layers 7 as the probe contacts is extremely small because it is the same as the arrangement pitch of the wiring of the fine pitch portion 2 of the FPC, and the electrode pitch of the circuit to be inspected is small. The conductive layer 7 can be connected to the electrodes of the circuit as it is, that is, without pressing the contacts 1 against the circuit to be inspected without arranging them in a staggered manner.

The rubber member 4 as an elastic base material has a shape such that it is cut in a comb shape in the thickness direction, and the protrusions 6 are formed in accordance with the pitch of the circuit to be inspected.
Is formed by the convex portion 6 of the rubber member formed for each conductive layer 7.
The protrusion 6 is supported independently of the other conductive layers, and the protrusion 6 can be elastically deformed independently of the protrusion 6 of the other conductive layer.
For this reason, even if there is a variation in the height of the circuit to be inspected, the protrusion 6 of the rubber member 4 can be elastically deformed and absorbed. For this reason, the conductive layer 7 and the electrodes of the circuit to be inspected can be stably connected.

Further, in the contact probe of the present embodiment, since the contact is formed by using the FPC 1, it is easy to route the contact and easily connected to the external inspection device via the normal part 3 of the FPC 1. can do.

Next, a method of manufacturing the contact probe of the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, first, CCL (copper-clad laminate (Copper
Clad Laminate) 9 is prepared. The CCL 9 is configured by bonding a copper foil 12 to an insulating base material 10 via an adhesive 11.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the copper foil 12 is etched to form wiring by a normal circuit forming process, and the FPC 13 is obtained. In this case, the FPC 13 has a fine pitch portion 2 serving as a contact of a contact of the probe.
And a normal section 3 in which the wiring pitch is widened so as to provide wiring to the inspection device. That is, the fine pitch section 2 is used to minimize the pitch of the probe contacts.
The wiring pitch of the FPC 1 is reduced, and the wiring pitch of the HPC 1 is relatively large in the normal unit 3 so as to be convenient for connection to an inspection device.

Thereafter, the fine pitch portion 2 of the FPC 13
4 is folded back in a direction perpendicular to the wiring, and FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Charge in 4. Then, liquid rubber is poured into the mold 14, the rubber is solidified in the mold 13, and the rubber portion 4 is fixed inside the folded portion of the FPC 13. At the same time, FPC
The folded portion 13 is formed in a shape along the hole shape of the mold 14.

The rubber portion 4 may be adhered by bonding solid rubber to the folded portion of the FPC 13 instead of molding using a mold.

Next, as shown in FIG.
It is sandwiched between the inner surfaces of the PC 13 and fixed by bonding.

After that, as shown in FIG. 5, the folded portion of the FPC 13 is irradiated with laser light to perform laser processing. FIG.
In the process shown in FIG. 6, the FPC 13 to which the rubber is attached has a structure shown in FIG. That is, the FPC base 10 is laminated on the rubber portion 4 and the wiring conductive layer 7 formed by etching the copper foil 12 in the step shown in FIG.
Are formed on the base 10. When such a structure is irradiated with excimer laser light, as shown in FIG.
The conductive layer 7 of the PC serves as a mask, and the base 10 in a portion that is not covered by the mask is removed by etching over the entire thickness, and a part of the rubber portion 4 in the lower layer in the thickness direction is removed by etching. Thereafter, if necessary, the surface of the conductive layer 7 is plated with abrasion resistance or corrosion resistance. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 1C, a contact probe having a structure in which the conductive layer 7 formed on each convex portion 6 becomes a contact is manufactured.

According to the method of the present embodiment, the fine pitch portion of the FPC is folded back, a rubber portion is fixed as an elastic base material inside the fine pitch portion, and laser processing is performed using the conductive layer of the FPC as a mask, whereby the contact (conductive layer) is formed. Since 7) is formed, a contact probe in which contacts are arranged at a high density can be easily manufactured, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The present invention is, of course, not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the FPC is folded with the conductive layer side facing outward, and a rubber portion is attached inside the folded portion. However, when the FPC is folded back with its conductive layer inside, a rubber portion is attached inside the folded portion so as to be in contact with the conductive layer, and laser processing is performed on the tip of the folded portion. Removed over. Next, the rubber portion is slightly etched in the thickness direction thereof by laser processing, using the conductive layer of the FPC that has appeared due to the removal of the base as a mask. As a result, a convex portion is formed on the surface of the rubber portion, and a probe having a contact in which a conductive layer is laminated on the convex portion is manufactured. The probe manufactured as described above has the same effect as the embodiment shown in FIG.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since a plurality of protrusions are formed on the surface of an elastic base material such as a rubber portion, and a plurality of contacts are formed by forming a conductive layer on each protrusion, variations in the height of the circuit to be inspected may occur. Even if there is, the convex portion of the elastic base material is deformed independently of the other contacts, so that the variation in the height can be absorbed and the connection can be stably performed.

Further, by manufacturing a contact probe using a flexible printed wiring board, an FPC
By performing laser processing using the conductive layer constituting the wiring of the mask as a mask, a high-density contact with a fine pitch can be obtained, and even if the electrode pitch of the circuit to be inspected is fine, the electrode and the contact can be formed in a small space. Can be connected. Further, by using the FPC, it is easy to route the wiring to the external inspection device, and the connection to the external inspection device is easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a contact probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a front view thereof, and FIG.
FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along line B, and FIG.

FIG. 2 is a view showing one step of the manufacturing method of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the next step.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the next step.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the next step.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state before laser processing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state after laser processing.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a conventional contact probe (spring probe).

FIG. 9 is a view showing a conventional contact probe (needle type probe).

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a defect of a spring probe.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a drawback of the needle type probe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 13: FPC 2: Fine pitch section 3: Normal section 4: Rubber section 5: Support plate 6: Convex section 7: Conductive layer 8: Base 9: CCL 10: Base 11: Adhesive 12: Copper foil

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An elastic substrate formed by arranging a plurality of convex portions in one direction, and a conductive layer formed on each of the convex portions of the elastic substrate via an intermediate substrate. A contact probe, wherein the contact layer is bent such that the surface of the conductive layer is outward at a bending line parallel to the arrangement direction of the protrusions. 2. The conductive layer and the intermediate substrate are formed by bonding a flexible printed wiring board on an elastic base material and processing with a laser beam using the conductive layer of the flexible printed wiring board as a mask. The contact probe according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An elastic substrate having a plurality of convex portions arranged in one direction and a conductive layer formed on each of the convex portions of the elastic substrate. The contact probe is configured to be bent so that the surface of the conductive layer is outward at a bending line parallel to the arrangement direction. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conductive layer is formed by bonding a flexible printed wiring board on an elastic substrate and processing the conductive layer of the flexible printed wiring board with a laser beam using the mask as a mask. The contact probe according to claim 1. 5. A flexible printed wiring board is bent with its conductive layer on the outside, and the flexible printed wiring board and the elastic base are joined to each other with an elastic base material sandwiched between bases on the back surface thereof. Irradiate laser light to etch the entire conductive base and a part of the elastic base material inside the base of the flexible printed wiring board with the mask as a mask,
A method for manufacturing a contact probe, comprising forming a plurality of terminals each having a base and a conductive layer laminated on a plurality of protrusions of an elastic base material. 6. A flexible printed wiring board is bent with its conductive layer inside, and the flexible printed wiring board and the elastic base are joined to each other with an elastic base material sandwiched between the conductive layers. While irradiating light to etch away the base of the flexible printed wiring board, a part of the elastic base was etched using the conductive layer as a mask, and the conductive layers were respectively laminated on the plurality of convex portions of the elastic base. A method for manufacturing a contact probe, comprising forming a plurality of terminals.