JPH11337574A - Manufacture of probe unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a probe unit used for inspection of a liquid crystal panel, etc., in which a contact portion having a spring property is formed by bending a conductor pattern on the intermediate way disposed in parallel at a fine pitch. SOLUTION: In the manufacturing method, a conductor pattern 2 is formed in parallel every determined pitch on a flexible film 1 by a plating growth, an intermediate portion of the flexible film 1 is cut off by a laser, the conductor pattern 2 lied on the space is bent by a press or a bender, to form a contact portion 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a probe unit used for inspection of a liquid crystal panel or the like, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a probe unit having leads arranged in parallel at a fine pitch and having elasticity. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electrode layer arranged in parallel with an edge of a glass plate forming a liquid crystal panel tends to have a fine pitch, and in order to cope with this, a probe unit in which leads are arranged at a fine pitch is developed. Is desired.

[0003] As this type of probe unit, a needle type probe having a bent needle tip or a probe unit using a spring probe has been conventionally used.

Recently, as shown in FIG. 9, a probe unit in which conductor patterns b, b,... Are formed on a flexible film a and bumps (projections) are placed on contact portions, and FIG. As shown, there is a probe unit which forms conductor patterns b, b,... On a flexible film a, peels off the film at the contact portion thereof, and uses the conductor pattern b itself as a probe needle.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the dollar type, the overdrive in the contact direction (Z direction) is as small as 100 microns, and the undulation of the liquid crystal panel cannot be absorbed, so that a contact failure is likely to occur.
Further, the spring probe cannot cope with a narrow pitch due to its structure, and the needle tip cannot be seen, so that it takes time to change the model and the production cost and the yield are significantly affected. Furthermore, these probe units are very expensive products because needles are implanted one by one.

On the other hand, in the case of a probe unit in which a conductor pattern is formed on the above-mentioned flexible film or bumps are formed, each bump has no cushioning property, and the electrical performance varies. Since the pattern moves up and down, there is a problem that micro cracks occur in the pattern and the life is short. Further, in the probe unit in which the pattern is exposed, there is a problem that the needle pressure at the time of contact is weak and cannot penetrate the oxide film of the inspection object, or the needle position is easily shifted in the lateral direction.

Therefore, in the present invention, in order to solve each of the above-mentioned problems, a fine pitch accuracy by a conductor pattern is ensured, and a probe having excellent cushioning property and strength is provided.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a unit.

[0008]

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following method. That is, the first method is based on
A conductor pattern arranged in parallel at a specified pitch on a substrate is formed by plating growth, etching, or a large number of leads, and the middle portion of the flexible film is left with only the conductor pattern left. A method for producing a probe unit which is cut out and bent by a press or the like to form a contact portion.

A second method is to form conductor patterns arranged in parallel at a specified pitch by etching, and to form a contact portion by bending a middle portion of the conductor pattern by pressing or the like. Further, a method of manufacturing a probe unit for cutting both ends of the conductor pattern after bonding and fixing a base plate to both ends of the conductor pattern.

[0010] A third method is to form conductor patterns arranged in parallel at a specified pitch by etching, and to spread the conductor patterns on a base plate provided at regular intervals.
Alternatively, a probe unit in which a large number of leads are provided on a base plate provided at a constant interval at a specified pitch, and the provided conductor pattern is bent by a press or the like to form a contact portion. Manufacturing method.

In the probe unit according to each of the above methods, the conductor pattern is fixed at both ends, and an intermediate portion thereof is bent into a V-shape or a U-shape to form a contact portion. Thereby, individual spring properties can be obtained in the contact portion.

The base plate is formed of an insulating material. When a conductor pattern is formed by plating growth, a flexible film is used as the base plate, and a conductor formed by etching and lead is used. For the pattern, a material most suitable for the situation, such as using a glass, an acrylic plate or a ceramic plate, is used.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
This will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiment.

Embodiment 1 As shown in FIG. 1, parallel conductor patterns 2 are formed on a flexible film 1 at a specified pitch by plating growth.

Then, only a portion of the flexible film 1 which is required in the middle of the flexible film 1 is cut out with a laser. Therefore, the conductor pattern 2 is provided between the remaining flexible films 1 and 1 in the space.

Next, the upper and lower ends of the flexible film 1 are fixed, and the conductor pattern 2 which is provided over the space is pressed or pened with a V-shape as shown in FIGS. Alternatively, the contact portion 3 is formed by bending the contact portion 3 in a U-shape.

Embodiment 2 As shown in FIG. 4, a conductor pattern 2 formed in parallel at each pitch designated by etching is pressed from the middle of the conductor pattern 2 by a press or a pen or the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the contact portion 3 is formed by bending all at once into a V shape or a U shape.

At the both ends of the conductor pattern 2,
The substrates 4 and 4 are bonded and fixed.
Cut both ends of the.

Embodiment 3 As shown in FIG. 5, conductor patterns 2 formed in parallel at a specified pitch by etching are adhered and fixed on a base plate 4, and then the conductor patterns are formed. And cut both ends of the housing.

As shown in FIG. 6, a large number of leads 5, 5,... Are bonded and fixed in parallel at a specified pitch on a base plate 4 to form a conductor pattern 2. I do.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, only a part of the base plate 4 which is required in the middle of the conductor pattern 2 formed on the base plate 4 is cut out by a laser. . Then, the upper and lower ends of the base plate 4 are fixed, and the conductor pattern 2 extended over the space is pressed or pressed by a pen or the like, as shown in FIGS. The contact portion 3 is formed by bending the contact portion 3 at a time.

Embodiment 4 As shown in FIG. 8, a conductor pattern 2 formed by etching or lead is provided on base plates 4 provided at regular intervals, and conductors in the space are provided. Press pattern 2
Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the contact portion 3 is formed by bending all together into a V-shape or a U-shape with a pen or the like.

[0023]

As described above, since the contact portions formed by the method of the present invention have individual spring properties, they can pierce the oxide film of the electrode on the inspection side and make reliable contact. Further, since both sides of the conductor pattern are fixed, there is no displacement of the contact portion in the lateral direction, so that the spring property can be further maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a conductor pattern according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a contact portion formed by bending according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a contact portion having another shape formed by bending according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a process of manufacturing a probe unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conductor pattern formed by etching in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a conductor pattern formed by a lead bonding process in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a process of manufacturing a probe unit in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a process of manufacturing a probe unit according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an example of a conventional probe unit.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing another example of a conventional probe unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible film 2 Conductor pattern 3 Contact part 4 Base plate 5 Lead

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A conductor pattern arranged in parallel at a specified pitch on a base plate is formed by plating growth, and a middle part of the flexible film is cut out while leaving only the conductor pattern. A method for manufacturing a probe unit, characterized in that the conductor pattern is bent by a press or the like to form a contact portion. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conductor pattern on the base plate is formed by etching. 3. The conductor pattern on the base plate is formed by fixing a large number of leads in parallel at a specified pitch on the base plate. The method of manufacturing the probe unit of the above. 4. A conductor pattern formed in parallel at a specified pitch by etching, and a contact portion is formed by bending a middle part of the conductor pattern by pressing or the like to form a contact portion. A method for producing a probe unit, comprising cutting and bonding both ends of the above-mentioned conductor pattern after bonding and fixing a base plate to both end sides of the probe. 5. A conductor pattern formed in parallel at a specified pitch by etching, and the conductor pattern is provided on a base plate having a predetermined interval, and the conductor pattern is provided. A method for manufacturing a probe unit, comprising bending a conductor pattern by a press or the like to form a contact portion. 6. A conductor pattern is formed by arranging a large number of leads in parallel at a specified pitch on a base plate having a predetermined interval, and forming the conductor pattern. A method for manufacturing a probe unit, comprising forming a contact portion by bending by a press or the like.