KR100876077B1 - Micro probe structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The micro probe structure includes a body portion, a base end, a contact end and a tip. The body portion has a horizontal blade shape. The base end extends downwardly so that a curved portion is formed from one end of the body portion. The contact end extends from the other end of the body portion. The tip extends upwardly from the contact end.

Description

Micro probe structure

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to probe structures for inspecting electrical properties of electronic components such as semiconductor devices and flat panel display devices.

In the prior art, a tungsten needle (W-needle) is tapered and epoxy molded (1) cantilever epoxy type and about 1 to 2 mils of gold wire with a wire bonder. (2) Micro spring type and the like that are made by electroplating and attaching contact terminals to their ends. Recently, as shown in FIG. 5, anisotropic etching is performed on a polysilicon using a mask, a metal layer is formed on the etching portion, and an electroplating is performed to form predetermined probes, and the ceramics are attached to a ceramic substrate. (3) A micro cantilever type lithographic contact spring is mentioned.

Problems in the above-described prior art, in the case of (1) is to be fixed by bending a needle of 1.5 ~ 2.5inch at a specific angle and assembled horizontally with epoxy resin, which is difficult to multi-test due to thermal shrinkage and expansion of the resin In the case of a specific device, the tip lengths are different, and thus, they are unstable during the probing process, and the reproducibility is insufficient because most processes are manual. In addition, it is difficult or impossible to replace the probe (Repair).

In the case of (2), the lead is formed by wire bonder, but due to the limitation of capillary having an outer diameter of 4 to 8 mils, in the case of fine pitch array, interference occurs in adjacent leads. . In addition, repair is impossible and the manufacturing cost is high due to the complicated manufacturing process.

In case of (3), there is a Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1999-029048 (1999.04.15) 'probe card and probe card manufacturing method' and the contents are as follows. The spring contact structures were made by depositing at least one layer of metal material into a defined opening on the sacrificial substrate and the opening can be in one or more layers deposited on the surface of the substrate or on the surface of the sacrificial substrate. Each spring contact element had a base end portion, a contact end portion and a central body portion with the contact end portion offset in the z axis than the central body portion and the base end portion in the opposite direction along the z axis from the central body portion. In this way, a plurality of spring contact elements were manufactured in a defined spatial relationship with each other on the sacrificial substrate and the spring contact elements were mounted to corresponding terminals on an electronic component such as a space converter or a semiconductor device by a base end.

The manufacturing method of the microelectronic contact structure of this type will be briefly described as follows. That is, by forming an indent such as a groove on the sacrificial substrate by etching or the like and depositing a metal material (by plating or the like) in the indent, the resulting spring contact structure is then made into another substrate such as a passive substrate such as a semiconductor device or an active substrate. After mounting on the substrate, the sacrificial substrate is removed. The sacrificial substrate from which the spring contact structure can be fabricated is a silicon wafer as an example, in which case the process is used to plate the final spring contact structure using a direction selective etching of silicon used in the micromachining process. To produce castings.

Since the contact structure can only be manufactured in accordance with the pad shape of the electronic component to be probed, there is a limitation in the number of production, and in order to increase the life of the probe structure, an effort to disperse the stress by applying dynamic curves is required. The method cannot be easily implemented, and as a result, commercialization is not progressing, and there are disadvantages in that a relatively large number of steps are required.

Another conventional technique is Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-1999-037422 (1999.05.25) 'Probe card and probe card manufacturing method', the contents of which is appropriate contact with a part of the projection on one main surface of the substrate A terminal is formed and one end of a lead is mounted through a support portion provided between the substrate and the probe, which lead is provided along the main surface of the substrate in a state of being peeled from the main surface. The probe structure is also limited to the number of production because the contact structure has to be manufactured according to the pad shape of the electronic component to be probed, and in order to increase the life of the probe structure, efforts to disperse the stress by applying curves or the like mechanically It is a situation that can not be easily implemented by the conventional manufacturing method bar has a disadvantage that requires a relatively large number of steps manufacturing process.

Another prior art is US Pat. No. 6,268,015B1 (December 2, 1998) 'Methods and Methods of Making Lithographic Contact Springs' in probe structures made by interconnect formation methods comprising spring contact elements by lithography. It is about. In an embodiment, the present invention relates to a method comprising supplying a masking material covering a first side of a substrate, wherein the masking material has an opening defined on the first side of the spring structure and deposits a structure (eg, a dielectric) in the opening. Overload the openings of the structure, remove one side of the structure, and remove the first side of the masking material.

In this embodiment, one side of the first side of the spring structure is at least not constrained to the masking material. In one aspect of the invention, the method includes planarizing the structure and masking material layer to remove one side of the structure. In another aspect, the constructed spring structure includes one support and body contact structure. The support is attached to a patterned terminal on one side of the probe card and connected to the other end by a conductive circuit, lithography as disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,255,126B1 (1998.12.2) 'Lithographic contact elements'. Miniaturized cantilever probe implemented by plating), and multi-test more than Dual is not easy when wafer pad array is all-round array like QFP device which is not linear type. Even in the case of spacing arrangements, the correspondence is not easy. In particular, when a photoresist of more than multiple layers (4 layers) is applied, when the photoresist is removed, the adhision of the metal layer between the metal layers or between the main surface and the probe support may be weakened or unstable. The smaller the size, the less adequate scratch amount may be in the wafer pad during inspection, the insufficient contact force of the probe contact point may cause a problem of energization, and the stress on the lead support 50 of the multi-layer structure against the physical load may be the most significant. Many occur and can easily be shorted.

In the case of lithographic contact springs, the contact terminals are pyramidal or long pyramids. In detail, photoresist of more than three layers (more than three layers) is used to form the probe structure from the ceramic periphery. Layers must be made and each layer must be metal plated to make the face flat. At this time, when grinding or sanding the metal layer in the presence of photoresist, it is difficult to precisely adjust the thickness of the body between each layer, so the thickness of the body of the probe structure varies slightly depending on the layer. (probing contact force) is different and after a long time the physical properties of each probe will be different.

In addition, in the case of replacement and repair problems, it is possible to form a probe directly on an electrode or a support of a ceramic main surface through repeated lithography and plating processes, or to form a probe on bare silicon to bond the electrode to a support or a support on a major surface. Damaged probe structures due to defects or human errors can be replaced by chemical etching (usually KOH etching) or by removing the metal electrode layer laid on the bottom layer of bare silicon. Repair becomes virtually difficult.

Fig. 11 (a-d) shows a simple illustration of an example of a probe card with a probe structure manufactured according to the prior art.

Reference numerals 110, 120, 130, and 140 denote the main body of the probe card, and numerals 111, 121, 131, and 141 denote the probe structures.

Fig. 12 (e-g) shows a simple illustration of an example of a probe card with a probe structure manufactured according to the prior art.

Numerals 150, 160 and 170 denote the main body of the probe card and numerals 151, 161 and 171 denote the probe structure.

To summarize the problems to be solved in the prior art,

First, as a probe standard disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 97-295361 (October 28, 1997) 'Probe Card and Probe Card Manufacturing Method', a test probe for an LSI device or another IC in which electrodes are arranged in a matrix array is manufactured. It is difficult to do the same or it is difficult to continuously have the same contact contact force for the reasons mentioned in the above, there is a need for a variety of micro probe structures of various types suitable for the pad spacing of the micro-spaced, double-row pad array.

Secondly, even if the contact end is vertically bladed, even if the electrode or the connecting contact of the electronic device has a certain deformation or displacement in the vertical direction, it has an appropriate degree of elasticity so that reliable contact is made with each other. This requires horizontal blades on the body.

Third, by developing a mask in the lithography process so that the contact contact force, the elastic force and the reaction force of the same probe structure are generated, the standard of the probe structure is the same, and the life of the probe card is extended by implementing the probe structure of the same standard.

Fourth, in the replacement problem of probe replacement that may occur due to defects or human errors, local replacement repair is performed because the manufacturing processes are one-step processes per unit process in the prior arts. However, the use of a probe temporary fixing die made by etching the insert in silicon creates a challenge to remove the damaged probe in the insert and insert a new probe to allow local repair in the form of fusion welding.

The micro probe structure according to one aspect of the present invention includes a body portion, a base end, a contact end, and a tip. The body portion has a blade shape arranged horizontally. The base end extends downwardly so that a curved portion is formed from one end of the body portion. The contact end extends from the other end of the body portion. The tip extends upwardly from the contact end.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the body portion may have a cross-sectional area that changes in the longitudinal direction of the body portion. The cross-sectional area of the body portion may gradually decrease from the base end along the direction of the contact end. In addition, the body portion may have a width wider than the width of the contact end. The body portion may have tapered upper and lower surfaces.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the tip portion may have a tip of a truncated shape.

The micro probe structure according to another aspect of the present invention includes a body portion, a base end, a contact end and a tip. The base end extends downwardly so that a curved portion is formed from one end of the body portion. The contact end extends from the other end of the body portion, and has a relatively narrow width and thicker thickness than the body portion. The tip extends vertically upward from the contact end and has a truncated tip.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the body portion may have a cross-sectional area that changes in the longitudinal direction of the body portion. The cross-sectional area of the body portion may gradually decrease from the base end along the direction of the contact end. The body portion may have a tapered shape along the contact end direction from the base end. The body portion may have tapered upper and lower surfaces.

The micro probe structure according to another aspect of the present invention includes a body portion, a base end, a contact end and a tip. The body portion is disposed along the horizontal direction, has a cross section having a height greater than the width, and has a cross-sectional area that varies along the length direction. The base end extends downward from one end of the body portion. The contact end extends from the other end of the body portion and has a cross section smaller in height than the width. The tip extends upwardly from the contact end.

The micro probe structure according to another aspect of the present invention includes a body portion, a base end, a contact end and a tip. The body portion has a horizontal plate shape. The base end extends downward to form a curved portion from one end of the body portion. The contact end extends from the other end of the body portion. The tip extends upwardly from the contact end. The contact end and the tip have a vertical blade shape as a whole.

Probe structure manufactured by conventional lithography has an advantage of being automated when mounted on a probe card, but is there a limit to the number of production because the probe structure can only be manufactured according to the pad shape of the electronic component to be probed. Since the probe structure of the present invention is individualized and assembled on the probe card, it is possible to place as many probe structures as possible in the sacrificial substrate so that a large quantity can be manufactured. The effort to disperse the stress is required, which cannot be easily implemented by the conventional manufacturing method. As a result, commercialization is not progressed, but the present probe structure has the advantage that the application of the curved portion for stress dispersion is infinitely free. The manufacturing method can also omit a considerable process out of many of the steps required to manufacture a conventional probe, thereby enabling significant cost reduction. In addition, local repair of damaged probe structures is possible, resulting in cost savings.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a chip stack package and a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar elements. In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions of the structures are shown in an enlarged scale than actual for clarity of the invention.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

1 is a perspective view of an ultra-small probe structure 04 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The overall figure shows a terminal 03 in which the ultra-small probe structure 04 of the present invention is patterned on the base surface 02a of the probe card 02. FIG. It shows the state joined to). The micro probe structure is composed of a base end portion 04a, a contact end portion 04c, and a body portion 04b connecting both thereof, and the contact end portion is formed in the form of a vertical blade 04f to exclude interference with adjacent probes. It was.

Specifically, the micro probe structure 04 includes a body portion 04b extending along a horizontal direction, a base end portion 04a extending downwardly from one end of the body portion 04b, and the body portion 04b. And a tip end portion 04g extending from the other end portion thereof, and a tip portion 04g extending vertically upward from the contact end portion 04c. In addition, the width of the body portion (04b) is wider than the width of the contact end portion (04c). In addition, the body portion 04b has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is wider than its height. In addition, in order to have elastic force and restoring force which must be naturally provided as a probe when the pressure 05 acts on the tip portion 04g of the contact end portion 04c, the body portion 04b has a horizontal blade shape 04e. On the other hand, the contact end portion 04c and the tip portion 04g have a blade shape arranged vertically. In addition, the body portion 04b may have cross-sectional areas that vary along the length of the body portion 04b. Specifically, the cross-sectional area of the body portion 04b can be reduced from the base end portion 04c toward the contact end portion 04c. In addition, the body portion 04b may have tapered upper and lower surfaces.

The base end portion 04a has a joint portion 04d projecting downward in order to prevent contact interference of the overdrive OD when the pressure 05 acts. The blade shapes may also be rectangular types. Such a probe structure can be easily applied to probe inspection of four-sided array pads such as pads of finely spaced arrays and QFD devices. Technical matters such as dimensional change during overdrive are well known and will not be described in detail.

2 is a perspective view of the micro probe structure 14 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a probe structure 14 including a body portion, a base end portion 14a, a contact end portion 14c, and a tip portion 14d is provided with a substrate 12. The state joined to the terminal 13 patterned by the base surface 12a of (). As a main feature, the embodiment of FIG. 1 is a probe structure corresponding to the case where the horizontal length between the base end portion 14a and the contact end portion 14c is relatively long, whereas the present embodiment corresponds to a short length and has an inherent elastic force. Represents a micro probe structure having a 'U' shaped body portion that can exert the restoring force. Specifically, the other end portion and the contact end portion 14c of the body portion are located at both sides of the base end portion 14a. Therefore, the vertical axis of the contact end 14c and the vertical axis of the base end 14a are positioned to be offset from each other. Further, the other end of the body portion and the contact end portion 14c are connected to each other by a substantially U-shaped curved portion 14b. That is, it may be said that the shape is somewhat complicated, but when the pressure 15 acts, superior elastic force and restoring force can be exhibited.

3 is a front view of the micro probe structure 22 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows the state 21 in which the micro probe structure 22 is bonded to the probe card. The micro probe structure 22 is composed of a base end portion 22a, a contact end portion 22c, a body portion 22b, and a tip portion 22f, and, when subdivided, connects the base end portion 22a and the body portion 22b. 22d), a connecting portion 22e for connecting the body portion 22b and the contact end portion 22c is added. The connection part 22d connecting the base end part 22a and the body part 22b is provided with a curved portion 24 in the form of a fillet for stress dispersion, and its main purpose will be product longevity. In addition, the area where the plane meets other planes of the probe structure can be improved through physical treatment.

In addition, the tip portion 22f has a 'V' shape in which the tip is narrowed, and the tip of the tip portion 22f is preferably truncated to obtain a fine flat surface 22g.

Figure 4 shows the stress distribution of the micro probe structure according to an embodiment of the present invention and it can be seen that the stress is distributed more in the center of the body than the 'connection portion' of the generally weak base end and the body portion, which is shown through the yellow This figure is an example analysis, and it is easy for a person skilled in the art to design a good stress throughout the structure.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the micro probe structure 31 is bonded to a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention, and has a fillet-shaped curved portion 32 provided at a connection portion connecting the base end and the body part. A curved portion 33 is also provided at the connection portion connecting the end portion and the body portion to achieve long life through stress dispersion. Such a curved portion can be easily realized through the manufacturing process of the embodiment of the present invention, and in addition, any curved portion can be easily manufactured in the front direction. It is recommended that the horizontal distance between the center of the base end and the tip of the contact end be longer than '0' and that there is a sufficient distance for proper scratching during the probe. The shape of the tip portion is the same as in the embodiment of FIG.

6 shows a front view of the micro probe structure 41 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the junction 42a of the base end portion 42 shows a flat state without a protrusion unlike the above embodiment, which bumps the substrate base. It can be applied when is provided.

7 shows a front view of the micro probe structure 51 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the junction 52a of the base end 52 shows a flat state without a protrusion unlike the above embodiment, which bumps the substrate base. It can be applied when is provided.

FIG. 8 shows an enlarged side view of the probe structure 61 of FIG. 6 and the body bottom 67 to reduce distortion 66 deformation of the body portion 62 when the pressure 65 acts on the contact end 63. It shows that the taper part 64 was provided in this.

9A to 9C show a partial front enlarged view of the probe structure 61 of FIG. 6, which further includes a reinforcement formed between the body portion and the contact end.

 As a specific example of the reinforcement part, FIG. 9A shows a double-sided rectangular shape or a blade shape in the shape of a staircase 74 in the connection portion 75 of the body portion 73 and the contact end portion 72 of the probe structure 71 to prevent deformation and stress. Dispersion is intended.

FIG. 9B includes a fillet-shaped curved portion 84 double-ended rectangular shape or a blade shape in the connection portion 85 of the body portion 83 and the contact end 82 of the probe structure 81 to prevent deformation and stress distribution. will be.

FIG. 9C is a tapered shape of the entire body or a portion of the body portion 93 and the connection portion 95 of the contact end portion 92 of the probe structure 91 in the form of a rectangular shape or a blade rather than a single rectangular shape or a blade shape. (94) is provided to prevent deformation and to distribute stress.

FIG. 10 shows a partial detailed view of the tip portion 100 of the contact end portion as an embodiment of the present invention, and the fillet portion 102 formed by filleting the four corners of the tip portion 101 of the tip portion is formed, whereby It is to improve.

That is, it is difficult to manufacture a test probe of an LSI device or another IC in which electrodes are arranged in a matrix arrangement, or to have the same connection contact force continuously for the reasons described in the prior art. The micro probe structure of the present invention solves this problem by varying the length between the base end and the contact end and blades the contact end. .

Even when the contact end is vertically bladed, even when the electrode or the connecting contact of the electronic element has a certain deformation or displacement in the vertical direction, reliable contact is made to each of them, thereby solving the problem by horizontally bladed the body.

In the lithography process, the dimensions of the probe structures are the same, and the probe structures of the same size can be implemented to extend the life of the probe structures and at the same time Extended life.

This is because the probe structure manufactured by the conventional technology is likely to cause dispersion due to the characteristics of the manufacturing process in the upper and lower thicknesses of the body portion stressed by the pressurization, but the microstructure of the present invention minimizes the dispersion thereof.

In addition, in the replacement of probes, which may occur due to defects or human errors, in the prior art, since the manufacturing process is one-step process per unit process, local replacement repair Although the probe structure of the present invention uses a probe temporary fixing jig made by etching the insert into silicon, it is possible to perform local repair in the form of removing the damaged probe in the insert and inserting a new probe to fuse the material. will be.

On the other hand, in the above detailed description of the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the claims below but also by the equivalents of the claims.

Probe structure manufactured by conventional lithography has an advantage of being automated when mounted on a probe card, but is there a limit to the number of production because the probe structure can only be manufactured according to the pad shape of the electronic component to be probed. Since the probe structures of the present invention are individualized and assembled on the probe card, as many probe structures as possible can be placed in the sacrificial substrate, so that a large quantity can be manufactured. The effort to disperse stress by applying it is not easily realized by the conventional manufacturing method, and as a result, the commercialization is not progressed, but the present probe structure has the advantage that the application of the curved portion for stress dispersion is infinitely free. The method is also possible to omit a significant step out of many of the steps required to manufacture a conventional probe, thereby enabling significant cost savings. In addition, local repair of damaged probe structures is possible, resulting in cost savings.

1 is a perspective view of a micro probe structure 04 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of a micro probe structure 14 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a front view of the micro probe structure 22 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a stress distribution of the micro probe structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a front view of a state in which the micro probe structure 31 is bonded to a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a front view of the micro probe structure 41 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a front view of the micro probe structure 51 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is an enlarged side view of the probe structure 61 of FIG.

9A-C are partially enlarged front views of the probe structure 61 of FIG. 6.

10 is a partial detailed view of the tip portion 100 of the contact end as an embodiment of the present invention.

11 (a-d) are schematic views of a probe card with a probe structure prepared by the prior art.

12 (e-g) is a schematic diagram of a probe card with a probe structure prepared by the prior art.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

02: substrate 04: micro probe structure

04a: base portion 04b: body portion

04c: contact end 04g: tip end

24: curved portion

Claims (9)

A base end bonded to the substrate; A body portion extending from the base end in a U-shape laid to allow elastic deformation; And A contact end coupled to one end of the body portion, When the base end, the body portion, and the contact end projected on the same plane, the base end is located between the center portion and the contact end of the micro probe structure, characterized in that the. The micro probe structure of claim 1, wherein the body portion has a blade shape or a rectangular cross section. The micro probe structure of claim 1, wherein the contact end has a blade shape or a rectangular cross section. The micro probe structure of claim 1, wherein the base end portion and the body portion are connected by a curved portion. The micro probe structure of claim 1, wherein the body portion and the contact end portion are connected by a curved portion. The micro probe structure of claim 1, wherein the contact end comprises a tip. The micro probe structure according to claim 1, wherein the body portion does not have the same cross-sectional area along the extending direction. delete A base end bonded to the substrate; A body part connected to the base end to be elastically deformable; And It is coupled to one end of the body portion, and comprises a blade-shaped contact end; The base end is formed with an extension extending in the direction of the contact end, And the contact end is located farther from the connection portion of the base end and the body than the extension part of the base end.

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