KR100908810B1 - Method for manufacturing micro tips and needles and vertical probes for probe cards - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, since the micro tip of the tip portion is vertically coupled to the interposer through a bellows type needle having an elastic structure, the needle is compressed / relaxed in the vertical direction during wafer inspection. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a micro tip and a needle capable of minimizing damage to an electrode pad of a semiconductor device and performing fine pitch inspection, and a vertical probe for a probe card.

The vertical probe of the present invention has a micro tip disposed at the front end thereof to make contact with the electrode pad of the semiconductor device, and has a bellows-type structure such that the front end is connected to the rear end of the micro tip and has a vertical elastic force, and the rear end is interleaved. It characterized in that it comprises a needle coupled to the vertical to the forger.

Description

Method for Fabricating Micro Tip and Needle, and Vertical Probe for Probe Card Obtained by the above Method

1A to 1D are a perspective view, a plan view, a front view, and a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X 'of FIG. 1C, respectively, showing a vertical probe according to the present invention;

2A to 2D are a perspective view, a plan view, a sectional view taken along the line Y-Y 'of FIG. 2B, and a side view of FIG. 2C, constructed using the vertical probe shown in FIG. 1A;

3A to 3E are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a needle according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

4A and 4B are plan views showing the photoresist etch mask patterns for the step 3A, respectively, and enlarged photographs showing the fabricated needle Si molds;

5A to 5E are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a needle according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

6A to 6F are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a needle according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

7A to 7F are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a needle stamp according to the present invention, respectively.

8A to 8F are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing a needle according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively;

9A to 9D are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing a micro tip according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention, respectively;

10A and 10B are enlarged photographs showing a tip Si mold manufactured and a stamp used for fabricating a micro tip, respectively;

11A to 11G are cross-sectional views illustrating a process of manufacturing a micro tip according to a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively;

12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of assembling the micro tip and the needle to the interposer;

13A and 13B are plan views showing vertical probes each having a needle of a modified shape;

* Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings *

1: probe assembly 3: assembly guide

3a: through hole 10,10a-10d: probe

11: micro tip 11a: contact protrusion

11b: body 12a-12d: protrusion

13: needle 13a-13i: wrinkles

14a, 14b: space portion 15: coupling portion

20: interposer 21: body

23: horizontal connection wiring 25: vertical connection wiring

27: through hole 30: wafer

31-31b, 41: substrate 32, 42: etching mask

33,43 groove 33a: needle Si mold

34: photoresist layer 34a: needle PR mold

34b: needle mold 35: needle stamp

36,37a, 38a: mold pattern 37,38: polymer layer

41a: Tip Si mold 111-113, 121-123: conductive layer

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a micro tip and a needle and a vertical probe for a probe card obtained according to the present invention. In particular, the micro tip of the tip has an interposer through a bellows type needle having an elastic structure. Since it is coupled vertically to the interposer, the compression / relaxation of the needle is performed in the vertical direction during wafer inspection, thereby minimizing damage to the electrode pad of the semiconductor device, and manufacturing micro tips and needles capable of fine pitch inspection. A method and a vertical probe for a probe card thus obtained.

In general, in the process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a plurality of semiconductor devices are formed on the semiconductor wafer by using a precision photographic transfer technique, etc., and the semi-finished semiconductor device is inspected by electrical characteristics in the state of the semiconductor wafer. And defective items are determined.

In the state of such a semiconductor wafer, a probe card is required for the electrical characteristic inspection of each semiconductor device, and a semiconductor device judged as a good result by a test using the probe card is manufactured as a finished product by a post-process such as packaging.

In the electrical property inspection of the semiconductor wafer, the electrical characteristics at that time are usually measured by contacting the needle of the probe card with the electrode pad of the semiconductor wafer, and energizing a specific current through the needle.

Meanwhile, as semiconductor devices are gradually reduced to finer sizes, the degree of integration of circuits is getting higher, so that electrode pads of semiconductor devices in which the needles of the probe cards are in contact with each other are becoming more fine.

The probe card used for the semiconductor wafer inspection has a large number of probes that are in contact with the electrode pad (bonding pad) of the wafer, and an interface that serves as an interface for connecting each probe to the main PCB while supporting the plurality of probes. It includes the main PCB installed in the inspection unit and inspection equipment, and the characteristics of the entire probe card are determined by the structure and performance of each probe disposed at the tip.

The probe used in the probe card is a cantilever type having an inclined needle structure bent so that the tip end is perpendicular to the inspection surface, and a plurality of probes are integrated by applying a semiconductor process to be applied to an ultrafine circuit line width. Probes including the formed MEMS type (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems type) and the micro tip may be classified into a vertical type disposed vertically on the bonding pad and making contact.

First, the cantilever type has a small investment in equipment, a short time from order to delivery, and easy repair in case of failure, while scratches and damage occur during inspection, and a plurality of probes Due to the non-uniform contact force due to the angle difference, the difficulty of fine pitch inspection and the low inspection speed, the efficiency is low, the contact impact of the probe is large, the individual pin repair is difficult, the cleaning cycle of the probe is short, and the entry barrier is low. There is a serious disadvantage of competition.

The MEMS type has the advantages of high inspection efficiency, high contact efficiency, small contact impact, and high technology, and high competition barriers. It takes a long time to delivery, it is difficult to repair in the event of a failure and difficult to clean.

The vertical type has less scratches and damages during inspection, is not limited by pin placement, and can be repaired easily by individual pin repair, and the production of probe assemblies according to the number of pins can be made from order to delivery. While the time required is short and fine pitch inspection is possible, facility investment has a big disadvantage.

On the other hand, Patent No. 353788 has a plurality of needles in which the upper end is in contact with the circuit pattern formed on the bottom surface of the interface substrate, the lower end of the inclined inclined portion is bent so that the end of the bent end is inclined downwardly at an inclination angle close to vertical in one direction again. A probe card having a is disclosed.

Further, Patent No. 500766 also includes a probe assembly for supporting a plurality of probes electrically coupled to an electrical test system such that contact tips of a plurality of probes each having a curved portion are aligned with each of a plurality of corresponding contact pads of an integrated circuit. And, by increasing the probe force of each contact tip with respect to the contact pad by a mechanical transfer device, allowing the curved portions of each probe to be bent without rubbing to achieve low probe contact resistance with low probe force without substantial rubbing. The technique to be disclosed is disclosed.

On the other hand, Patent Nos. 329293, 353788 and the like also disclose a probe card employing a cantilever type probe having an inclined needle structure.

In the probe having the inclined needle structure, the inclined needle is elastically contacted with the wafer as the probe card descends, and when the inspection is completed and the probe card is raised, the wafer is finely raised along with the micro tip of the needle tip. There is a problem that a scratch occurs in the contact pad.

On the other hand, Patent No. 623920 proposes a structure for manufacturing the upper probe portion and the lower spring portion and assembling the socket to facilitate replacement of the probe, Utility Model Registration No. 419002 is provided with an elastic absorbing portion for absorbing the elastic pressure The structure is presented.

Patent No. 623920 relates to a hybrid probe replacement probe card and a method of manufacturing the same, which separately manufacture the upper probe part and the lower spring part of the hybrid probe structure separately and mechanically mutually assemble by the socket structure in the middle, but MEMS process Wafer-level chip scale package is not made using, it is a mechanical assembly is made, there is a problem that it is difficult to replace the probe easily. In addition, the patent No. 623920 has a problem that it is difficult to integrate a large number of probes because the upper probe portion and the lower spring portion are formed in the form of the length and the length of the left and right widths, respectively.

In addition, the Utility Model Registration No. 419002 also fails to produce a wafer level chip scale package using the MEMS process, resulting in poor productivity, and mechanical assembly, thereby increasing electrical contact resistance, and further, upper and lower contact portions. Since the shape is not slim, it is difficult to integrate a large number of probes.

On the other hand, Patent No. 638105 discloses a structure for reducing contact damage by including a three-dimensional load absorbing part in which a polymer material is molded using a micro-optic molding technique and distributed deformation is made according to a load. The stereolithography technology is a conventional photo-forming technique applied to the fabrication of microstructures. The photolithography cured in ultraviolet light uses a photopolymer to continuously stack a cross-section having a certain layer thickness to produce a three-dimensional shape, and There is a limitation in manufacturing a probe having a complicated shape, and when forming a thin film structure, there is a problem in that it does not have sufficient elasticity and absorption force. In addition, the method of manufacturing the probe using the micro-optic technology does not produce a wafer level chip scale package using the MEMS process, and thus, the production cost is high.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is that the micro tip of the tip is vertically coupled to the interposer through a bellows type needle having an elastic structure, thereby compressing / relaxing in the vertical direction. The present invention provides a vertical probe for a probe card capable of minimizing damage to an electrode pad of a semiconductor device during inspection of a semiconductor device with respect to a wafer.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vertical probe capable of achieving testing with a minimum probe contact resistance without "scrubbing" the electrode pad with a micro tip.

Another object of the present invention is a probe card that can be applied to the probe card is not limited to the pin arrangement can be fine pitch inspection can be made and the individual pin repair can be appropriately respond to the inspection of the highly integrated semiconductor wafer To provide a vertical probe for.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vertical probe for a probe card that can be produced in the probe assembly having a desired pin number of probes in a short period of time since the method is assembled after fabricating the probe and the interposer respectively. There is.

It is another object of the present invention to manufacture a plurality of micro tips and needles at a time by a wafer level batch process, and also to produce a minimum size with a wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP). It is to provide a method of manufacturing a micro tip and a needle that can be made.

Another object of the present invention is to produce a stamp corresponding to the shape of the needle and the micro tip, and then using it to form a complementary groove pattern by using a hot embossing method to reduce the manufacturing cost by a micro tip And it provides a method for producing a needle.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a micro tip disposed in the tip portion is in contact with the electrode pad of the semiconductor device, the tip portion is connected to the rear end of the micro tip to form a bellows-type structure to have a vertical elastic force And a needle having a rear end coupled perpendicularly to the interposer.

The micro tip may include a rod-shaped contact protrusion at a distal end portion and a plate-shaped body supporting the contact protrusion.

In addition, the needle preferably includes a plurality of wrinkles formed in a zigzag shape to form a bellows.

In this case, the pleats may have a shape in which the inlet is opened and the first and second spaces of the dumbbell shape in which two circles are interconnected are alternately arranged in one and the other directions.

In addition, the pleats may be formed in a circular, triangular or rectangular space with an inlet opening arranged alternately in one and the other directions.

In addition, it is preferable to further include a plurality of protrusions disposed at the space entrance of each of the wrinkles to limit the compression range of each of the wrinkles.

The needle is made of an elastic metal material, in particular, the main material is made of any one selected from Ni-Co, Ni-W, Ni-W-Mo, and Be-Cu, and a conductive layer made of a highly conductive metal is coated on the outer surface thereof. It is preferable that it is done.

In addition, the micro tip is made of any one selected from the group consisting of Si-Ag, Si-Au, Sn-Ag, Sn-Au, and Sn, and the outer surface of the micro tip has a first conductive layer having excellent wear resistance, oxidation resistance, and strength, It is preferable that the 2nd conductive layer which consists of conductive metals is coat | covered.

Further, the second conductive layer is preferably made of any one selected from Au / Cr, Ni, Cr, Ti, Cu, Au, Al, Cu / Cr and Cu / Ti.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a needle, the method including: forming an etch mask forming a complementary pattern on a planar pattern of a needle including a plurality of folds and coupling portions formed in a zigzag shape on a substrate; Forming a groove corresponding to a needle shape by etching the substrate to a depth corresponding to the width of the corrugation portion, forming an electroplating seed layer on the substrate on which the groove is formed after removing the etching mask; Electrode plating the conductive layer on the groove by electroplating using a plating seed layer, and the surface of the substrate by the CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) method so that the thickness of the conductive layer filled in the groove corresponds to the width of the wrinkles Polishing and forming a needle comprising a conductive layer filled in the groove by melting and removing the substrate. And that is characterized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a needle, the method including forming a polymer layer made of a polymer on an upper portion of a substrate, and forming a needle stamp having an embossed structure of a needle including a plurality of pleated portions and coupling portions formed in a zigzag shape. Forming a groove corresponding to the needle shape by pressing the polymer layer of the substrate, forming a seed layer for electroplating on the substrate on which the groove is formed, and electroplating by using the seed layer for electroplating. Electrodepositing a conductive layer on the groove, polishing the surface of the polymer layer by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method so that the thickness of the conductive layer filled in the groove corresponds to the width of the wrinkle portion, and It is characterized by consisting of a step of obtaining a needle consisting of a conductive layer filled in the groove by melting and removing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a needle, the method comprising: forming a seed layer for electroplating on an upper portion of the substrate; forming a polymer layer formed of a polymer on the seed layer; Pressing a needle stamp having an embossed structure of a needle including a pleated portion and a coupling portion of the needle to form a groove corresponding to a needle shape by pressing the needle stamp on the polymer layer of the substrate, and removing the polymer layer remaining on the bottom of the groove Exposing a bottom electroplating seed layer, electrodepositing a conductive layer on the groove by electroplating using the electroplating seed layer, and a thickness of the conductive layer filled in the groove Polishing the surface of the polymer layer by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method so as to correspond to the width, and melting and removing the polymer layer in the grooves. It is characterized by consisting of a step of obtaining a needle consisting of a filled conductive layer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a needle, the method comprising: forming a seed layer for electroplating on a substrate, forming a polymer layer formed of a polymer on the seed layer, and patterning the polymer layer. Exposing the electroplating seed layer on the bottom of the groove by forming a groove corresponding to an embossed structure of the needle including a plurality of pleats and coupling portions formed in a zigzag shape, and using the seed layer for electroplating. Electrodeposition of the conductive layer on the groove by plating; polishing the surface of the polymer layer by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method so that the thickness of the conductive layer filled in the groove corresponds to the width of the wrinkles; It is characterized by consisting of a step of obtaining a needle consisting of a conductive layer filled in the groove by melting and removing the polymer layer.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a micro tip, the method including: forming a plurality of grooves corresponding to a shape of a micro tip including a rod-shaped contact protrusion and a plate-shaped body supporting the contact protrusion at a tip end on a substrate; Forming a first conductive layer to be used as a seed layer for electroplating on the recessed substrate, and forming a second conductive layer on the surface of the first conductive layer by electroplating using the first conductive layer. After electrodeposition, filling the groove with a soldering material, and then performing a reflow process to form a third conductive layer. The surface of the substrate is polished by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method. It is characterized by consisting of the step of separating the two conductive layers.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a micro tip, comprising: forming a polymer layer made of a polymer on an upper portion of a substrate, each including a rod-shaped contact protrusion and a plate-shaped body supporting the contact protrusion at a distal end thereof; Preparing a micro tip stamp having an embossed structure of a micro tip, pressing the micro tip stamp onto a polymer layer of the substrate to form a plurality of grooves corresponding to a micro tip shape, and a substrate on which the groove is formed Forming a first conductive layer to be used as a seed layer for electroplating on the electrode, and depositing a second conductive layer on the surface of the first conductive layer by electroplating using the first conductive layer; After filling the grooves with a soldering material, a reflow process is performed to form a third conductive layer. The poly mechanical method is performed by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Polishing the surface of the layer and characterized by comprising the step of separating the first and second conductive layers.

Each of the plurality of micro tips formed of the first to third conductive layers may be formed in the same pattern as the patterns of the plurality of vertical connection lines formed perpendicular to the body of the interposer.

In addition, in the manufacture of the micro tip according to the present invention, a plurality of needles are contacted with a plurality of vertical connection wires of the interposer using an assembly guide, and the third conductive layer of the substrate having the first and second conductive layers separated therefrom. It is preferable to further include the step of heat treatment after contacting the other end of the needle, and separating the plurality of micro tips by melting and removing the substrate.

As described above, in the vertical probe of the present invention, since the micro tip of the tip is vertically coupled to the interposer through a bellows-type needle having an elastic structure, the semiconductor device is compressed and relaxed in the vertical direction during wafer inspection. Damage to the electrode pad can be minimized, and fine pitch inspection can be made.

(Example)

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A to 1D are a perspective view, a plan view, a front view, and a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X 'of FIG. 1C, respectively, illustrating the vertical probe according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2A to 2D are the vertical probe shown in FIG. Is a perspective view, a plan view, a sectional view taken along the line Y-Y 'of FIG. 2B, and a side view of FIG. 2C.

First, referring to FIGS. 2A to 2D, the probe assembly 1 of the present invention may arrange the plurality of vertical probes 10a-10d shown in FIG. 1A in an interposer 20 by, for example, a matrix method. It has a combined structure.

Each of the plurality of vertical probes 10a-10d is disposed at a tip end thereof, as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, respectively, and makes contact with an electrode pad of a semiconductor device, and a tip tip micro tip 11. It includes a needle 13 having a bellows-type structure connected to the rear end of the) and having a vertical elastic force, and the coupling portion 15 for vertically coupling the rear end of the needle to the groove formed in the interposer 20, have.

In addition, the interposer 20 serves as an interface for connecting each probe to the main PCB of the inspection equipment while supporting the plurality of probes 10a-10d, and the plurality of probes 10a-disposed in a relatively narrow space. In order to apply the inspection signal from the main PCB for 10d), a plurality of electrode pads having a larger area are provided.

To this end, the interposer 20 is coupled to the plurality of probes 10a-10d from below by a plurality of through holes 27 whose outer periphery is insulated from the flat plate body 21 as shown in FIGS. 2A through 2D. ) Is coupled, and a plurality of vertical connection wirings 25 formed by filling conductive materials are connected to the upper side of the coupling portion 15, and the upper end of the plurality of vertical connection wirings 25 is an upper portion of the body 21. It is connected to a plurality of horizontal connection wirings 23 formed on the surface, and a plurality of electrode pads for applying a test signal from the main PCB, respectively, are disposed at ends of the plurality of horizontal connection wirings 23.

Referring again to FIGS. 1A to 1D, the micro tip 11 is formed of a rectangular plate or disc-shaped body 11b for supporting a rod-shaped contact protrusion 11a and a contact protrusion 11a at a tip end thereof. 13 includes a plurality of pleats 13a-13i in a zigzag shape, both ends of which are connected to the micro tip 11 and the coupling part 15 to form a bellows, and the coupling part 15 ) Forms a cube.

Each of the pleats 13a-13i of the needle 13 forms a first space 14a in the form of a dumbbell in which two circles are interconnected therein, and at the same time, two pleats 13a-13i are provided between each of the pleats 13a-13i. Both ends interconnecting each of the corrugations 13a-13i to form a second space 14b of a dumbbell shape in which the circles are interconnected are also curved. In addition, the first and second spaces 14a and 14b between the insides of each of the corrugations 13a are alternately arranged, and the protrusions 12a-12d are arranged at the entrances of the respective spaces or the structure that is open in one and the other directions. Can be.

In the case of the above structure, since the left and right portions of each of the corrugations 13a to 13i have a curved shape that is bent inward, the vertical probe 10 is vertically lowered to form each of the corrugations 13a of the needle 13. When -13i) is compressed, any one of the wrinkles 13a-13i is made to be stably compressed / restored without departing from the vertical line to the outside.

In addition, the projections 12a-12s are set so that the elastic compression force does not exceed a preset range by appropriately limiting the compression range when each of the corrugations 13a-13i is compressed, and as a result, the micro tip of the tip portion (11) prevented excessive compression contact with the electrode pad of the semiconductor device, thereby eliminating the possibility of damage to the electrode pad of the semiconductor device.

Furthermore, since each of the wrinkles 13a-13i of the needle 13 is made of a high elastic metal material as described below, it functions as an elastic body such as a bellows.

Therefore, when the vertical probe 10 is vertically lowered and the tip portion of the micro tip 11 is in contact with the electrode pad of the semiconductor device, the bellows-shaped pleats 13a-13i are elastically compressed and contacted. When the probe 10 rises, the compressed needle 13 is restored and the contact with the electrode pad of the semiconductor device is released.

In addition, the micro tip 11, the needle 13, and the coupling part 15 forming the vertical probe 10 may apply, for example, a high frequency test signal to an electrode pad of a semiconductor device under test from a test equipment. When possible, the outer surface is made of a conductive material with relatively low electrical resistance so as not to affect the inspection data.

To this end, in the probe 10 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1C, the micro tip 11 is enlarged inside the contact protrusion 11a and the body 11b, that is, the main material is Si-Ag, Si-Au, as shown in FIG. , A soldering material such as Sn-Ag, Sn-Au or Sn, etc., whose outer surface has excellent abrasion resistance, oxidation resistance and strength such as Ni-Co, Ni-W, Ni-W-Mo or The first conductive layer 111 made of Be-Cu or the like and the second conductive layer 112 having a thickness of about 1 μm made of Au having excellent electrical conductivity are sequentially coated.

The second conductive layer 112 is for use as a cathode electrode for electroplating required to form the first conductive layer 111 by an electroplating method, and the first conductive layer 111 is Si-Ag. The first and second conductive layers 111 and 112 simultaneously serve as a base layer when forming the micro tip 11 from a main material such as Si, Au, Sn-Ag, Sn-Au, or Sn. Also serves as a conductive film with a small electrical resistance.

In addition, in the probe 10, the needle 13 and the coupling portion 15 are respectively Ni-Co, Ni-W, Ni-W-Mo, or Be-Cu, as shown in the enlarged portion "X2" of FIG. 1C. It is made of an alloy such as, and the outer surface is coated with a first conductive layer 121 of about 300Å thick made of Cr and a second conductive layer 122 of about 1㎛ thick made of Au.

The first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 122 are the main materials for forming the needle 13 and the coupling portion 15, such as Ni-Co, Ni-W, Ni-W-Mo, or Be-Cu. It is intended to be used as a cathode electrode for electroplating, which is required to form an alloy using an electroplating method, but also serves as a conductive film having a small electrical resistance.

Accordingly, the outer surface of the probe 10 is made of a conductive material having a very small electrical resistance, thereby minimizing the influence when applying a test signal to a semiconductor device and receiving test data.

As described above, the probe assembly 1 of the present invention has a plurality of electrodes for the semiconductor device of the wafer to be inspected because the micro tips 11 are disposed at the tip of the needle 13 of the bellows-type structure each having a vertical elastic force. The interposer 20 includes a plurality of vertical probes 10a-10d that come into contact with the pads.

As a result, when the probe assembly 1 of the present invention is applied to the probe card so that the probe card is lowered for the inspection of the inspection target wafer, the micro tip 11 of the vertical probe 10a-10d becomes the semiconductor device of the wafer. When the needle 13 of the bellows-type structure having elasticity in the vertical direction is elastically compressed while the plurality of electrode pads are in contact with each other, the wafer is finely raised together when the inspection is completed and the probe card is raised. As the needle 13 of the bellows-type structure absorbs it, the compressed state is gradually released, and the problem that scratches are generated on the electrode pad of the wafer by the micro tip 11 of the tip of the needle 13 does not occur. Therefore, when the probe assembly 1 of the present invention is applied to the probe card, damage to the electrode pad of the semiconductor device can be minimized.

In addition, in the present invention, a plurality of probes 10a-10d are vertically assembled to the interposer 20, and the micro tips 11 of the probes 10a-10d are contacted, held, and separated from the electrode pads of the wafer. The elastic compression, relaxation, and separation of the bellows-type needle 13 is performed only in the vertical direction. When the bellows-type needles 13 are compressed, relaxed, and separated in the vertical direction, that is, when the respective pleats 13a-13i of the needle 13 are compressed in the vertical direction, the left side of each of the pleats 13a-13i is compressed. Since both right and right sides are curved inwardly, any one of the corrugations 13a-13i may be stably compressed / restored without departing from the vertical line to the outside. Therefore, since the probes 10a-10d occupy only the minimum space when the probe card is lowered and raised, the maximum possible probes 10a-10d can be arranged in a limited area, thereby enabling high integration. As a result, when the probe assembly 1 including the vertical probes 10a-10d of the present invention is used, a fine arrangement in which fine pitch inspection can be performed is possible.

In addition, the probe assembly 1 of the present invention is a plurality of vertical probes (10a-10d) as described later also after the micro tip 11 and the needle 13 are manufactured, respectively, to the interposer 20 individually It is possible to fabricate and assemble, and if any one of the probes is broken, the probe can be repaired, and thus it can appropriately cope with the inspection of the highly integrated semiconductor wafer.

That is, the micro tip 11 can be separated by locally heating only the micro tip 11 when the main material is a soldering material and only the micro tip 11 needs to be replaced, and vice versa. Can be joined to the distal end of the needle 13.

In addition, even when the needle 13 needs to be replaced, the coupling part 15 connected to the upper end of the needle 13 has a vertical connection formed by using silver paste in the through hole 27 of the interposer 20. It is connected to the wiring 25 can be replaced in the same way as the micro tip.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, the plurality of vertical probes 10a-10d and the interposers 20 can be manufactured and assembled separately, and thus the desired probe assembly can be modified by designing only the interposer 20 according to the request of the consumer. 1) can be manufactured, so that a probe assembly having a desired number of pin probes can be produced in a short period of time.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a bellows type needle and a micro tip including a coupling part among the vertical probes having the above-described structure will be described.

First, the bellows type needle including the coupling part may use a semiconductor substrate or a substrate on which a photoresist (PR) is formed on the semiconductor substrate, or a stamp corresponding to the needle shape may be manufactured, and then the process cost may be reduced by using the same. It can be produced by any one of the hot embossing method that can be.

3A to 3E are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a needle according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In the manufacture of the needle according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor substrate, for example, is placed at the wafer level using a wafer 30 (see Fig. 4A) in which an oxide film is formed on a surface of 1 μm of a polished Si substrate. The batch process is in progress. Thus, multiple needles are obtained when the wafer level placement process is complete.

First, referring to FIG. 3A, as shown in FIG. 4A, a photoresist etching mask 32 forming a complementary pattern on the planar pattern of the needle 13 and the coupling part 15 is formed on the Si substrate 31. For example, it is formed to a thickness of 4㎛ hard baking (hard baking).

Subsequently, after etching the Si substrate 31 to a depth of 120 μm by dry etching using the photoresist etching mask 32 to form a recess, the etching mask 32 is removed by a known method. A needle Si mold 33a having a groove 33 corresponding to the lower surface needle 13 (including the coupling portion 15) is obtained as shown in FIGS. 3B and 4B.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3C, a second conductive layer 122 having a thickness of about 1 μm and made of Cr and about Cr is sequentially formed by the sputtering method on the Si substrate 31 on which the grooves 33 for the needle 13 are formed. A 300 Å thick first conductive layer 121 is formed.

The first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 122 are used as a seed layer for electroplating, that is, a cathode electrode, which is performed in a subsequent process.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3D, Ni-Co, Ni-W, Ni-W-Mo, and Ni-Co are formed by electroplating using the first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 122 as the cathode electrode for electroplating. The third conductive layer 123 is formed by electrodeposition in the range of 100 to 120 µm to fill the recess 33 using a material of any one of Be-Cu. At this time, for example, when the Ni-Co alloy film is formed by electroplating, the content of Co is preferably 25 to 40% by weight.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3E, the surface of the Si substrate 31 is exposed by polishing the surface by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method, and the total of the first to third conductive layers 121-123 filled in the recess 33 is formed. The thickness is made 100 mu m.

Subsequently, when the Si substrate 31 is melted using a tetra-methyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) or a KOH solution capable of dissolving Si, the first to third conductive layers filled in the grooves 33 ( A needle 13 comprising an engaging portion 15 consisting of 121-123 is obtained as shown in FIG. 1A.

In this case, a plurality of needles 13 are obtained by carrying out the wafer level placement process.

5A to 5E are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a needle according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The second embodiment patterns the photoresist layer 34 formed on the upper surface of the Si substrate 31 in wafer form, and differs from the first embodiment in that no patterning is performed on the Si substrate 31. have.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, the photoresist layer 34 is coated on the Si substrate 31 to a thickness of 120 μm, and then soft baked. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4A, exposure is performed using an exposure mask having the same pattern as the above-described etching mask 32 forming a complementary pattern with the shape of the needle 13.

Subsequently, after hard baking the processed substrate and developing, the needle PR including the recess 33 corresponding to the needle 13 by patterning the photoresist layer 34 as illustrated in FIG. 5B. A mold 34a is obtained.

Thereafter, the process proceeds in the same manner as the process of FIGS. 3C to 3E of the first embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5C, a second conductive layer 122 having a thickness of about 1 μm made of Au and Cr are sequentially formed by a sputtering method on the Si substrate 31 on which the grooves 33 for the needles 13 are formed. The first conductive layer 121 having a thickness of about 300 μs is formed.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5D, Ni-Co, Ni-W, Ni-W-Mo, and Ni-Co are formed by electroplating using the first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 122 as the cathode electrode for electroplating. The third conductive layer 123 is formed by electrodeposition in the range of 100 to 120 µm to fill the recess 33 using a material of any one of Be-Cu.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5E, the surface is polished by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method, and the upper surface is polished by about 20 μm so that the surface of the Si substrate 31 is exposed, thereby filling the grooves of the needle PR mold 34a. The thickness of the third to third conductive layers 121-123 is 100 μm.

Subsequently, the needle 13 including the coupling part 15 formed of the first to third conductive layers 121 to 123 filled in the recess 33 by removing the needle PR mold 34a by a well-known method. When separated, it is obtained as shown in FIG. 1A.

In the second embodiment, a photoresist is formed on the Si substrate as a substrate, but a laminate of a polymer selected from polyimide, epoxy, and PDMS may be used instead of the photoresist.

As in the second embodiment, when the substrate having the polymer layer formed on the Si substrate is used, the Si substrate can be reused, thereby reducing the cost as compared with the first embodiment.

Also in the case of the second embodiment, a plurality of needles 13 are obtained through the wafer level placement process.

6A to 6F are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a needle according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, a needle stamp corresponding to a needle shape is manufactured and then used. By using the hot embossing method to produce the intaglio groove pattern of the needle.

The process of Figs. 6A and 6B is the same as that of Figs. 3A to 3C of the first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A on the Si substrate 31, an etching mask 32 forming a shape complementary to the shape of the needle 13 is formed by using a photoresist, and then the etching mask 32 is formed. After etching the Si substrate 31 to a depth of 100 μm by using a dry etching method, for example, to form a recess, the etching mask 32 is removed by a known method.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6B, a second conductive layer 122 having a thickness of about 1 μm made of Au and a thickness of about 300 μm made of Cr were sequentially formed on the Si substrate 31 having the recess corresponding to the needle 13 by a sputtering method. First conductive layer 121 is formed.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6C, the grooves are filled by using Ni or PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) by an electroplating method using the first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 122 as a cathode electrode for electroplating. The needle stamp 35 is formed by this.

Thereafter, the needle stamp 35 filled in the grooves is separated by melting the Si substrate 31 using TMAH or KOH solution.

The substrate used to form the needle stamp 35 may be made of a substrate having a polymer layer formed of any one selected from polyimide, epoxy, photoresist, and PDMS on top of the Si substrate instead of the Si substrate. In this case, the substrate can be reused.

The needle stamp 35 having the first and second conductive layers 121 and 122 coated on the surface obtained in the above process has an embossed structure of the needle at the lower side thereof, and is used as follows.

As shown in FIG. 6D, a polymer such as polyimide, epoxy, photoresist, or PDMS is formed on the surface of the Si substrate 31 to a thickness of 100 to 120 μm, and then the stamp 35 is preheated to a predetermined temperature. ) Is pressed against the substrate 31 to form a mold pattern 36 including a recess 33 corresponding to the needle 13.

In a subsequent process, the mold pattern 36 including the recesses 33 of the needle 13 is processed in the same manner as the processes of FIGS. 3C and 3D of the first embodiment, thereby providing the first to third conductive layers 121-. 123) is obtained as shown in FIG. 6E.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6F, the surface is polished by a CMP method, and the first to third conductive layers 121-123 filled in the recesses of the mold pattern 36 are polished by about 20 μm so as to expose the surface of the mold pattern 36. ) To a thickness of 100 μm.

Subsequently, a coupling part including first to third conductive layers 121-123 filled in the groove of the complementary groove 33 by removing the mold pattern 36 using a known solvent according to the material used. When the needle 13 including (15) is separated, it is obtained as shown in Fig. 1A.

According to the hot embossing method of the third embodiment, the stamping process shown in FIG. 6A can be omitted by using a pre-made stamp each time a recess having a recessed pattern of the needle is formed. Can reduce the amount of pollutants generated in the patterning process.

Also in the case of the third embodiment, a plurality of needles 13 are obtained through the wafer level placement process.

Meanwhile, in the first to third embodiments, the groove 33 is first formed when the needle is manufactured, and the first and second conductive layers 121 and 122 are formed in the groove 33, and then the groove is formed in the groove. The needle 13 was manufactured by forming a third conductive layer 123 by an electroplating method and separating the needles 13 formed of the first to third conductive layers 121-123 filled in the recesses. . In addition, when forming the stamp, first, the groove was formed, and then the conductive layers 121 and 122 were formed, and then the needle stamp 35 was formed by filling the groove with Ni using the electroplating method.

In the above process method, when the depth of the groove is deep, a problem may occur in that the needle is wide and the thin film is not filled to the lower portion of the groove by the electroplating method. In the needle stamp manufacturing method described below and the fourth embodiment using the same, a manufacturing process capable of preventing such a problem is proposed.

7A to 7F are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a needle stamp according to the present invention.

The processes of Figs. 7A and 7B are the same as those of Figs. 3A and 3B of the first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A on the Si substrate 31a, an etching mask 32 forming a shape complementary to the shape of the needle 13 is formed using a photoresist, and then the etching mask 32 is formed. After etching the Si substrate 31a to a depth of 100 μm by using a dry etching method to form a recess 33, for example, the etching mask 32 is removed by a known method.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7C, the Si substrate 31b is first formed by using the Si substrate 31b or a substrate having a polymer layer formed of any one selected from polyimide, epoxy, photoresist, and PDMS instead of the Si substrate. On the upper surface, first and second conductive layers 121 and 122 to be used as cathode electrodes for electroplating are sequentially formed by a sputtering method. Of course, in this case as well, the conductive layer used as the cathode electrode for electroplating can be formed as a single conductive layer.

Thereafter, the Si substrate 31a obtained in the step of FIG. 7B is inverted and bonded to the upper surface of the first conductive layer 121 of the Si substrate 31b.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7D, the groove 33 of the needle mold 34b obtained by grinding the upper portion of the Si substrate 31a is exposed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7E, the groove 33 in which Ni or PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) is formed by an electroplating method using the first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 122 as a cathode for electroplating. The needle stamp 35 is formed by filling it.

Thereafter, the needle stamp 35 filled in the grooves is removed by melting the Si substrates 31a and 31b using TMAH or KOH solution, as shown in FIG. 7F.

7A to 7F, since the first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 122, which are used as cathode electrodes for electroplating, are formed under the groove 33, the electroplating process is performed. At the time of filling, the filling is made from the lower portion of the groove 33, so that the needle stamp 35 having a high precision in shape is obtained.

8A to 8F are cross-sectional views illustrating a process for manufacturing a needle according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively. Hot embossing for fabricating a concave groove pattern of a needle using the needle stamp described above. ) Method is applied.

As shown in FIG. 8A, a second conductive layer 122 having a thickness of about 1 μm made of Au and a first conductive layer 121 having a thickness of about 300 μm are formed on the Si substrate 31 by a sputtering method. The first conductive layer 121 and the second conductive layer 122 are used as cathode electrodes for electroplating in subsequent processes.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8B, a photoresist, polyimide, epoxy, or PDMS is formed to have a thickness of 100 to 120 μm as the polymer layer 38 on the first conductive layer 121, and FIG. 8C. As described above, the stamp 35 is pressed onto the polymer layer 38 in a preheated state to form a mold pattern 38a including the recess 33 corresponding to the needle 13.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8D, the polymer remaining on the bottom surface of the recess 33 of the mold pattern 38a, for example, a photoresist, may be removed by ashing to remove the first conductive layer of the bottom of the recess 33. Allow layer 121 to be exposed.

Subsequently, Ni-Co, Ni-W, Ni-W-Mo, and Be are formed by electroplating by using the first and second conductive layers 121 and 122 under the recess 33 as the electrode for electroplating, as shown in FIG. 8E. The third conductive layer 123 is formed by electrodepositing in the range of 100 to 120 mu m to fill from the bottom surface of the recess 33 using any one of -Cu materials.

Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG. 8F, the surface of the mold pattern 38a is polished by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method so that the thickness of the third conductive layer 123 filled in the recess 33 is 100 μm.

Subsequently, the mold pattern 38a is removed by a known method to separate the needle 13 including the coupling part 15 formed of the third conductive layer 123 filled in the recess 33, as shown in FIG. 1A. Obtained.

According to the fourth embodiment described above, even though the needle 13 is wide and thin, the filling is performed from the lower part of the groove 33 during electroplating, so that the needle 13 having high shape precision is obtained.

In the fourth embodiment, a hot embossing method using a needle stamp is applied, but the polymer layer 38 is patterned by a well-known method instead of the processes of FIGS. 8C and 8D without using the needle stamp. 33) It is also possible to change the method of forming a needle by electroplating in a state where the bottom conductive layer 121 is exposed.

Hereinafter, the manufacturing process of the micro tip which concerns on this invention is demonstrated.

First, the micro tip is embossed by using a semiconductor substrate or a substrate on which a photoresist is formed on the semiconductor substrate, or by manufacturing a stamp corresponding to the micro tip shape, and then using the same to reduce the process cost. It can be produced by any one of the) method.

9A to 9D are cross-sectional views illustrating a manufacturing process of the microtip according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

In the manufacture of the micro tip according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, a batch process is performed at the wafer level using a wafer having an oxide film formed on a semiconductor substrate, for example, a Si substrate having one surface polished. By doing so, multiple micro tips can be obtained at a time.

In order to form the groove 43 corresponding to the shape of the contact protrusion 11a and the body 11b of the micro tip 11 shown in FIG. 1A, first, only the contact protrusion 11a is exposed on the Si substrate 41. By forming a first photoresist etching mask to a plurality of grooves having a pattern corresponding to the contact projections (11a), for example, a dry etching method, corresponding to the contact projections (11a) The Si substrate 41 is etched to a depth and formed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9A, a second photoresist etching mask 42 exposing the body 11b concentrically with the plurality of grooves is fabricated, and then the Si substrate 41 has a depth corresponding to the body 11b. ) And the etching mask 42 are removed to obtain a tip Si mold 41a having a groove 43 corresponding to the micro tip 11, as shown in FIG. 10A.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9B, a second conductive layer 112 having a thickness of about 1 μm made of Au is formed by the sputtering method on the tip Si mold 41a in which the groove 43 for the micro tip 11 is formed.

Subsequently, using the second conductive layer 112 as a cathode electrode for electroplating, Ni-Co, Ni-W, Ni-W- in the range of 300 Å on the surface of the second conductive layer 112 by electroplating. The first conductive layer 111 is formed by using any one of Mo and Be-Cu.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9C, the groove 43 having the first and second conductive layers 111 and 112 coated thereon is filled with a soldering material such as Si-Ag, Si-Au, Sn-Ag, Sn-Au, or Sn. The third conductive layer 113 is formed by going through a reflow process.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9D, the surface is polished by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method, so that at least the first and second conductive layers 111 and 112 are separated from each other, and the surface of the tip Si mold 41a is exposed to the groove 43. The thickness of the filled first to third conductive layers 111 to 113 may be set to 60 to 70 μm in advance.

Subsequently, when the tip Si mold 41 is melted using TMAH (Tetra-methyl ammonium hydroxide) or KOH solution capable of melting Si of the tip Si mold 41a, the first to third conductive layers filled in the recess 43 are formed. A plurality of micro tips 11 consisting of layers 111-113 are obtained as in FIG. 1A.

In this case, a plurality of micro tips 11 are obtained at one time by the wafer level batch process.

In the fifth embodiment, instead of the Si substrate 41, a micro tip is formed using a substrate in which a polymer made of any one selected from photoresist, polyimide, epoxy, and PDMS is stacked on the Si substrate, similarly to the second embodiment. It is also possible to form.

As in the second embodiment, when the substrate having the polymer layer formed on the Si substrate is used, the Si substrate can be reused, thereby reducing the cost as compared with the fifth embodiment.

Meanwhile, in the manufacture of the micro tip according to the present invention, as in the sixth embodiment shown in FIGS. 11A to 11G, a tip stamp for the micro tip is produced in advance, and then corresponds to the micro tip 11 by a hot embossing method. The process of forming the recess 43 can be easily processed.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11A, two patterning processes are performed to form the grooves 43 corresponding to the shapes of the contact protrusions 11a and the body 11b of the micro tip 11, thereby forming the grooves on the Si substrate 41. 43).

Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 11B and 11C, after the Ti is sputtered to a thickness of 0.3 μm to form the conductive layer 114, Ni is recessed as described above by electroplating using the conductive layer 114 as a cathode electrode for electroplating. The micro tip stamp 115 is formed by filling 43.

Thereafter, when the micro tip stamp 115 filled in the grooves is separated by melting the Si substrate 31 using TMAH or KOH solution, it is obtained as shown in Figs. 11D and 10B.

The micro tip stamp 115 having the conductive layer 114 coated on the surface obtained in the above process is used as follows.

As shown in FIG. 11E, a polyimide, epoxy, photoresist, or PDMS, for example, is formed on the surface of the Si substrate 41 to have a thickness of 100 μm, and then preheated to a predetermined temperature. The micro tip stamp 115 is pressed onto the polymer layer 37 of the substrate 41 to form a mold pattern 37a including the groove 43 of the micro tip 11 as shown in FIG. 11F.

Subsequently, the mold pattern 37a including the groove 43 of the micro tip 11 is subsequently processed in the same manner as in the processes of FIGS. 9B and 9C of the fifth embodiment, and the first to third processes are performed. When the conductive layers 111-113 are formed, they are obtained as shown in Fig. 11G.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11H, the first and second conductive layers 111 and 112 are separated by the CMP method, and the upper surface is polished to expose the surface of the mold pattern 37a, thereby filling the grooves of the mold pattern 37a. The thickness of the third to third conductive layers 111-113 is 60 to 70 μm.

Subsequently, the micro tip 11 including the first to third conductive layers 111 to 113 filled in the grooves 43 is removed by using the known solvent according to the material used to remove the mold pattern 37a. When separated, it is obtained as shown in FIG. 1A.

In this case, as described later, when the plurality of micro tips 11 are to be assembled with the plurality of needles 13 at the wafer level, the micro tips 11 are not individually separated and are shown in FIG. 11G. It is preferable that the assembly is performed in the wafer state.

According to the hot embossing method of the sixth embodiment, the double patterning process illustrated in FIG. 11A can be omitted by using a pre-made stamp each time a groove having a micro tip pattern is formed. The cost can be reduced and the generation of pollutants generated in the patterning process can be reduced.

Also in the case of the sixth embodiment, a plurality of micro tips 11 are obtained when the wafer level placement process is performed.

In the above-described fifth and sixth embodiments, the Si substrate or the composite substrate in which the polymer layer is formed on the Si substrate has been described as an example. However, it is also possible to use a dry film made of polymer as the substrate. .

In the first to sixth embodiments, the conductive material is electrodeposited and formed on the cathode by electroplating when the needle or the micro tip is directly formed or when the stamp is manufactured. In order to use the electroplating method, the current is used as a cathode electrode. There is a need for a medium of conductive material (metal) capable of adding, and this medium is thinly formed using sputtering equipment. As the conductive material that can be used as such a medium, the above embodiment illustrates that a Au / Cr double film or a Ni film is used. In addition, Cr, Ti, Cu, Au, Al, Cu / Cr, and Cu / Ti films may be used. Do.

As described above, the micro tips 11 and the needles 13 separately manufactured are assembled to the interposer 20 to be interconnected, and the assembly process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 12.

12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of assembling a plurality of micro tips and needles into an interposer at a wafer level.

First, the interposer 20 has a plurality of through-holes 27 formed in the vertical direction so that the coupling portions 15 of the plurality of probes 10a-10d are coupled as shown in FIGS. 2A through 2D. A part of the hole 27 is formed with a plurality of vertical connecting wirings 25 formed by filling a conductive material made of silver paste, and the upper end of the plurality of vertical connecting wirings 25 is formed on the upper surface. It has a structure that is connected to the horizontal connection wiring (23).

The assembly guide 3 for assembling the plurality of needles 13 to each through hole 27 of the interposer 20 is used for assembling the micro tip 11 and the needle 13. The assembly guide 3 is made of, for example, Si, and a plurality of through holes 3a corresponding to the respective through holes 27 of the interposer 20 are formed.

In addition, in order for the assembly of the plurality of micro tips 11 and the needles 13 to be performed at the wafer level, the plurality of micro tips 11 must be manufactured in a wafer state, for example, as shown in FIG. It is required to be produced using a substrate using materials other than these. That is, after assembling the plurality of micro tips 11 and the needles 13 to the interposer 20, the plurality of micro tips 11 and the interposer 20 made of a Si substrate is not damaged. This is because it is necessary to separate the needles 13 individually.

Accordingly, as a substrate suitable for this purpose, a substrate in which the polymer layer 37 is laminated on the Si substrate 41 shown in FIGS. 11E to 11H may be used, or a non-silicon substrate such as a dry film may be used.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the one obtained by using a substrate in which a polymer layer 37 is stacked on a Si substrate 41 is used, and the plurality of micro tips 11 manufactured in the wafer form of FIG. It is designed to be arranged in the same pattern as the plurality of through holes 27 of 20.

Therefore, after arranging the assembly guide 3 on the lower surface of the interposer 20 such that the plurality of through holes 3a of the assembly guide 3 coincide with the plurality of through holes 27 of the interposer 20. In the state where the coupling portion 15 of the needle 13 is inserted into the through hole 27 to be coupled to the matched through holes 27 and 3a, the plurality of micro tips 11 are formed in advance. The Si substrate 41 is matched. In this case, it is preferable to set the width of the assembly guide 3 to be smaller than the length of the needle 13 so that the plurality of micro tips 11 come into contact with the tips of the plurality of needles 13 with some elastic force. desirable.

Subsequently, for example, when the reflow process is performed at 230 ° C., the main components constituting the contact protrusion 11a and the body 11b of the micro tip 11 are Si-Ag, Si-Au, Sn-Ag, Sn-Au or Since the tip 13 of the needle 13 is bonded to the rear end surface of the micro tip 11 because the soldering material is formed of Sn or the like, the coupling portion 15 of the needle 13 is formed of a silver paste. ), And interconnection is made.

Thereafter, the mold pattern 37a of the Si substrate 41 supporting the micro tip 11 is removed using a known solvent depending on the material used, and the assembly guide 3 made of Si is separated. As shown in FIG. 2A, a probe assembly 1 having a plurality of probes 10a-10d assembled to the interposer 20 in a vertical type is obtained.

The process of assembling / packaging the plurality of micro tips 11 and the plurality of needles 13 into the interposer 20 is performed by a wafer level placement process, and then the wafer on which the interposer 20 is integrated is processed. It is also possible to cut and separate into each probe assembly 1.

In the description of the embodiment described above, the needle 13 includes a plurality of pleats 13a-13i formed in a zigzag shape, and both end portions are curved between each pleats so that the pleats are folded in the vertical direction when the pleats are compressed in the vertical direction. And the inlets of the first and second spaces 14a and 14b are narrower than the inner side.

However, the structure of the wrinkle part may have a structure of a deformed shape as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B in addition to the above structure, and in this case, the wrinkle part is folded in the vertical direction when the wrinkle part is compressed in the vertical direction. .

That is, each of the corrugations 13a-13i forms one circular or triangular space therein as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, and a structure in which the inlet is narrower than the inner side may be repeatedly formed.

Further, the projections 12a-12s disposed at the entrances of the first and second spaces 14a, 14b of each of the corrugations 13a-13i are removed by appropriately setting the distance between the elastic force of the corrugations and the corrugations. It is also possible.

Meanwhile, in the above embodiment, the micro tip and the needle are fabricated separately and then assembled. However, the micro tip may be integrally manufactured at the time of manufacturing the needle.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the micro tip is formed of a rod-shaped contact protrusion and a body of a hexahedral structure that supports the contact protrusion, but may be modified into another shape.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the connection between the interposer and the probe may be facilitated at the same time not only mechanical fixing but also electrical connection through a soldering type connection using epoxy or a metal socket. ) And solder (i.e., silver paste) of the plurality of vertical connection wires 25 connecting the bellows type needle 13 and solder (i.e., soldering material) connecting the bellows type needle 13 and the micro tip 11 to each other. Since the melting point of the third conductive layer 113) is made of a different material, each of them can be replaced separately.

As described above, in the present invention, since the needle is assembled to the Si interposer manufactured using the MEMS process, not the method of manufacturing the vertical probe using the MEMS process and manufacturing and assembling the metal socket, the needle is generated according to the repeated test. It is easily replaceable to wear and, moreover, the needles are bellows-shaped to reduce the breakdown caused by the concentration of stresses that occur during repeated tests.

As described above, in the vertical probe of the present invention, the micro tip of the tip portion is vertically coupled to the interposer through a bellows type needle having an elastic structure, so that the needle of the bellows type structure is elastic when the semiconductor device is inspected for the wafer. When the test is completed and the probe card is raised, the bellows-type needle absorbs it and the compressed state is gradually released even when the wafer is accompanied by a minute rise. Therefore, scratches are applied to the electrode pad of the wafer by the micro tip of the needle tip. Since the problem does not occur, damage to the electrode pad of the semiconductor device can be minimized.

Further, in the present invention, when each wrinkle portion of the needle is compressed in the vertical direction during the inspection of the semiconductor device, since the left and right portions of each wrinkle portion are curved inward, any one wrinkle portion is also moved from the vertical line to the outside. Compression / restoration is made to be stable without departing. Therefore, when the probe card is lowered and raised, the structure of each probe occupies only the minimum space, so that the largest possible probe can be arranged in a limited area, and thus, the integrated probe of the present invention includes the vertical probe of the present invention. Using a probe assembly to enable a fine array that can be a fine pitch check.

Furthermore, the vertical probe of the present invention can be fabricated separately and assembled in the interposer after the micro tips and the needles are manufactured, so that the probe can be repaired in the event of a failure of any one of the highly integrated semiconductor wafers. It can respond appropriately to inspection.

On the other hand, in the present invention, a plurality of vertical probes and interposers can be manufactured and assembled separately, so that the desired probe assembly can be manufactured by deforming only the interposer according to the request of the consumer, so that a desired pin (for The fabrication of a probe assembly having a pin) number of probes can be achieved.

In addition, in the vertical probe of the present invention, the outer surfaces of the micro tip and the needle are coated with a material having excellent conductivity, thereby achieving testing with a minimum probe contact resistance with respect to the electrode pad of the semiconductor device.

Moreover, in the present invention, a plurality of micro tips and needles can be manufactured at a time by a wafer level batch process, and also a product can be made to a minimum size by a wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP).

In the above, the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention is not limited to the spirit of the present invention. Various changes and modifications will be possible by those who have the same.

Claims (28)

The micro tip is disposed in the tip portion and makes contact with the electrode pad of the semiconductor device formed on the wafer during wafer inspection, and has a rod-shaped contact protrusion and a plate-shaped body supporting the contact protrusion at the tip portion, and the main material is made of a soldering material. and; The front end is connected to the rear end of the micro tip, the rear end is vertically coupled to the interposer, is formed in a zigzag shape to form a bellows having a vertical elastic force, the inlet is open, two circles interconnected A needle having a plurality of corrugations arranged alternately in one and the other directions in the first and second spaces, and a plurality of protrusions disposed at the space entrance of each of the corrugations to limit the compression range of each corrugation section; , After the micro tips and the needles are manufactured separately, the plurality of needle tips are simultaneously bonded to the rear ends of the plurality of micro tips by heat treatment, and the plurality of needle rear ends are simultaneously joined to the plurality of vertical connection wires of the interposer. Vertical type probe. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete The method of claim 1, wherein the micro tip is made of any one selected from Si-Ag, Si-Au, Sn-Ag, Sn-Au, and Sn, The outer surface of the vertical probe is coated with a first conductive layer having excellent wear resistance, oxidation resistance and strength and a second conductive layer made of a highly conductive metal. The vertical probe of claim 9, wherein the second conductive layer is formed of any one selected from Au / Cr, Ni, Cr, Ti, Cu, Au, Al, Cu / Cr, and Cu / Ti. delete Forming a polymer layer made of a polymer on top of the Si substrate, Pressing a needle stamp having an embossed structure of a needle including a plurality of pleats and coupling portions formed in a zigzag shape to the polymer layer of the substrate to form grooves corresponding to the needle shape; Forming a seed layer for electroplating on the substrate on which the groove is formed; Electrodepositing the conductive layer on the groove by electroplating using the electroplating seed layer; Polishing the surface of the polymer layer by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method such that the thickness of the conductive layer filled in the grooves corresponds to the width of the wrinkles; Obtaining a needle consisting of a conductive layer filled in the groove by melting and removing the polymer layer. Forming a seed layer for electroplating on top of the Si substrate, Forming a polymer layer made of a polymer on the seed layer; Pressing a needle stamp having an embossed structure of a needle including a plurality of pleats and coupling portions formed in a zigzag shape to the polymer layer of the substrate to form grooves corresponding to the needle shape; Exposing the electroplating seed layer of the bottom of the groove by removing the polymer layer remaining on the bottom of the groove; Electrodepositing the conductive layer on the groove by electroplating using the electroplating seed layer; Polishing the surface of the polymer layer by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method such that the thickness of the conductive layer filled in the grooves corresponds to the width of the wrinkles; Obtaining a needle consisting of a conductive layer filled in the groove by melting and removing the polymer layer. delete delete The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the forming of the electroplating seed layer on the substrate is Au / Cr, Ni, Cr, Ti, Cu, Au, Al, Cu / Cr and Cu / Ti by a sputtering method. Forming a conductive layer made of any one selected from among the needle manufacturing method. delete The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the needle stamp is Forming an etch mask forming a complementary pattern on a flat pattern of a needle including a plurality of pleated portions and coupling portions formed in a zigzag shape on the substrate; Etching the substrate to a depth corresponding to the width of the wrinkles by using the etching mask to form grooves corresponding to the shape of the needle; Forming an electroplating seed layer on the recessed substrate after removing the etching mask; Electrodepositing a conductive layer on the groove and the upper surface of the substrate by electroplating using the electroplating seed layer; Dissolving and removing the substrate to obtain a needle stamp made of the conductive layer. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the needle stamp is Forming an etch mask forming a complementary pattern on a flat pattern of a needle including a plurality of folds and coupling portions formed in a zigzag shape on the first substrate, Etching the first substrate to a depth corresponding to the width of the pleats using the etching mask to form grooves corresponding to the shape of the needle and removing the etching mask; Forming a seed layer for electroplating on the second substrate; Inverting and bonding the first substrate to the upper surface of the electroplating seed layer of the second substrate; Polishing the surface of the first substrate by CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) to expose the electroplating seed layer on the bottom of the groove; Electrodepositing a conductive layer on the groove and the upper surface of the substrate by electroplating using the exposed electroplating seed layer; Dissolving and removing the substrate to obtain a needle stamp made of the conductive layer. Forming a plurality of grooves corresponding to a shape of a micro tip including a rod-shaped contact protrusion and a plate-shaped body supporting the contact protrusion at a distal end of the substrate; Forming a first conductive layer used as a seed layer for electroplating on the substrate on which the groove is formed; Electrodepositing a second conductive layer on the surface of the first conductive layer by electroplating using the first conductive layer; Filling the groove with a soldering material, and then performing a reflow process to form a third conductive layer; And grinding the surface of the substrate by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method to separate the first and second conductive layers. Forming a polymer layer made of a polymer on top of the substrate, Preparing a micro tip stamp having an embossed structure of a plurality of micro tips each including a rod-shaped contact protrusion and a plate-shaped body supporting the contact protrusion at a tip end thereof; Pressing the micro tip stamp onto the polymer layer of the substrate to form a plurality of grooves corresponding to the micro tip shape; Forming a first conductive layer used as a seed layer for electroplating on the substrate on which the groove is formed; Electrodepositing a second conductive layer on the surface of the first conductive layer by electroplating using the first conductive layer; After filling the grooves with a soldering material, performing a reflow process to form a third conductive layer, And grinding the surface of the polymer layer by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method to separate the first and second conductive layers. The substrate of claim 20, wherein the substrate is formed of a substrate having a polymer layer formed of any one selected from polyimide, epoxy, photoresist, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on the Si substrate. Forming the groove corresponding to the micro tip shape is a method of manufacturing a micro tip, characterized in that made by etching the polymer layer. 22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein forming the seed layer for electroplating on the substrate is Au / Cr, Ni, Cr, Ti, Cu, Au, Al, Cu / Cr and Cu / Ti by a sputtering method. A method for producing a microtip, characterized by forming a conductive layer made of any one selected from among. 22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein the third conductive layer is made of any one selected from Si-Ag, Si-Au, Sn-Ag, Sn-Au and Sn. The method of claim 21, wherein preparing the micro tip stamp Forming a plurality of grooves corresponding to a shape of a micro tip including a rod-shaped contact protrusion and a plate-shaped body supporting the contact protrusion at a distal end of the second substrate; Forming a first conductive layer used as a seed layer for electroplating on the second substrate on which the groove is formed; Electrodepositing a second conductive layer on the groove and the upper surface of the second substrate by electroplating using the first conductive layer; And obtaining a micro tip stamp comprising the first and second conductive layers by melting and removing the second substrate. 26. The method of claim 20 or 25, wherein forming the plurality of grooves is Etching the substrate to a first depth corresponding to the contact protrusion by fabricating a first photoresist etching mask corresponding to the contact protrusion and dry etching a plurality of first grooves having a pattern corresponding to the contact protrusion; , And manufacturing a second photoresist etching mask corresponding to the body concentrically with the plurality of first grooves, and etching the substrate to a second depth corresponding to the body. 22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein each of the plurality of separate micro-tip pattern consisting of the first to third conductive layer is formed in the same pattern as the pattern of the plurality of vertical connection wiring formed perpendicular to the body of the interposer Method for producing a micro tip, characterized in that. 28. The other end of the needle of claim 27, wherein the plurality of needles are in contact with the plurality of vertical connection wires of the interposer using an assembly guide, and the third conductive layer of the substrate having the first and second conductive layers separated therefrom. Heat treatment after contact with Separating the plurality of micro tips by melting and removing the substrate further comprises the method of manufacturing a micro tip.

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