KR20000005901A - Carrier board for testing ic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: Carrier board for testing IC device is provided to overcome the problem that the performance of floating is dropped when spring force of floating spring is enlarged. CONSTITUTION: The carrier board for testing IC device comprises carrier board, electrode of IC device loaded on the carrier without damaging floating ability of the carrier, base wall, clamp lever, floating spring positioning between the carrier and board body, contact block, supporting plate positioning on the lower place of the carrier, four guide rods connecting the supporting plate and the carrier, and compression spring compressed between the carrier and the supporting plate.

Description

Carrier board for testing IC devices {CARRIER BOARD FOR TESTING IC DEVICE}

The present invention is used to test the electrical characteristics of an IC device, in particular a ball grid array (BGA) type or chip scale package (CSP) type IC device. The present invention relates to a carrier board for testing an IC device.

An IC tester is used to test the electrical characteristics of the IC device, but the IC tester has a test head provided with a predetermined number of electrodes, carries the IC device, connects to the contact portion of the IC tester, and supplies current therebetween. It is set as the structure which performs a test by doing this. In order to improve the test efficiency, it is common to test a plurality of IC devices at the same time while making it possible to mount the IC device on each of these carriers detachably using a test carrier board having a predetermined number of carriers installed on the board body. to be. The carrier board loads the IC device to be tested on each carrier in the loader section and conveys it to a position facing the test head of the IC tester by an appropriate conveying means such as a conveyor, and pushes the carrier board toward the test head with a pusher or the like. By moving, the electrode of the IC device placed on each carrier is brought into contact with the electrode of the test head. After the test is completed and the carrier board is removed from the test head, the carrier board is conveyed to the unloader unit, and the unloader unit is stored in a predetermined jig with IC devices classified and divided based on the test results.

In general, an IC device is constituted by providing a predetermined number of electrode portions in a package portion in which an electronic circuit is incorporated, but the number of electrodes increases due to high integration of the circuit, and the package portion itself tends to be miniaturized. The test head of the IC tester is provided with a predetermined number of contact portions for simultaneously testing a plurality of IC devices, and each of the contact portions has the same number of contact probes as the electrodes of the IC device, that is, electrodes on the tester side of the IC device side electrodes. Installed in a state consistent with the array relationship. Although a predetermined number of carriers are provided on the carrier board, all the electrodes of all the IC devices placed on each carrier and each contact probe corresponding to the contact portion must be securely connected. Therefore, first of all, positioning of the carrier of the IC device and relative positioning of the contact portion in the IC tester of the carrier are required. Moreover, in order to reliably electrically connect all the electrodes provided in an IC device, it is necessary to press and contact each other with predetermined pressure contact force.

In this way, the positioning of the IC device with respect to the carrier is usually performed by the clamp member. Moreover, as a representative example of the mechanism which performs relative positioning with respect to the contact part of a carrier, the carrier is floated with a spring, a positioning pin is provided toward a test head, and a positioning hole for inserting this positioning pin is provided in a carrier side. There is one configured. In addition, in order to secure the electrical connection between the electrode of the IC device and the contact probe, the electrode of the IC device is elastically supported, and when the electrode and the contact probe come into contact with each other, the elastic support member is bent in a predetermined amount to contact the electrode and the contact. It is common to apply a pressing force between the probes.

However, some electrodes in an IC device are composed of leads extending from a package part. In this case, when each lead is brought into contact with a spring-like elastic support member, pressure contact force is applied between the lead and the contact probe during contact. Can function.

In recent years, however, as an IC device packaging method, a spherical electrode made of solder balls or the like is installed directly in an integrated circuit element or in a package resin for sealing the integrated circuit element, for example, a BGA type or a CSP. IC devices have been developed and put into practical use. In this type of IC device, since the electrode is integrated with an integrated circuit device or a resin for a package, the contact probe must have a spring property in order to exert a pressure contact between the electrode and the contact probe during contact. . However, there is a problem in that the strength of the contact probe is lowered and sufficient durability cannot be obtained.

In the case where the carrier is floated with a spring, it is also conceivable to use this floating spring for pressure welding of the electrode and the contact probe. However, since the number of electrodes provided in each IC device is very large, for example, 100 or more, it is necessary to use a large spring force in order to exert the necessary pressure contact force between each electrode and the contact probe. . If the spring force of the floating spring is increased, there is a problem that the floating function is lowered and the carrier cannot be followed smoothly with respect to the contact portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to reliably connect the electrodes of the IC device placed on the carrier with the electrodes constituting the contact portion of the IC tester without impairing the floating function of the carrier. To be able to connect to

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an apparatus for testing electrical characteristics of an IC device;

2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an IC device to be tested;

3 is a plan view of principal parts of a carrier board showing one embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 3;

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y-Y of FIG. 3;

6 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a connection state between a spherical electrode and a probe pin in the IC device;

7 is an explanatory diagram of a clamp mechanism of an IC device;

8 is an explanatory view of the configuration of the alignment mechanism of the contact block and the carrier;

9 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a state along a contact block of a carrier;

10 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a state at the start of the action of the force on the carrier;

11 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a state in which a spherical electrode of an IC device and a probe pin of a contact block are connected;

12 is a configuration explanatory diagram showing another configuration example of a clamp mechanism;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of main parts of a carrier board in which three clamp mechanisms of FIG. 12 are provided; FIG.

14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Z-Z of FIG.

※ Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing

1 loader and unloader 2 test unit

4: carrier board 5: pusher

6: contact portion 7: probe pin

10 IC device 15 spherical electrode

16: package 19: board body

20: carrier 20a: through hole

20b: step part 21: device mounting part

22, 122: reference wall 23, 123: clamp lever

30: carrier guide 31: protrusion

32: regulating part 33: floating spring

34: positioning hole 35: positioning pin

36: carrier holding plate 37: guide rod

38: insertion hole 40: compression spring

123a: first engagement portion 123b: second engagement portion

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of carriers on which the IC device is placed on the board body, and the IC devices placed on each of the carriers are connected to a plurality of contact portions provided at the same time on the test head. Carrier floating means, which is provided between the board body and the carriers for carrying out tests of electrical characteristics, and floats and supports each of these carriers independently along each contact portion of the test head, and the carriers. Has a carrier holding means for holding each contact portion along the contact portion, and a carrier biasing means for pressing each IC device into contact with the contact portion at the time of contact between the IC device placed on each carrier and the test head. It is characterized by.

Here, the carrier floating means is to hold the carrier so that it can be displaced in any direction to follow the contact portion of the test head, and may be configured to support by an elastic member such as air pressure or rubber, but the board body and each carrier It is preferable to comprise so that a floating spring may be provided in between. Carrier guides are installed in succession on the board body, and each carrier is pushed to the carrier guide by the action of the floating spring. Further, the carrier guide holds the carrier displaceably in a direction orthogonal to the biasing direction of the floating spring by a predetermined range.

At the time of conducting the IC device, the floating state is released in order to prevent the relative positional deviation during the pressure welding between the electrode of the IC device and the electrode of the contact portion. The carrier holding means is provided for this purpose, and can be constituted by a holding plate which can be spaced close to the board body, and a guide rod that connects the holding plate so as to move only in a direction in which the carrier plate is close to and separated from each carrier. When the carrier is in the floating state, the holding plate is separated from the board body, and after each carrier follows the contact portion, the holding plate is brought into contact with the board body. As a result, the carrier can move only in one direction. The carrier can be moved in a direction in which the contact between the electrode of the IC device and the electrode of the contact portion is brought into contact with each other, and the carrier biased between the carrier and the positioning plate by acting a compression spring between the carrier and the positioning plate. Means can be constructed. Thereby, the spring force of the compression spring constituting the carrier biasing means can be set irrespective of the floating means, and the influence of the operation of the floating means is eliminated.

When contacting the IC device, the carrier supported by the floating means is brought along the contact portion of the test head. The carrier board is movable, but for this purpose, the board body may be configured such that each carrier is displaced in a direction in which each carrier is brought into proximity with and separated from each contact portion by a pusher. In the relative positioning of the carrier and the contact portion, a positioning pin may be provided in the test head, and a positioning hole into which the positioning pin is fitted may be formed in each carrier. At least two of these positioning pins and the positioning holes are provided.

Each carrier is provided with positioning means for positioning and fixing the IC device at a predetermined position, but the positioning means includes, for example, a reference wall on which two adjacent sides of the IC device come into contact with each other, and each of these reference walls has a side surface of the IC device. It can be set as the structure which has a lever which pushes in. If the lever is rotated in a direction approaching and spaced apart from the side of the IC device, and the engagement with the IC device is made to be in contact with the upper edge portion of the side of the IC device, positioning of the IC device can be performed more smoothly. And reliably, it is also possible to clamp and hold the IC device.

The other configuration of the lever here includes a first engagement portion that abuts against the upper edge portion on the side when engaging the IC device, and a predetermined length protrudes from the first engagement portion to contact the upper surface of the IC device. Or having a second engagement portion facing each other at some interval further improves the stability of the IC device. In addition, if the lever is installed on two sides of the side where the reference wall is not installed and on one side of the side where the reference wall is installed, the posture can be corrected even if the IC device is partially excited when carried on the carrier. Etc., the positioning accuracy of the IC device is further improved.

The test carrier board having the above-described configuration does not matter what kind of IC device is tested, but is suitably used to test IC devices such as BGA type and CSP type in which a predetermined number of spherical electrodes are formed on one side of the substrate. . In this case, the contact portion of the test head may be provided with contact pins spaced apart from each of these spherical electrodes.

Embodiment of the Invention

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described in detail based on drawing. First, Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an apparatus for testing electrical characteristics of an IC device. In the figure, 1 is a loader / unloader part, and 2 is a test part. In the loader / unloader section 1, the IC device to be tested is taken out from the tray T, conveyed to the test section 2, and the electrical characteristics are tested. For this reason, the test part 2 is provided with the IC tester 3, and it is set as the structure provided with the thermostat 4 for heating or cooling an IC device. The loader section and the unloader section may be provided at separate locations, and the thermostat 4 is not required to be installed at room temperature.

An example of the structure of the IC device in which the electrical property test is performed using the above test apparatus is shown in FIG. As is apparent from the figure, the IC device 10 has an integrated circuit element 11 and a substrate 12 and the integrated circuit element 11 is sealed by a sealing resin 13. Moreover, between the integrated circuit element 11 and the board | substrate 12, it is electrically connected with the wire 14, On the surface opposite to the side which mounts the integrated circuit element 11 of the board | substrate 12, it is a solder ball, for example. A plurality of spherical electrodes 15 are provided. Therefore, the package part 16 is comprised by the integrated circuit element 11, its board | substrate 12, and the sealing resin 13, and the predetermined number of longitudinally and horizontally on the surface of the board | substrate 12 side of this package part 16 is carried out. The spherical electrodes 15 are arranged at predetermined pitch intervals. By configuring the IC device 10 in this manner, the entirety of the IC device 10 is a package having a size slightly larger than that of the integrated circuit element 11, so that the IC device 10 can be installed very compactly on a circuit board or the like of an electric device.

In the IC tester 3, a plurality of IC devices 10 are simultaneously tested, for example, 32, 64, etc. of the IC devices 10 having the above-described configuration, and the plurality of IC devices 10 The carrier board 5 is used in order to convey the load between the loader unloader section 1 and the test section 2. The carrier board 5 thus reciprocates between the loader unloader 1 and the test part 2 by a horizontal conveying means such as a conveying conveyor. Then, by holding the carrier board 5 in the thermostat 4 for a predetermined time, the IC device 10 is brought to a predetermined temperature condition, and then the carrier board 5 is turned toward the test head 3a of the IC tester 3. By moving, the IC device 10 is connected to the test head 3a.

The carrier board 5 has a predetermined number of IC devices 10 mounted thereon, so that the carrier board 5 has a predetermined number of carriers 20 on the board body 19 as shown in Figs. It is supposed to be installed. The IC device 10 is detachably mounted on each of these carriers 20, but the IC device 10 is mounted so that its spherical electrode 15 is upward. The lower surface of the test head 3a is provided with the same number of contact blocks 6 as the carrier 20 of the carrier board 5, and each of these contact blocks 6 has a spherical electrode 15 of the IC device 10. The same number of probe pins 7 as are mounted vertically (see Figure 8). Therefore, each contact block 6 in the test head 3a constitutes a contact portion for testing the IC device 10, and the contact pin 7 is an electrode. When the carrier board 5 is pushed up, the spherical electrode 15 of the IC device 10 placed on each carrier 20 and the probe pin 7 provided on the contact block 6 are electrically connected.

6 shows a connection state between the spherical electrode 15 and the probe pin 7. The probe pin 7 is made of an electrically conductive member having an elasticity, and a lower end thereof is divided into a plurality of contact pole portions 7a, and when the spherical electrode 15 is pushed against the probe pins 7, the contact pole portions 7a are provided. As a result, the spherical electrode 15 is reliably electrically connected to the probe pin 7 as a result of elastic deformation in the direction in which? Therefore, in order to perform the test, each rectangular electrode 15 of the IC device 10 must be reliably connected to the probe pin 7 corresponding thereto, and each rectangular electrode 15 is connected to the probe pin 7. A predetermined pressure welding force must act on the.

First, the device mounting part 21 on which the IC device 10 is mounted is provided in each carrier 20 provided a predetermined number in the carrier board 5. The device mounting portion 21 is formed by forming the reference walls 22 and 22 in two places, and the IC device 10 has two reference surfaces 22 adjacent to each other in the package portion 16. ) To be positioned. In order to bring the IC device 10 into contact with these reference walls 22, a clamp lever 23 is provided at a position facing both reference walls 22. The clamp lever 23 is rotatably mounted in the vertical direction by the horizontal shaft 24, and is normally biased in the clamp direction by the bitrim coil spring 25. The clamp lever 23 is formed by extending from both sides of the operating plate 26 through which the horizontal shaft 24 is fitted. As shown in FIG. 7, the operating plate 26 includes the clamp release plate 8. It is made to press and move from the upper side by the pushing rod 8a provided in the upper part. Accordingly, the clamp lever 23 is displaced in the clamp releasing direction against the biasing force of the return coil spring 25. In addition, in order to be able to rotate the operating plate 26, the carrier 20 is formed with a through hole 20a. The clamp release plate 8 is provided with an opening 8b through which the clamping plate 8 is fitted, and the vacuum suction head 9 for vacuum sucking the IC device 10 can be inserted into and removed from the opening 8b through which the clamping plate 8 is inserted. .

By the configuration as described above, the load / unload operation, that is, the operation of placing the IC device 10 on the carrier 20 or drawing it out by the load / unload operation means composed of the clamp release plate 8 and the vacuum suction head 9 is performed. Is done. When performing the load / unload operation, first, the clamp release plate 8 is lowered, and the clamp lever 23 is rotated about the horizontal axis 24 by pressing the operating plate 26 to move by the pushing rod 8a. At the same time, displace the clamp. The IC device 10 is placed on the device mounting portion 21 or the device mounting portion 21 is caused by inserting the IC device 10 adsorbed onto the vacuum suction head 9 into the opening 8b through which the device is fitted. IC device 10 can be taken out.

In the load operation, when the IC device 10 is placed on all the carriers 20 by the vacuum adsorption head 9 and then the clamp release plate 8 is raised, the pusher 8a is moved by the operation plate 26. And the clamp lever 23 is rotated downward by the action of the torsion coil spring 25 so as to press and move the two surfaces of the package portion 16 at two positions, respectively, to fit the reference wall 22. Is reached. At this time, the clamp lever 23 is brought into contact with the upper surface portion of the package portion 16, that is, the edge portion of the substrate 12, with respect to the IC device 10, thereby pressing and positioning the two reference walls 22 in contact with each other. At the same time, the IC device 10 is clamped to the device mounting portion 21.

In this way, the IC device 10 mounted on the carrier 20 moves from the load / unload section 1 to the test section 2 and is tested by the IC tester 3 for its electrical characteristics. Each spherical electrode 15 of the IC device 10 is connected to a probe pin 7 corresponding thereto. To this end, first, the entirety of the carrier board 5 is positioned relative to the test head 3a. Although not shown as a mechanism of the carrier board 5, at least two positioning holes are provided in the carrier board 5, and the test pin 3a includes positioning pins to be inserted into these positioning holes. To be installed vertically. As a result, when the carrier board 5 is pushed up, the carrier board 5 is positioned to follow the test head 3a.

The carrier board 5 is provided with a plurality of carriers 20. Thus, for example, even if the carrier board 5 is correctly positioned with respect to the test head 3a, the position of the carrier 20 and the contact block 6 is correct so that the spherical electrode 15 and the probe pin 7 of the IC device 10 are aligned. ) Is not necessarily in a connected state as shown in FIG. That is, since there are assembly errors, dimensional tolerances, etc. in each carrier 20 in the carrier board 5, all the carriers 20 installed in the carrier board 5 only by positioning the carrier board 5, The spherical electrodes 15 of the respective IC devices 10 placed on and the probe pins 7 of the respective contact blocks 6 on the test head 3a side do not necessarily coincide.

From the above, each carrier 20 has the structure which can be positioned so that each may correspond to the corresponding contact block 6, respectively. For this reason, the floating means is installed and the carrier 20 is mounted in the floating state independently of the board body 19 in the horizontal direction. Floating of the carrier 20 is in a limited range, and the carrier body 30 is provided in the board body 19 as is apparent from FIG. 4. The carrier guide 30 extends almost the entire length of the board body 19 and protrudes a predetermined amount from the top to the left and right in a direction from the top of the protruding string 31 having a predetermined height extending in the longitudinal direction of the carrier 20. It is installed one after another. As the carrier guide 30 forms the narrow portions 30a at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction in the planar state, the portions between the two narrow portions 30a and 30a move as the carrier 20 is apparent from FIG. 3. Form a range. On the other hand, the stepped portion 20b is formed on the left and right side portions of the carrier 20, and the recessed portion formed by the stepped portion 20b has a wide width at both front and rear ends and a narrow middle portion. As a result, the carrier 20 is formed with a restricting portion 32 arranged with a predetermined gap d in front, back, left and right in the regulating space formed by the narrow portion 30a of the carrier guide 30, and the carrier 20 can be displaced in the horizontal direction by this gap d.

In addition, six floating springs 33 are elastically mounted between the carrier 20 and the board body 19. The floating spring 33 makes the step portion 20b of the carrier 20 abut the inner surface of the carrier guide 30, and the applied force supports the entire load of the carrier 20, and the carrier guide ( 30) to push with weak force. Therefore, the force of the entire floating spring 33 is greater than or equal to the total weight of the carrier 20, and less than twice that of the carrier 20, so that only a slight external force acts on each carrier 20, each independently in a restricted space. It moves smoothly in any direction in the horizontal direction to the regulated range.

The carrier 20 is provided with two positioning holes 34 at positions outside the center line, and each of the contact blocks 6 in the test head 3a is provided with these positioning holes 34. The positioning pin 35 to be fitted is vertically provided. As shown in Fig. 8, the positioning pin 35 has a circumferential portion fitted into the positioning hole 34 with substantially no gap therebetween, and at its tip is formed a roughly conical shape to be a retracting portion. On the other hand, the upper side of the positioning hole 34 has a tapered shape that is enlarged and opened outward. Therefore, even if the position of the carrier 20 and the contact block 6 does not match, if the position shift between them falls within the above-mentioned gap d, the position of the carrier 20 when the carrier 20 is close to the contact block 6 is determined. The pin 35 is fitted into the positioning hole 34 of the carrier 20 so that the position is corrected so that the carrier 20 follows the contact block 6. As a result, when mounting the carriers 20 to the board body 19 of the carrier board 5, even if they are slightly displaced, each carrier 20 individually contacts the contact block 6 of the test head 3a. Relative positioning is performed as follows. The floating spring 33 is also provided in the positioning hole 34, whereby the operation of entering the positioning pin 35 into the positioning hole 34 is performed smoothly.

Next, in each carrier 20, each spherical shape of the IC device 10 held in a predetermined position in the device mounting portion 21 by the clamp lever 23 and the reference wall 22. The electrode 15 must be connected to each probe pin 7 in the contact block 6 so as to be press-contacted with a predetermined pressing force. To this end, first, the floating action on the carrier 20 is released, and the carrier 20 is elastically supported in the direction in which the carrier 20 is approached and spaced apart from the probe pin 7. Thus, as is apparent from FIG. 3, the carrier holding plate 36 as the carrier holding means is disposed at the lower position of the carrier 20, and the four guide rods 37 are provided between the carrier holding plate 36 and the carrier 20. Is connected to. The carrier retaining plate 36 is in a floating state held in an excited state from the board body 10 in a state in which no external force acts on the carrier 20, and the carrier retaining plate 36 is pressed down from the upper side. ) Abuts against the board body 10 and becomes a floating release state.

The guide rod 37 is fixed to the carrier holding plate 36 with a screw 38. In addition, the carrier 20 is provided with four insertion holes 39 through which the guide rod 37 is inserted into the carrier 20 so that the carrier holding plate 36 is movably connected to the carrier 20 in a direction of being spaced apart from and separated from the carrier 20. have. In order to prevent the guide rod 37 from deviating from the carrier 20, a large diameter stopper portion 37a is formed at the upper end of the guide rod 37, and the upper part of the hole 39 through which the carrier 20 is fitted. The large diameter part 39a is formed in the side, and the stopper part 37a is engaged with the large diameter part 39a. Thereby, the maximum separation distance between the carrier 20 and the carrier holding plate 36 is regulated.

A compression spring 40 constituting the carrier biasing means is provided between the carrier 20 and the carrier holding plate 36. Four compression springs 40 are installed to fit each guide rod 37. These four compression springs 40 are for pressing and contacting the spherical electrodes 15 and the probe pins 7 to ensure electrical connection therebetween, and the sum of the spring forces of all the spherical shapes of the IC device 10 The electrode 15 is set so as to maintain the pressure contact force necessary for reliably electrically connecting the respective probe pins 7. Therefore, the spring constant of the compression spring 40 is considerably larger than the floating spring 33.

Thus, the carrier board 5 is arrange | positioned at the loader unloader part 1, the IC device 10 is mounted on each carrier 20 by the vacuum suction head 9, and the clamp lever 23 is carried out by the clamp lever 23. As shown in FIG. The IC device 10 is positioned relative to the carrier 20 and fixedly held between the reference walls 22. In this state, the carrier board 5 is moved from the loader unloader section 1 to the test section 2 so that the carrier board 5 is pushed in a direction approaching the test head 3a to move. By raising the carrier board 5, first, the position adjustment of a 1st stage is performed so that the whole carrier board 5 may follow the test head 3a.

When the carrier board 5 is further raised, in this lift stroke, as shown in FIG. 9, the positioning pin 35 provided in each contact block 6 in the test head 3a is positioned at the position of the carrier 20. It fits into the crystal hole 34. Since each carrier 20 is floated independently by the floating spring 33 with respect to the carrier board 5, each carrier 20 is made to emulate each contact block 6 independently of each other. Position adjustment of two stages is carried out. Since the floating spring 33 acts only a weak spring force, all the carriers 20 follow each contact block 6 substantially simultaneously and smoothly.

As a result, each probe pin 7 provided in the contact block 6 abuts against each spherical electrode 15 of the IC device 10.

When the carrier board 5 is further raised, the floating spring 33 is bent a predetermined amount, and as shown in FIG. 10, the carrier holding plate 36 connected to the carrier 20 via the guide rod 37 is As a result of contacting the surface of the board body 19, the floating of the carrier 20 is released. However, since the carrier 20 and the carrier holding plate 36 are able to move in a direction close to each other, and the compression spring 40 is elastically mounted therebetween, the rise of the carrier board 5 continues. This time the compression spring 40 is bent. For this reason, since the carrier holding plate 36 is in contact with the board body 19, the reaction force of the compression spring 40 is the board body 19.

Supported by. Therefore, the biasing force of the compression spring 40 on the carrier 20 acts in the direction in which each of the spherical electrodes 15 presses and contacts the probe pins 7, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the compression spring 40 is bent in a predetermined amount, that is, the carrier retaining plate 36 abuts on the board body 19, the force of the compression spring 40 causes the force of all the probe pins 7 to rest. When the contact pole portions 7a are pressed against each of the spherical electrodes 15 in a state in which the contact pole portions 7a are elastically deformed, the rise of the carrier board 5 is stopped. The electrical characteristics are measured by energizing the IC device 10 in this state.

In this way, the plurality of carriers 20 mounted on the carrier board 5 are first floated by the action of the floating spring 33 having a weak spring force, so that each carrier 20 is smooth and reliable independently. And to follow the contact block 6 of the test head 3a without special resistance. As a result, all the spherical electrodes 15 of the IC device 10 placed on the carrier 20 are in a state in which the probe pins 7 of the contact block 6 can be contacted with each other. In addition, if the position adjustment of each carrier 20 is made, the carrier 20 will continue to be lifted up even after the position adjustment is performed, and the floating of the carrier 20 will be canceled and the carrier 20 and the contact block 6 will be released. The bending of the compression spring 40 starts without changing the relative position, and the compression spring 40 is bent in a predetermined amount until the state in which the compression spring 40 is electrically connected to the probe pin 7 with respect to all the spherical electrodes 15. Since spring load can be applied, there is no fear of a situation such as a poor contact.

When the energization test for the IC device 10 is completed, the carrier board 5 is lowered to separate from the contact block 6 of the test head 3a. As a result, the carrier board 5 returns to the state of FIG. 8, and the carrier board 5 shifts from the thermostat 4 to the loader unloader unit 1 and the tested IC device 10 Based on the test results, they are placed in the tray (T) for each classification.

However, in order to reliably connect the probe pin 7 of the contact probe 6 to the spherical electrode 15 of the IC device 10, a pressure contact force is applied between the spherical electrode 15 and the probe pin 7, As shown in FIG. 6, since the contact pole part 7a of the probe pin 7 expands and opens, the clamping force with respect to the spherical electrode 15 may act by the contact pole part 7a. On the other hand, while the IC device 10 is positioned between the clamp lever 23 and the reference wall 22 in the carrier 20, the clamp lever 23 refers to the upper edge portion of the IC device 10. It only presses against the wall 22, but does not hold in the direction which abuts the surface of the carrier 20. As shown in FIG. Therefore, if the contact pole portion 7a of the probe pin 7 is in the state where the spherical electrode 15 is fitted, the IC may be operated by the clamping force of the probe pin 7 when the carrier board 5 is lowered. There is no possibility that the device 10 may be lifted up and lose its stability.

In order to eliminate the instability of the above-described IC device 10, the clamp lever is constituted as shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 123 is a clamp lever, and the clamp lever 123 is provided on both sides of the operating plate 126, and the operating plate 126 is rotatably mounted on the horizontal shaft 124 in a vertical direction. . The clamp lever 123 is biased in the clamp direction by the torsion coil spring 125, and the clamp lever 123 is clamped against the applied force of the torsion coil spring 125 by pressing the operating plate 126. It is to be displaced in the release direction.

There is no special difference with respect to the clamp lever 23 regarding the above point.

By the way, in the clamp lever 123, the working place with respect to the IC device 10 is two places. First, the first engagement portion 123a is a positioning action portion that abuts the edge portion of the upper side of the IC device 10 when the clamp lever 123 is in the clamped state, and the first engagement portion 123a The predetermined angle is inclined with respect to the upper surface of the IC device 10. The first engagement portion 123a is in contact with the IC device 10 at the time of clamping the IC device 10, and also pushes the force in the horizontal direction to push the IC device 10 toward the reference wall. It is supposed to work. Moreover, the upper part of the 1st engagement part 123a in the clamp lever 123 is provided with the 2nd engagement part 123b extended in the horizontal direction at the time of a clamp. The second engagement portion 123b is slightly in contact with the upper surface of the IC device 10 or faces with a very slight gap, thereby suppressing the lifting of the IC device 10 by the action of an external force. Function.

Therefore, after the clamp lever 123 is in the clamp release state and the IC device 10 is placed on the device mounting portion 21 of the carrier 20, the clamp lever 123 rotates to the clamp position. Firstly, the first engagement portion 123a abuts the edge of the IC device 10, and the IC device 10 is pressed to move in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 12 and positioned to follow the reference wall. In the meantime, the second engagement portion 123b is maintained in a non-contact state with the IC device 10, and when the positioning of the IC device 10 is substantially completed with the clamp lever 123, the second engagement portion 123 123b is maintained in contact with the upper surface of the IC device 10 or facing it at some distance from it.

In this way, when the second engagement portion 123b is provided in the clamp lever 123, when the IC device 10 is clamped, it can be fixed in the lifting direction. Therefore, the clamp lever (7a) of the contact pin portion (7a) of the probe pin (7a) acts on the spherical electrode (15) and the IC device (10) is lifted up when the carrier board (5) is lowered. Since it is pressed by the 2nd engagement part 123b of 123, it is stably maintained by the device mounting part 21 of the carrier 20, and its lifting is reliably prevented.

In this case, when the length of the second engagement portion 123b is increased in order to reliably press the IC device 10 in the second engagement portion 123b, the clamp lever 123 is placed in the clamp release position. The clamp lever 123 must be rotated greatly when the operation of placing the device on the device mounting portion 21 is performed. However, the lifting of the IC device 10 occurs at the time of detachment from the probe pin 7, and the clamping force on the spherical electrode 15 by the contact pole portion 7a of the probe pin 7 is not so large. Therefore, the second engaging portion 123b is good enough to allow the second engaging portion 123b to turn slightly toward the upper surface of the IC device 10. Therefore, it is not necessary to make the rotational operation of the clamp lever 123 too large when the clamp is released.

Moreover, by providing the second engagement portion 123b in the clamp lever 123, the function of improving the positioning accuracy when the IC device 10 is placed on the device mounting portion 21 can also be exhibited. The IC device 10 can be accurately positioned by pushing up and down the reference wall by the first engaging portion 123a in the horizontal direction. However, when the IC device 10 is mounted, it may be lifted from the surface of the device mounting portion 21. Correction of this position cannot be performed by the first engaging portion 123a. Therefore, the clamp lever 123 is disposed at at least one position not only on the side where the reference wall is provided but also on the side where the reference wall is provided on the sides of the IC device 10 facing each other. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the reference wall 122 on the side where the clamp lever 123 is provided forms a cutout portion 122a at a position corresponding to the clamp lever 123. Even if the cutout 122a is formed in this manner, the positioning function of the side surface of the IC device 10 is not substantially impaired.

In such a configuration, when the IC device 10 is placed on the device mounting portion 21 while the three clamp levers 123 are held at the clamp release position, the IC device 10 is placed on the device mounting portion ( Even if it is partially excited from 21, the surface of the device mounting portion 21 can be surely abutted. Therefore, for this purpose, it is preferable to set the second engagement portion 123b to slightly touch the upper surface of the IC device 10 at the time of clamping. Moreover, it is more preferable that the space | interval of the pair of clamp levers 123 located on both sides of the operation board 126 is taken to some extent.

Since the present invention is constituted as described above, it is possible to reliably and electrically connect between the electrode of the IC device placed on the carrier and the electrode constituting the contact portion of the IC tester without impairing the floating function of the carrier. Have

Claims (10)

In the case where a plurality of carriers on which an IC device is placed on the board body are provided, and the IC devices placed on each of these carriers are connected to a plurality of contact portions provided on a test head, respectively, to simultaneously test the electrical characteristics. Carrier floating means installed between the board body and each of the carriers, each carrier to support each carrier independently to follow each contact portion of the test head, and a carrier for maintaining each carrier in a position along the contact portion, respectively A holding board, and a carrier biasing means for pushing each IC device to a contact portion at the time of contact between the IC device placed on each carrier and the test head, the carrier board for testing an IC device characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 1, The carrier floating means is composed of a floating spring respectively installed between the board body and each of the carriers, and the carrier guide that is installed in succession to the board body, each carrier is pushed by the floating spring, The carrier guide is configured to hold the carrier so as to be displaceable in a direction orthogonal to the biasing direction of the floating spring by a predetermined range. The method of claim 1, The carrier holding means comprises a holding plate which is close to the board body, and a guide rod which connects the holding plate so as to move only in a direction in which the holding plate is close to and separated from each carrier. When in the floating state, the retaining plate is separated from the board body, and after each carrier follows the contact portion, the retaining plate is brought into contact with the board body, and the carrier biasing means includes the carrier and the positioning A carrier board for testing an IC device, comprising a compression spring elastically mounted between plates. The method of claim 1, The board body is configured to displace each carrier by a pusher in a direction in which the carriers are in proximity to and separated from each contact portion of the test head, and a positioning pin is provided on the test head, and the positioning is performed on each carrier. A carrier board for testing an IC device, wherein a pin is inserted to form a positioning hole, and at least two of these positioning pins and positioning holes are provided. The method of claim 1, The carrier board for testing an IC device, characterized in that each carrier is provided with a positioning means for positioning and fixing the IC device at a predetermined position. The method of claim 5, And the positioning means comprises a reference wall in which two adjacent sides of the IC device abut each other, and a lever for pushing the side surfaces of the IC device to each of the reference walls. The method of claim 6, And said lever rotates in a direction proximate and spaced apart from the side surface of said IC device, and at the time of engagement of said IC device, said lever abuts against an upper edge portion on said side surface. The method of claim 7, wherein The lever rotates in a direction approaching and spaced apart from the side surface of the IC device. At the time of engagement of the IC device, the lever engages with a first engagement portion that contacts an upper edge portion of the side surface of the IC device. A carrier board for testing an IC device, comprising: a second engagement portion protruding a predetermined length from the portion so as to contact the upper surface of the IC device or face each other at a slight interval. The method of claim 8, And said lever is mounted on two sides of the side on which the reference wall is not provided and one side of the side on which the reference wall is installed. The method of claim 1, The IC device comprises a predetermined number of spherical electrodes formed on one side of a substrate, and a contact pin of the test head is provided with contact pins spaced close to each of these spherical electrodes. Carrier board for testing.