KR20090121786A - Probe for probe card and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A probe for a probe card and a manufacturing method thereof are provided to prevent deflection movement by including a stack structure of the odd numbered layers to the thickness direction of a thin film. CONSTITUTION: A probe(100) for a probe card is composed of a tip part(110) and a bottom support part(120) to be integrated. The tip part is protruded to one side and is contacted with the connection terminal of an object through a leading end. The bottom support unit elastically supports the tip part in the bottom side and is physically and electrically combined in the substrate structure side comprising the probe card. The odd numbered stack structure is comprised to the thickness direction of the thin film. An intermediate layer is comprised of the tip layer in one side and the bottom support layer in the other side. The same number of outer layers is formed in both sides of the intermediate layer.

Description

Probe for probe card and manufacturing method therefor {PROBE FOR PROBE CARD AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME}

The present invention is provided with a plurality of probe card (probe card) for providing an electrical connection to the semiconductor device to be inspected to perform the electrical performance test and the probe (probe) to directly contact the connection terminal on the test object and its manufacture A method of manufacturing a blade-type probe and a manufacturing method thereof, which can be easily manufactured through a MEMS process, and which is made of a combination of optimized stacking configurations and dissimilar materials, can provide reliability in operation and measurement. It is about a method.

In general, a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device (semiconductor device) consists of a number of steps, the final step of assembling the semiconductor device (a plurality of semiconductor die manufactured to form a separate integrated circuit (IC) on a wafer (wafer) ( Only dies (ie chips) are selected and assembled except good dies.

Therefore, a probe (i.e., probe) is directly contacted with each semiconductor die in order to determine whether the semiconductor dies on the wafer are good or defective prior to assembly and electrically tested for performance, with automated probing Use an inspection device (also called a prober).

The probing inspection apparatus is a tester, a prober, and a prober, which is a kind of computer device that generates a test signal and detects and analyzes a response signal received as a result, and determines whether the semiconductor die is good or bad. And a probe card electrically connecting the tester and the semiconductor die to be inspected in the middle.

The probe card transmits an electrical signal between the tester and the semiconductor device to be inspected. The configuration of the probe card corresponds to the contact terminals so that the probe card can be contacted with a contact pad that is largely exposed to the outside of the semiconductor device during the test. A plurality of fine probes spaced apart at a pitch and a substrate assembly for physically fixing the fine probes and electrically connecting the fine probes and the tester.

A plurality of probes are provided on the lower side of the substrate assembly in the vertical direction, and contact the connection terminals on the semiconductor device during the inspection to transmit electrical signals of the inspection signal and the response signal.

The substrate assembly is provided with one or more horizontal circuit boards which are joined to be stacked up and down, intermediary connection means such as an interposer which realizes an electrical connection between the circuit boards, and is arranged to be in close contact with one surface of a specific circuit board. It consists of a support plate etc. which prevents a deformation | transformation.

The probe is a needle-type wire (needle), mainly made of tungsten material, but the tip (tip) of the tip (tip) must be formed by mechanical processing is very difficult to manufacture, the material is Oxides are formed by repeated contact with the connection terminals on the semiconductor device due to the 텡 sten, and eventually contact resistance is generated, and when used for a long time, the elastic recovery force is lost or the position thereof is changed due to the plastic deformation caused by the accumulation of fatigue. There were several problems such as loss of functionality.

Therefore, in recent years, a thin plate-like blade type that can be manufactured in a plurality of easy and accurate shapes at a time through a semiconductor manufacturing process has been developed and widely used in place of the needle type.

However, even in the case of the blade type, the situation has not yet been optimized in terms of operation and measurement reliability, life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a probe for a probe card and a method of manufacturing the same, which can provide a long service life with reliability in operation and measurement.

The above objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments of the invention described below by those skilled in the art.

Probe for the probe card of the present invention for achieving the above object is a thin blade type, in the probe mounted on the probe card in an upright state, one end is formed so as to project on one side and connected on the inspection object through the tip A tip portion in contact with the terminal; And a lower support part coupled to the substrate structure side which physically and electrically forms the probe card while elastically supporting the tip part at the lower side. It is configured to be integrated into, and has an odd layer laminated structure in the thickness direction of the thin plate, the intermediate layer is composed of a tip layer on one side and the lower support layer on the other side, the outer layer of the same number of layers are provided on both sides of the intermediate layer It features.

Preferably, the tip layer of the intermediate layer is formed of a platinum-based metal material, the lower support layer and the outer layer of the intermediate layer may be formed of a nickel alloy material.

Also preferably, the tip layer of the intermediate layer may be provided such that the tip portion protrudes from the outer layer to be exposed to the outside.

Also preferably, the tip part layer of the intermediate layer may be formed of a rhodium material, and the lower support part layer and the outer layer of the intermediate layer may be formed of a nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) alloy material.

Also preferably, the lower support part may include an elastic structure part elastically supporting the tip part at a lower side, a coupling fixing part fixed to the fixing substrate constituting the substrate structure, and protruding to form the substrate structure. A circuit connecting portion connected to a connection terminal on a circuit board, wherein the elastic structure portion may include at least one through hole formed to penetrate through.

Also preferably, the tip portion may include an alignment mark portion, which is formed to protrude laterally from the lower side near the tip end to enable vision recognition for position alignment during mounting.

Also preferably, the elastic structure portion is connected to the tip side, the first horizontal portion extending in the horizontal direction, the vertical connection portion extending in the vertical direction from the first horizontal portion on the side opposite to the side where the tip is located And a second horizontal portion connected to the vertical connection portion and extending in a horizontal direction so as to face the first horizontal portion, wherein the through hole may be formed on the first horizontal portion.

In addition, the probe manufacturing method of the present invention for achieving the above object, the method of manufacturing a probe mounted to the probe card in the form of a thin blade, comprising the steps of: forming a sacrificial layer; Forming at least one outer layer of one side of a nickel alloy on the sacrificial layer; Forming a tip layer of an intermediate layer made of a platinum-based metal material so that one end thereof protrudes from the one outer layer on one side of the outer layer; Forming a lower support part layer of the intermediate layer on the other side of the one outer layer of the same nickel alloy material as the one outer layer and having the same thickness as the tip part layer; Forming the other outer layer of the same nickel alloy material as the one outer layer on the intermediate layer with the same number of layers as the one outer layer; And removing the sacrificial layer; It includes.

Preferably, the tip layer of the intermediate layer may be formed of a rhodium material, and the lower support layer and the outer layer of the intermediate layer may be formed of a nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) alloy material.

According to the present invention, the tip part is formed of a platinum-based metal material, the other part is formed of a nickel alloy material, in particular the tip part is formed of rhodium material, the other part is made of nickel-cobalt material to optimize the combination of different materials As a result, there is an effect that can provide a long life together with the operational and measurement reliability.

In addition, while the area of the first horizontal portion of the elastic structure supporting the tip portion is increased so that the tip portion can be firmly positioned without being wobbly, an appropriate number of through holes are provided on the first horizontal portion, and the tip portion is completely vertically moved. Since breakage can be prevented by smooth stress dispersion, in this respect, there is an effect of providing a long service life with reliability in operation and measurement.

In addition, since the lamination structure of the odd layer in the thickness direction of the thin plate, the occurrence of the deflection movement is prevented to provide the operation and measurement reliability, there is an effect that can be formed to any desired thickness.

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

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a probe for a probe card according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Probe for probe card 100 according to the present invention is basically a thin blade-shaped blade-type object and is mounted on the probe card in an upright state.

The structure is formed so as to protrude on one side of the upper end, while the tip portion 110 and the tip portion 110 elastically supporting the tip portion 110 in contact with the connection terminal on the semiconductor die which is the inspection object through the sharp tip at the time of inspection, It is made to be integrated into the lower support portion 120 which is coupled to the substrate structure side constituting the probe card physically and electrically.

In addition, the lower support part 120 is formed in a structure having a cut groove 122-1 at the lower side of the tip part 110 in detail, and an elastic structure part 122 that elastically supports the tip part 110. , A coupling fixing part 124 that is physically coupled to and fixed to the fixing substrate 200 that forms the substrate assembly and forms a substrate assembly, and a specific circuit board that protrudes from the other side of the lower substrate to form the substrate assembly (not shown). And a circuit connecting portion 126 electrically connected thereto.

Here, the tip 110 is formed in the form of a bar or plate protruding from one side of the upper end of the elastic structure 122 to contact the connection terminal on the semiconductor device during the inspection and after the inspection is completed The contact is released away from the connecting terminal.

According to the present invention, the tip portion 110 is formed of a platinum-based metal material such as rhodium, iridium, and palladium having excellent conductivity while having high hardness and high strength. It may be formed of only a platinum-based component or in the form of an alloy containing two or more kinds of platinum-based components.

As such, when the tip part 110 is formed of a platinum-based metal material, the tip part 110 may not be worn or damaged even after a prolonged inspection, and may not cause wear or impurities due to contact on the connection terminal on the semiconductor element side. have.

Furthermore, an alignment mark portion 112 is further provided on the lower side near the tip end of the tip portion 110 so as to protrude laterally, and the alignment mark portion 112 is mounted by aligning the probe 100 on the probe card. The position of the probe 100 may be easily and accurately confirmed through vision recognition.

In detail, the vision apparatus is used to position and mount the extremely fine probe 100 on the probe card, but the detection light emitted from the vision apparatus is reflected and returned from the projected alignment mark 112 and is aligned. By disappearing without being reflected in the periphery of the unit 112, the alignment mark unit 112 may appear to be clearly contrasted with the surrounding area in the resultant image. For example, the alignment mark unit 112 may be white. The surrounding area may appear black.

The elastic structure portion 122 is a portion that elastically supports the tip portion 110 from the lower side, and absorbs and buffers the external force applied as the tip portion 110 contacts the connection terminal on the semiconductor device, and the tip portion 110 is As the contact is spaced apart from the connection terminal on the semiconductor device, the elastic restoring force is exerted so that the tip part 110 returns to its original position.

Specifically, the elastic structure portion 122 is formed in a divergence-like shape having an incision groove 122-1 as a whole, that is, the first horizontal portion 122a which is connected to the tip portion 110 and extends in the horizontal direction. On the opposite side to the side where the tip portion 110 is located, the vertical connecting portion 122b extending downward in the vertical direction from the first horizontal portion 122a and the lower portion of the vertical connecting portion 122b are connected to the first horizontal portion ( And a second horizontal portion 122c extending in the horizontal direction so as to face 122a).

At this time, it is preferable that the first horizontal portion 122a is provided to have a wide area as much as possible, so that the tip portion 110 and the first horizontal portion 122a connected thereto can be firmly fixed without being wobbly. .

However, when the first horizontal portion 122a is formed in a relatively large area in this manner, the first horizontal portion 122a may not be deformed smoothly when the tip portion 110 is pressed against the connection terminal on the semiconductor device. In addition, the tip 110 may not be completely vertically moved during operation.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, at least one through hole 122a-1 is formed in the first horizontal portion 122a, so that the deformation difficulty according to the increased area may be partially solved.

In this case, the through-hole 122a-1 may be provided with a long oval in the horizontal direction and a short oval in the vertical direction so that the first horizontal portion 122a may be long in the horizontal direction. When provided with may be provided to be arranged up and down.

On the other hand, the coupling fixing portion 124 is formed in a suitable shape on the lower side of the second horizontal portion (122c) of the elastic structure portion 122 is a part that is physically coupled, fixed to the fixing substrate 200 forming a substrate assembly As such, it may be formed in a shape having a fitting groove 124a that is preferably recessed.

That is, the fixing substrate 200 constituting the substrate assembly is preferably provided with a fixing rod 202 in the form of a protruding rod having a predetermined height and width, as shown in Figure 2, on the upper surface of the fixing stand 202 Since a plurality of fixing slits 202a, which are minute cutting grooves, are formed in the plurality of fitting slits 124a on the probe 100 side, the fixing slits on the fixing table 202 of the fixing substrate 200 By being fitted with respect to 202a, it can be physically coupled and secured.

Of course, the fixing substrate 200 may be a substrate made of an insulating material. Otherwise, the fixing fixing portion 124 of the probe 100 may be coupled to and fixed to the insulated portion.

The circuit connecting portion 126 is formed in the form of a bar or plate protruding from one side of the lower end to electrically connect to a connection terminal on a specific circuit board constituting the substrate assembly, and is directly bonded or connected to the connection terminal on the circuit board, It can be connected via a separate connection means.

According to the present invention, all other parts except the tip 110 made of a platinum-based metal, that is, the elastic structure 122, the coupling fixing part 124, and the circuit connecting part 126 have a platinum-based metal material while having conductivity. It is made of nickel alloy materials such as more flexible Ni-Co, Ni-Fe, Ni-W, and Ni-Mn.

In this manner, the other portions except for the tip portion 110 are formed of a nickel alloy material, and when the probe 100 is manufactured in the above-described form, proper elasticity and strength characteristics can be exhibited, and no plasticity is applied even when the repetitive force is applied. Deformation or fatigue may not be caused.

As described above, in selecting the dissimilar materials for the tip portion 110 and the other portions, as the most preferable material combination, the tip portion 110 is made of a rhodium material among platinum-based metal materials in consideration of the superior adhesive force between them. The other part can be nickel-cobalt alloy material among nickel alloy materials.

By using such a combination of materials and materials, it is possible to secure a long service life with reliability in operation and measurement.

Furthermore, referring to FIG. 3, which is a sectional view along the AA cutting line on FIG. 1, and to FIG. 4, which is an enlarged view of the tip portion, the probe 100 according to the present invention has three layers, five layers, and seven layers in the thickness direction of the thin plate. It has the laminated structure of odd layer as shown, and shows the case of a laminated structure of three layers on drawing.

In detail, the intermediate layer (ml) is composed of a tip part layer (110 ') formed of a platinum-based metal material on one side and a lower support part layer (120-m) formed of a nickel alloy material on the other side of the intermediate layer (ml). The outer layers 120-1 and 120-r formed of nickel alloy materials are formed on both sides.

In this case, the outer layers 120-1 and 120-r are formed to surround the lower end of the tip layer 110 ′ forming the middle layer (ml), and thus the tip of the tip layer layer 110 ′ of the middle layer (ml) is exposed to the outside. The bottom portion of the tip layer 110 ′ is restrained.

The outer layers 120-1 and 120-r on both sides of the middle layer ml are formed of the same number of layers, and thus have a lamination structure of odd layers, including the middle layer ml.

As described above, when the odd layer is laminated, the outer layer 120-l and 120-r of the same number layer may be formed on both sides of the intermediate layer ml, while ensuring proper thickness to prevent whipping. Because it is formed, the biasing movement biased to either side may not occur during operation.

Of course, in the case of the five-layer laminated structure, the outer layers 120-1 and 120-r of two layers are formed on both sides of the intermediate layer ml, respectively.

Hereinafter, an example of a method of manufacturing the probe 100 according to the present invention using a microelectric mechanical system (MEMS) method will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5G.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a base substrate bl, which may be a ceramic substrate or a silicon substrate, is prepared, and then a sacrificial layer sl made of a metal material such as copper (Cu) is deposited or deposited on the base substrate bl. Form a sufficient thickness through plating.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5B, one side outer layer 120-l is formed using a series of semiconductor pattern forming processes such as deposition, plating, photolithography, etching, planarization, and ashing of a nickel alloy material on the sacrificial layer sl. ) Is patterned to the desired thickness and length.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5C, the tip layer 110 ′ of the intermediate layer ml is patterned on the outer layer 120-1 using a platinum-based metal material using a semiconductor pattern forming process.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5D, the lower support part layer 120-m of the intermediate layer ml is patterned on the other side of the one outer layer 120-1 by the same nickel alloy material as the one outer layer 120-l. Form.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5E, a nickel alloy material is formed on the intermediate layer ml by patterning the other outer layer 120-r using a semiconductor pattern forming process.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5F, the intermediate portion of the sacrificial layer sl is cut to remove the lower side of the base substrate bl and the sacrificial layer sl, and then, as shown in FIG. 5G, the remaining sacrificial layer sl is removed. Remove it by wet etching.

As a result, a probe 100 having a three-layer laminated structure according to the present invention is obtained, and the obtained probe 100 can be mounted on a probe card in an upright state.

For reference, in the case of a three-layer laminated structure, the thickness of the intermediate layer (ml) is 7 to 10 μm, and the thicknesses of the outer layers 120-l and 120-r on both sides may have the same ideal movement when probing. It can be formed so that.

In the case of the 5-layer laminated structure, the thicknesses of the intermediate layer ml are the same, and the thicknesses of the outer layers 120-1 and 120-r may be formed in half.

In the foregoing description, it should be understood that those skilled in the art can make modifications and changes to the present invention without changing the gist of the present invention as merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing a probe for a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention,

2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a method in which a probe is physically mounted to a probe card according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.

4 is an enlarged view of a tip portion of a probe according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

5A to 5G are cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating a method of manufacturing a probe according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: probe 110: tip portion

110 ': tip layer 112: alignment mark portion

120: lower support portion 120-m: lower support layer

120-l: outer layer 120-r: outer layer

122: elastic structure 122-1: incision groove

122a: first horizontal portion 122a-1: through hole

122b: vertical connection part 122c: second horizontal part

124: combination fixing part 124a: fitting coupling groove

126: circuit connection 200: fixing substrate

202: holder 202a: fixing slit

ml: intermediate layer bl: base substrate

sl: sacrificial layer

Claims (9)

In the thin blade type, the probe mounted on the probe card in an upright state, A tip portion formed to protrude to one side and contacting the connection terminal on the inspection object through the tip; And a lower support part coupled to the substrate structure side which physically and electrically forms the probe card while elastically supporting the tip part at the lower side. It is configured to be integrated into Probe card has a laminated structure of an odd layer in the thickness direction of the thin plate, the intermediate layer is composed of the tip portion layer on one side and the lower support portion layer on the other side, the outer layer of the same number of layers are provided on both sides of the intermediate layer Probe. The method of claim 1, The tip portion layer of the intermediate layer, Formed of platinum-based metal, The lower support layer and the outer layer of the intermediate layer, A probe for a probe card, characterized in that formed of a nickel alloy material. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The tip portion layer of the intermediate layer, A probe for a probe card, characterized in that the tip portion protrudes from the outer layer to be exposed to the outside. The method of claim 2, The tip portion layer of the intermediate layer, Formed of rhodium material, The lower support layer and the outer layer of the intermediate layer, Probe for a probe card, characterized in that formed of nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) alloy material. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The lower support portion, An elastic structure for elastically supporting the tip portion at the lower side, A coupling fixing part coupled to and fixed to a fixing substrate constituting the substrate structure, and A circuit connecting portion formed to protrude and connected to a connection terminal on a circuit board forming the substrate structure, The elastic structure portion, At least one probe, a probe for a probe card, characterized in that it comprises a through hole formed to penetrate. The method of claim 5, wherein The tip portion, And an alignment mark portion formed to protrude laterally from a lower side near the tip to enable vision recognition for position alignment during mounting. The method of claim 5, wherein The elastic structure portion, A first horizontal part connected to the tip part and extending in a horizontal direction; A vertical connection portion extending in a vertical direction from the first horizontal portion on the side opposite to the side where the tip portion is located, and A second horizontal part connected to the vertical connection part and extending in a horizontal direction so as to face the first horizontal part, The through hole, A probe for a probe card, characterized in that formed on the first horizontal portion. In the method of manufacturing a probe mounted on a probe card in the form of a thin blade, Forming a sacrificial layer; Forming at least one outer layer of one side of a nickel alloy on the sacrificial layer; Forming a tip layer of an intermediate layer made of a platinum-based metal material so that one end thereof protrudes from the one outer layer on one side of the outer layer; Forming a lower support part layer of the intermediate layer on the other side of the one outer layer of the same nickel alloy material as the one outer layer and having the same thickness as the tip part layer; Forming the other outer layer of the same nickel alloy material as the one outer layer on the intermediate layer with the same number of layers as the one outer layer; And Removing the sacrificial layer; Probe manufacturing method comprising a. The method of claim 8, The tip portion layer of the intermediate layer, Formed of rhodium material, The lower support layer and the outer layer of the intermediate layer, Probe manufacturing method characterized in that the nickel-cobalt alloy material.

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