KR20130010316A - Conductive connector using micro spring and probe card having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A conductive connector and a probe card having the same are provided to possessively cope with the fine pitch tendency of a semiconductor device. CONSTITUTION: A conductive connector electrically connects the terminal(61) of a test board(60) to the terminal(71) of a semiconductor device(70) corresponding to an object to be tested. The conductive connector comprises a plunger(10) which comprises a tip part(12) and a connection part(14). The conductive connector includes an insertion hole(20) formed in the end of the connection part. The conductive connector includes a microspring(30).

Description

Conductive connector using micro spring and probe card having the same

The present invention relates to a conductive connector using a micro spring and a probe card including the same. More specifically, the micro spring can actively respond to the fine pitch of a semiconductor device and can reduce manufacturing time and cost with an efficient connection structure. It relates to a conductive connector and a probe card including the same.

In general, in order to inspect the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor device, the electrical connection between the semiconductor device and the test apparatus should be made smoothly. In general, a test card is used as a test device, and in particular, when a pad gap of a semiconductor device is minute, a probe card provided with a vertical type probe is used.

In many vertical probe cards, a conductive connector using a spring called a pogo pin is used for connection with a terminal of a semiconductor element.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a probe card with a conductive connector according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional pogo pin is formed of a cylindrical pipe 140 having holes formed at upper and lower ends thereof, and a terminal for contacting the terminal 171 of the semiconductor device 170 through an upper hole of the pipe 140. Between the first plunger 110a, the second plunger 110b which contacts the terminal 161 of the test substrate 160 through the lower hole of the pipe 140, and the first and second plungers 110a and 110b. It is composed of a spring 130 is disposed. In this case, the spring 130 provides a driving displacement to the plungers 110a and 110b to correspond to the height difference between the test substrate 160 and the terminals 161 and 171 of the semiconductor device 170.

The pogo pins are respectively embedded in a plurality of through holes 152 vertically formed in the guide block 150 including the upper block 150a and the lower block 150b to electrically connect the test substrate 160 and the semiconductor device 170. Connect with At this time, the stepped 153 for guiding the plungers 110a and 110b are formed at the upper end and the lower end of the through hole 152, respectively. In addition, the test signal transmitted from the test system is applied to the semiconductor device 170 through the test substrate 160 and the pogo pins, and the response signal received from the semiconductor device 170 is detected and analyzed. The defects and electrical characteristics of the 160 are inspected.

The structure of the probe card is vertical, and the first plunger 110a of the pogo pin contacts the terminals 171 of the semiconductor device 170 to serve as a probe.

Meanwhile, due to the development of semiconductor technologies such as system-on-chip (SoC), the pitch of terminals 171 of the semiconductor device is getting narrower. However, the pogo pin is limited to the spacing between the pogo pin due to the structure embedded in the pipe 140 of the metal material, there is a limit to correspond to the tendency of the fine pitch of the semiconductor device.

In addition, the structure of accommodating the two plungers (110a, 110b) and the spring 130 inside the pipe 140 has a problem that the manufacturing time and cost of the pogo pin takes a lot.

In order to solve the problem of the conductive connector according to the related art, as shown in FIG. 2A, only one plunger 110 ′ and a spring 130 ′ are formed, and the spring 130 ′ is directly connected to the test substrate 160. There is a pogo pin structure in contact with the terminal 161 (Korean Patent Nos. 0843203 and 0968622). According to this, a bonding process of welding or soldering the plunger 110 'and the spring 130' is performed in order to prevent the connection between the plunger 110 'and the spring 130'. However, the bonding process requires a separate process time in addition to the probe card assembly process, and as a result, there is a problem that the overall manufacturing time and cost increase.

On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 2B, the rod body 111 extends from the lower end of the plunger 110 ″ and the spring 130 ″ is inserted therein (Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2010-0098033). This eliminates the need for a separate bonding process, but increases the volume of the plunger 110 ″ and limits the response of the fine pitch since the plunger 110 ″ and the spring 130 ″ are accommodated in the through hole 152. There is.

The present invention is to solve the above problems of the prior art, the object of the present invention is to actively respond to the fine pitch of the semiconductor device and the conductive connection using a micro spring that can reduce the manufacturing time and cost with an efficient connection structure To provide a connector and a probe card including the same.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, a conductive connector for electrically connecting a terminal of a test substrate as an inspection member and a terminal of a semiconductor element as an inspection member, the tip portion of which one end is in contact with the terminal of the semiconductor element, A plunger comprising a connecting portion extending stepwise from the other end of the tip portion; Insertion groove formed at the end of the connecting portion; And a micro spring, one end of which is inserted in close contact with the insertion groove and the other end of which is in contact with the terminal of the test substrate, is provided.

In the conductive connector of the present invention, the plunger is preferably further provided with a protrusion extending from the center of the bottom surface of the insertion groove so as to be inserted into the micro spring.

At this time, the protrusion has a bar shape and may be formed as deep as the insertion groove.

The protrusion may have a bar shape and be formed to be longer than the depth of the insertion groove.

The protrusion may be formed to have a triangular cross section.

And the connection portion may be cut out one outer portion so that the protrusion is exposed to the outside.

In the conductive connector of the present invention, the micro spring is preferably stepped narrowly.

In addition, the plunger may have a three-dimensional shape in which the tip portion and the connecting portion include a circular rod or a square rod. Alternatively, the plunger may have a thin plate shape at the tip portion and at the connecting portion.

In addition, in order to enhance durability and wear resistance, the tip part may be formed of a conductive metal material having a hardness greater than that of the connecting part or by plating it.

On the other hand, to achieve the above object of the present invention, a probe card for inspecting the electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device, comprising: a plurality of conductive connectors according to any one of claims 1 to 10; A plurality of through holes vertically formed to correspond to the terminals of the semiconductor element, the guide blocks having a stepped portion at the upper end of the through holes to guide the tip of the plunger; And a test board having terminals respectively in contact with the other ends of the micro springs of the conductive connector.

In this case, the guide block is preferably made of an insulating material including ceramic or silicon, and composed of an upper block and a lower block joined to each other.

As described above, the conductive connector according to the present invention has a structure in which one end of the microspring is tightly inserted and fixed to the insertion groove formed in the plunger. As a result, the present invention not only does not require a bonding process for joining the plunger and the micro spring, but also can provide an efficient connection structure in which the overall volume of the plunger is reduced. There is a significant savings effect.

In addition, the conductive connector and the probe card including the same according to the present invention can actively respond to the tendency of the fine pitch of the semiconductor device due to the simple coupling structure of the plunger and the micro spring.

Other objects, specific advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a probe card with a conductive connector according to the prior art;
2 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a probe card with a conductive connector according to the prior art;
3 is a plan view showing a conductive connector according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4A is a perspective view of the plunger of FIG. 3,
4B is a perspective view illustrating a modification of the plunger;
5 is a cross-sectional view showing various modified embodiments of the conductive connector according to the present invention;
6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a probe card with a conductive connector according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the same reference numerals will be used to designate the same components, even though they are shown in different drawings.

(Conductive Connecting Body Using Micro Spring)

3 is a plan view illustrating a conductive connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4A is a perspective view illustrating the plunger of FIG. 3. The conductive connector according to the present invention is for electrically connecting the semiconductor device and the test apparatus, and is composed of a plunger 10 and a micro spring 30 each made of a metal material as shown in FIG. 3.

The plunger 10 and the micro spring 30 of the present invention have a micrometer or less precision by applying a micro machining technology or a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology to cope with the tendency of fine pitch of semiconductor devices. It is preferable to produce.

The plunger 10 is composed of a tip portion 12 and a connection portion 14, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4a, the insertion portion 20 for inserting and fixing one end 32 of the micro spring 30 to the connection portion 14 ) Is formed.

According to the present embodiment, the tip portion 12 has a circular rod shape and serves as a probe for contacting the terminals of the semiconductor device. In addition, the connecting portion 14 has a diameter larger than the diameter of the tip portion 12 to form a step with the tip portion 12 in the form of a circular rod and is integrally formed with the tip portion 12. Alternatively, the tip portion 12 and the connecting portion 14 may be manufactured in a three-dimensional form such as a square bar.

Insertion groove 20 is preferably formed in a cylindrical shape in order to maximize the contact area with one end 32 of the micro spring (30).

In addition, the tip portion 12 of the plunger 10 may prevent the wear or deformation due to repeated contact with the terminals 71 of the semiconductor element 70 during the test, and to increase durability and wear resistance. It is also possible to form by forming a conductive metal material of greater hardness than the material or by plating it. For example, the tip 12 of the plunger 10 may be formed using rhodium (Rh) as the conductive metal material.

The micro spring 30 has a coil shape as shown in FIG. 3 and is elastically deformed in the longitudinal direction to elastically support the plunger 10. According to the present embodiment, the diameter of the micro spring 30 is approximately equal to the diameter of the connecting portion 14 of the plunger 10, and one end 32 may be tightly inserted into the insertion groove 20. It is preferable to have a stepped shape as a whole by reducing the diameter of.

Thus, the coupling structure of the plunger 10 and the micro spring 30 via the insertion groove 20 can provide a sufficient fixing force (coupling force) by the friction force (adhesive force). This has the advantage that the coupling method is simple and easy to assemble compared to the conventional bonding structure. In addition, since the volume of the plunger 10 is reduced, the consumption of expensive conductive materials can be reduced, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

On the other hand, the other end 34 of the micro spring 30 will be in direct contact with the terminal 61 of the test substrate 60, as will be described later.

4B is a perspective view illustrating a modification of the plunger. In the plunger 10 'according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4B, the tip portion 12' and the connecting portion 14 'may be manufactured in a two-dimensional thin plate form. At this time, the insertion groove 20 'is formed by processing the connecting portion 14'. Then, one end 32 of the micro spring 30 described above is tightly coupled to the insertion groove 20 '.

In this modified example, it is preferable to apply a semiconductor microprocessing technology that repeats a process such as deposition and etching. According to this modification, the mass production is easy, and thus manufacturing cost can be further reduced than the plunger 10 of FIG. 4A, and it can be applied to a lightweight probe card, and it is easy to cope with the tendency of fine pitch of semiconductor devices. .

5 is a cross-sectional view showing various modified embodiments of the conductive connector according to the present invention. 5A to 5D show a cross section of the plunger 10 having the three-dimensional shape described above, it should be noted that the thin plunger 10 'may be used.

According to FIG. 5A, the plunger 10a is provided with a protrusion 22a extending from the center of the bottom surface of the insertion groove 20a. At this time, the protrusion 22a has a bar shape and is formed by the depth of the insertion groove 20a. The protrusion 22a is inserted into one end 32 of the micro spring 30 to improve the coupling force between the plunger 10a and the micro spring 30, and the micro spring 30 is inserted into the insertion groove of the plunger 10a. 20a) to adjust the center of gravity.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5B, the micro spring 30 ′ may be manufactured in a straight line without a step, and a bar-shaped protrusion 22b may be formed longer than the depth of the insertion groove 20b. Such a structure can further increase the coupling force between the plunger 10b and the micro spring 30 '. In addition, the micro spring 30 'may be guided to prevent the micro spring 30' from being inclined laterally, thereby stably elastically supporting the plunger 10b.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5C, the protrusion 22c may be formed to have a triangular cross section. This can not only hold the center but also increase the fixing force when the stepless micro spring 30 ″ is inserted into the insertion groove 20c of the plunger 10c.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 5D, when the protrusion 22a is provided in the insertion groove 20d, one outer side of the connection portion 14d may be cut out so that the protrusion 22a is exposed. This can reduce the manufacturing cost by reducing the volume of the plunger (10d) because it can maintain the coupling force of the plunger (10d) and the micro spring (30) by the projection (22a).

(Probe card)

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 6, the probe card provided with the conductive connection body mentioned above is demonstrated.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a probe card with a conductive connector according to the present invention. The probe card according to the present invention is for inspecting the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor device 70 and is composed of the above-described conductive connector, guide block 50 and test substrate 60. At this time, the probe card according to the present invention is a vertical type in which a plurality of conductive connectors are installed perpendicular to the guide block 50 so that the tip portion 12 corresponding to the probe is connected to the terminals 71 of the semiconductor element 70, respectively. Probe card.

The conductive connector is composed of a plunger 10 and a micro spring 30, which has been described above, and thus duplicated description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the guide block 50 is provided with a plurality of through holes 52 for accommodating the conductive connection body. At the upper end of the through hole 52 is formed a step 53 for guiding the tip portion 12 of the plunger 10. That is, the plunger 10 is elastically supported by the micro spring 30, and the connection part 14 is a structure which is caught by the step 53. As shown in FIG. At this time, the micro spring 30 provides a driving displacement to the plunger 10 so as to correspond to the height difference between the terminals 71 of the semiconductor device 70.

The guide block 50 has a form in which the upper block 50a and the lower block 50b made of an insulating material such as ceramic and silicon are bonded to each other. In this case, the guide block 50 forms the through hole 52 and the step 53 by using a semiconductor microprocessing technology such as a deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process.

The test substrate 60 is disposed under the guide block 50 and has a plurality of terminals 61 in direct contact with and supporting the plurality of micro springs 30 at the same time.

The probe card according to the present invention is a terminal 71 of a semiconductor element 70 in which the plunger 10 and the micro spring 30 of the conductive connector are the member to be inspected and the terminal 61 of the test substrate 60 as the inspection member. Each comes in contact with. In addition, the test signal transmitted from the test system is applied to the semiconductor device 70 through the test substrate 60 and the pogo pin, and the response signal received from the semiconductor device 70 is detected and analyzed. 70) can be inspected for defects and electrical characteristics.

Such a probe card of the present invention can actively respond to the tendency of the fine pitch of the semiconductor device 70 due to the simple coupling structure of the plunger 10 and the micro spring 30 of the conductive connector, the manufacturing time and cost There is a significant savings.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to such specific structures. Those skilled in the art will be able to easily modify or change without departing from the technical spirit described in the claims below. However, all equivalents and modifications by these simple design variations or modifications are clearly identified in advance within the scope of the present invention.

10, 10 ', 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d: plunger
12, 12 ': tip
14, 14 ', 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d: connection
20, 20 ', 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d: Insertion groove
22a, 22b, 22c: protrusions
30, 30 ', 30 ": Micro Spring
32: Once
34: the other end
50: guide block
50a: upper block
50b: lower block
52: through hole
53: step

Claims (12)

In the electrically conductive connection body which electrically connects the terminal of the test board which is a test | inspection member, and the terminal of the semiconductor element which is a test | inspection member,
A plunger having a tip portion of which one end contacts the terminal of the semiconductor element, and a connecting portion extending stepwise from the other end of the tip portion;
Insertion groove formed at the end of the connecting portion; And
And a micro spring, one end of which is inserted in close contact with the insertion groove and the other end of which is in contact with the terminal of the test substrate. The method of claim 1,
And the plunger further includes a protrusion extending from a center of a bottom surface of the insertion groove to be inserted into the micro spring. The method of claim 2,
The protrusion has a bar shape and is formed as deep as the insertion groove. The method of claim 2,
The protrusion has a bar shape and is formed longer than the depth of the insertion groove. The method of claim 2,
And the projecting portion has a triangular cross section. The method of claim 2,
The connection part is a conductive connector, characterized in that one outer portion is cut so that the protrusion is exposed to the outside. The method of claim 1,
And said micro spring is stepped narrowly at said one end. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The plunger is a conductive connector, characterized in that the tip portion and the connecting portion has a three-dimensional shape including a circular rod or a square rod. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The plunger is a conductive connection using a micro spring, characterized in that the tip portion and the connecting portion has a thin plate shape. The method of claim 1,
The tip portion is formed of a conductive metal material having a hardness greater than that of the connecting portion or plated thereto to enhance durability and wear resistance. A probe card for inspecting electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device,
A conductive connector according to any one of claims 1 to 10;
A plurality of through holes vertically formed to correspond to the terminals of the semiconductor element, the guide blocks having a stepped portion to guide tip portions of the plunger at upper ends of the through holes; And
And a test board having terminals respectively in contact with the other ends of the micro springs of the conductive connector. The method of claim 11,
The guide block is made of an insulating material including ceramic or silicon probe card, characterized in that consisting of the upper block and the lower block bonded to each other.

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