KR20230067769A - Test socket - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a test socket having a stable stroke and excellent electrical characteristics while having a minimum length suitable for electrical testing of semiconductor devices. A test socket according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a configuration in which at least one spiral plate is stacked through a central portion or an outer portion.

Description

test socket {TEST SOCKET}

The present invention relates to a test socket disposed between a test object and a test device to perform an electrical test on the test object.

In general, an integrated circuit (IC) chip performs various processing functions, and a plurality of input/output terminals are provided to perform these processing functions. For example, an integrated circuit chip is formed in a BGA (BALL GRID ARRAY) package type, etc. In the BGA package type, a plurality of electrode terminals are formed on the lower surface of the package at regular intervals in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the electrode terminals are connected to the printed circuit board. It is composed of a ball shape for electrical or mechanical contact.

Such an integrated circuit chip device is subjected to an electrical characteristic test and a burn-in test in order to confirm the reliability of the product before shipment, and a test socket is required to perform these tests. Here, the electrical characteristics test is for testing electrical characteristics such as input/output characteristics, pulse characteristics, processing performance characteristics, and noise tolerance by connecting all input/output terminals of the integrated circuit with a predetermined test signal generating circuit, and the burn-in test is for electrical characteristics. This is to test whether a defect occurs for a certain period of time by applying a voltage higher than the rated voltage to the integrated circuit chip device that has passed the test at a temperature higher than the normal operating environment.

Conventionally, the test process was performed using a pogo pin type test socket, but contact failure may occur between the ball terminal of the semiconductor device and the pogo pin, and the ball terminal of the BGA type device package is misaligned. There was a problem that the ball terminal or the probe was easily damaged due to abnormal contact with the probe by force or force.

In addition, in the conventional pogo pin type test socket, stable electrical characteristics such as contact resistance and impedance of the probe must be maintained for precise functional inspection of the semiconductor device, but the reliability of the test due to the elasticity error of each pogo pin and the defect of the gold plating film It is difficult to secure.

In addition, there is a limit to reducing the pitch of the pogo pins due to the configuration of the external structure in which the pogo pins and installation holes are formed, so a low-pitch, high-density test socket that can follow the current trend of highly integrated and miniaturized semiconductor devices It is also a problem that there is a limit to the manufacture of. In addition, as the number of ball terminals in the BGA type semiconductor device package increases to about 600 to 1000, the pogo pin type test socket is complicated and difficult to manufacture and assemble various parts such as pogo pins and external structures. Not only does it rise, but even a single pogo pin must be replaced when it is used for a real test, but the process is too difficult and the time required is too long, resulting in huge loss of equipment and manpower.

On the other hand, conventionally, the test process was performed using a vertical spring pin type test socket. In the case of a vertical spring pin, in order to implement the necessary stroke, the length of the pin is long, so that the electrical characteristics (in particular, corresponding to the frequency) characteristics) had a problem. In addition, there is also a problem in that plastic deformation is highly likely to occur in the pin due to the compression mechanism of the spring.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2232789 (2021.03.22.) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0085788 (2011.07.27.)

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a test socket capable of responding to a small pitch and having excellent electrical characteristics.

In addition, the present invention is intended to provide a test socket having a low probability of occurrence of breakage even in repeated use.

The object of the present invention is not limited to the foregoing, and other objects and advantages of the present invention not mentioned above can be understood by the following description.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a test socket disposed between the test device and the test object and electrically connecting the connection pad of the test device and the test object may be provided. The test socket includes a contactor electrically connected to the test object; A frame having a height equal to or lower than that of the contactor and having a mounting space having a shape corresponding to the shape of the contactor, wherein the contactor includes: a first contact portion contacting the test object; a second contact portion contacting the connection pad of the test device; A body portion having a spiral structure extending vertically between the first contact portion and the second contact portion, wherein the body portion includes a plurality of connecting members electrically connecting the first contact portion, the body portion, and the second contact portion. can include

In one embodiment, at least one layer of spiral plates of the body portion is stacked by the connection member, and the spiral plate of one layer includes a central portion; It may include at least one spiral part spirally wound from the center.

In one embodiment, the plurality of connecting members, the central pillar-shaped connecting member connected to the central portion; And it may include an outer columnar connection member connected to the spiral portion.

In one embodiment, the plurality of connection members are applied to the stacking of the spiral plates, the connection of the body part and the first contact part, and the connection of the body part and the second contact part, and the central columnar connection member and The outer columnar connecting members may be arranged to cross each other layer by layer.

In one embodiment, the body portion, spiral plates having the same phase as each other may be stacked.

In one embodiment, the body portion may be stacked such that at least one pair of spiral plates among the stacked spiral plates form a mirror image relationship with each other.

In one embodiment, the contactor may further include a casing formed to surround an outer surface of the body part.

In one embodiment, the height of the casing may be formed to be the same as the height of the frame.

In one embodiment, the lower surface of the casing may be integrally provided with the second contact portion.

In one embodiment, the casing may further include an insulating layer disposed along an inner circumference of the casing.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the height of the contactor can be minimized by applying a helical spring, and the signal transmission path is shortened as the height is minimized, so that a test socket having excellent electrical characteristics (low resistance, reduced signal loss) can be obtained. can provide

In addition, the spiral spring has a bent arm (helical part) connecting the center and the outer portion, and the elastic characteristics of the spiral spring are formed by a mechanism in which the bent arm is partially stretched when pressure is applied to the top and bottom of the spiral spring. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of plastic deformation due to an elastic mechanism different from that of the conventional vertical spring pin type test socket, and the stress applied to the helical spring can be further reduced by applying a mirror image structure.

In addition, in manufacturing the test socket, it can be manufactured in a continuous process by applying the MEMS process and the plating process, and a plurality of contactors can be manufactured simultaneously.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above effects, and should be understood to include all effects that can be inferred from the detailed description of the present invention or the configuration of the invention described in the claims.

1 to 3 show a test socket according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
4 shows a contactor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
5 and 6 show the spiral plate of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 7 shows a contactor according to a first modified example of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 8 shows a contactor according to a second modified example of FIG. 4 .
9 to 11 show a contactor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
12 and 13 show an operation example of a contactor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 shows a contactor according to a third modified example of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 15 shows a contactor according to a fourth modified example of FIG. 4 .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily practice with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, only parts necessary for understanding the operation according to the embodiment of the present invention are shown and described, and illustration and description of other parts are omitted so as not to obscure the gist of the present invention. However, the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

In addition, the terms or words used in this specification and claims described below should not be construed as being limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings, and have meanings consistent with the technical spirit of the present invention so as to most appropriately express the present invention. and should be interpreted as a concept.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to be "connected" to another part, it is not limited to the case of being "directly connected", but is "electrically connected" with another element in between. Also includes In addition, when a part "includes" a certain component, it means that it may further include other components without excluding other components unless otherwise stated.

In electrical inspection of semiconductor devices (or semiconductor devices) such as semiconductor integrated circuit devices such as package ICs and MCMs and wafers on which integrated circuits are formed, the test socket connects the connection terminal (eg, solder ball) of the semiconductor device to be inspected, and the test device. In order to electrically connect the connection terminals (eg, pads) of the semiconductor device to each other, it is disposed between the semiconductor element and the inspection device. When testing of the test object is performed, pressure from the test device and the test object may be applied to the test socket.

The test socket may perform an electrical test by electrically connecting a pad of the test device and the semiconductor device between the semiconductor device and the test device.

1 to 3 are diagrams illustrating a test socket 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the test socket 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention connects the connection pad P of the test device and the external connection terminal B of the test object D device. It includes a contactor 1 that is electrically connected and a frame 2 made of an insulating material that includes a mounting space having a shape corresponding to the shape of the contactor 1 and accommodating a plurality of contactors 1 . 1 to 3, the contactor 1 is shown in a form including a casing surrounding the pin, but the casing may be omitted if necessary.

A plurality of contactors 1 are formed on the frame 2, and are electrically connected to the connection pad P of the inspection device and the connection terminal B of the inspection object D using a conductive material using MEMS technology. can be formed as The plurality of contactors 1 may be arranged at regular or irregular intervals. The first contact part 10, the second contact part 20, the spiral plate 31, and the connecting member 40 constituting the contactor 1 are made of conductive material using MEMS technology so that they can be electrically and mechanically connected. can be formed as For example, it may be formed of one of nickel (Ni), nickel-cobalt alloy (Ni-Co), nickel-boron alloy (Ni-B), and palladium-cobalt alloy (Pd-Co).

The frame 2 may be formed at a height equal to or lower than that of the contactor 1 . For example, the frame 2 may be formed at a height lower than the position of the first contact portion 10 by a predetermined length. For example, the height of the frame 2 may be equal to the maximum compressed length of the contactor 1 . This is to avoid interfering with contraction of the first contact portion 10 as it comes into contact with the test object.

4 is a view showing the contactor 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the contactor 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may include a first contact part 10 , a second contact part 20 , and a body part 30 .

The first contact portion 10 is electrically connected to an object to be tested (eg, a semiconductor device), and the second contact portion 20 is electrically connected to a connection pad of the testing device. The first contact portion 10 and the second contact portion 20 are electrically connected by a body portion 30 having a helical spring structure extending vertically between the first contact portion 10 and the second contact portion 20. . The first contact portion 10 and the second contact portion 20 may be made of a conductive material.

An object to be inspected may be physically or electrically contacted with the upper surface of the first contact unit 10 . Contact protrusions to improve contact characteristics may be formed on the contact surface of the first contact portion 10 . The contact protrusion may protrude from a conductive material. For example, Ni, Ni-Co, Pd-Co, Rh, etc. may be used as a conductive material used for the contact protrusion to provide a stable function against external factors such as oxidation. The shape and arrangement of the contact protrusions may be variously changed according to the location and structure of the object to be inspected.

A test pad of the test device may physically or electrically contact the lower surface of the second contact portion 20 . Contact protrusions to improve contact characteristics may be formed on the contact surface of the second contact portion 20 . The contact protrusion may protrude from a conductive material. For example, Ni, Ni-Co, Pd-Co, Rh, etc. may be used as a conductive material used for the contact protrusion to provide a stable function against external factors such as oxidation. The shape and arrangement of the contact protrusions may be variously changed according to the location and structure of the test pad of the test device.

The body portion 30 may include at least one layer of spiral plates 31 and a plurality of connection members 40 , and the spiral plates 31 may be provided in a laminated structure by the connection members 40 . At this time, the spiral plate 31 disposed at the top may be disposed at the lower end of the first contact portion 10 and connected to the first contact portion 10 through the connecting member 40 . The spiral plate 31 disposed at the lowermost end may be disposed at an upper end of the second contact portion 20 and connected to the second contact portion 20 through the connecting member 40 . That is, the body portion 30 including one or more layers of spiral plates 31 extending in the vertical direction is positioned between the first contact portion 10 and the second contact portion 20 . At this time, the first contact portion 10, the body portion 30, and the second contact portion 20 are electrically connected by the plurality of connecting members 40, thereby electrically connecting the connection pad of the test device and the object to be tested. .

5 and 6 show a spiral plate 31 constituting the body portion 30 of the contactor 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 , the spiral plate 31 of one layer includes a central portion 32 located in the center and two or more spiral portions 33 spirally extending from the central portion 32 . For example, the spiral plate 31 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include two spiral portions 33a and 33b extending from two different points of the central portion 32 and spirally wound. The outer ends of the two spiral portions 33a and 33b are formed at positions where they do not overlap each other. For example, the outer ends of the first spiral portion 33a and the outer ends of the second spiral portion 33b may be formed at positions facing each other as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 .

Meanwhile, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the central portion 32 is illustrated as having a circular shape, but the shape of the central portion 32 is not limited thereto. For example, the shape of the central portion 32 may be formed linearly so as to be smoothly connected to the start points of the two spiral portions 33a and 33b. Alternatively, it may be formed in an elliptical shape, a polygonal shape, or the like. Also, the number of spiral parts may be two or more.

The plurality of spiral plates 31 may be stacked through the connecting member 40 and extended in the vertical direction to form a spiral spring structure.

The connecting member 40 may be applied to connect one layer of spiral plates 31 with another spiral plate 31 disposed above or below it. Alternatively, it may be applied to connect the spiral plate 31 to the first contact portion 10 or the second contact portion 20 . The connection member 40 may be used to stack and connect the plurality of spiral plates 31, may be used to connect the uppermost spiral plate and the first contact portion 10, and may be used to connect the lowermost spiral plate and the second contact portion 10. It can be used to connect the contact portion 20. The connection member 40 may structurally and electrically connect the first contact portion 10 , the body portion 30 , and the second contact portion 20 .

The connection member 40 may be connected to the central portion 32 or the spiral portions 33a and 33b of the spiral plate 31 . Specifically, the connection member 40 is a central columnar connection member 42 connected to the center of the spiral plate 31 and an outer columnar connection connected to the outer ends of the spiral portions 33a and 33b of the spiral plate 31. A member 44 may be included.

It is preferable that the central columnar connecting member 42 and the outer columnar connecting member 44 are alternately applied for each layer. According to the configuration in which the central columnar connecting member 42 and the outer columnar connecting member 44 are alternately arranged for each layer, the first contact portion 10 and the second contact portion 20 are opposed to each other as the inspection is performed. When the pressure in the vertical direction is applied, the spiral parts 33a and 33b and the outer columnar connection are alternately applied to the center 32 and the central columnar connection member 42 of each layer while the downward movement and the upward movement are alternately applied for each layer. An elastic deformation occurs in which rotation of the members 44 occurs. That is, the contactor 1 may have a series-connected spring characteristic, and the length of the contactor 1 may have a minimum length while maintaining elasticity due to the spiral structure. In addition, collision between the spiral plates 31 of each layer can be prevented by the connecting member 40 between adjacent spiral plates. In this way, the body portion 30 having a spiral structure to which the central columnar connecting member 42 and the outer columnar connecting member 44 are applied alternately can buffer the pressure applied to the contactor 1 when the test is performed. and can provide elastic force to the contactor (1).

As the connecting member 40, when the central columnar connecting member 42 is applied, one connecting member 40 may be used, and when the outer columnar connecting member 44 is applied, two connecting members 40 may be used. On the other hand, unlike shown, the outer columnar connection member 44 may be installed at an angle other than perpendicular to the lower surface of the spiral plate 31.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a first modified example of FIG. 4 and an example of a contactor in which spiral plates 31 having more layers than those of FIG. 4 are stacked.

FIG. 8 shows a contactor according to a second modified example of FIG. 3 .

In the contactor shown in FIG. 7, the spiral plates 31 of each stacked layer all have the same image, whereas in the contactor shown in FIG. 8, the first one has the same image as the spiral plate 31 in FIG. It has a structure in which a spiral plate 31a having an image and a spiral plate 31b having a second image which is a mirror image of the first image are alternately laminated.

In the contactor shown in FIG. 7, when pressure in the vertical direction opposite to each other is applied to the first contact portion 10 and the second contact portion 20 as the inspection is performed, the central portion 32 and the central columnar shape of each layer As the downward movement and the upward movement of the connecting member 42 are alternately applied layer by layer, elastic deformation in which rotation occurs with respect to the spiral portions 33a and 33b and the outer columnar connecting members 44 occurs. At this time, rotation may also occur in the first contact portion 10 and the second contact portion 20 due to elastic deformation, and since the first contact portion 10 and the test object are in contact, the movement of the first contact portion 10 may be affected. Electrical connection can be improved by this.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the spiral plate 31a of the first phase, which is the same phase as the spiral plate shown in FIG. 7, and the spiral plate 31b of the second phase, which is a mirror image of the first phase, are disposed together, Since the rotation by the spiral plate 31a and the rotation by the spiral plate 31b of the second phase occur in opposite directions to each other, they are offset, so that stress applied to the connecting members 40 can be reduced.

On the other hand, for convenience of explanation, a structure in which the spiral plate 31a of the first phase and the spiral plate 31b of the second phase in mirror image relationship are alternately laminated is taken as an example as a second modification, but the laminated structure of the spiral plate 31 Not limited to this. For example, a structure in which a plurality of spiral plates 31 are stacked may include at least one pair of mirror images.

9 to 11 show a contactor 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The contactor 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention may further include a casing 50 . The casing 50 is configured to protect the body portion 30 and may be formed in a cylindrical shape with an open top surface and surrounding an outer surface of the body portion 30 . Alternatively, both the upper and lower surfaces may be formed in an open tubular shape. The lower surface or lower sidewall of the casing 50 may be coupled to the second contact portion 20 , and the height of the casing 50 may be the same as that of the frame 2 . The casing 50 may be formed of a conductive material and electrically connected to the second contact portion 20 .

Alternatively, the lower surface of the casing 50 may be integrally provided with the second contact portion 20 . When the lower surface of the casing 50 is integrally formed with the second contact portion 20, electrical loss may be reduced compared to when the lower surface of the outer casing 50 and the second contact portion 20 are separately formed.

The casing 50 may further include a protrusion 51 formed in a protruding shape on an outer wall of the casing 50 . The casing 50 can improve the fixing force of the contactor 1 inserted into the frame 2 by the protrusion 51 .

As shown in FIG. 11 , the casing 50 may include an insulating layer 52 disposed along an inner circumference of the casing 50 . The insulating layer 52 may be formed in a band shape along the inner circumference of the casing 50 . The height of the insulating layer 52 may be higher than the height of the second contact portion 20 and lower than the height of the casing 50 . Electrical connection between the second contact portion 20 and the casing 50 may be blocked by the insulating layer 52 . The insulating layer 52 may be grounded. According to the configuration in which the electrically grounded insulating layer 52 surrounds the second contact portion 20 or the contactor 1, signal interference, noise, and distortion caused by high-frequency signals are suppressed to ensure signal integrity, thereby improving test reliability. It can be. For example, the insulating layer 52 may be formed of PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate), PI (Polyimide), or the like.

12 and 13 show examples of the operation of the contactor 1. Fig. 12 shows the contactor 1 before the test is performed, and Fig. 13 shows the contactor 1 deformed by the applied pressure as the test is performed.

As shown in FIG. 13, the contactor 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be compressed more than before pressure is applied when pressure is applied. At this time, due to the spiral structure of the body part 30, a compressive load is not applied to the contactor 1, but a tensile load is applied. Specifically, among the pair of spiral plates 31 connected by the outer column connecting member 44, the upper spiral plate 31 descends at the central portion, and the lower spiral plate rises with respect to the outer column connecting member 44 while the central portion rises. causes rotation in opposite directions. At this time, rotations in opposite directions also occur to the central columnar connecting member 42, and a tensile load is applied instead of a compressive load. Thus, plastic deformation due to a compressive load can be prevented. At this time, as described above, if the contactor 1 includes the mirror image relationship spiral plate, the rotation is offset by the mirror image relationship, and the stress applied to the connecting member 40 can be relieved.

14 shows a contactor according to a third modified example of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 14, the contactor according to the third modification of the present invention includes a spiral plate 31, a plurality of connecting members 40, a first contact portion 10, and a second contact portion 20. can be configured to include That is, unlike the first embodiment, the number of spiral plates 31 is not plural, but is composed of only one layer. The contactor according to the third modification of the present invention may further include a casing formed to surround the contactor. Since all configurations except for the configuration in which the first contact portion 10 is omitted are the same as those of the first or second embodiment described above, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

15 shows a contactor according to a fourth modified example of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 15, the contactor according to the fourth modified example of the present invention may be configured in a form in which the first contact portion 10 is omitted. That is, the upper surface of the spiral plate 31 may be formed to directly contact the test object. Alternatively, a contact protrusion for contacting the test object may be formed on the upper surface of the spiral plate 31 . Although not shown in detail, the contactor in which the first contact portion 10 is omitted may include a multi-layered spiral plate 31 . The contactor according to the fourth modified example of the present invention may further include a casing formed to surround the contactor. Since all configurations except for the configuration in which the first contact unit 10 is omitted are the same as those of the first or second embodiment described above, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In this specification, for convenience of description, the contactor 1 having the same thickness and shape of the stacked spiral plates 31 has been described as an example, but the thicknesses of the spiral plates 31 disposed on each layer are not all the same. may be formed. Also, the shapes of the spiral plates disposed on each layer may not all be the same. The contactor according to the present invention can be manufactured to have a desired spring constant by controlling the number, thickness, stacking width, and the like of the spiral portions 33 of the spiral plate 31 .

The present embodiment and the drawings accompanying this specification clearly represent only a part of the technical idea included in the present invention, and can be easily inferred by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea included in the specification and drawings of the present invention. It will be apparent that all possible modifications and specific embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and it will be said that not only the claims to be described later, but also all modifications equivalent or equivalent to these claims belong to the scope of the present invention. .

1: contactor
10: first contact
20: second contact
30: body part
31 (31a, 31b): spiral plate
32: center
33 (33a, 33b): spiral part
40: connecting member
42: central columnar connecting member
44: outer columnar connection member
50: outer casing
51: protrusion
52: insulating layer

Claims (10)

A test socket disposed between the test device and the test object and electrically connecting the connection pad of the test device and the test object,
a contactor electrically connected to the test object;
a frame having a height equal to or lower than that of the contactor and having a mounting space having a shape corresponding to the shape of the contactor;
The contactor,
a first contact portion in contact with the test object;
a second contact portion contacting the connection pad of the test device;
A body portion having a spiral structure extending in a vertical direction between the first contact portion and the second contact portion,
The body part includes a plurality of connection members for electrically connecting the first contact part, the body part, and the second contact part.
According to claim 1,
The body part is stacked with at least one spiral plate by the connecting member,
One layer of spiral plate,
with the center;
A test socket comprising at least one spiral portion spirally wound from the central portion.
According to claim 2,
The plurality of connecting members,
a central pillar-shaped connection member connected to the central part; and
an outer columnar connection member connected to the spiral portion;
A test socket containing a .
According to claim 3,
The plurality of connecting members,
It is applied to the lamination of the spiral plate, the connection of the body part and the first contact part, and the connection of the body part and the second contact part,
A test socket in which the central columnar connection member and the outer columnar connection member are intersected layer by layer.
According to claim 2,
The body part,
A test socket in which spiral plates having the same phase are stacked.
According to claim 2,
The body part,
A test socket in which at least one pair of spiral plates are stacked to form a mirror image relationship with each other.
According to claim 1,
The test socket of claim 1 , wherein the contactor further includes a casing formed to surround an outer surface of the body part.
According to claim 7,
The test socket having the same height as the height of the frame.
According to claim 7,
The lower surface of the casing is integrally provided with the second contact part.
According to claim 7,
The casing further comprises an insulating layer disposed along an inner circumference of the casing.

Images