TW201527763A - Probe apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a probe apparatus for electrically connecting a terminal of a tested device and a pad of a test apparatus to each other. The probe apparatus includes: a first probe member including an upper probe portion having a closed end, and an accommodation portion disposed under the upper probe portion and including an accommodation recess extending upward from a lower end of the accommodation portion; a second probe member including a lower probe portion disposed below the first probe member and an insertion portion disposed on the lower probe portion to be inserted into the accommodation recess; and a spring member elastically biasing the first probe member to be away from the second probe member, wherein an inner surface of the spring member is coupled to an outer surface of the first probe member and an outer surface of the second probe member.

Description

Contact device

The present invention relates to a probe device, and more particularly to a probe device that can be easily manufactured, which prevents external impurities from penetrating into it even when the probe device is used for a long period of time.

In general, manufactured semiconductor products undergo various tests to identify whether they are operating normally or to improve the reliability of the semiconductor product.

Such tests may include: an electrical characteristic test for checking whether a test component such as a semiconductor package is operating normally, or whether there is a short circuit by connecting an input/output terminal of the device under test to a test signal generation circuit; A burn-in test for inspecting a semiconductor package by connecting some input/output terminals (such as power input terminals) of a semiconductor package to a test signal generating circuit and applying stress to terminals of the semiconductor package Life and whether there are defects.

Here, in the burn-in test, stress is applied when the temperature, voltage, and current are higher than the temperature, voltage, and current of the normal operating conditions.

Performing these above in a state where the semiconductor package is mounted on the test socket test. Here, the shape of the test socket is substantially determined by the shape of the semiconductor package, and the test socket serves as a medium for connection to the test substrate by mechanical contact between the external connection terminal of the semiconductor package and the socket lead.

That is, the test socket is connected to the test substrate when connected to the semiconductor package, and the test substrate is electrically connected to the semiconductor package such that electrical signals emitted from the test substrate can be transferred to the semiconductor package to test the semiconductor package.

In addition, in the case of a ball grid array (BGA) using solder balls as external connection terminals among various semiconductor packages, a socket is formed in a test socket body formed of a plastic material. Test slot for the foot. Here, a probe device (hence the name called a probe pin) is used as the socket pin of the test slot.

1 is a schematic view showing a test of a semiconductor element by using a general probe device.

The semiconductor package 1 which is a test element includes an external connection terminal 2, and the substrate pad 9 is disposed on the upper surface of the test substrate 8 to correspond to the external connection terminal 2.

In addition, the probe device 3 is located between the semiconductor package 1 and the test substrate 8 to electrically connect the semiconductor package 1 and the test substrate 8 to each other. In Fig. 1, the outer casing for supporting the probe device 3 is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the probe device 3 includes an upper plunger 5 and a lower plunger 6 on opposite ends of the main body 4, and the spring 7 is inserted into the main body 4. Therefore, the spring 7 applies an elastic force to the upper plunger 5 and the lower plunger 6 in a direction in which the upper plunger 5 and the lower plunger 6 are spaced apart from each other.

Here, the upper plunger 5 is connected to the external connection terminal 2 of the semiconductor package 1, and the lower plunger 6 is connected to the substrate pad 9 of the test substrate 8. Therefore, the external company The terminal 2 and the substrate pad 9 are electrically connected to each other.

That is, when the end of the upper plunger 5 touches the external connection terminal 2 of the semiconductor package 1 and the end of the lower plunger 6 touches the substrate pad 9 of the test substrate 8, the external connection terminal 2 and the substrate pad 9 are electrically connected to each other. connection.

However, the above probe device 3 has the following problems.

In the probe device according to the prior art, a spring is inserted into the body. Thus, in the case where the spring is inserted into the probe device, there is a limitation in reducing the size of the probe device. That is, the spring is manufactured by winding a wire (fine wire) into a spiral shape through a mechanical process, and the outer diameter of the spring manufactured by the mechanical process is not easily finely reduced. Also, even if the outer diameter of the spring is reduced, it is difficult to maintain sufficient resilience. That is, it is difficult to sufficiently reduce the outer diameter of the spring, and further, if the outer diameter of the spring is excessively reduced, the spring resilience of the spring is degraded. Moreover, even if a spring having a small outer diameter is manufactured, it is difficult to insert the spring into the main body of the probe device.

Further, according to the probe device of the prior art, the upper end and the lower end of the main body having the cylindrical shape having the open upper portion and the lower portion are bent inwardly to prevent the upper plunger from coming out, and at this time, at the upper plunger A gap S may occur between the curved upper ends of the body. That is, in order to allow the upper plunger to freely slide without disturbing the main body, a predetermined gap S must be formed between the upper end of the main body and the upper plunger. However, if impurities are dropped from the device under test, impurities may be introduced into the body via the gap S. The introduction of impurities into the body can reduce the elasticity of the spring or interfere with the sliding movement of the upper plunger and thereby corrode the interior of the body or the spring. Therefore, the life characteristics of the probe device can be degraded.

The present invention provides a probe device which can be easily manufactured to have a fine structure and which can prevent external impurities from penetrating into the inside of the probe device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a probe device for electrically connecting a terminal of a device under test and a gasket of a test device to each other, the probe device comprising: a first probe member comprising a closed end An upper probe portion, and a receiving portion disposed below the upper probe portion and including a receiving groove extending upward from a lower end of the receiving portion; a second probe member including disposed under the first probe member a lower probe portion and an insertion portion disposed on the lower probe portion for insertion into the receiving groove; and a spring member resiliently biasing the first probe member to move the first probe member away from the second A probe member, wherein an inner surface of the spring member is coupled to an outer surface of the first probe member and an outer surface of the second probe member.

The upper end of the spring member can be coupled to the first probe member by surrounding the outer surface of the receiving portion.

The outer diameter of the upper probe portion may be larger than the inner diameter of the spring member such that the spring member is not detachable from the first probe member to the outside.

The accommodating portion may have a smaller diameter portion and a larger diameter portion disposed on the smaller diameter portion and having an outer diameter larger than an outer diameter of the smaller diameter portion, and the spring member touches an outer surface of the larger diameter portion to be coupled to The larger diameter portion is separated from the outer surface of the smaller diameter portion.

The intermediate portion of the spring member compresses and extends in a state where the first contact member is separated from the second contact member.

The end portions of the upper probe portion may have one or more protrusions each having a tip end.

The lower probe portion of the second probe member may include a lower end portion of the touch pad, an intermediate portion disposed on the lower end portion and having a diameter larger than a diameter of the spring member, and an upper portion having an outer diameter substantially equal to an inner diameter of the spring member Partially, and the spring member can be inserted into the outer surface of the upper portion.

When the insertion portion is inserted into the accommodating recess to slide in the direction in which the accommodating recess extends, the outer surface of the insertion portion may at least partially touch the inner surface of the accommodating recess.

According to the probe device of the present invention, since the spring member is disposed outside the first probe member and the second probe member, the size of the spring member cannot be reduced even when the entire size of the probe device is reduced.

Further, according to the probe device of the present invention, there is no gap in which impurities falling from the test element can penetrate, and thus it is possible to prevent the life property from being attributed to degradation of impurities.

1‧‧‧Semiconductor package

2‧‧‧External connection terminal

3‧‧‧ Probe device

4‧‧‧ Subject

5‧‧‧Upper plunger

6‧‧‧Lower plunger

7‧‧‧ Spring

8‧‧‧Test substrate

9‧‧‧Substrate liner

100‧‧‧ probe device

110‧‧‧First probe member

110'‧‧‧First probe member

111‧‧‧Upper probe section

112‧‧‧ housing/accommodation unit

112a‧‧‧Accommodation groove/insertion groove

120‧‧‧Second probe member

121‧‧‧lower probe section

122‧‧‧ Insertion section

130‧‧‧Spring components

140‧‧‧Tested components

141‧‧‧ terminals

150‧‧‧Testing device

151‧‧‧ cushion

1121‧‧‧Small diameter section

1122‧‧‧large diameter section

1211‧‧‧Lower end section

1212‧‧‧ middle part

1213‧‧‧ upper part

S‧‧‧ gap

Figure 1 is a diagram of a general probe device.

2 is a diagram of a probe device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a mounted state of the probe device according to the first aspect of the invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a test performed by using the probe device of FIG. 3.

Figure 5 is a diagram of a probe device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

Mode of the invention

Hereinafter, a probe device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A probe device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed between the device under test 140 and the test device 150 to electrically connect the terminal 141 of the device under test 140 and the pad 151 of the test device 150 to each other. In particular, the probe device 100 absorbs the impact applied by the lowered test element 140 and simultaneously electrically connects the terminal 141 of the test element 140 to the pad 151 of the test device 150.

The probe device 100 includes a first probe member 110, a second probe member 120, and a spring member 130.

The first probe member 110 touches the terminal 141 of the test element 140 and includes an upper probe portion 111 and a receiving portion 112.

The upper probe portion 111 has a closed upper end such that external impurities are inaccessible to the probe device 100, and the front edge portion of the upper probe portion 111 touches the terminal 141 of the test element 140. The upper probe portion 111 roughly has a conical portion and a disc portion extending downward from the lower end of the conical portion. The upper probe portion 111 may be plated with a precious metal (gold) to conduct electricity when it touches the terminal 141 of the test element 140. Also, the upper probe portion 111 may be formed of a material having high hardness such as nickel so as not to be easily damaged when the terminal 141 of the test element 140 is frequently touched. However, one or more embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, that is, various materials may be used.

In addition, the outer diameter of the upper probe portion 111 is larger than the inner diameter of the spring member 130 which will be described later in order to prevent the spring member 130 from being discharged to the first probe portion. Out of 110.

The accommodating unit 112 is integrally formed with the upper probe portion 111, and is disposed on the lower side of the upper probe portion 111 and includes a accommodating recess 112a that extends upward in the vertical direction from the lower end of the accommodating unit 112. These receiving recesses 112a may have a length that can be inserted into the entire portion or a portion of the insertion portion 122 of the second probe member 120 and may have a shape corresponding to the insertion portion 122. The inner diameter of the accommodating recess 112a is larger than the outer diameter of the insertion portion 122, so that the insertion portion 122 can be easily reciprocated together with the accommodating recess 112a in a state of being inserted into the accommodating recess 112a.

In addition, the inner surface of the accommodating portion 112 may be plated with a precious metal such as gold to be easily electrically connected to the insertion portion 122 when the insertion portion 122 is touched.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the lower portion of the accommodating portion 112 is opened, and the upper portion of the accommodating portion 112 is blocked by the upper probe portion 111, and thus even if impurities are dropped from the terminal 141 of the test-receiving member 140, impurities are not inserted. In the accommodating portion 112a.

The receiving portion 112 includes a smaller diameter portion 1121 disposed at a lower portion thereof, and a larger diameter portion 1122 disposed above the smaller diameter portion 1121 and having an outer diameter greater than an outer diameter of the smaller diameter portion 1121. Here, the spring member 130, which will be described later, is inserted and coupled to the outer surface of the larger diameter portion, and the outer surface of the smaller diameter portion 1121 is separated from the spring member 130 by a predetermined distance. Thus, since the smaller diameter portion 1121 which does not touch the spring member 130 is provided, the entire length of the accommodating portion 112 can be increased, and further, the contact area between the spring member 130 and the accommodating portion 112 is reduced, and thus the accommodating portion 112 is at the spring The member 130 rarely interferes with the operation of the spring when it is touched and extended.

The second probe member 120 includes a lower probe portion 121 and an insertion portion 122.

The lower probe portion 121 is disposed below the first probe member 110 such that its lower end portion touches the pad 151 of the test device 150 and includes a lower end portion 1211, a middle portion 1212, and an upper portion 1213.

The lower end portion 1211 touches the pad 151 and is formed into an inverted conical shape having a closed end. The intermediate portion 1212 is disposed on the lower end portion 1211 and is formed as a disk having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the spring member 130. Since the outer diameter of the intermediate portion 1212 is larger than the inner diameter of the spring member 130, the spring member 130 does not come out of the lower probe portion 121. The upper portion 1213 has a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the spring member 130, and the lower end of the spring member 130 is coupled to the upper portion 1213.

The insertion portion 122 protrudes from the upper end of the lower probe portion 121 and is disposed on the lower probe portion 121 to be inserted in the accommodating recess 112a. The insertion portion 122 is inserted into the accommodating recess 112a so as to slide along the accommodating recess 112a. The insertion portion 122 has a cylindrical shape having a conical portion on its upper end. The outer diameter of the insertion portion 122 may be smaller than the inner diameter of the receiving groove 112a. The insertion portion 122 may be plated with a noble metal such as gold to conduct electricity when it touches the inner surface of the receiving groove 112a.

When the insertion portion 122 is inserted into the accommodating recess 112a to slide in the accommodating recess 112a, at least a portion of the outer surface of the insertion portion 122 touches the inner surface of the accommodating recess 112a to simplify the current path of the current. That is, the current supplied from the gasket 151 of the test device 150 may be spirally circulated between the first probe member 110 and the second probe member 120 via the spring member 130; however, if the insertion portion 122 is in direct contact with the insertion The inner surface of the groove 112a, the current can move linearly, and Therefore, the current path can be simplified and the time for transmitting current can be reduced.

The spring member 130 elastically biases the first probe member 110 so as to be away from the second probe member 120, and in detail, the spring member 130 is wound into a spiral shape by winding a wire (fine wire) And formed. The spring member 130 may be plated with a precious metal (gold) to prevent oxidation and to conduct electricity. An inner surface of the spring member 130 may touch the outer surfaces of the first probe member 110 and the second probe member 120 to couple to the first probe member 110 and the second probe member 120. In detail, the upper end of the spring member 130 is coupled to the accommodating portion 112 by surrounding the outer surface of the accommodating portion 112, and the lower end of the spring member 130 can be inserted into the upper portion 1213 of the lower probe portion 121.

Also, the intermediate portion of the spring member 130 does not touch the first probe member 110 and the second probe member 120. Since the intermediate portion of the spring member 130 does not touch the first probe member 110 and the second probe member 120, elastic compression and elastic recovery can be easily performed.

The probe device 100 according to the present embodiment has the following operational effects.

As shown in FIG. 3, the probe device 100 is disposed between the device under test 140 and the test device 150. Here, the probe device 100 is supported by a housing (not shown), which is well known in the art and thus a detailed description is omitted. In a state where the probe device 100 is disposed as described above, when the device under test 140 is lowered as illustrated in FIG. 4, the terminal 141 of the device under test 140 touches the upper end of the probe device 100. Here, the insertion portion 122 is inserted into the accommodating recess 112a to compress the spring member 130. After the terminal 141 of the device under test 140 and the pad 151 of the test device 150 are exactly touching the probe device 100, a predetermined electrical signal or current is applied from the pad 151 of the test device 150. Passing this electrical signal or current through the probe device 100 It is sent to the tested component 140, and thus a predetermined test is performed.

As described above, according to the probe device of the embodiment of the invention, the spring member is not disposed in the accommodating recess but is disposed outside the accommodating recess, and thus the probe device is easily assembled. Also, since the spring member can be formed to have a diameter larger than the diameter of the accommodating portion, it is easy to manufacture the spring member. In addition, the spring member can be applied to a condition in which the terminals of the device under test have fine pitch.

Also, according to the probe device, the contact area between the spring member and the first and second probe members can be minimized, and thus the spring member can be easily compressed and extended.

Further, according to the probe device of the present invention, since the accommodating portion is open only to the lower portion, the impurities dropped from the test member are not allowed to penetrate into the accommodating recess, and thus there is no obstacle that interferes with the sliding movement of the inserted portion. Therefore, even when the probe device is used for a long time, the possibility of damaging the probe device is low, and the predetermined stroke and life of the probe device can be ensured.

The probe device according to an embodiment of the present invention can be modified as follows.

In the above embodiment, the upper end of the first probe member may be formed to have a single conical shape; however, one or more embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, that is, the upper portion of the first probe member 110' The tip can have a plurality of protrusions, as depicted in FIG.

The probe device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be extended without departing from the scope of the claims of the present invention.

100‧‧‧ probe device

110‧‧‧First probe member

111‧‧‧Upper probe section

112‧‧‧ housing/accommodation unit

112a‧‧‧Accommodation groove/insertion groove

120‧‧‧Second probe member

121‧‧‧lower probe section

122‧‧‧ Insertion section

130‧‧‧Spring components

1121‧‧‧Small diameter section

1122‧‧‧large diameter section

1211‧‧‧Lower end section

1212‧‧‧ middle part

1213‧‧‧ upper part

Claims (8)

A probe device for electrically connecting a terminal of a device under test and a gasket of a test device to each other, the probe device comprising: a first probe member including an upper probe portion having a closed end, and a receiving portion The receiving portion is disposed below the upper probe portion and includes a receiving groove extending upward from a lower end of the receiving portion; a second probe member including a portion disposed under the first probe member a lower probe portion and an insertion portion disposed on the lower probe portion for insertion into the receiving recess; and a spring member resiliently biasing the first probe member away from the a second probe member, wherein an inner surface of the spring member is coupled to an outer surface of the first probe member and an outer surface of the second probe member. The probe device of claim 1, wherein an upper end of the spring member is coupled to the first probe member by surrounding an outer surface of the receiving portion. The probe device of claim 2, wherein an outer diameter of the upper probe portion is larger than an inner diameter of the spring member such that the spring member is not detachable from the first probe member to external. The probe device of claim 2, wherein the receiving portion has a smaller diameter portion and a larger portion disposed on the smaller diameter portion and having an outer diameter larger than an outer diameter of the smaller diameter portion a diameter portion, and the spring member touches an outer surface of the larger diameter portion to couple to and separate from the outer diameter portion of the smaller diameter portion. The probe device of claim 1, wherein the intermediate portion of the spring member is compressed and extended in a state where the first contact member is separated from the second contact member. The probe device of claim 1, wherein the end portion of the upper probe portion has one or more protrusions each having a tip end. The probe device of claim 1, wherein the lower probe portion of the second probe member comprises a lower end portion that touches the pad, is disposed on the lower end portion, and An intermediate portion having a diameter larger than the diameter of the spring member and an upper portion having an outer diameter substantially equal to an inner diameter of the spring member, and the spring member is inserted to an outer surface of the upper portion. The probe device of claim 1, wherein when the insertion portion is inserted into the accommodating recess to slide in a direction in which the accommodating recess extends, an outer surface of the insertion portion may be The inner surface of the receiving groove is at least partially touched.