TWI685662B - Probe structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a probe structure. The probe structure includes a first contacting segment, a first connecting segment, a second connecting segment, and a second contacting segment. The first contacting segment includes an abutment part, and a first end portion which is connected with the abutment part. The first connecting segment is connected with the first contacting segment. The second connecting segment is connected with the first connecting segment. The second contacting segment is connected with the second connecting segment. The second contacting segment includes a second end portion. Therefore, the present disclosure can reduce maintenance costs.

Description

Probe structure 【Related application】

The present invention is a divisional case of Taiwan Patent Application No. 107106386 (application date: February 26, 2018), and the entire contents of the application are incorporated as part of the patent specification of the invention for reference.

The invention relates to a probe structure, in particular to a probe structure applied to a wafer probe card.

First of all, the cantilever probe card of the prior art mainly solders the probes one by one on the printed circuit board manually, and at the same time, the probes are fixed by an adhesive (such as epoxy resin). For example, in the "probe card" patent case disclosed by TW I447397, the probe 33 is fixed on the circuit board 34 by using the holding portion 36 containing epoxy resin.

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when the epoxy resin is hardened, the cantilever probe card becomes difficult to maintain. In other words, when one of the probes is damaged, the prior art cantilever probe card cannot replace the damaged probe alone, and the entire group of cantilever probe cards must be replaced.

In addition, the conventional wire bonding method of the cantilever probe card requires a dense wire for the fan-out process, and since the manual bonding wire requires a wider space, the transmission path is longer. Therefore, the signal transmission quality will be poor. Further, the cantilever probe card of the prior art has a wide probe wire diameter, so in addition to the horizontal arrangement on the wiring, the vertical stacking must still be performed. However, when the number of needles is large or the pitch is small, it will increase the difficulty of probe arrangement.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a probe structure for the shortcomings of the prior art, which can effectively improve the characteristics of the cantilever probe which is not easy to repair, and at the same time, can improve the transmission quality and reduce the maintenance cost.

In order to solve the above technical problems, one of the technical solutions adopted by the present invention is to provide a probe structure including a first contact section, a first connection section, a second connection section, and a second contact section. The first contact section has an abutting portion and a first end connected to the abutting portion. The first connection section is connected to the first contact section. The second connection segment is connected to the first connection segment. The second contact section is connected to the second connection section, and the second contact section has a second end.

One of the beneficial effects of the present invention is that the probe structure provided by the embodiment of the present invention can utilize the technical solution of "the first contact section has an abutment portion", so that the probe structure can be individually replaced, To form a replaceable probe structure, and reduce maintenance costs. At the same time, compared with the existing cantilever probe structure, it can also shorten the transmission path of the existing cantilever probe impedance discontinuous, and improve the signal integrity (SI) of the transmission quality.

In order to further understand the features and technical content of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present invention. However, the drawings provided are for reference and explanation only, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

M‧‧‧Probe assembly

1‧‧‧Probe structure

11‧‧‧The first contact section

111‧‧‧Department

112‧‧‧First end

12‧‧‧The first connecting section

121‧‧‧ Bare surface

13‧‧‧Second connection section

14‧‧‧The second contact section

141‧‧‧second end

2‧‧‧ substrate

21‧‧‧Conductive structure

3‧‧‧The first plate

31‧‧‧First through hole

32‧‧‧Heading

4‧‧‧Second plate

41‧‧‧Second through hole

5‧‧‧Fixed parts

H1‧‧‧First aperture

H2‧‧‧Second aperture

W‧‧‧Maximum outer diameter

F1‧‧‧First width

F2‧‧‧second width

N‧‧‧DUT contact

X, Y, Z‧‧‧ direction

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a probe structure according to a first embodiment of the invention.

2 is another schematic perspective view of the probe structure of the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic side view of the probe structure of the first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a schematic top view of the probe structure of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG. 1.

6 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the VI-VI section line of FIG. 1.

7 is a schematic side view of another embodiment of the probe structure of the first example of the present invention.

8 is a schematic side view of another embodiment of the probe structure of the first example of the present invention.

9 is a schematic side view of a probe assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention.

10 is a schematic diagram of another side view of the probe assembly of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is another schematic side view of the probe assembly of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the use state of the probe structure of the second embodiment of the present invention.

The following are specific specific examples to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention related to the "probe structure". Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments. Various details in this specification can also be based on different viewpoints and applications, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are merely schematic illustrations, and are not drawn according to actual sizes, and are declared in advance. The following embodiments will further describe the related technical content of the present invention, but the disclosed content is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements or signals, etc., these elements or signals should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another, or a signal from another signal. In addition, as used herein, the term "or" may include all combinations of any one or more of the associated listed items, as the case may be.

[First embodiment]

First, please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 and also refer to FIG. 11. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are respectively a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the probe structure of the first embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 3 is a probe of the first embodiment of the invention FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of the probe structure of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of the probe assembly of the second embodiment of the present invention. The present invention provides a probe assembly M and its probe structure 1, The first embodiment will first introduce the main technical features of the probe structure 1 of the present invention, and the second embodiment will introduce the probe assembly M.

In view of the above, please refer to FIGS. 1 to 4 again. The probe structure 1 includes a first contact section 11, a first connection section 12, a second connection section 13 and a second contact section 14. The first contact section 11 may have an abutting portion 111 and a first end 112 connected to the abutting portion 111. The first connection section 12 can be connected to the first contact section 11, the second connection section 13 can be connected to the first connection section 12, the second contact section 14 can be connected to the second connection section 13, and the second contact section 14 has a Second end 141. In addition, according to the embodiment of the invention, the probe structure 1 is a cantilever probe structure 1.

In view of the above, please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 again. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the first contact section 11 may be a pin tail of the probe structure 1 to be used with a transfer interface panel (such as the substrate of FIG. 11 2) The contact ends (for example, the conductive structure 21 of FIG. 11) are connected. In addition, the second end 141 of the probe structure 1 may be in the form of a pointed needle to scratch the oxide layer on the surface of the solder ball of the test object. However, in other embodiments, the second end of the probe structure 1 141 can also be a plane, and the invention is not limited thereto. In view of the above, please refer to FIGS. 1 to 3 again, the extending direction of the first contact section 11 (Z direction) and the extending direction of the second contact section 14 (negative Z direction) are different from each other. In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the extending direction of the first contact section 11 and the extending direction of the second contact section 14 are substantially opposite and parallel to each other. Further, the first contact section 11 and the first connection section 12 may extend toward a first direction (Z direction), the second connection section 13 may extend toward a second direction (X direction), the first direction and the second The directions are different from each other, and in terms of the embodiment of the present invention, the first direction may be substantially perpendicular to the second direction. In addition, the second contact section 14 may extend toward a third direction (negative Z direction). The third direction and the second direction may be different from each other. In the embodiment of the present invention, the third direction may be substantially perpendicular to the second direction .

Next, please refer to FIGS. 5 and 6 together. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the V-V section line in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the VI-VI section line in FIG. 1. In terms of the embodiment of the present invention, the cross-sectional shape of the first connecting section 12 perpendicular to the extending direction of the first connecting section 12 is The cross-sectional shapes of the two connecting sections 13 are different from each other. That is to say, the cross section of the first connecting section 12 is perpendicular to the extending direction of the first connecting section 12, the cross section of the second connecting section 13 is perpendicular to the extending direction of the second connecting section 13, and the horizontal direction of the first connecting section 12 The shape of the cross section and the shape of the cross section of the second connection section 13 are different from each other. Preferably, in terms of the embodiment of the present invention, the cross-sectional area of the first connecting section 12 may be larger than the cross-sectional area of the second connecting section 13. Further, preferably, the cross-sectional shape of the first connecting section 12 may have a rectangular shape (for example, the first connecting section 12 is a columnar structure), and in addition, the second connecting section 13 and/or the second The cross-sectional shape of the contact section 14 may be in the shape of a sheet (a thin rectangular shape, for example, the second connecting section 13 and/or the second contact section 14 is a sheet-like structure). In addition, the columnar structure and the sheet The shape of the structure is different. Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the probe structure 1 is preferably a probe manufactured by a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. In other words, the rectangular probe structure 1 of this embodiment is completely different from the circular probe in the manufacturing process.

Further, please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 again, the first connection section 12 is connected to the second connection section 13, and furthermore, the first connection section 12 can form an exposed surface relative to the second connection section 13 121. That is to say, since the cross-sectional shape of the first connecting section 12 and the cross-sectional shape of the second connecting section 13 have very different characteristics in size, the first connecting section 12 can form a Bare surface 121. Thereby, the first connecting section 12 and the second connecting section 13 may have a step difference, and are arranged discontinuously in the overall structure. Furthermore, the connection between the first connection section 12 and the second connection section 13 is a turning point, and the turning point may have an exposed surface 121.

Following the above, please refer to FIG. 6 again. On any cross section of the second connecting section 13, the second connecting section 13 may have a first side (not labeled in the figure) and a second side (FIG. Not labeled), the first side may have a first width F1, the second side may have a second width F2, and the size of the first width F1 may be smaller than the size of the second width F2. That is, the sheet structure may have a first width F1 and a second width F2, and the first width The size of the degree F1 is smaller than the size of the second width F2. Preferably, the ratio of the first width F1 and the second width F2 may be between 0.2 and 0.5. For example, the first width F1 may be 0.1 millimeter (mm) and the second width F2 may be 2 mm to Between 5 mm, the invention is not limited to this. Further, since the direction in which the second contact section 14 is stressed is the Z direction, the length direction (extending direction) of the second side is toward the third direction (negative Z direction), and the second connecting section 13 is smaller The first side of the size is in contact with the first connecting section 12, so even though the size of the first width F1 is smaller than the size of the second width F2, the force of the second end portion 141 against the object to be measured can still be maintained.

Next, please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 again. Although the abutting portion 111 of the first contact section 11 in the drawing is described by a barbed shape, in other embodiments, the abutting portion The shape of 111 may also be concave, and the invention is not limited thereto. Furthermore, in other embodiments, each probe structure 1 may also have a plurality of abutting portions 111, which is not limited in the present invention.

Next, please refer to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, which are schematic side views of other embodiments of the probe structure of the first embodiment of the present invention. In detail, in other embodiments, the shape of the probe structure 1 can also be adjusted. For example, in the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8, the second connection section 13 and the first The appearance of the second contact section 14 is suitable for different objects to be laid. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the appearance of the second connection section 13 and the second contact section 14.

[Second Embodiment]

First, please refer to FIGS. 9 to 11, which are schematic side views of the assembly process of the probe assembly M according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It should be particularly noted that, in order to facilitate understanding of the present embodiment, the drawings only show the partial structure of the probe assembly M, so as to clearly show the structure and connection relationship of each element of the probe assembly M. The structure and connection relationship of each element of the probe assembly M will be introduced below. In other words, to facilitate understanding of the drawings, the probe structure 1 in FIGS. 9 to 11 only shows a partial structure of the probe structure 1. However, what is provided in the second embodiment The probe structure 1 is similar to the structure in the foregoing embodiment, and will not be repeated here. Therefore, when referring to the content shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, please also refer to FIGS. 1 to 2 again.

In light of the above, please refer to FIG. 9 again. The second embodiment of the present invention provides a probe assembly M, which includes a substrate 2, a first plate 3 and a plurality of probe structures 1. The substrate 2 may have a plurality of conductive structures 21, for example, the substrate 2 may be a transfer interface panel or a space transformer (ST) for wafer testing. In addition, in other embodiments, the substrate 2 may also be a printed circuit board, that is to say, because the probe structure 1 can be manufactured by the MEMS technology, so that the size is small, so there is no need to provide a space converter, Instead, the probe structure 1 is directly arranged on the printed circuit board, whereby the probe structure 1 can be electrically connected to the conductive structure 21 of the printed circuit board.

According to the above, please refer to FIG. 9 again, the first plate body 3 may have a plurality of first through holes 31 and a plurality of abutment portions 32, and each abutment portion 32 is respectively adjacent to the corresponding first through hole 31 Each of the first through holes 31 has a first aperture H1. In addition, preferably, in terms of the embodiment of the present invention, the probe assembly M may further include a second plate body 4, and the second plate body 4 may have a plurality of second through holes 41. For example, the second plate body 4 may be substantially parallel to the first plate body 3, the positions of the plurality of second through holes 41 respectively correspond to the positions of the plurality of first through holes 31, and each second through hole 41 has A second aperture H2.

Following the above, please refer to FIG. 9 and refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 together. Each probe structure 1 may include a first contact section 11, a first connection section 12, and a second connection Segment 13 and a second contact segment 14. The first contact section 11 may have an abutting portion 111 and a first end 112 connected to the abutting portion 111. In addition, the first connection section 12 can be connected to the first contact section 11, the second connection section 13 can be connected to the first connection section 12, the second contact section 14 can be connected to the second connection section 13, and the second contact section 14 It may have a second end. It should be noted that the probe structure 1 provided in the second embodiment is similar to the structure in the foregoing embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

Next, please refer back to FIG. 9, the size of a maximum outer diameter W of the first contact section 11 is smaller than the size of the first aperture H1 of the first through hole 31, so that the first contact section 11 The first through hole 31 can be passed. In addition, the size of the maximum outer diameter W of the first contact segment 11 is also smaller than the size of the second hole diameter H2 of the second through hole 41 so that the first contact segment 11 can pass through the second through hole 41. Furthermore, the first contact section 11 of each probe structure 1 can be electrically connected to each conductive structure 21 respectively.

Next, referring to FIG. 10, the user can move the relative positions of the first plate 3 and the second plate 4 so that the first plate 3 and the second plate 4 are misaligned with each other. That is, the first plate body 3 can be moved toward the X direction, and the second plate body 4 can be directed toward the negative X direction. Thereby, the abutting portion 111 of each probe structure 1 can respectively abut against each corresponding abutment portion 32 to achieve the effect of positioning the probe structure 1.

Next, referring to FIG. 11, the probe assembly M preferably further includes a fixing member 5 (for example, the fixing member 5 may be, for example but not limited to, a screw), and the fixing member 5 may be disposed on the substrate 2 and the second On one plate body 3 and the second plate body 4, the abutting portion 111 of each probe structure 1 abuts each corresponding abutting portion 32 respectively. In other words, the fixing member 5 can be used to locate the relative positions of the probe structure 1 and the substrate 2, the first plate body 3 and the second plate body 4. In addition, it is worth noting that each probe structure 1 abuts the corresponding abutment portion 32 through the abutment portion 111 respectively, so that the probe structure 1 is positioned. In this way, when one of the probe structures 1 is damaged and fails, the failed probe structure 1 can be replaced by moving the first plate body 3 and the second plate body 4.

It is worth noting that, since the cross-sectional shape of the first connecting section 12 may have a rectangular shape, the cross-sectional shape of the second connecting section 13 may have a sheet shape (flaky rectangular shape). Therefore, after the second plate body 4 is provided, the first contact section 11 and the first connection section 12 (part of the first connection section 12 or all of the first connection section 12) are buried in the second plate body 4 After being between the substrate 2, interference between the second connection sections 13 of the two probe structures 1 can be avoided.

Next, please refer to FIG. 12, which is a schematic diagram of the use state of the probe structure of the second embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 12 is a plan view of a plurality of probe structures 1. It can be understood from the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 that multiple probe structures 1 can be The measurement array of the needle card is designed and arranged, and in addition, the plurality of probe structures 1 may have mutually different configurations (for example, at least two of the plurality of probe structures 1 have different lengths). In other words, the arrangement angle of each probe structure 1 can be adjusted according to requirements. In addition, the second contact section 14 of the probe structure 1 can be electrically connected to the contact N of the object under test.

[Beneficial effect of embodiment]

One of the beneficial effects of the present invention may be that the probe structure 1 provided by the embodiment of the present invention can enable the probe structure 1 to be separated by the technical solution of "the first contact section 11 has an abutting portion 111" Swap to form a replaceable probe structure 1 to reduce maintenance costs. At the same time, compared with the existing cantilever probe structure, it can also shorten the transmission path of the existing cantilever probe impedance discontinuous, and improve the signal integrity (SI) of the transmission quality.

Furthermore, since the probe structure 1 provided in the embodiment of the present invention is a cantilever probe structure 1, the needle tip is guided outward, so multiple sets of different first plate bodies 3 and second plates can be used The body 4 and the fixture 5 fix the probe structure 1 to the substrate 2. Furthermore, the probe structures 1 of different lengths can be used to reduce the processing difficulty of fine pitch. In addition, since the cross-sectional shape of the second connecting section 13 may be in the shape of a sheet (a thin rectangular shape) (the first connecting section 12 is a columnar structure, the second connecting section 13 is a sheet-like structure, and The shape of the columnar structure is different from that of the sheet structure), so it can not only meet the needs of fine pitch, but also provide the required strength of the supporting force.

Further, the abutment portions 111 of the probe structure 1 can respectively abut against the corresponding abutment portions 32 of the first plate body 3, therefore, the probe structure 1 can be positioned on the substrate 2 so that the probe The first contact section 11 of the structure 1 is electrically connected to the conductive structure 21 on the substrate 2.

The content disclosed above is only a preferred and feasible embodiment of the present invention, and therefore does not limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention, so any equivalent technical changes made by using the description and drawings of the present invention are included in the application of the present invention. Within the scope of the patent.

1‧‧‧Probe structure

11‧‧‧The first contact section

111‧‧‧Department

112‧‧‧First end

12‧‧‧The first connecting section

121‧‧‧ Bare surface

13‧‧‧Second connection section

14‧‧‧The second contact section

141‧‧‧second end

X, Y, Z‧‧‧ direction

Claims (6)

A probe structure includes: a first contact section having an abutment portion and a first end connected to the abutment portion; a first connection section, the first The connection section is connected to the first contact section; a second connection section, the second connection section is connected to the first connection section; and a second contact section, the second contact section is connected to the first contact section Two connecting sections, the second contact section has a second end; wherein, the cross section of the first connecting section is perpendicular to the extending direction of the first connecting section, and the cross section of the second connecting section is perpendicular In the extending direction of the second connection section, and the shape of the cross section of the first connection section and the shape of the cross section of the second connection section are different from each other; wherein, the first connection The cross-sectional area of the segment is greater than the cross-sectional area of the second connecting segment; wherein, the connection between the first connecting segment and the second connecting segment is a turning point, and the The first connection section can form an exposed surface relative to the second connection section at the turning point; wherein, the first contact section is a pin tail of the probe structure for a conductive structure with a substrate Connect. The probe structure according to claim 1, wherein the probe structure is a cantilever probe structure. The probe structure according to claim 1, wherein the extending direction of the first contact section and the extending direction of the second contact section are different from each other. The probe structure according to claim 1, wherein the abutting portion can abut against a top abutting portion of a first plate body. The probe structure according to claim 1, wherein the first connection section is a columnar structure, the second connection section is a sheet-like structure, the columnar structure and the sheet The shape of the structure is different. The probe structure according to claim 1, wherein the first contact section and the first connection section extend toward a first direction, and the second connection section extends toward a second direction, the first The direction and the second direction are different from each other.

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