WO2025126799A1 - Probe - Google Patents

Abstract

A probe (10) comprises a columnar body section (11) that extends in the axial direction, a tip section (12) that is connected to one end of the body section (11) and contacts an object to be inspected during inspection, and a base end section (13) connected to the other end of the body section (11). The base end section (13) includes a plurality of connection sections (130) each having: a linking section (131) elastically connecting to the body section (11); and a contact section (132) of which a first end is connected to the linking section (131).

Description

probe

The present invention relates to a probe used to inspect the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected.

　An electrical connection device including a probe is used to test the electrical characteristics of test objects such as semiconductor integrated circuits in the wafer state. In a test using a probe, one end of the probe contacts an electrode of the test object, and the other end of the probe contacts a terminal (hereinafter referred to as a "land") arranged on a substrate included in the electrical connection device. The land is electrically connected to a tester or other testing device.

JP 2018-4260 A

In order to accurately test the electrical characteristics of an object under test, it is necessary to stably connect the object under test and the land electrically via a probe. The object of the present invention is to provide a probe that can stably connect the object under test and the land electrically.

The probe according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a columnar body extending in the axial direction, a tip connected to one end of the body and contacting an object to be inspected during inspection, and a base connected to the other end of the body. The base includes a plurality of connecting portions, each of which has a connecting portion that is elastic and connects to the body, and a contact portion whose first end connects to the connecting portion.

The present invention provides a probe that stabilizes the electrical connection between the object to be inspected and the land.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a probe according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the base end portion of the probe according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an electrical connecting device including a probe according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the coupling parts of the probe according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an electrical connecting device including a probe of a comparative example. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a coupling portion of a probe according to a modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing another structure of the coupling portion of the probe according to the modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing another structure of the coupling portion of the probe according to the modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a probe according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a base end portion of a probe according to a modified example of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an electrical connecting device according to another embodiment.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are given the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the thickness ratios of the various parts may differ from the actual ones. In addition, the drawings naturally include parts with different dimensional relationships and ratios. The embodiments shown below are examples of devices and methods for embodying the technical ideas of this invention, and the embodiments of this invention do not specify the materials, shapes, structures, arrangements, etc. of the components as described below.

First Embodiment
The probe 10 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is used to inspect the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected. The probe 10 includes a columnar body 11 extending in the axial direction, a tip 12 connected to one end of the body 11 and contacting the object to be inspected during inspection, and a base 13 connected to the other end of the body 11. Hereinafter, the axial direction of the body 11 will also be referred to simply as the "axial direction". As shown in FIG. 1, the body 11 and the tip 12 may be integrally configured. The base 13 includes a plurality of connecting portions 130. Each of the connecting portions 130 has a connecting portion 131 that is elastic and connects to the body 11, and a contact portion 132 that connects to the connecting portion 131.

In the following, the direction in the axial direction in which the base end 13 is located as viewed from the tip end 12 is referred to as the upper side, and the direction in which the tip end 12 is located as viewed from the base end 13 is referred to as the lower side. For example, the contact portion 132 is located above the connecting portion 131. In addition, the upward facing surface of each portion of the probe 10 is referred to as the upper surface, the downward facing surface is referred to as the lower surface, and the surface connecting the upper surface and the lower surface is referred to as the side surface.

The probe 10 shown in FIG. 1 has three connection parts 130 at the base end 13, but the number of connection parts 130 at the base end 13 may be two, or four or more. The following describes, as an example, a case where the base end 13 has three connection parts 130 as shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the connecting portion 131 has a beam portion 1311 that is connected to the main body portion 11 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, and a support portion 1312 that is connected to the beam portion 1311 and extends in the axial direction. The first end 132a of the contact portion 132 is connected to the support portion 1312 of the connecting portion 131. The contact portion 132 extends parallel to the axial direction. When viewed from the axial direction, the main body portion 11 and the contact portion 132 are disposed apart. The second end 132b of the contact portion 132 is included in a plane level perpendicular to the axial direction at a position extended in the axial direction from the position of the other end of the main body portion 11 to which the base end portion 13 is connected. As will be described later, the second end 132b of the contact portion 132 comes into contact with the land during inspection of the test object. The larger the diameter of the contact portion 132, the more stable the contact between the land and the probe 10. Although an example has been shown in which the diameter of the contact portion 132 is larger than the diameter of the connecting portion 131, the diameters of the contact portion 132 and the connecting portion 131 may be approximately the same. In order to arrange the probes 10 at a narrow pitch, it is preferable that the diameter of the contact portion 132 is small. The end surface of the second end 132b of the contact portion 132 may be configured to remove the oxide film on the surface of the land. For example, the end surface of the second end 132b may be formed with irregularities.

The cross section of the main body 11 perpendicular to the axial direction (hereinafter simply referred to as the "cross section") may be, for example, circular or polygonal. In this embodiment, a case where the cross section of the main body 11 is circular will be described as an example. To electrically connect the electrodes and lands of the test object, a conductive material such as a metal material is used for the probe 10. For example, the probe 10 may be made of nickel (Ni), nickel alloy, gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), palladium alloy, rhodium (Rh), rhodium alloy, or other precious metals.

The probe 10 is used in, for example, an electrical connection device 100 as shown in FIG. 3. When inspecting the inspection target 200, the tip 12 of the probe 10 comes into contact with an electrode pad (not shown) of the inspection target 200. The connection portion 130 of the base end 13 of the probe 10 is connected to the land 21 of the substrate 20. Specifically, the second end 132b of the contact portion 132 is connected to the land 21. As shown in FIG. 3, the multiple contact portions 132 included in the same base end 13 are connected to one land 21. The position of the other end of the main body portion 11 is lower than the position of the second end 132b of the contact portion 132, and a space is interposed between the end of the main body portion 11 and the substrate 20. The substrate 20 is, for example, a printed circuit board or a space transformer. The land 21 is electrically connected to an inspection device such as an IC tester (not shown).

The tip of the second end 132b of the contact portion 132 may be a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the probe 10. By making the tip of the second end 132b a plane, the contact area between the contact portion 132 and the land can be increased. The larger the contact area between the contact portion 132 and the land, the larger the current that can flow through the probe 10.

The electrical connection device 100 may be constructed by joining the base end 13 of the probe 10 to the land 21. The connection method and connection material for joining the probe 10 to the land 21 may be selected arbitrarily. For example, the second end 132b of the contact portion 132 of the probe 10 may be joined to the land 21 by soldering.

Since the connecting portion 131 of the connection portion 130 has elasticity, when the tip portion 12 of the probe 10 with the base end portion 13 connected to the land 21 is brought into contact with the test object 200, the probe 10 can be elastically deformed along the axial direction. In other words, since the main body portion 11 of the probe 10 is linear, it does not have elasticity in the axial direction, but the probe 10 as a whole has elasticity in the axial direction. Therefore, after the probe 10 is brought into contact with the test object 200, an overdrive can be applied so as to press the probe 10 against the test object 200. The overdrive can ensure electrical connection between the probe 10 and the test object 200. Furthermore, since the base end portion 13 of the probe 10 has multiple contact portions 132, the probe 10 can be stably brought into contact with the land 21.

After the inspection of the object to be inspected 200 is completed, the probe 10 is separated from the object to be inspected 200. The connecting portion 131 is formed so that it elastically deforms and returns to its original shape after the probe 10 is separated from the object to be inspected 200. For example, the diameter of the beam portion 1311 of the connecting portion 131 may be made relatively narrower than that of the main body portion 11, thereby making the connecting portion 131 elastic. Alternatively, the connecting portion 131 may be made elastic by using a material for the connecting portion 131 that is less rigid than the main body portion 11. Also, as described below, a slit may be provided in the connecting portion 131.

As shown in FIG. 4, when viewed from the axial direction of the probe 10, the angle θ between adjacent connecting portions 131 may be the same between all connecting portions 131. For example, when the base end 13 has three connecting portions 130, the angle θ is approximately 120 degrees. By having multiple connecting portions 131 extend from the main body portion 11 with equal angles between them, the probe 10 can be brought into stable contact with the land 21. For example, the orientation of the probe 10 can be maintained perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 20 on which the land 21 is arranged. Also, the multiple connecting portions 130 of the base end 13 come into contact with the land 21 with the same pressure.

However, a comparative probe (hereinafter referred to as "comparative probe 10M") in which one end of a columnar body is the tip that contacts the test object and the other end is connected to a land at a single point at the base end does not have axial elasticity in the probe itself. For this reason, overdrive is applied by bending the body of comparative probe 10M, for example, as in the comparative electrical connection device shown in Figure 5.

In the comparative electrical connection device shown in FIG. 5, the comparative probe 10M is held by a probe head 30 having a bottom guide plate 31 and a top guide plate 32. The bottom guide plate 31 is arranged around the tip of the comparative probe 10M. The top guide plate 32 is arranged around the base of the comparative probe 10M. The probe head 30 further has a first guide film 34 and a second guide film 35 arranged at a distance from each other in a space formed by sandwiching a spacer 33 between the top guide plate 32 and the bottom guide plate 31. The top guide plate 32 and the bottom guide plate 31 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "guide plates") are, for example, ceramic materials. The first guide film 34 and the second guide film 35 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "guide films") are, for example, resin films. The comparative probe 10M passes through guide holes (not shown) formed in the guide plates and guide films.

In the probe head 30 shown in FIG. 5, the guide holes through which the same comparative probe 10M passes are offset in position from the guide holes in the bottom guide plate 31 in the top guide plate 32, parallel to the main surface of the bottom guide plate 31. Due to the offset arrangement, the main body of the comparative probe 10M is curved inside the probe head 30, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5. In other words, in the hollow region between the bottom guide plate 31 and the top guide plate 32, the comparative probe 10M is curved due to elastic deformation.

Because the guide plates are offset, when the tip of the comparative probe 10M comes into contact with the object to be inspected, the comparative probe 10M buckles in the hollow region. That is, when the comparative probe 10M is in contact with the object to be inspected, the comparative probe 10M is further bent due to flexural deformation as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5. As the comparative probe 10M is further bent, it comes into contact with the object to be inspected 200 at a predetermined pressure.

However, in the comparative electrical connection device shown in Figure 5, deformation of the comparative probe 10M causes friction between the comparative probe 10M and the guide plate and guide film. This causes problems such as the comparative probe 10M being unable to make sufficient contact with the land 21 or the object being tested, resulting in insufficient conductivity between the object being tested and the land 21.

In contrast, the probe 10 does not need to be held with the main body 11 curved. In other words, there is no friction between the probe 10 and the guide plate or guide film, and the electrical continuity between the test object 200 and the land 21 is stable.

As described above, the probe 10 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of connection parts 130, each of which has a contact part 132 that connects to the main body part 11 via a connecting part 131. Therefore, the probe 10 can stabilize the electrical connection between the test object 200 and the land 21.

<Modification>
6, in the probe 10 according to the modified example of the first embodiment, slits 1310 penetrating the coupling portion 131 in a direction parallel to the axial direction of the beam portion 1311 are formed in each coupling portion 131 of the multiple connection portions 130. According to the probe 10 shown in FIG. 6, by providing the beam portion 1311 of each coupling portion 131 with the slits 1310 penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface, it is possible to adjust the needle pressure (hereinafter also simply referred to as "needle pressure") with which the probe 10 contacts the test object 200.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7, a slit 1310 may be formed in the beam 1311, penetrating the connecting portion 131 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. By providing the beam 1311 with a slit 1310 penetrating in the lateral direction, the needle pressure can be adjusted.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the slits 1310 formed in the beam portions 1311 of the multiple connecting portions 131 may be connected to each other at the portions where the connecting portions 131 are connected to the main body portion 11. By connecting the slits 1310 to each other, the needle pressure can be adjusted across the multiple connecting portions 131.

Second Embodiment
As shown in Fig. 9, the probe 10 according to the second embodiment has a connecting portion 131 that is connected to the main body portion 11 and includes a beam portion 1311 that is elastically curved, and a support portion 1312 that connects the beam portion 1311 and the contact portion 132. The probe 10 shown in Fig. 9 differs from the probe 10 according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1 in that the connecting portion 131 includes a curved portion. The other configurations of the second embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment.

The probe 10 shown in FIG. 9 includes a curved portion in the connecting portion 131, which makes it easier for the connecting portion 131 to bend when the probe 10 comes into contact with the test object. Therefore, the probe 10 shown in FIG. 9 can apply a stronger overdrive. As a result, the probe 10 can be more stably brought into contact with the test object. Otherwise, the probe 10 according to the second embodiment is substantially similar to the first embodiment, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

<Modification>
In the modified example of the probe 10 according to the second embodiment, as shown in Fig. 10, the connecting portion 131 includes a first arm 1311a and a second arm 1311b. The first arm 1311a and the second arm 1311b are arranged in parallel and each is connected to the main body portion 11. The first arm 1311a extends linearly at an angle obliquely intersecting with the axial direction in a direction away from the main body portion 11. The second arm 1311b has a portion that is elastically curved. A support portion 1312 is connected to a joint between the first arm 1311a and the second arm 1311b.

In the probe 10 shown in FIG. 10, the second arm 1311b has a portion that bends elastically, so that the elasticity of the connecting part 131 that bends when the probe 10 comes into contact with the test object becomes stronger. As a result, a strong overdrive can be applied. Although an example in which the connecting part 131 includes the first arm 1311a and the second arm 1311b is shown in FIG. 10, the connecting part 131 may be composed of three or more arms, including at least one arm that has a portion that bends elastically.

Other Embodiments
Although the present invention has been described above by way of the embodiment, the description and drawings forming part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting the present invention. Various alternative embodiments, examples and operating techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

For example, the above describes an example in which the number of connection parts 130 constituting the base end 13 is three, but the number of connection parts 130 constituting the base end 13 may be two. The fewer the number of connection parts 130, the closer the probes 10 can be placed to each other. Also, the number of connection parts 130 constituting the base end 13 may be three or more. The greater the number of connection parts 130, the higher the allowable value of the current flowing through the probe 10 can be.

In the above, the electrical connection device 100 in which the contact portion 132 of the probe 10 is joined to the land 21 has been shown, but the electrical connection device may be configured so that the contact portion 132 and the land 21 can freely contact and separate. For example, as in the electrical connection device 101 shown in FIG. 11, the probe 10 may be held by the probe head 30. The probe head 30 may include a guide plate in which a plurality of guide holes through which the probes 10 each penetrate are formed. The probe head 30 holds the probes 10 in a state in which the plurality of probes 10 each penetrate a different guide hole. For this reason, it is possible to prevent adjacent probes 10 from contacting each other. In addition, by holding the probe 10 by the probe head 30, the contact portion 132 of the probe 10 does not need to be joined to the land 21. Since the contact portion 132 is not joined to the land 21, it is easy to replace the probe 10, for example, when a malfunction occurs in the probe 10. In addition, a stopper with an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the guide hole may be formed on the probe 10. The stopper hooks around the opening of the guide hole in the probe head 30, preventing the probe 10 from falling off the probe head 30.

As such, the present invention naturally includes various embodiments not described above.

The entire contents of Patent Application No. 2023-209330 (filing date: December 12, 2023) are hereby incorporated by reference.

Claims (10)

A probe for use in testing electrical characteristics of an object to be tested, comprising:
A column-shaped main body portion extending in an axial direction;
a tip portion connected to one end of the main body portion and contacting the test object during the test;
a base end portion connected to the other end portion of the main body portion,
The probe, wherein the base end includes a coupling portion that is elastically connected to the main body portion, and a plurality of connecting portions each having a contact portion whose first end is connected to the coupling portion. The probe of claim 1, wherein the second end of the contact portion is included in a plane level perpendicular to the axial direction at a position extended in the axial direction from the position of the other end of the body portion. The probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting portion has a slit formed therein that penetrates the connecting portion in a direction parallel to the axial direction. The probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting portion has a slit formed therein that penetrates the connecting portion in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. The probe according to claim 4, wherein the slits of the multiple connecting parts are connected at the portions where the connecting parts are connected to the main body part. The connecting portion has a portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction,
The contact portion extends parallel to the axial direction.
The probe according to claim 1 or 2. The probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting portion includes a portion that is elastically curved. The probe of claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting portion includes a first arm and a second arm arranged in parallel with the first arm. the first arm extends linearly at an angle obliquely intersecting the axial direction in a direction away from the main body portion,
the second arm includes a portion that is elastically curved;
The probe of claim 8. The probe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the angles between adjacent connecting parts are the same between all of the connecting parts when viewed from the axial direction.

Images