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A Highly Resilient Cantilever Spring Probe Having Curved Surfaces for Testing ICs

a cantilever spring and ics technology, applied in the direction of individual semiconductor device testing, semiconductor/solid-state device testing/measurement, instruments, etc., can solve the problems of attempting to distribute the applied bending and the cantilever style probe card not scaling well

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-02-16
JEM AMERICA CORP
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is about a spring probe that can bend without getting bent too much, which means it can handle a lot of pressure without getting damaged. The probe has a special design that allows for controlled bending. The invention also includes a method for using the probe to test wafers. This design helps to protect the wafers from getting bent too much during the testing process."

Problems solved by technology

The aforementioned cantilever style probe cards do not scale well to the current trends primarily because they are manually intensive to build.
No known device, however, attempts to distribute the applied bending stress uniformly along the length of the probe for the purpose of generating more resiliency in a volume-limited space such as occurs in wafer-level testing.

Method used

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  • A Highly Resilient Cantilever Spring Probe Having Curved Surfaces for Testing ICs
  • A Highly Resilient Cantilever Spring Probe Having Curved Surfaces for Testing ICs
  • A Highly Resilient Cantilever Spring Probe Having Curved Surfaces for Testing ICs

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Embodiment Construction

[0017] The following description is provided to enable any person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles, features and teachings disclosed herein.

[0018]FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrams illustrating an embodiment of the invention. Specifically, a cantilever spring-based probe 100 comprised of multiple layers manufactured using electroplating technology discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,630 is illustrated. The probe 100 comprises an arm 110 coupled to a base 140 via an anchor 150 at one e...

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Abstract

A probe has a cantilever arm coupled to a base via an anchor. A surface of the arm facing the base or a surface of the base facing the arm has steps with contact points that contact the base when the arm is depressed. Alternatively, the surface of the arm and / or the surface of the base may be curved.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a divisional of and incorporates by reference U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 919,836 filed Aug. 16, 2004 by inventor Phillip Mai.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates in general to devices for testing electronic circuitry and in particular, but not exclusively, to a device for probing integrated circuits formed on a semiconducting wafer. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART [0003] Because many ICs (integrated circuits) formed on a semiconducting wafer may not be functional, it is desirable to test them before packaging or including them in a MCM (multi-chip module). The device which carries the electrical power and signals from a tester to the IC is known as a probe card. Traditional probe cards carry the electrical signals to the bond pads of the IC via tapered needles which are affixed in a cantilever manner to a PCB (printed circuit board). These needle probes, hereafter referred to as probes, are typical...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): G01R31/02G01R1/067G01R1/073G01R3/00
CPCG01R1/06727G01R3/00G01R1/07342H01L22/00
Inventor MAI, PHILLIP
Owner JEM AMERICA CORP