Probe Card and Switching Module

Abstract

The present invention discloses a probe card and a switching module, wherein the probe card comprises a test circuit board, a reinforcement, a switching module and a test head. The test circuit board comprises an upper surface, a lower surface and a central perforation. The reinforcement is arranged on the upper surface of the test circuit board and comprises a central carrier corresponding to the central perforation. The switching module comprises a base, a micro-hole plate and an adapter plate. The base comprises a hollow area, the micro-hole plate is arranged below the base, and the adapter plate is arranged above the base. The micro-hole plate comprises a plurality of first micro-holes in the hollow area facing the base. The adapter plate comprises an upper surface and a lower surface, and the upper surface comprises a plurality of upper contact points. The test head is electrically connected to the micro-hole plate. The adapter plate is electrically connected to the corresponding test circuit board so that the circuits are not staggered and the lengths are consistent, thereby solving the problems of mutual interference of circuit signals and inconsistent timing of test signals in the prior art.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a probe card and a switching module. Background Art

[0002] The traditional manufacturing method of integrated circuit chips is to first form multiple dies on a wafer, then cut the wafer into multiple independent dies, and then package each independent dies separately. The dies themselves can have different sizes depending on their functions. The size of dies with complex functions is usually larger, and the number of contact points on the dies is also larger, so the spacing between the contact points is usually very narrow. Although there are fewer contact points on dies with simpler functions, because the size of the dies is also smaller, the spacing between the contact points is also very narrow. Therefore, it is difficult for ordinary dies to be directly electrically connected to the circuit board.

[0003] In order to allow the circuit in the die to be electrically connected to the circuit board, the spatial distribution of the contact points on the die must be enlarged. This step is called space transformation. Space transformation is usually achieved by soldering the die to an integrated circuit carrier. The integrated circuit carrier has an upper surface and a lower surface. The spatial distribution of the upper contact points on the upper surface is the same as the spatial distribution of the contact points of the corresponding die, and the distribution of the lower contact points on the lower surface is more generous. There is a circuit layout between the upper surface and the lower surface to electrically connect the upper contact points on the upper surface with the lower contact points on the lower surface. In this way, the spatial distribution of the contact points on the die can be enlarged by the integrated circuit carrier.

[0004] Before the die is combined with the integrated circuit carrier, it usually has to go through a testing procedure, such as needle testing with a probe card. In order to be able to detect the die on the wafer, the distribution of the probes on the probe card must be the same as the distribution of the contact points on the die, so the probes will also have a compact distribution. As mentioned earlier, the contact points on the die are compactly distributed, so it is difficult to directly connect them to the circuit board. Similarly, compactly distributed probes will also have the problem of being difficult to directly connect them to the test circuit board. Therefore, the probes must also be space-converted through a "space converter" before they can be electrically connected to the test circuit board.

[0005] The space transformer has an upper surface and a lower surface like an integrated circuit substrate, wherein the lower surface connected to the probe has a compact contact point distribution similar to the probe distribution, and the upper surface facing the test circuit board has a wider contact point distribution.

[0006] When a traditional space transformer is electrically connected to a corresponding test circuit board, a wire is directly drawn from the micro-perforated plate to the test circuit board, resulting in a criss-crossed wiring pattern, which easily causes signal interference. In addition, the different lengths of the wiring patterns will also cause inconsistent signal timing, affecting the accuracy of the electrical test results. Summary of the invention

[0007] In view of this, the present invention proposes a probe card, which includes a test circuit board, a reinforcement, a switching module and a test head. The test circuit board includes an upper surface, a lower surface and a central through hole. The reinforcement is arranged on the upper surface of the test circuit board and includes a central carrier corresponding to the central through hole. The switching module includes a base, a micro-hole plate, an adapter plate, a plurality of circuits and a plurality of external circuit routings. The base includes a hollow area, the micro-hole plate is arranged below the base, and the adapter plate is arranged above the base. The micro-hole plate includes a plurality of first micro-holes facing the hollow area of ​​the base. The adapter plate includes an upper surface, a lower surface and a plurality of through holes. The lower surface of the adapter plate faces the base, and the upper surface includes a plurality of upper contact points, each through hole extending from the upper surface of the adapter plate to the lower surface of the adapter plate. The circuits individually pass through the first micro-holes of the micro-hole plate and the through holes of the adapter plate, which electrically connect the micro-hole plate to the upper contact points on the upper surface of the adapter plate. The external circuit wirings are individually and electrically connected from the upper contact points of the adapter board to the upper contact points on the upper surface of the test circuit board. The test head is electrically connected to the micro-hole plate.

[0008] The present invention also proposes a switching module suitable for the above-mentioned probe card, which is electrically connected to the corresponding test circuit board through an adapter board, so that the lines are not staggered and the lengths tend to be consistent, solving the problems of mutual interference of line signals and inconsistent test signal timing in the prior art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional exploded schematic diagram of an exemplary switching module of the present invention;

[0010] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary switching module of the present invention;

[0011] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a switching module with a positioning film and an inner layer circuit layout of the present invention;

[0012] Figure 4 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a switching module with a positioning film and external circuit wiring of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional exploded schematic diagram of an exemplary probe card of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary probe card of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of electrical connections of an exemplary probe card of the present invention; and

[0016] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of an exemplary probe card of the present invention.

[0017] Wherein, the reference numerals are:

[0018] 10 Switching Modules

[0019] 11. Base

[0020] 111 Hollow Area

[0021] 119 outer periphery

[0022] 12 Microplate

[0023] 121 First Micropore

[0024] 13 Adapter Plate

[0025] 131 Upper contact point

[0026] 132 Through hole

[0027] 139 Steel Column

[0028] 13U top surface

[0029] 13B Lower surface

[0030] 13E Outer Area

[0031] 13C Central Area

[0032] 13L inner layer circuit layout

[0033] 18 lines

[0034] 19 Positioning film

[0035] 191 Second Micropore

[0036] 20 Switching Module

[0037] 23 Adapter Plate

[0038] 23E Outlying Area

[0039] 23C Central Area

[0040] 231C First upper contact point

[0041] 231E Second upper contact point

[0042] 27 Intermediate Circuit Routing

[0043] 30 Probe Card

[0044] 31 Test Circuit Board

[0045] 31U top surface

[0046] 31B Lower surface

[0047] 311 Central Perforation

[0048] 32 Reinforcement

[0049] 32U top surface

[0050] 32B Lower surface

[0051] 321 Central stage

[0052] 323 Flange

[0053] 329 Bridge

[0054] 35 Test Head

[0055] 37 External circuit routing DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , are respectively a cross-sectional exploded schematic diagram and a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary switching module of the present invention, which depict a switching module 10. The switching module 10 includes a base 11, a micro-perforated plate 12, and an adapter plate 13. The base 11 is generally made of stainless steel, and includes a hollow area 111 in the center. The micro-perforated plate 12 is generally made of ceramic material, which is arranged below the base 11. The adapter plate 13 itself can be a single-layer or multi-layer circuit board, which is arranged above the base 11. The micro-perforated plate 12 includes a plurality of first micro-holes 121 facing the hollow area 111 of the base 11. The adapter plate 13 includes an upper surface 13U and a lower surface 13B, the lower surface 13B faces the base 11, and the upper surface 13U includes a plurality of upper contact points 131.

[0057] In some embodiments, the adapter plate 13 itself is not directly disposed on the base 11 but is elevated by the steel column 139, thereby reducing the angle between the circuit 18 and the adapter plate 13, so as to reduce the bending angle of the circuit 18, thereby increasing the reliability and life of the electrical connection between the circuit 18 and the adapter plate 13. In some embodiments, the adapter plate 13 includes a central area 13C and a peripheral area 13E surrounding the central area 13C, and the upper contact point 131 is located in the peripheral area 13E. In some embodiments, the peripheral area 13E is defined as an area where the projection of the adapter plate 13 along its normal direction does not overlap with the hollow area 111 of the base 11. In some embodiments, the adapter plate 13 is circular and has a radius, the central area 13C is defined as a circular area within the radius*0.7 from the center of the circle, and the peripheral area 13E is defined as an annular area outside the circular area. In some embodiments, the projection of the central area 13C along the normal direction of the surface of the adapter plate 13 just overlaps with the hollow area 111. It should be noted that disposing the upper contact point 131 in the peripheral area 13E of the adapter board 13 , that is, disposing it closer to the periphery of the adapter board 13 , will facilitate the electrical connection between the upper contact point 131 and the test circuit board described below.

[0058] like Figure 3 As shown, in some embodiments, the switching module 10 further includes a positioning film 19. The positioning film 19 is used to guide the circuits 18 passing through the microporous plate 12 so that they are arranged neatly, so that the operator can easily determine the order of each circuit 18. The positioning film 19 can be made of a polymer material and is flexible. The positioning film 19 is disposed between the microporous plate 12 and the adapter plate 13, and is located above the first microporous hole 121 of the microporous plate 12. In some embodiments, the adapter plate 13 further includes an inner circuit layout 13L located between its upper surface 13U and the lower surface 13B. The function of this inner circuit layout 13L is to allow the circuit 18 to be electrically connected to the multiple upper contact points 131 on the upper surface 13U through the inner circuit layout 13L. The positioning film 19 includes second micropores 191 that individually correspond to the first micropores 121, and the spacing between the second micropores 191 is equal to the spacing between the first micropores 121, that is, the circuit 18 between the positioning film 19 and the micropore plate 12 has not yet been fanned out, but has begun to fan out between the positioning film 19 and the lower surface 13B of the adapter plate 13.

[0059] Continuing from the above, after the circuit lines 18 of this embodiment pass through the positioning film 19, the spacing between the circuit lines 18 will gradually increase as they get closer to the adapter board 13 until they reach the lower surface 13B of the adapter board 13. Then, the circuit lines 18 will further pass through the respective through-holes 132 of the adapter board 13 and be soldered to the upper surface 13U of the adapter board 13, where the spacing between the respective through-holes 132 is fixed. In other words, if the spacing between two adjacent first micro-holes 121 of the microplate 12 is defined as P1, the spacing between two adjacent second micro-holes 191 of the positioning film 19 is defined as P2, and the spacing between two adjacent through-holes 132 of the adapter board 13 is defined as P3, then P1 = P2 < P3, and the distance between the circuit lines 18 will gradually approach P3 as they get closer to the adapter board 13 from the positioning film 19.

[0060] When installing the circuit lines 18, the positioning film 19 is first disposed on the microplate 12, and the second micro-holes 191 and the first micro-holes 121 are aligned in pairs with each other. Then, each circuit line 18 is sequentially passed through the second micro-holes 191 and the first micro-holes 121 from top to bottom. At this time, the section of each circuit line 18 located between the positioning film 19 and the microplate 12 is in a vertical state, that is, each circuit line 18 is in a straight line without bending, so that a certain spacing is maintained between the circuit lines 18 without being staggered and interfering with each other, thereby eliminating the problem of electrical abnormality caused by circuit line staggering. In addition, the circuit lines 18 can be regularized through the positioning film 19, and at this time, the operator can conveniently perform subsequent electrical connection operations. After the circuit lines are regularized, the space between the positioning film 19 and the microplate 12 can be further filled with a glue material (such as epoxy resin) so that the glue material fills the gap between the positioning film 19 and the microplate 12. In this way, the distance between the positioning film 19 and the microplate 12 is fixed, and at the same time, the portions of the circuit lines 18 located between the positioning film 19 and the microplate 12 are also separated from each other by the glue material, further ensuring that the portions of the circuit lines 18 located between the positioning film 19 and the microplate 12 do not become staggered.

[0061] As Figure 4 shown, in some embodiments, the adapter board 23 includes a plurality of first upper contact points 231C and a plurality of second upper contact points 231E that are electrically connected to each other individually. The first upper contact points 231C are located in the central region 23C, and the second upper contact points 231E are located in the peripheral region 23E. In some embodiments, the adapter board 23 further includes an intermediate circuit trace 27, and the function of the intermediate circuit trace 27 is to electrically connect the first upper contact points 231C to the second upper contact points 231E individually. Similarly, the circuit lines 18 between the positioning film 19 and the microplate 12 are also in a state without a fan-out layout as Figure 4 shown, but a fan-out layout is started between the positioning film 19 and the lower surface 13B of the adapter board 13.

[0062] In some embodiments, Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the distance L between the lower surface 13B of the adapter plate 13 and the upper surface of the micro-perforated plate 12 is greater than 4 mm. This is because the thickness of the test circuit board is usually greater than 4 mm. In order to allow the upper surface 13U of the adapter plate 13 to protrude from the upper surface of the test circuit board and the micro-perforated plate 12 to protrude from the lower surface of the test circuit board when the switching module 10 is assembled with the test circuit board. In addition, in some embodiments, the set of positions where the circuit 18 contacts the lower surface 13B of the adapter plate 13 will form a circular welding area with a radius R or a rectangular area with a length and width of 2R. The distance between the lower surface 13B of the adapter plate 13 and the upper surface of the micro-perforated plate 12 is defined as L, where R / L is in the range of 0.1 to 7.5. In some embodiments, the distance L between the lower surface 13B of the adapter plate 13 and the upper surface of the micro-perforated plate 12 is in the range of 4 mm to 40 mm, and the radius R of the circular welding area is in the range of 4 mm to 30 mm.

[0063] Please refer to Figures 5 to 8 , are respectively a cross-sectional exploded schematic diagram, a cross-sectional schematic diagram, an electrical connection schematic diagram and a top view schematic diagram of an exemplary probe card of the present invention, which depicts a probe card 30. The probe card 30 includes a test circuit board 31, a reinforcement member 32, a switching module 20 and a test head 35. The test circuit board 31 includes an upper surface 31U, a lower surface 31B and a central through hole 311. The upper surface 31U is defined as the tester side, that is, the surface connected to the test device, and the lower surface 31B is defined as the wafer side, that is, the surface facing the wafer to be tested. The reinforcement member 32 can be a frame made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, which is arranged on the upper surface 31U of the test circuit board 31 to reinforce the rigidity of the test circuit board 31. A central platform 321 corresponding to the central through hole 311 of the test circuit board 31 is arranged in the center of the reinforcement member 32, and the central platform 321 is connected to the body of the reinforcement member 32 through four bridge members 329. In some embodiments, based on different models of the test circuit board 31 , the central platform 321 may be connected to the main body of the reinforcing member 32 only through two bridge members 329 , or even connected to the main body of the reinforcing member 32 through bridge members of other shapes.

[0064] During assembly, the switching module 20 is inserted into the central stage 321 from the upper surface 32U of the reinforcing member 32, and the micro-hole plate 12 of the switching module 20 protrudes from the lower surface 32B of the reinforcing member 32 and the lower surface 31B of the test circuit board 31, and is electrically connected to the test head 35. In some embodiments, the inner surface of the central stage 321 is formed with a flange 323, such as Figure 5When the switch module 20 is placed in the central platform 321 , the flange 323 abuts against the outer peripheral edge 119 of the base 11 , restricting the switch module 20 from passing through the reinforcing member 32 from top to bottom along the vertical direction.

[0065] In some embodiments, the outer diameter of the adapter plate 23 may be as large as possible, for example, may be larger than the diameter of the central through hole 311 of the test circuit board 31 .

[0066] In some embodiments, the material of the above-mentioned circuit 18 is different from the material of the intermediate circuit wiring 27 and the external circuit wiring 37. Since the wire diameter of the circuit 18 is not greater than 50 microns, for example, 35 microns, general metal wires are easy to break. The material of the circuit 18 can be selected from metal materials that will not break under this wire diameter requirement, such as copper, tungsten alloy or copper-silver alloy, or the above alloy is further doped with rhenium, palladium or beryllium. Because the wire diameter of the circuit 18 is quite small and the arrangement is compact, the positioning film 19 can be provided to assist in the regularization and combing of the circuit 18, which is convenient for the staff to work. In some embodiments, the length ratio of the longest line to the shortest line in the circuit 18 is less than 1.1, that is, the lengths of multiple circuits 18 are substantially kept consistent as much as possible. Even if there are differences, the length of the longest line cannot be longer than the shortest line by more than 10%. In addition, the space between the microporous plate 12 and the adapter plate 13 can be further injected with a sealant (such as epoxy resin) to seal the circuit 18 to protect the circuit 18 and improve the overall weather resistance of the switching module 10.

[0067] It should be particularly noted that, in order to facilitate the description of the structures of the switching module and the probe card, the various elements in the drawings attached to the present invention are not drawn completely according to the actual proportions.

[0068] Although the present invention has been disclosed as above by the embodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with common knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the scope defined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A probe card, characterized in that: Include: A test circuit board comprising an upper surface, a lower surface and a central through hole; A reinforcing member, disposed on the upper surface of the test circuit board, the reinforcing member comprising a central platform corresponding to the central through hole; A switching module is accommodated in the central platform of the reinforcement member, and the switching module comprises: a base including a hollow area; A micro-porous plate, disposed below the base, comprising a plurality of first micro-porous holes, wherein the plurality of first micro-porous holes face the hollow area; an adapter plate, disposed above the base, comprising an upper surface, a lower surface and a plurality of through holes, the lower surface of the adapter plate facing the base, the upper surface of the adapter plate comprising a plurality of upper contact points, and each of the through holes extending from the upper surface of the adapter plate to the lower surface of the adapter plate; a plurality of circuits, individually passing through the plurality of first micro-holes of the micro-hole plate and the plurality of through-holes of the adapter plate, the plurality of circuits electrically connecting the micro-hole plate to the plurality of upper contact points on the upper surface of the adapter plate; A plurality of external circuit traces electrically connecting the plurality of upper contact points of the adapter board to the upper surface of the test circuit board individually; and a positioning film, disposed between the microporous plate and the adapter plate and located above the plurality of first microporous holes of the microporous plate, the positioning film comprising a plurality of second microporous holes corresponding to the plurality of first microporous holes individually, the plurality of lines passing through the plurality of second microporous holes of the positioning film individually, and the spacing between two adjacent second microporous holes of the positioning film being equal to the spacing between two adjacent first microporous holes of the microporous plate; and a test head, electrically connected to the microplate; The distance between two adjacent through holes of the adapter plate is greater than the distance between two adjacent first microholes of the microhole plate.

2. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein: The transfer plate includes a central area and a peripheral area surrounding the central area, and the plurality of upper contact points are located in the peripheral area.

3. The probe card according to claim 2, characterized in that: The projection of the peripheral area does not overlap with the hollow area of ​​the base.

4. The probe card according to claim 3, characterized in that: The transfer board further includes an inner layer circuit layout located between the upper surface and the lower surface, and the plurality of circuits are electrically connected to the plurality of upper contact points of the transfer board via the inner layer circuit layout.

5. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein: The switching module also includes a plurality of intermediate circuit lines, and the adapter board also includes a central area and a peripheral area surrounding the central area. The plurality of upper contact points of the adapter board are divided into a plurality of first upper contact points and a plurality of second upper contact points. The plurality of first upper contact points are located in the central area, and the plurality of second upper contact points are located in the peripheral area. The plurality of lines electrically connect the microporous plate to the plurality of first upper contact points of the adapter board, and the plurality of intermediate circuit lines electrically connect the plurality of first upper contact points to the plurality of second upper contact points.

6. The probe card according to claim 5, characterized in that: The projection of the peripheral area does not overlap with the hollow area of ​​the base.

7. The probe card according to claim 5, characterized in that: The material of the multiple circuits is different from the material of the external circuit routing and the intermediate circuit routing.

8. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein: A flange is formed on the inner surface of the central platform, and the flange abuts against the periphery of the base.

9. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein: The micro-hole plate is exposed on the lower surface of the test circuit board.

10. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein: The outer diameter of the adapter plate is larger than the diameter of the central through hole of the test circuit board.

11. A switching module, adapted to electrically connect a plurality of probes of a test head to a plurality of upper contact points on an upper surface of a test circuit board, characterized in that: The switching module comprises: a base including a hollow area; A micro-porous plate, disposed below the base, comprising a plurality of first micro-porous holes, wherein the plurality of first micro-porous holes face the hollow area; an adapter plate, disposed above the base, and the outer diameter of the adapter plate is larger than the aperture of the hollow area, the adapter plate comprises an upper surface, a lower surface and a plurality of through holes, the lower surface of the adapter plate faces the base, the upper surface of the adapter plate comprises a plurality of upper contact points, and each of the through holes extends from the upper surface of the adapter plate to the lower surface of the adapter plate; a plurality of circuits, individually passing through the plurality of first micro-holes of the micro-hole plate and the plurality of through-holes of the adapter plate, the plurality of circuits electrically connecting the micro-hole plate to the plurality of upper contact points on the upper surface of the adapter plate; a plurality of external circuit traces electrically connecting the plurality of upper contact points of the adapter board to the plurality of upper contact points on the upper surface of the test circuit board; and A positioning film, the positioning film is disposed between the microporous plate and the adapter plate and is located above the plurality of first microporous holes of the microporous plate, the positioning film comprises a plurality of second microporous holes corresponding to the plurality of first microporous holes individually, the plurality of lines pass through the plurality of second microporous holes of the positioning film individually; wherein the spacing between two adjacent through holes of the adapter plate is greater than the spacing between two adjacent second microporous holes of the positioning film, and the spacing between two adjacent second microporous holes of the positioning film is equal to the spacing between two adjacent first microporous holes of the microporous plate; The distance between two adjacent through holes of the adapter plate is greater than the distance between two adjacent first microholes of the microhole plate.

12. The switching module according to claim 11, characterized in that: The distance between the lower surface of the adapter plate and the upper surface of the microporous plate is greater than 4 mm.

13. The switching module according to claim 11, characterized in that: Among the plurality of lines, a length ratio of the longest line to the shortest line is less than 1.

1.

14. The switching module according to claim 11, characterized in that: The collection of positions where the multiple circuits contact the lower surface of the adapter plate constitutes a circular welding area, the radius of the circular welding area is defined as R, and the distance between the lower surface of the adapter plate and the upper surface of the microporous plate is defined as L, where R / L is in the range of 0.1 to 7.

5.

15. The switching module according to claim 11, characterized in that: The set of positions where the multiple circuits contact the lower surface of the adapter plate constitutes a rectangular welding area, the side length of the rectangular welding area is defined as 2R, and the distance between the lower surface of the adapter plate and the upper surface of the microporous plate is defined as L, where R / L is in the range of 0.1 to 7.5.

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