Contact probe, contact, method for manufacturing contact, and probe system

Abstract

The invention relates to a contact element of a contact probe, which is used for a probe system to perform functional test on an object to be tested, and comprises a body part, a contact tip part and a tip transition section positioned between the body part and the contact tip part, one of the contact elements is used for facing the bottom side of an object to be tested when a functional test is performed on the object to be tested, and comprises a lower surface positioned on a body part, a tip bottom surface positioned on a contact tip part, and a tip transition surface positioned on a tip transition section, one of the contact tip parts is used for being in contact with a contact tail end of an object to be measured and is positioned on a front side of the tip bottom surface, a height difference exists between a rear side of the tip bottom surface and the lower surface, and the tip transition surface extends from the lower surface to the rear side of the tip bottom surface in a manner that the height is gradually changed; therefore, the contact piece provided by the invention has good precision and structural strength.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a contact probe for detecting electronic components, and in particular to a contact probe with a three-dimensional needle tip (3D tip) and a contact piece thereof, a method for manufacturing the contact piece, a probe system using the contact piece, a method for testing an unpackaged semiconductor device, a tested semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same. Background Art

[0002] The contact pieces of the current contact probes with three-dimensional needle tips are manufactured using micro-electromechanical technology to establish a three-dimensional needle tip structure, or by bending a planar contact piece to form a three-dimensional needle tip structure. The contact pieces manufactured by these methods have problems with poor precision and structural strength.

[0003] In detail, contacts made by MEMS technology are formed by stacking materials layer by layer, especially the contact tip of the contact directly formed in this way. This stacking process makes it difficult to achieve accurate alignment between the layers, so it will cause problems with the accuracy of the needle tip (i.e. the contact tip). More specifically, each layer needs to be accurately aligned with the previous layer to ensure that the final structure is accurately formed. Any misalignment can lead to reduced accuracy, but the stacking process of the MEMS process is difficult to achieve accurate alignment between the layers, so it will lead to poor accuracy of the final product.

[0004] In addition, the manufacturing method of bending a flat contact into a three-dimensional needle tip structure will have obvious creases or bending lines (joint lines or tiny gaps) at the bending parts, which will cause stress concentration in the material and weaken the structural integrity of the contact, resulting in poor structural strength of the contact and a shorter service life. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above problems, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a contact piece of a contact probe, the manufacturing method of which does not involve micro-electromechanical technology or bending the contact piece, so that the contact piece can have good precision and high structural strength and a long service life.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a contact piece of a contact probe, which is used in a probe system to perform a functional test on an object to be tested; the characteristic is that the contact piece includes: a body; a contact tip portion, including a contact end for contacting the object to be tested; a tip transition section, located between the body and the contact tip portion; wherein the contact piece includes a top side and a bottom side, when the contact piece performs a functional test on the object to be tested, the bottom side of the contact piece faces the object to be tested, the bottom side of the contact piece includes a lower surface located at the body, a tip bottom surface located at the contact tip portion, and a tip transition surface located at the tip transition section, the contact end is located at a front side of the tip bottom surface, a rear side of the tip bottom surface has a height difference with the lower surface, and the tip transition surface extends from the lower surface to the rear side of the tip bottom surface with a gradual change in height.

[0007] Therefore, the bottom side of the contact piece of the present invention (i.e., the side facing the object to be tested) has a height difference between the contact tip and the body, that is, it has a so-called three-dimensional needle tip structure, which is conducive to contacting the contact pad of the object to be tested through the contact end of the contact tip, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test. In addition, there is a tip transition section between the contact tip and the body, and its tip transition surface gradually changes in height from the lower surface to the tip bottom surface, that is, the tip transition surface is not a vertical surface or other sudden turning shape, but smoothly connects the lower surface with the height difference and the tip bottom surface. Such a contact piece cannot be stacked layer by layer or formed by bending through micro-electromechanical technology, but is formed by other processing methods. Therefore, it can avoid the problems of poor precision, stress concentration, poor structural strength and short service life caused by stacking or bending through micro-electromechanical technology, and the smooth tip transition surface as mentioned above can also reduce stress concentration and improve structural integrity, so that the durability and reliability of the contact piece are better.

[0008] In the technical solution of the present invention, the contact is formed by a substrate with the height difference through a cutting process, that is, the height difference of the contact comes from the height difference of the substrate itself, rather than stacking the contact with the height difference layer by layer through micro-electromechanical technology. Such a contact is integrally formed and does not need to be bent. It only needs to define the shape of the contact through the cutting process, thereby reducing stress concentration and improving structural integrity, so that the structure has high strength and a long service life. The cutting process is, for example, laser cutting, electrical discharge machining cutting, etc., which can accurately cut the required contact shape, especially the contact end of the contact tip has good position accuracy, which can be accurately aligned with the contact pad of the object to be tested to facilitate the test.

[0009] The tip transition surface includes at least one of a gradual transition curved surface and an inclined plane. Thus, the gradual transition curved surface gradually changes the radius of curvature as it extends, and can smoothly achieve the height difference without a sudden change in curvature, and the inclined plane can also achieve the effect of smoothly achieving the height difference to a certain extent, both of which can reduce stress concentration and improve structural integrity, making the structural strength of the contact piece better. According to different manufacturing procedures, the tip transition surface can be a gradual transition curved surface, or the tip transition surface can be an inclined plane, or the tip transition surface can include both the gradual transition curved surface and the inclined plane.

[0010] The surface roughness of the lower surface and the tip transition surface is different from the surface roughness of the bottom surface of the tip. Therefore, the height difference can be formed by a surface reduction process on a plane. For example, in the case where the aforementioned contact is formed by a substrate having the height difference through a cutting process, the substrate can be made from a flat plate through a surface reduction process to form a lower surface and a transition surface with a gradually changing height. The surface reduction process is, for example, chemical etching, laser etching, etc., which will make the surface roughness of the lower surface and the transition surface different from the surface roughness of the original flat plate. After the substrate is cut to form a contact, the lower surface and the transition surface will form the lower surface and the tip transition surface of the contact, respectively. This method facilitates the manufacture of a substrate with the required height difference and transition surface, thereby making the manufactured contact have good precision and structural strength.

[0011] The body includes a thinner section, a thicker section, and a body transition section located between the thinner section and the thicker section, the lower surface is located in the thinner section, and the bottom side of the contact piece also includes a body bottom surface located in the thicker section of the body, and a body transition surface located in the body transition section, there is the height difference between the body bottom surface and the lower surface, and the body transition surface extends from the lower surface to the body bottom surface with a gradual change in height. Therefore, the body of the contact piece itself also has a height difference, and its thinner section is closer to the contact tip, so it can still form a so-called three-dimensional needle tip structure, which is conducive to contacting the contact pad of the object to be tested through the contact end of the contact tip, so as to improve the accuracy and reliability of the test. The body of the contact piece is thicker than the section far away from the contact tip, which can improve the structural strength of the body of the contact piece and facilitate the contact piece to be fixed to other components with its body to form a contact probe. Moreover, the height difference of the body of the contact piece also comes from the height difference of the substrate itself. Such a manufacturing method of the contact piece does not involve micro-electromechanical technology or bending the contact piece, which can make the contact piece have good precision and high structural strength and a long service life. In addition, there is a body transition section between the thinner section and the thicker section of the body, and the body transition surface is a gradually changing height and smoothly connects the lower surface with the height difference and the bottom surface of the body, which can reduce stress concentration and improve structural integrity, making the durability and reliability of the contact piece better.

[0012] The body transition surface includes at least one of a gradual transition curved surface and an inclined plane. Thus, the body transition surface can smoothly achieve a height difference, thereby reducing stress concentration and improving structural integrity, so that the structural strength of the contact piece is better. According to different manufacturing procedures, the body transition surface can be a gradual transition curved surface, or the body transition surface can be an inclined plane, or the body transition surface can include both a gradual transition curved surface and an inclined plane.

[0013] The surface roughness of the lower surface, the tip transition surface and the body transition surface is different from the surface roughness of the bottom surface of the body. Therefore, the height difference between the contact tip and the body and the height difference of the body itself can be formed simultaneously by a surface reduction process on a plane. For example, when the aforementioned contact piece is formed by a substrate having the height difference through a cutting process, the substrate can also be made from a flat plate through the aforementioned surface reduction process to form a lower surface and two transition surfaces with gradually changing heights located on two opposite sides thereof, so that the surface roughness of the lower surface and the transition surface is different from the surface roughness of the original flat plate. After the substrate is cut to form a contact piece, the lower surface and the transition surface will form the lower surface, the tip transition surface and the body transition surface of the contact piece respectively. This method facilitates the manufacture of a substrate with the required height difference and transition surface, thereby making the contact piece have good precision and structural strength.

[0014] The contact piece further includes an extension section located between the body and the tip transition section, the body is wider than the extension section, the tip transition section and the contact tip, and the lower surface is partially located in the extension section. Therefore, the tip transition section is not limited to being directly connected to the body, and there may be the extension section between the two, and the lower surface is partially located in the extension section, that is, on the bottom side of the contact piece, the extension section is coplanar with the body, but the extension section is narrower than the body. Such an extension section can provide greater elasticity when the contact tip contacts the contact pad of the object to be tested, so as to facilitate the test.

[0015] The lower surface is a plane. As mentioned above, the height difference can be formed by performing a surface lowering process on a plane, and the surface lowering process will form the lower surface, and the lower surface is used to form the lower surface of the contact piece. The lower surface is made into a plane so that the lower surface of the contact piece is a plane, which is not only easier to manufacture, but also has good structural integrity and structural strength.

[0016] The top side of the contact piece includes an upper surface located at the body portion, and a tip top surface located at the contact tip portion, and the tip top surface extends from the upper surface to the contact end at an inclination relative to the upper surface. Thus, the top side of the contact piece may be originally a plane, and then the tip top surface is formed by, for example, grinding. For example, in the case where the aforementioned contact piece is formed by a substrate having the height difference through a cutting process, the top side of the contact piece may be formed by a plane of the substrate. After the shape of the contact piece is defined through the cutting process, the tip top surface may be further formed on the top side of the contact piece by, for example, grinding, so as to shape the contact tip portion and place the contact end at a desired position, so that the accuracy of the contact end is better and it can be accurately aligned with the contact pad of the object to be tested to facilitate the test.

[0017] The present invention also provides a contact probe for a probe system to perform functional testing on a DUT; the contact probe comprises: a coaxial cable comprising an inner conductor, an outer conductor, and a dielectric disposed between the inner conductor and the outer conductor; a plurality of contact members as described above, the top side of each contact member comprising an upper surface located at the body, the upper surface of each contact member being partially fixed to the coaxial cable, so that the body of each contact member extends from the position where it is fixed to the coaxial cable through an end of the coaxial cable, and further, each contact member comprises a cantilever section extending from the end of the coaxial cable, the contact tip of each contact member is located at an end of the cantilever section, and the bottom surfaces of the tips of each contact member are coplanar with each other; wherein each contact member comprises a first contact member and at least one second contact member, the upper surface of the first contact member being electrically connected and fixed to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable, and the upper surface of the second contact member being electrically connected and fixed to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable. Thus, the coaxial cable can transmit a test signal and a ground signal through the inner and outer conductors respectively, so that the first and second contact members electrically connected to the inner and outer conductors respectively achieve good impedance matching. Such a contact probe can be used for high-frequency testing, and its contact members have good precision and high structural strength and a long service life, which can further improve the accuracy and reliability of the test.

[0018] The present invention also provides another contact probe, which is used in a probe system to perform functional testing on an object to be tested; the characteristic of the contact probe is that it includes: a circuit board, including a plurality of conductive circuits; a plurality of contact members as described above, the top side of each contact member includes an upper surface located at the body, the upper surface of each contact member is electrically connected and partially fixed to the conductive circuit of the circuit board, so that the body of each contact member extends from the position where it is fixed to the circuit board through an end of the circuit board, and then each contact member includes a cantilever section extending from the end of the circuit board, the contact tip of each contact member is located at an end of the cantilever section, and the bottom surface of the tip of each contact member is coplanar with each other. Thus, the circuit board can transmit a test signal and a ground signal through different conductive circuits respectively, so that the contact members electrically connected to the conductive circuits can achieve good impedance matching. Such a contact probe can be used for high-frequency testing, and its contact members have good precision and high structural strength and have a long service life, which can further improve the accuracy and reliability of the test.

[0019] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a contact piece, wherein the contact piece is used by a contact probe to perform a functional test on an object to be tested; the steps of the method for manufacturing the contact piece include: providing a substrate, wherein the substrate is made of a conductive material, wherein the substrate includes a thinner block, at least one thicker block, and at least one transition block extending from the thinner block to the thicker block with a gradually increasing thickness, wherein an upward side of the substrate includes a first surface located in the thinner block, at least one second surface located in the at least one thicker block, and at least one transition surface located in the at least one transition block, wherein the second surface is higher than the first surface, and the transition surface extends upward from the first surface to the second surface with a gradually changing height; removing part of the material of the substrate to define a plurality of the contact pieces, wherein each of the contact pieces includes a contact tip portion defined in the thicker block of the substrate, a body portion defined in the thinner block of the substrate, and performing a cutting procedure on the substrate according to an outer contour of each of the contact pieces. Therefore, the manufacturing method can be used to manufacture the contact provided by the present invention, so that the contact has good precision and high structural strength and a long service life, and can also improve the accuracy and reliability of the test.

[0020] The manufacturing method of the contact piece as described above also includes the steps of: shaping the contact tip portion of each of the contact pieces to form a tip top surface, a tip bottom surface, and a contact end located at the intersection of the tip top surface and the tip bottom surface, and the contact end is used to contact the object to be tested. Thus, after defining the shape of the contact piece, the tip top surface and the tip bottom surface can be further formed on the contact piece in a manner such as grinding to shape the contact tip portion and position the contact end at a desired position, so that the accuracy of the contact end is better and can be accurately aligned with the contact pad of the object to be tested to facilitate the test.

[0021] The substrate includes two transition blocks located at two opposite sides of the thinner block, and two thicker blocks connected to the two transition blocks, and the upward side of the substrate includes two second surfaces located at the two thicker blocks, and two transition surfaces located at the two transition blocks; each contact member is defined as a contact tip portion of each contact member defined in one of the two thicker blocks, and a body portion of each contact member defined in the other of the thinner block and the two thicker blocks. In other words, the upward side of the substrate includes two higher second surfaces, and a lower first surface located between the two second surfaces, and there is a transition surface with a gradually decreasing height between the two second surfaces and the first surface. The contact tip portion of each contact member defined in one of the thicker blocks can form a so-called three-dimensional needle tip structure, so as to facilitate contacting the contact pad of the object to be tested through the contact end of the contact tip portion, so as to improve the accuracy and reliability of the test. Defining the body of each contact in a thinner block and another thicker block can make the body of the contact thicker in the section farther from the contact tip, thereby improving the structural strength of the body of the contact and facilitating fixing the body of the contact to other components to form a contact probe.

[0022] The substrate is made of a flat plate through a surface reduction process, and the first surface and the at least one transition surface are generated by the surface reduction process, so that the surface roughness of the first surface and the at least one transition surface is different from the surface roughness of the at least one second surface, and the surface reduction process takes precedence over the step of removing part of the material of the substrate to define the plurality of contact members. Therefore, the surface reduction process is, for example, chemical etching, laser etching, etc., and the surface roughness of the first surface and the transition surface generated by it is different from the surface roughness of the original second surface of the flat plate. This method facilitates the manufacture of a substrate with a desired height difference and transition surface, so that the contact member manufactured by it has good precision and structural strength.

[0023] The present invention also provides a probe system for performing a functional test on an object to be tested formed on a substrate, wherein the object to be tested includes a plurality of contact pads; the probe system includes: a carrier configured to support the substrate; a contact probe including a plurality of contact members as described above, which is used to electrically connect the contact probe to the object to be tested by contacting the contact pads of the object to be tested through the contact ends of the contact members, thereby performing a functional test on the object to be tested. Therefore, the probe system uses the contact members provided by the present invention, which have good precision, high structural strength and a long service life, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test performed by the probe system.

[0024] The present invention also provides a method for testing an unpackaged semiconductor device, the steps of which include: providing at least one contact probe, the contact probe including a plurality of contact members as described above; making each of the contact members mechanically and electrically contact a plurality of contact pads of an unpackaged semiconductor device; and testing the unpackaged semiconductor device through the at least one contact probe. Thus, the contact probe used in the testing method includes the contact member provided by the present invention, which has good precision, high structural strength and a long service life, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test of the unpackaged semiconductor device.

[0025] The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a tested semiconductor device, the steps of which include: providing at least one contact probe, the contact probe including a plurality of contact members as described above; making each of the contact members mechanically and electrically contact a plurality of contact pads of an unpackaged semiconductor device; and testing the unpackaged semiconductor device through the at least one contact probe. Thus, the semiconductor device manufactured by the manufacturing method is tested, and the test utilizes the contact members provided by the present invention, which have good precision, high structural strength and a long service life, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test results of the semiconductor device.

[0026] The present invention also provides a tested semiconductor device, characterized in that it includes a plurality of contact pads. The tested semiconductor device is mechanically and electrically contacted by at least one contact probe to perform a test procedure. The contact probe includes a plurality of contact members as described above. The test procedure is performed by contacting each contact pad with the contact end of each contact member. Thus, the semiconductor device is tested, and the test is performed using the contact member provided by the present invention, which has good precision, high structural strength and a long service life, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test results of the semiconductor device.

[0027] The detailed structure, characteristics, assembly or use of the contact probe and contact member, the manufacturing method of the contact member, the probe system using the contact member, the testing method of the unpackaged semiconductor device, the tested semiconductor device and the manufacturing method thereof provided by the present invention will be described in the detailed description of the implementation method later. However, those with ordinary knowledge in the field of the present invention should understand that these detailed descriptions and the specific embodiments listed for implementing the present invention are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of patent protection of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figures 1 to 7 is a schematic diagram of a method for manufacturing a contact element provided by a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 is a side view schematic diagram of a probe system provided by a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 9 is a bottom schematic diagram of a coaxial cable of a contact probe of a probe system provided by a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig.10 It is a partial schematic diagram of a contact member and an object to be tested provided by a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig.11 is a side view schematic diagram of a probe system provided by a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig.12 is a bottom view of a circuit board of a contact probe of a probe system provided by a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figures 13 to 15 is a schematic diagram of a method for manufacturing a contact element provided in a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig.16 is a partial schematic diagram of a contact member and an object to be tested provided by a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig.17 It is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of a contact member provided by a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The applicant first explains that in the embodiments and drawings to be introduced below, the same reference numbers represent the same or similar elements or their structural features. It should be noted that the elements and structures in the drawings are for the convenience of illustration and are not drawn according to the actual proportions and quantities, and if possible in practice, the features of different embodiments can be applied interchangeably. Secondly, when it is mentioned that an element is set on another element, it means that the aforementioned element is directly set on the other element, or the aforementioned element is indirectly set on the other element, that is, one or more other elements are set between the two elements. When it is mentioned that an element is "directly" set on another element, it means that there are no other elements set between the two elements.

[0030] Please read first Figures 1 to 8 As shown, a method for manufacturing a contact member provided by a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is used to manufacture contact members 40A, 40B (such as Figure 5 As shown), the manufacturing method comprises the following steps a) to c).

[0031] a) If Figures 1 to 3 As shown, a substrate 50 is provided, the substrate 50 is made of a conductive material, the substrate 50 includes a thinner block 51, a thicker block 52, and a transition block 53 extending from the thinner block 51 to the thicker block 52 with gradually increasing thickness, an upward side 54 of the substrate 50 includes a first surface 541 located in the thinner block 51, a second surface 542 located in the thicker block 52, and a transition surface 543 located in the transition block 53, the second surface 542 is higher than the first surface 541, and the transition surface 543 extends upward from the first surface 541 to the second surface 542 with a gradually changing height.

[0032] Furthermore, the substrate 50 provided in this step is as follows Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the substrate 50 is composed of a Figure 1 The flat plate 61 shown is manufactured by a surface reduction process, such as chemical etching, laser etching, etc., to reduce the local thickness of the flat plate 61, so that the upper plane 611 of the flat plate 61 is partially reduced to form the first surface 541 and the transition surface 543 of the substrate 50, and the portion of the flat surface 611 of the flat plate 61 that is not reduced becomes the second surface 542 of the substrate 50. Therefore, the surface roughness of the first surface 541 and the transition surface 543 generated by the surface reduction process will be different from the surface roughness of the second surface 542 from the flat surface 611 of the original flat plate 61. Through this surface reduction process, the desired substrate 50 can be manufactured conveniently and quickly, and the first surface 541 and the second surface 542 have a predetermined height difference d, and the transition surface 543 smoothly connects the first surface 541 and the second surface 542. For example, the thickness of the thinner block 51 is 60 microns, the thickness of the thicker block 52 is 80 microns, and the height difference d is 20 microns. Surface roughness refers to the height difference of the surface profile (roughness), specifically the absolute deviation of the actual surface profile relative to the average value (Ra) of the average line. Therefore, the difference on the surface of the object, such as the difference in gloss and brightness, can be clearly seen under a microscope. Moreover, the difference in surface roughness includes the difference on the surface of the object, such as the difference in gloss and brightness, which can still be clearly seen under a microscope after a surface coating process, such as a gold plating process.

[0033] b) If Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown, part of the material of the substrate 50 is removed to define a plurality of contacts 40A, 40B, wherein the contacts 40A, 40B are defined by defining a contact tip portion 41 of each contact 40A, 40B in a thicker area 52 of the substrate 50, defining a body 42 of each contact 40A, 40B in a thinner area 51 of the substrate 50, and performing a cutting process on the substrate 50 according to an outer contour C of the contacts 40A, 40B.

[0034] Depend on Figure 4 and Figure 5 It can be seen that the manufacturing method of this embodiment is to manufacture three contact members 40A and 40B at the same time. In addition to cutting according to the outer contour C formed by the three contact members 40A and 40B, this step also cuts according to the required shape of each contact member 40A and 40B. During the cutting process, the position of the contact tip 41 relative to the body 42 can be adjusted as needed, and the contact tip 41 does not have to be located at the center of one end surface of the body 42. Figure 5 It can be seen that the three contacts 40A and 40B include a shorter contact 40A (also referred to as the first contact in the present invention) and two longer contact 40B (also referred to as the second contact in the present invention), and the contact 40A is located between the contact 40B. In this step, the contact tips 41 of the three contacts 40A and 40B are still connected by a connecting portion 62, and the bodies 42 of the two contacts 40B are still connected by another connecting portion 63. When the contacts 40A and 40B are manufactured, the connecting portion 62 will be removed or split through the sharpening process described later, so that the contact tips 41 of the contacts 40A and 40B are separated from each other. Figure 5 The three contacts 40A, 40B shown are configured as a probe with three probe tips. Depending on the test requirements, the probe may include any appropriate number of probe tips, such as one probe tip, two probe tips, three probe tips, or more than three probe tips. A common two-probe tip arrangement includes a signal probe tip and a ground probe tip, also known as a GS (ground-signal) probe tip configuration. A common three-probe tip arrangement (such as Figure 5 ) includes a signal probe tip (ie, contact 40A) located in the center and a pair of ground probe tips (ie, two contacts 40B) located on both sides thereof, also referred to as a GSG (ground-signal-ground) probe tip configuration. Figure 4 Only one GSG probe having an outer contour C formed by three contact members 40A and 40B is defined on the substrate 50 , but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, multiple probes having the same and / or different outer contours C may be defined on the substrate 50 .

[0035] When step b) is completed, the side shapes of the contact members 40A and 40B are as follows: Figure 6 As shown, each contact 40A, 40B includes a contact tip portion 41 formed by a thicker block 52 of the substrate 50, a body portion 42 formed by a thinner block 51 of the substrate 50, and a tip transition section 43 formed by a transition block 53 of the substrate 50 and located between the body portion 42 and the contact tip portion 41.

[0036] c) If Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the contact tip portion 41 of each contact member 40A, 40B is subjected to a tip shaping process, for example, lapping with a lapping cloth, so as to form a tip top surface 411, a tip bottom surface 412, and a contact end 413 located at the intersection of the tip top surface 411 and the tip bottom surface 412 on each contact tip portion 41, and the contact end 413 is used to contact a contact pad 231 of a test object 23 (such as Fig.10 as shown).

[0037] It should be noted here that Figure 7 The figure shows the placement direction of the contacts 40A and 40B during the manufacturing process. The placement direction of the contacts 40A and 40B during actual use is as follows: Fig.10 More specifically, the contact members 40A, 40B include a top side 44 and a bottom side 45. Figure 7 The bottom side 45 is shown as facing upward, and when the contact members 40A and 40B perform a functional test on the object to be tested 23, as shown in FIG. Fig.10 As shown, the bottom side 45 of the contact members 40A, 40B faces the object to be measured 23 .

[0038] like Figure 7 and Fig.10 As shown, the bottom side 45 of the contact pieces 40A and 40B includes a lower surface 421 located at the body 42, a tip bottom surface 412 located at the contact tip portion 41, and a tip transition surface 431 located at the tip transition section 43. The contact end 413 is located at a front side 412a of the tip bottom surface 412. There is a height difference d as mentioned above between a rear side 412b of the tip bottom surface 412 and the lower surface 421. The tip transition surface 431 gradually changes in height from the lower surface 421 to the rear side 412b of the tip bottom surface 412. The top side 44 of the contact pieces 40A and 40B includes an upper surface 422 located at the body 42, and a tip top surface 411 located at the contact tip portion 41. The tip top surface 411 extends from the upper surface 422 to the contact end 413 at an inclination relative to the upper surface 422. Since the lower surface 421 of the body 42 and the tip transition surface 431 of the tip transition section 43 are respectively formed by Figure 3The first surface 541 and the transition surface 543 of the substrate 50 are formed, so the surface roughness of the lower surface 421 and the tip transition surface 431 is different from the surface roughness of the tip bottom surface 412, the tip top surface 411 or the upper surface 422. Figure 6 The contact tip portions 41 of the contacts 40A and 40B are ground simultaneously along the imaginary lines 415 and 416 shown. First, grinding is performed along the imaginary line 415 so that the contact ends 413 of the contacts 40A and 40B are aligned with each other, and then grinding is performed along the imaginary line 416 so that the tip bottom surfaces 412 of the contacts 40A and 40B have a consistent flatness.

[0039] After the shapes of the contact members 40A and 40B are defined in step b), step c) is performed to further shape the contact tip portion 41, so that the contact end 413 can be more easily contacted with the contact pad 231 of the object under test 23, and the position of the contact end 413 can be further adjusted so that the contact end 413 is accurately located at the desired position, so that the accuracy of the contact end 413 is better and it can be accurately aligned with the contact pad 231 of the object under test 23 to facilitate the test. The tip bottom surface 412 formed in step c) does not necessarily have to be connected to the tip transition surface 431, but can be connected as shown in FIG. Figure 6 The plane 414 of the contact tip 41 shown in the figure is partially retained, so that the bottom surface of the tip includes the surface formed in step c) and a part of the plane 414. Alternatively, the manufacturing method of the contact piece of the present invention may not include step c). The contact pieces 40A and 40B that have not been molded in step c) are as shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown, such contacts 40A, 40B can still be Figure 6 The right angle in the upper right center serves as the contact end to contact the contact pad 231 of the object to be tested 23, and the plane 414 is the bottom surface of the tip. Fig.10 As described above, when the front side 412a of the tip bottom surface 412 contacts the contact pad 231 of the object to be measured 23, the tip top surface 411 formed on the distal end of each contact tip portion 41 is tilted backward from the vertical direction at a specific angle 450. Therefore, see also Fig.10 , the tip top surface 411 extends at an inner obtuse angle 460 greater than 90 degrees relative to the upper surface 422 of the body 42. Therefore, when an operator views the contact tip portion 41 from top to bottom through a microscope or a camera, the operator will observe the relative position relationship between the contact end 413 and the contact pad 231, and determine the position of each contact tip portion 41 relative to its contact pad 231, so as to facilitate alignment.

[0040] like Figure 8As shown, the present embodiment provides a probe system 11, including a carrier 21 and a contact probe 30. The contact probe 30 includes a base 31, a coaxial connector 32 fixed to the base 31, a coaxial cable 33 fixed to the base 31 and electrically connected to the coaxial connector 32, and the three contact members 40A and 40B mentioned above. The three contact members 40A and 40B are arranged in parallel, and only the side view of one contact member 40B is schematically shown. Figure 8 The remaining two contacts 40A and 40B are Figure 8 The illustrated contact 40B is obscured and not shown.

[0041] Furthermore, the coaxial cable 33 is cut to form an oblique surface 331, so that the internal structure of the coaxial cable 33 can be exposed on the oblique surface 331 with a larger area. Fig. 9 As shown, the coaxial cable 33 includes an inner conductor 332, an outer conductor 333, and a dielectric 334 disposed between the inner conductor 332 and the outer conductor 333. The upper surfaces 422 of the contacts 40A and 40B are partially fixed to the chamfered surface 331 of the coaxial cable 33. For example, the angle of the chamfered surface 331 of the coaxial cable 33 relative to the horizontal plane is 45 degrees, so that the installation angle of the contacts 40A and 40B when fixed to the coaxial cable 33 is 45 degrees, that is, the angle of the upper surfaces 422 of the contacts 40A and 40B relative to the horizontal plane is 45 degrees. More specifically, the upper surface 422 of the contact 40A (first contact) is electrically connected and fixed to the inner conductor 332, and the upper surfaces 422 of the two contacts 40B (second contact) are electrically connected and fixed to the outer conductor 333, which are respectively located at two blocks 333a and 333b on two opposite sides of the inner conductor 332. The body 42 of the three contacts 40A and 40B is fixed to the chamfered surface 331. Fig. 9 The left side of the coaxial cable 33 extends through an end 335 of the coaxial cable 33, so that each contact 40A, 40B includes a cantilever section 46 extending from the end 335 of the coaxial cable 33 (such as Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1 , the cantilever section 46 includes a portion of the body 42, the entire tip transition section 43 and the contact tip portion 41. The contact tip portion 41 is located at an end 461 of the cantilever section 46, and the tip bottom surfaces 412 of the three contact members 40A and 40B are coplanar with each other. The aforementioned manufacturing method manufactures the three contact members 40A and 40B at the same time, which can make it easier to make the contact members 40A and 40B coplanar with each other.

[0042] like Figure 8 As shown, the probe system 11 is used to measure an object to be measured 23 (such as Fig.10The substrate 22 is supported by the stage 21 of the probe system 11. For example, the substrate 22 is a wafer, and the object to be tested 23 is an unpackaged semiconductor device on the wafer. The object to be tested 23 is actually quite small, so Figure 8 The test object 23 is not displayed. Fig.10 The object to be tested 23 is schematically shown in FIG. The object to be tested 23 includes a plurality of contact pads 231. Fig.10 Only one of the contact pads 231 is schematically shown. The contact probe 30 is used to contact the contact pads 231 of the object to be tested 23 through the contact ends 413 of the contact members 40A and 40B, respectively, so that the contact probe 30 is electrically connected to the object to be tested 23. At this time, the tip bottom surfaces 412 of the contact members 40A and 40B are slightly inclined upward relative to the surface of the contact pads 231 of the object to be tested 23 (for example, the angle is less than 7 degrees), such as Fig.10 As shown. When the coaxial connector 32 of the contact probe 30 is electrically connected to a test machine (not shown) through another coaxial cable (not shown), the contact pad 231 of the object to be tested 23 can be contacted by the contact members 40A and 40B to perform a functional test on the object to be tested 23. The inner conductor 332 of the coaxial cable 33 can be used to transmit a test signal, and the outer conductor 333 can be used to transmit a ground signal, so that the contact member 40A transmits the test signal and the contact member 40B transmits the ground signal. By arranging the contact members 40B that transmit the ground signal in parallel and at intervals on both sides of the contact member 40A that transmits the test signal, a transmission line with a desired impedance matching effect can be formed to achieve a good impedance matching effect, so that the contact probe 30 can perform high-frequency testing.

[0043] Therefore, the bottom side 45 (i.e., the side facing the object to be tested 23) of the contact piece 40A, 40B of the present invention has a height difference d between the contact tip portion 41 and the body portion 42, i.e., it has a so-called three-dimensional needle tip structure, which is conducive to contacting the contact pad 231 of the object to be tested 23 through the contact end 413 of the contact tip portion 41, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test. In addition, there is a tip transition section 43 between the contact tip portion 41 and the body portion 42, and its tip transition surface 431 is a gradually changing height extending from the lower surface 421 of the body portion 42 to the tip bottom surface 412, i.e., the tip transition surface 431 is not a vertical surface or other sudden turning shape, but smoothly connects the lower surface 421 with the height difference d and the tip bottom surface 412, which can reduce stress concentration and improve structural integrity, so that the contact pieces 40A, 40B have good structural strength and good durability and reliability.

[0044] Furthermore, the contact members 40A and 40B are formed by a substrate 50 having a height difference d through a cutting process, that is, the height difference d between the contact tip 41 and the body 42 of the contact members 40A and 40B comes from the height difference d of the substrate 50 itself, rather than stacking the contact members with the height difference layer by layer by micro-electromechanical technology. Such contact members 40A and 40B are integrally formed and do not need to be bent. It is sufficient to define the shape of the contact members 40A and 40B through a cutting process, thereby reducing stress concentration and improving structural integrity, so that the structural strength of the contact members 40A and 40B is high and has a longer service life. Moreover, the cutting process (such as laser cutting, electrical discharge machining cutting, etc.) can accurately cut the required shape of the contact members 40A and 40B, especially the contact end 413 of the contact tip 41 has good position accuracy, which can be accurately aligned with the contact pad 231 of the object to be tested 23 to facilitate the test.

[0045] like Fig.10 As shown, in this embodiment, the tip transition surface 431 of the contact member 40A, 40B includes a gradual transition curved surface 432 and an inclined plane 433. The gradual transition curved surface 432 is directly connected to the lower surface 421 of the body 42 and extends toward the rear side 412b of the tip bottom surface 412, and the gradual transition curved surface 432 gradually changes the radius of curvature as it extends, and can smoothly achieve the height difference without a sudden change in curvature. The inclined plane 433 is connected between the gradual transition curved surface 432 and the rear side 412b of the tip bottom surface 412, and the inclined plane 433 can also achieve the effect of smoothly achieving the height difference to a certain extent. In other words, although the gradual transition curved surface 432 achieves the height difference more smoothly, and its effect of reducing stress concentration is better than that of the inclined plane 433, both the gradual transition curved surface 432 and the inclined plane 433 can play the role of reducing stress concentration and improving structural integrity, so that the structural strength of the contact members 40A, 40B is better. According to different manufacturing procedures, the tip transition surface 431 can be a gradual transition curved surface 432 (eg produced by chemical etching) as a whole, or an inclined plane 433 as a whole, or include both the gradual transition curved surface 432 and the inclined plane 433 as shown in the present embodiment.

[0046] In addition, in this embodiment, the height difference d between the contact tip portion 41 and the body portion 42 of the contact members 40A and 40B is due to the Figure 1 The flat surface 611 of the flat plate 61 is formed by performing a surface lowering process, and the surface lowering process forms a planar first surface 541 (such as Figure 3As shown in FIG. 5 ), the lower surface 421 of the contact members 40A and 40B is formed by the first surface 541, so the lower surface 421 of each contact member 40A and 40B is a plane. By making the first surface 541 into a plane, the lower surface 421 of the contact members 40A and 40B is a plane. This manufacturing method is not only easier, but also allows the body 42 of the contact members 40A and 40B to have good structural integrity and structural strength.

[0047] The contact members 40A and 40B provided by the present invention are not limited to applications such as Figure 8 The probe system 11 shown can also be used, for example, in Fig.11 The probe system 12 provided by a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The probe system 12 is similar to the probe system 11, except that another contact probe 70 is used. The contact probe 70 includes a base 71, at least one coaxial connector 72 fixed to the base 71, a circuit board 73 fixed to the base 71 and electrically connected to the coaxial connector 72, and three contact members 40A and 40B that are the same as the first preferred embodiment. The three contact members 40A and 40B are arranged in parallel on a bottom surface 731 of the circuit board 73, and only the side surface of one contact member 40B is schematically shown. Fig.11 The remaining two contacts 40A and 40B are Fig.11 The illustrated contact 40B is obscured and not shown.

[0048] Furthermore, if Fig.12 As shown, the bottom surface 731 of the circuit board 73 is provided with a conductive circuit 732, and two conductive circuits 733 are respectively located on two opposite sides of the conductive circuit 732. The upper surface 422 of the contact 40A (first contact) is partially fixed to the conductive circuit 732 in an electrically connected manner. The upper surfaces 422 of the two contact members 40B (second contact) are respectively partially fixed to the conductive circuit 733 in an electrically connected manner. The body 42 of the three contact members 40A and 40B are all fixed to the circuit board 73 at the position where they are fixed to the circuit board 73. Fig.12 The left side of the circuit board 73 extends through an end 735 of the circuit board 73, so that each contact 40A, 40B includes a cantilever section 46 extending from the end 735 of the circuit board 73 (such as Fig.11 As shown in the figure, the cantilever section 46 includes a portion of the body 42 and the entire tip transition section 43 and the contact tip portion 41. The contact tip portion 41 is located at one end 461 of the cantilever section 46, and the tip bottom surfaces 412 of the three contact members 40A and 40B are coplanar with each other.

[0049] In other words, compared with the contact probe 30 of the first preferred embodiment, the main difference of the contact probe 70 of this embodiment is that the coaxial cable 33 is replaced by a circuit board 73, and such a contact probe 70 can also perform functional tests on the object under test 23. The conductive line 732 of the circuit board 73 can be used to transmit the test signal, and the conductive line 733 is used to transmit the ground signal, so that the contact member 40A transmits the test signal and the contact member 40B transmits the ground signal. By arranging the contact members 40B that transmit the ground signal in parallel and at intervals on both sides of the contact member 40A that transmits the test signal, a transmission line with a desired impedance matching effect can be formed to achieve a good impedance matching effect, so that the contact probe 70 can be used for high-frequency testing.

[0050] See also Figures 13 to 16 As shown, a third preferred embodiment of the present invention provides another form of contacts 40C, 40D (also referred to as first contacts and second contacts in the present invention, respectively) and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0051] The manufacturing method of the contact members 40C and 40D is similar to the manufacturing method of the contact members 40A and 40B, and also includes the aforementioned steps a) to c). The main difference is that the present embodiment uses Figure 2 The thinner area 51 of the substrate 50 shown is replaced by a thinner area 55, a thicker area 56 and a transition area 57. Fig.13 and Fig.14 As shown, in other words, the substrate 50 provided in step a) of the present embodiment includes a thinner block 55, two transition blocks 53, 57 respectively located at two opposite sides of the thinner block 55, and two thicker blocks 52, 56 respectively connected to the transition blocks 53, 57, and the transition blocks 53, 57 respectively extend from the thinner block 55 to the thicker blocks 52, 56 with gradually increasing thickness. Therefore, the upward side 54 of the substrate 50 includes a first surface 541 located in the thinner block 55, two second surfaces 542 respectively located in the thicker blocks 52, 56, and two transition surfaces 543 respectively located in the transition blocks 53, 57. The two second surfaces 542 are both higher than the first surface 541 and have the same height difference d with the first surface 541. The two transition surfaces 543 have the same shape and extend upward from the first surface 541 to the second surface 542 with gradually changing height.

[0052] Furthermore, the substrate 50 provided in step a) of this embodiment is also made of Figure 1 The flat plate 61 shown is manufactured through a surface lowering process, but in this embodiment, the surface 611 of the flat plate 61 whose surface is lowered is smaller. The flat plate 61 is partially lowered to form the first surface 541 and the transition surface 543 of the substrate 50, and the portion of the flat plate 611 that is not lowered becomes the second surface 542 of the substrate 50.

[0053] See also Fig.13 and Fig.15 In step b) of this embodiment, defining the contact members 40C and 40D includes defining the contact tip 41 of each contact member 40C and 40D in the thicker block 52, and defining the body 42 of each contact member 40C and 40D in the thinner block 55, the transition block 57 and the thicker block 56. Then, in step c), the contact tip 41 of each contact member 40C and 40D is shaped so that the contact members 40C and 40D are as follows: Fig.16 shown.

[0054] As a result, the contacts 40C and 40D in this embodiment have the same contact tip 41 and tip transition section 43 as the aforementioned contacts 40A and 40B. However, the body 42 of the contacts 40C and 40D in this embodiment includes a thinner section 423 formed by a thinner section 55 of the substrate 50, a thicker section 424 formed by a thicker section 56 of the substrate 50, and a body transition section 425 formed by a transition section 57 of the substrate 50 and located between the thinner section 423 and the thicker section 424. The bottom side 45 of the contact members 40C and 40D includes a tip bottom surface 412 located at the contact tip portion 41, a tip transition surface 431 located at the tip transition section 43, a lower surface 421 located at the thinner section 423 of the body 42, a body transition surface 426 located at the body transition section 425, and a body bottom surface 427 located at the thicker section 424 of the body 42. In addition to the height difference d between the rear side 412b of the tip bottom surface 412 and the lower surface 421, there is also a height difference d between the body bottom surface 427 and the lower surface 421. The body transition surface 426 extends from the lower surface 421 to the body bottom surface 427 with a gradually changing height. More specifically, the body transition surface 426 includes a gradually changing transition curved surface 428 and an inclined plane 429, which are similar to the gradually changing transition curved surface 432 and the inclined plane 433 of the tip transition surface 431. Since the tip transition surface 431, the body transition surface 426 and the lower surface 421 are respectively Fig.14 The transition surface 543 and the first surface 541 shown are formed, that is, the surface formed by the surface lowering process, so the surface roughness of the tip transition surface 431, the body transition surface 426 and the lower surface 421 is different from the surface roughness of the tip bottom surface 412, the tip top surface 411, the upper surface 422 or the body bottom surface 427.

[0055] Thus, the contact members 40C and 40D of the present embodiment can not only achieve the same effect as the contact members 40A and 40B described above, but also the body 42 of the contact members 40C and 40D has a greater thickness (i.e., a thicker section 424) at a portion farther from the contact tip portion 41, which can enhance the structural strength of the body 42 of the contact members 40C and 40D and facilitate the fixing of the contact members 40C and 40D with their body 42 to other components to form a contact probe. For example, the contact members 40C and 40D can be fixed with their body 42 thicker section 424 to, for example, Fig. 9 The chamfered surface 331 of the coaxial cable 33 shown in FIG. Figure 8 The contact probe 30 shown, or the contact member 40C, 40D can be fixed with the thicker section 424 of the body 42 as shown. Fig.12 The circuit board 73 shown further constitutes Fig.11 The contact probe 70 shown. Moreover, the height difference d between the thinner section 423 and the thicker section 424 of the body 42 of the contact pieces 40C and 40D also comes from the height difference d of the substrate 50 itself. Such a manufacturing method of the contact pieces 40C and 40D does not involve micro-electromechanical technology or bending the contact pieces, which can make the contact pieces 40C and 40D have good precision and high structural strength and a longer service life. In addition, there is a body transition section 425 between the thinner section 423 and the thicker section 424 of the body 42, and its body transition surface 426 is a body transition surface 426 that smoothly connects the lower surface 421 with the height difference d and the body bottom surface 427 with a gradual change in height, which can reduce stress concentration and improve structural integrity, so that the durability and reliability of the contact pieces 40C and 40D are better.

[0056] See also Fig.17 A fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention provides another type of contact member 40E. It should be noted that: Fig.17 The six contact members 40E are shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 . The six contact members 40E are shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 . The six contact members 40E are shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 . The six contact members 40E are shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 . Figure 5 The contacts shown, or two sets as Fig.15 The contact shown, that is, the body 42 of the contact 40E is not limited to a single thickness or a height difference d.

[0057] Compared with the contact members 40A-D in the aforementioned embodiments, the main difference of the contact member 40E in this embodiment is that it further includes an extension section 47 located between the body 42 and the tip transition section 43. The body 42 is wider than the extension section 47, the tip transition section 43 and the contact tip 41, and the lower surface 421 is partially located in the extension section 47. In other words, on the bottom side 45 of the contact member 40E (that is, the side facing the object to be tested 23), the extension section 47 is coplanar with the body 42, that is, it has the same contact surface as the contact tip 41. Figure 6 The height difference d shown is shown, however, the extension section 47 is narrower than the body 42, and the extension section 47 is closer to the contact tip 41 in width. Compared with the form in which the tip transition section 43 is directly connected to the body 42 in the aforementioned embodiments, the extension section 47 is provided between the tip transition section 43 and the body 42 in this embodiment, so that the contact member 40E can provide greater elasticity when the contact tip 41 contacts the contact pad of the object to be tested, so as to facilitate the test.

[0058] As mentioned above, the contact members 40A~E, contact probes 30, 70 and probe systems 11, 12 provided by the present invention can be used to perform functional testing on unpackaged semiconductor devices (i.e., the object to be tested 23). Therefore, the present invention also provides the following testing methods for unpackaged semiconductor devices, manufacturing methods for tested semiconductor devices, and tested semiconductor devices.

[0059] The steps of the test method of an unpackaged semiconductor device include: providing at least one contact probe (such as contact probe 30 or contact probe 70), the contact probe including a plurality of contact members as described above (such as contact members 40A, 40B or contact members 40C, 40D); making the contact member mechanically and electrically contact a plurality of contact pads of an unpackaged semiconductor device; and testing the unpackaged semiconductor device by the contact probe. The contact probe used in this test method includes the contact member provided by the present invention, which has good precision, high structural strength and long service life, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test of the unpackaged semiconductor device.

[0060] The steps of the manufacturing method of the tested semiconductor device include: providing at least one contact probe (such as contact probe 30 or contact probe 70), the contact probe includes a plurality of contact members as described above (such as contact members 40A, 40B or contact members 40C, 40D); making the contact member mechanically and electrically contact a plurality of contact pads of an unpackaged semiconductor device; and testing the unpackaged semiconductor device by the contact probe. The semiconductor device manufactured by this manufacturing method is tested, and the test is performed using the contact member provided by the present invention, which has good precision and high structural strength and has a long service life, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test results of the semiconductor device.

[0061] The tested semiconductor device includes a plurality of contact pads 231, and the tested semiconductor device undergoes a test procedure by mechanically and electrically contacting the semiconductor device through at least one contact probe (e.g., contact probe 30 or contact probe 70), wherein the contact probe includes a plurality of contact members as described above (e.g., contact members 40A, 40B or contact members 40C, 40D), and the test procedure is performed by contacting the contact pads 231 of the semiconductor device through the contact end 413 of the contact member.

[0062] Thus, the semiconductor device is tested, and the test utilizes the contact provided by the present invention, which has good precision, high structural strength and long service life, and can improve the accuracy and reliability of the test results of the semiconductor device.

[0063] Finally, it must be stated again that the constituent elements disclosed in the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of patent protection of this case. Replacements or changes of other equivalent elements should also be covered by the scope of patent protection of this case.

Claims

1. A contact member of a contact probe, used in a probe system to perform a functional test on an object to be tested; characterized in that The contact element comprises: One body part; A contact tip portion, comprising a contact end for contacting the object to be tested; a tip transition section located between the body portion and the contact tip portion; The contact piece includes a top side and a bottom side. When the contact piece performs a functional test on the object to be tested, the bottom side of the contact piece faces the object to be tested. The bottom side of the contact piece includes a lower surface located at the body, a tip bottom surface located at the contact tip portion, and a tip transition surface located at the tip transition section. The contact end is located at a front side of the tip bottom surface. There is a height difference between a rear side of the tip bottom surface and the lower surface. The tip transition surface extends from the lower surface to the rear side of the tip bottom surface with a gradual height change.

2. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 1, wherein: The contact element is formed from a substrate having the height difference through a cutting process.

3. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 1, wherein: The tip transition surface includes at least one of a gradually changing transition curved surface and an inclined plane.

4. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 1, wherein: The surface roughness of the lower surface and the tip transition surface is different from the surface roughness of the tip bottom surface.

5. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 1, wherein: The body includes a thinner section, a thicker section, and a body transition section located between the thinner section and the thicker section, and the lower surface is located in the thinner section. The bottom side of the contact piece also includes a body bottom surface located in the thicker section of the body, and a body transition surface located in the body transition section. There is a height difference between the body bottom surface and the lower surface, and the body transition surface extends from the lower surface to the body bottom surface with a gradual height change.

6. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 5, characterized in that: The body transition surface includes at least one of a gradual transition curved surface and an inclined plane.

7. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 5, wherein: The surface roughness of the lower surface, the tip transition surface and the body transition surface is different from the surface roughness of the body bottom surface.

8. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes an extension section located between the body and the tip transition section. The body is wider than the extension section, the tip transition section and the contact tip section. The lower surface is partially located in the extension section.

9. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 1, wherein: The lower surface is a plane.

10. The contact piece of the contact probe according to claim 1, wherein: The top side of the contact element includes an upper surface located at the body portion and a tip top surface located at the contact tip portion, wherein the tip top surface extends from the upper surface to the contact end at an inclination relative to the upper surface.

11. A contact probe for use in a probe system to perform a functional test on an object to be tested; characterized in that The contact probe comprises: A coaxial cable comprises an inner conductor, an outer conductor, and a dielectric disposed between the inner conductor and the outer conductor; A plurality of contacts as claimed in claim 1, wherein the top side of each contact includes an upper surface located at the body, the upper surface of each contact is partially fixed to the coaxial cable, so that the body of each contact extends from the point where it is fixed to the coaxial cable through an end of the coaxial cable, and each contact includes a cantilevered section extending from the end of the coaxial cable, the contact tip of each contact is located at an end of the cantilevered section, and the bottom surfaces of the tips of each contact are coplanar with each other; Each of the contact pieces includes a first contact piece and at least one second contact piece, the upper surface of the first contact piece is electrically connected and fixed to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable, and the upper surface of the second contact piece is electrically connected and fixed to the outer conductor of the coaxial cable.

12. A contact probe for use in a probe system to perform a functional test on an object to be tested; characterized in that The contact probe comprises: A circuit board including a plurality of conductive circuits; A plurality of contact members as claimed in claim 1, wherein the top side of each contact member includes an upper surface located at the body portion, and the upper surface of each contact member is electrically connected and partially fixed to the conductive circuit of the circuit board, so that the body portion of each contact member extends from the position where it is fixed to the circuit board through an end of the circuit board, and each contact member further includes a cantilever section extending from the end of the circuit board, and the contact tip portion of each contact member is located at an end of the cantilever section, and the bottom surfaces of the tips of each contact member are coplanar with each other.

13. A method for manufacturing a contact member, wherein the contact member is used as a contact probe to perform a functional test on an object to be tested; characterized in that The steps of the contact manufacturing method include: A substrate is provided, wherein the substrate is made of a conductive material, the substrate comprises a thinner block, at least one thicker block, and at least one transition block extending from the thinner block to the thicker block with a gradually increasing thickness, an upward side of the substrate comprises a first surface located at the thinner block, at least one second surface located at the at least one thicker block, and at least one transition surface located at the at least one transition block, the second surface is higher than the first surface, and the transition surface extends upward from the first surface to the second surface with a gradually changing height; Part of the material of the substrate is removed to define a plurality of the contacts, wherein each of the contacts is defined by defining a contact tip portion of each contact in a thicker area of ​​the substrate, defining a body portion of each contact in a thinner area of ​​the substrate, and performing a cutting process on the substrate according to an outer contour of each contact.

14. The method for manufacturing a contact according to claim 13, characterized in that The steps also include: The contact tip of each contact piece is shaped to form a tip top surface, a tip bottom surface, and a contact end located at the intersection of the tip top surface and the tip bottom surface, and the contact end is used to contact the object to be tested.

15. The method for manufacturing a contact member according to claim 13, wherein: The substrate includes two transition blocks respectively located at two opposite sides of the thinner block, and two thicker blocks respectively connected to the two transition blocks, and the upward side of the substrate includes two second surfaces respectively located at the two thicker blocks, and two transition surfaces respectively located at the two transition blocks; each of the contact pieces is defined as a contact tip portion of each of the contact pieces defined in one of the two thicker blocks, and a body portion of each of the contact pieces defined in the other of the thinner block and the two thicker blocks.

16. The method for manufacturing a contact member according to claim 13, wherein: The substrate is made of a flat plate through a surface reduction process, and the first surface and the at least one transition surface are generated by the surface reduction process, so that the surface roughness of the first surface and the at least one transition surface is different from the surface roughness of the at least one second surface, and the surface reduction process takes precedence over the step of removing part of the material of the substrate to define the plurality of contact elements.

17. A probe system for performing functional testing on an object to be tested formed on a substrate, wherein the object to be tested comprises a plurality of contact pads; characterized in that The probe system comprises: a stage configured to support the substrate; A contact probe comprises a plurality of contact members as claimed in claim 1, and is used to electrically connect the contact probe to the object under test by contacting the contact pad of the object under test with the contact end of each contact member, thereby performing a functional test on the object under test.

18. A method for testing an unpackaged semiconductor device, characterized in that The steps of the testing method of the unpackaged semiconductor device include: Providing at least one contact probe, the contact probe comprising a plurality of contact members as claimed in claim 1; causing each of the contacts to mechanically and electrically contact a plurality of contact pads of an unpackaged semiconductor device; The unpackaged semiconductor device is tested by the at least one contact probe.

19. A method for manufacturing a tested semiconductor device, characterized in that The steps of the method for manufacturing the tested semiconductor device include: Providing at least one contact probe, the contact probe comprising a plurality of contact members as claimed in claim 1; causing each of the contacts to mechanically and electrically contact a plurality of contact pads of an unpackaged semiconductor device; The unpackaged semiconductor device is tested by the at least one contact probe.

20. A tested semiconductor device, characterized in that The semiconductor device under test is subjected to a test procedure by mechanically and electrically contacting the semiconductor device through at least one contact probe, wherein the contact probe comprises a plurality of contact members as described in claim 1, and the test procedure is performed by contacting each contact pad with the contact end of each contact member.

Images