Contact and semiconductor inspection system

Abstract

To prevent a contact with wiping capability from getting stuck in a socket.SOLUTION: A contact for semiconductor inspection comprising an upper end portion, a spring portion, and a lower end portion is provided, the contact being designed to be inserted to a small-diameter through-hole of a socket lid attached to a socket body after being accommodated in a large-diameter through-hole of the socket body, where the upper end portion has a first sloped surface to be in contact with a corner of the small-diameter through-hole when the spring portion contracts, and a second sloped surface to be in contact with a corner of the small-diameter through-hole when the spring portion expands.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a contact and a semiconductor inspection system, and more particularly to a contact and a semiconductor inspection system that removes oxide films formed on the surfaces of electrodes on both ends and foreign matter adhering to the surfaces. [Background technology]

[0002] A semiconductor inspection system for inspecting electrical characteristics of an inspection target such as a semiconductor package includes a plurality of contacts and a socket to accommodate them. As is well known to those skilled in the art, an oxide film formed on the electrode surface of the inspection target and foreign matter adhering to the surface can impede a continuity inspection, so some contacts have been designed to deal with this problem.

[0003] Such contacts can be broadly classified into two types: (1) those with a sharp tip that allows the tip to penetrate the oxide film or the like and make physical contact with the electrode, and (2) those with a tip that, when in contact with the oxide film or the like, rubs against the oxide film or the like with the tip through some kind of action, physically removing it from the electrode.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a contactor having both the above features (1) and (2). Looking at Fig. 1 of Patent Document 1, the contactor (probe pin 14) has a sharp tip (second contact portion 31) at the upper end (second plunger 30), and further has a tapered shaft portion 35b at the base end of the second plunger 30, and a large diameter hole portion 18a and a small diameter hole portion 18b in the upper through hole 11b of the socket body 13.

[0005] Therefore, when a stress is applied along the axial direction of the probe pin 14, the coil spring 50 contracts, and wipes the probe pin 14 by a width a along the axial direction of the upper through-hole 11b, so that the second contact portion 31 can remove an oxide coating or the like formed on the electrode surface. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-145593 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, due to its structure, the contactor disclosed in Patent Document 1 may have a biased load, which may cause the opposite corners of the cylindrical portion of the second plunger 30 of Patent Document 1 (for example, the corners at the upper left and lower right sides of the drawing) to get caught on the inner wall of the upper through hole 11b and become stuck.

[0008] The occurrence of a stuck contact does not mean that testing of electrical characteristics, etc. cannot be immediately performed; however, a large load will be placed on the other contacts that are not stuck, which may shorten the durability of the contacts, i.e., the lifespan of the contacts.

[0009] Furthermore, if a depression is formed in the through hole of the socket due to the contact of the opposing corner portion with the through hole, the opposing corner portion will end up fitting into the depression, which may cause the socket itself to have to be replaced.

[0010] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to prevent a contact having a wiping function from becoming stuck in a socket. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides A contact for semiconductor inspection, which is received in a large-diameter through-hole of a socket body and then passed through a small-diameter through-hole of a socket lid attached to the socket body, has an upper end, a spring portion, and a lower end, The upper end portion is a first inclined surface that comes into contact with a corner of the small diameter through hole when the spring portion is compressed; a second inclined surface that comes into contact with a corner of the small diameter through hole when the spring portion expands; Equipped with.

[0012] In addition, the lower end portion is a third inclined surface corresponding to the first inclined surface; a fourth inclined surface corresponding to the second inclined surface; It can also be provided with:

[0013] Furthermore, when the spring portion expands or contracts, the upper end portion and the lower end portion can be displaced in opposite directions based on the expansion and contraction direction.

[0014] Furthermore, the semiconductor inspection system of the present invention comprises: The contacts, a socket including a socket body having a large diameter through hole for accommodating the contact and a socket cover having a small diameter through hole communicating with the large diameter through hole; has. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a semiconductor inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the upper end portion 10 of the contact pin 100 shown in FIG. 1, showing the transition of the pressed state of the upper end portion 10. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the upper end 10 of the contact pin 100 shown in FIG. 1, showing the transition of the released state of the upper end 10. FIG. [Explanation of symbols]

[0016] 10 Upper end 12 Tip 14 First Slope 16 Second Slope 20 Spring section 30 Lower end 100 Contact Pins 200 Sockets 220 Socket cover 222 Through hole 224 First receiving part 226 Second receiving part 240 Socket Body Invention Embodiments

[0017] Hereinafter, a semiconductor inspection system and its contact pin 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in this specification and claims, the terms up, down, front, back, front, rear, and the like are used relative to the drawings for ease of understanding, and are not absolute.

[0018] 1 is an explanatory diagram of a semiconductor inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The semiconductor inspection system is roughly divided into contact pins 100 for semiconductor inspection and a socket 200 in which the contact pins 100 are housed.

[0019] Although FIG. 1 shows a state in which one contact pin 100 and its surrounding portion are extracted, the socket 200 can accommodate a plurality of contact pins 100, for example, in a two-dimensional array.

[0020] The contact pin 100 has, for example, an upper end 10 that contacts an electrode to be tested (not shown), an S-shaped spring portion 20 adjacent to the upper end 10, and a lower end 30 that is adjacent to the spring portion 20 and contacts the board wiring.

[0021] The contact pin 100 may be a flat one manufactured by etching a plate material having high electrical conductivity and high strength, such as a copper alloy, for example, a copper-silver alloy or a beryllium-copper alloy.

[0022] In addition, as a contactor in the semiconductor inspection system of this embodiment, a contact pin 100 in which the upper end 10, spring portion 20, and lower end 30 are integrated can be used, or a contact pin in which a first plunger, a tubular member, and a second plunger, which are separate parts, are assembled, can be used, as in the probe pin of Patent Document 1.

[0023] The term "planar" here means that the width of the contact pin 100 in the left-right direction in the drawing is, for example, 0.5 to 2 times the thickness in the depth direction in the drawing (for example, width is about 50 μm to 500 μm, thickness is about 50 μm to 500 μm).

[0024] The contact pin 100 can further increase the conductivity by attaching a material such as nanosilver (nano-sized silver) or graphene to at least the tip 12 (see FIG. 2) of the upper end 10. Nanosilver or the like can also be provided at the tip of the lower end 30. The contact pin 100 can also be a three-dimensional one in which the spring portion 20 is processed to have a spiral shape.

[0025] The term "three-dimensional" as used herein means, for example, 5 to 20 times the width in the left-right direction of the drawing and the thickness in the depth direction of the drawing of the contact pin 100 (for example, width about 100 μm to 1000 μm, thickness about 10 μm to 100 μm).

[0026] Socket 200 includes socket body 240 in which contact pins 100 are housed, and socket lid 220 attached to socket body 240. When socket lid 220 is attached to socket body 240, through holes 222 (see FIG. 2) are formed that communicate with each of contact pins 100. Socket 200 is made of a non-conductive material such as resin, and contact pins 100 are insulated from each other.

[0027] The contact pin 100 is received in the through hole 222 (large diameter through hole) of the socket body 240 and then passed through the through hole 222 (small diameter through hole) of the socket lid 220 attached to the socket body 240.

[0028] 2(a) to 2(c) are enlarged views of the vicinity of the upper end 10 of the contact pin 100 shown in FIG. 1, and are diagrams showing the transition of the pressed state of the upper end 10. Fig. 2(a) shows the state before the tip 12 comes into contact with the electrode to be inspected, Fig. 2(b) shows the state when the tip 12 comes into contact with the electrode and pressing down of the upper end 10 has started, and Fig. 2(c) shows the state when the pressing has been completed. In Fig. 2(a) to 2(c), the axis of the through hole 222 is indicated by a dashed line.

[0029] The upper end 10 of the contact pin 100 has a tip 12 that contacts the electrode to be tested, a first inclined surface 14 located on one side of the tip 12, and a second inclined surface 16 located on the other side of the tip 12. The socket lid 220 also has a first receiving portion 224 which is an upper corner facing the first inclined surface 14, and a second receiving portion 226 which is a lower corner facing the second inclined surface 16.

[0030] The first inclined surface 14 and the second inclined surface 16 are portions that come into contact with the first receiving portion 224 and the second receiving portion 226, respectively, depending on the positional relationship between the upper end portion 10 and the socket 200. Specifically, when the spring portion 20 contracts and the upper end portion 10 is displaced leftward in the drawing relative to the socket 200, the first inclined surface 14 comes into contact with the first receiving portion 224, and when the spring portion 20 expands and the upper end portion 10 is displaced rightward in the drawing relative to the socket 200, the second inclined surface 16 comes into contact with the second receiving portion 226.

[0031] In the state of FIG. 2(a), tip portion 12 of contact pin 100 is not in contact with the electrode to be tested, so that no stress is applied to spring portion 20 in the direction of expansion and contraction, causing spring portion 20 to be in an expanded state.

[0032] The contact pin 100 has the lower side of the first inclined surface 14 in contact with the first receiving portion 224, and the lower end side of the second inclined surface 16 in contact with the second receiving portion 226, and the upper end 10 is located to the right of the drawing relative to the axis of the through hole 222.

[0033] In the state shown in FIG. 2(b), tip portion 12 of contact pin 100 comes into contact with the electrode and starts to press down, so that stress is applied to spring portion 20 in the direction in which it expands and contracts, causing spring portion 20 to start to contract.

[0034] Then, the contact pin 100 has the first inclined surface 14 in contact with the first receiving portion 224, the contact point moving to near the center, and the second inclined surface 16 no longer in contact with the second receiving portion 226, and the upper end portion 10 displaces to the left side of the drawing relative to the axis of the through hole 222.

[0035] In the state of FIG. 2(c), tip portion 12 of contact pin 100 comes into contact with the electrode and presses it further down, so that more stress is applied to spring portion 20 in the direction of expansion and contraction, causing spring portion 20 to contract further.

[0036] Then, the contact pin 100 has the first inclined surface 14 come into contact with the first receiving portion 224 and the contact point moves to the upper side thereof, while the second inclined surface 16 remains out of contact with the second receiving portion 226, and the upper end portion 10 is displaced further to the left side of the drawing relative to the axis of the through hole 222.

[0037] In this way, as stress is applied to the contact pin 100 in the vertical direction (the direction in which the spring portion 20 expands and contracts), the upper end portion 10 is displaced toward the left side of the drawing immediately after the tip portion 12 comes into contact with the electrode to be tested, so that the tip portion 12 can remove the oxide coating formed on the electrode surface and any foreign matter adhering to the surface by wiping.

[0038] Figures 3(a) to 3(c) are enlarged views of the vicinity of the upper end 10 of the contact pin 100 shown in Figure 1, and show the transition of the state of the lifted upper end 10. Figure 3(a) shows the state where the pressing down of the upper end 10 is completed (corresponding to the state shown in Figure 2(c)), Figure 3(b) shows the state immediately after the lifting of the upper end 10 starts, and Figure 3(c) shows the state where the lifting is completed. The axis of the through hole 222 is also indicated by a dashed line in Figures 3(a) to 3(c).

[0039] A person skilled in the art should be able to identify the general behavior of contact pin 100 in Figures 3(a) to 3(c) based on the explanation based on Figures 2(a) to 2(c). However, what is noteworthy here is that, as shown in Figure 3(b), immediately after upper end 10 begins to lift off, second inclined surface 16 begins to contact second receiving portion 226, and as this state continues, spring portion 20 extends, causing upper end 10 to be displaced toward the right side of the figure.

[0040] That is, in this embodiment, it is noteworthy that while the upper end 10 is being lifted, the tip 12 that comes into contact with the electrode surface by wiping not only removes oxide coatings, etc., but also forcibly returns the position of the upper end 10 in the left-right direction in the drawing to the right (to the state in Figure 2(a)), thereby preventing the contact pin 100 from getting stuck in the through hole 222.

[0041] 2(a) to 2(c) and 3(a) to 3(c) also apply to the side of the lower end portion 30. Therefore, both wiping and stick prevention can be achieved on the side of the lower end portion 30 as well.

[0042] However, as is clear from FIG. 1, the lower end 30 is displaced to the right in the drawing when stress is applied in the vertical direction of the contact pin 100 and the spring portion 20 contracts, and then, when the vertical stress of the contact pin 100 is released and the spring portion 20 expands, the lower end 30 is displaced to the left in the drawing.

[0043] In other words, the lower end 30 has a third inclined surface corresponding to the first inclined surface 14 which acts when the spring portion 20 contracts and is displaced to the right in the drawing relative to the socket 200, and a fourth inclined surface corresponding to the second inclined surface 16 which acts when the spring portion 20 expands and is displaced to the left in the drawing relative to the socket 200.

[0044] In summary, when the spring portion 20 expands or contracts, the upper end portion 10 and the lower end portion 30 are displaced in opposite directions based on the direction of expansion or contraction.

Claims

1. A contact for semiconductor inspection, which is received in a large-diameter through-hole of a socket body and then passed through a small-diameter through-hole of a socket lid attached to the socket body, has an upper end, a spring portion, and a lower end, The upper end portion is a first inclined surface that comes into contact with a corner of the small diameter through hole when the spring portion is compressed; a second inclined surface that comes into contact with a corner of the small diameter through hole when the spring portion expands; A contactor comprising:

2. The lower end portion is a third inclined surface corresponding to the first inclined surface; a fourth inclined surface corresponding to the second inclined surface; The contact of claim 1 .

3. 2. The contact according to claim 1, wherein the upper end and the lower end are displaced in opposite directions with respect to a direction of expansion and contraction of the spring portion when the spring portion expands and contracts.

4. The contact according to claim 1 ; a socket including a socket body having a large diameter through hole for accommodating the contact and a socket cover having a small diameter through hole communicating with the large diameter through hole; A semiconductor inspection system having

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