Probe Card Device

Abstract

To provide a probe card device including a probe structure.SOLUTION: A plurality of probes is inserted into a plurality of through holes on at least two guide plates stacked and spaced from each other. Each of the probes includes a main body, a contacting portion, a head portion, and a neck portion. The contacting portion is provided at one end of the main body and exposed under a lowermost guide plate. The head portion is provided at the other end of the main body and exposed above an uppermost guide plate. The neck portion is provided between the main body and the head portion and is exposed above the uppermost guide plate. A part of the neck portion protrudes to the main body and the head portion to form a protrusion portion. A predetermined angle is provided between the protrusion portion and the main body. The protrusion portion abuts against an upper surface of the uppermost guide plate. The protrusion portion has thickness. The distance between two probes adjacent to each other is less than twice the thickness of the protrusion portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a probe structure and a probe card device, and more particularly to a probe structure and a probe card device for shortening the distance between probes.

Background Art

[0002] Electrical measurement of an integrated circuit chip (i.e., IC chip) is of utmost importance in the manufacturing process. When measuring an integrated circuit chip, the measuring equipment contacts the device under test via a probe card device to transmit an electrical signal, and then analyzes the received electrical signal to perform an electrical measurement, thereby determining whether the manufacturing quality of the device under test meets the standard.

[0003] For a probe card device, the distance between probes affects the measurement efficiency. The shorter the distance between probes, the higher the probe density of the probe card device (i.e., the more probes that can be accommodated per unit area), which is advantageous for measuring electronic devices with a high pin density. However, in the prior art, since the probes are limited by the dimensions of the fitting protrusions provided on the guide plate, the distance between the probes cannot be further shortened.

[0004] Therefore, how to overcome the above problems through structural design improvement to increase the probe density of the probe card device by shortening the distance between probes has become an important issue for those skilled in the art to solve.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a probe structure and a probe card device that can overcome the problems of the prior art.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a probe structure according to an aspect of the present invention includes a main body portion, a contact portion, a head portion, and a neck portion. The contact portion is provided at one end of the main body portion, and the head portion is provided at the other end of the main body. The neck portion is provided between the main body portion and the head portion. A part of the neck portion protrudes with respect to the main body portion and the head portion to form a convex portion. The convex portion is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the main body portion.

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a probe card device according to the present invention includes at least one upper guide plate having a plurality of first through holes, and is installed below the at least one upper guide plate and is parallel to the at least one upper guide plate. At least one lower guide plate having a plurality of second through holes corresponding to the plurality of first through holes, and a plurality of probes respectively inserted into the plurality of first through holes and the plurality of second through holes. The probe includes a main body portion, a contact portion provided at one end of the main body portion and exposed from below the at least one lower guide plate, a neck portion provided at the other end of the main body portion and exposed from above the at least one upper guide plate, and a head portion provided at the upper end of the neck portion and exposed from above the at least one upper guide plate. A convex portion protruding only on one side is formed on the neck portion, the distance between two adjacent probes is less than twice the protruding thickness of the convex portion, and the width of the neck portion in the direction in which the convex portion protrudes exceeds the width of the first through hole.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] In the probe structure and probe card device according to the present invention, according to the technical features that "a part of the neck portion protrudes with respect to the main body portion and the head portion to form a convex portion", "the convex portion is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the main body portion", "the convex portion has a thickness", and "the distance between two adjacent probes is less than twice the thickness of the convex portion", it is possible to achieve the effect of "increasing the probe density of the probe card device by shortening the distance between the probes".

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] The above content has already described several features and preferred aspects of the present invention in a higher-level concept to facilitate understanding of the specific embodiments of the probe card device according to the present invention. Those skilled in the art can modify or replace each component disclosed in the present invention with other components that can achieve the content disclosed in the present invention based on the concepts and specific specific examples disclosed in the present invention. To further understand the features and technical content of the probe card device according to the present invention, the following detailed description of the probe card device according to the present invention and the accompanying drawings will be referred to. However, the provided accompanying drawings are only provided for reference and explanation, and are not for limiting the present invention.

[0011] From the following, embodiments disclosed by the probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention will be described with specific examples. Those skilled in the art can understand the merits and effects of the probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention based on the disclosure content of this specification. The probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention can be implemented or applied by other different embodiments. Each detail in this specification can also be equally deformed and modified based on various viewpoints or applications without departing from the spirit of the probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention are for simple and schematic explanation, and do not show actual dimensions. In the following embodiments, the technical matters of the probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention will be further described, but the disclosed content does not limit the probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention. In this specification, although various components may be described with terms such as "first", "second", etc., these components are not limited by these terms. It should be understood that these terms are mainly for distinguishing one component from another. Also, the term "or" used in this specification can include any one or a combination of multiple items in the related items according to the actual situation.

[0012] [First Embodiment] As shown in FIG. 1, the probe structure of the probe S according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a main body portion 1, a contact portion 2, a head portion 3, and a neck portion 4. Specifically, the main body portion 1, the contact portion 2, the head portion 3, and the neck portion 4 respectively refer to different areas in the probe S. The contact portion 2 is provided at one end of the main body portion 1. The neck portion 4 is provided at the other end of the main body portion 1. A head portion 3 is provided at the upper end of the neck portion 4 (the end opposite to the main body portion 1). A convex portion 41 is formed by a part of the neck portion 4 protruding with respect to the main body portion 1 and the head portion 3. The convex portion 41 is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the main body portion 1. Here, "being installed asymmetrically" means that, for example, since the convex portion 41 protrudes only in a certain direction and there is a predetermined angle between the convex portion 41 and the main body portion 1, when viewed from the appearance (as shown in FIG. 1), the convex portion 41 is formed only on one side of the probe S. Compared with the prior art in which the fitting convex portions in the probe structure are symmetrically arranged, the convex portion 41 of the probe S according to the present invention is installed asymmetrically so that it is formed only on one side of the probe structure (that is, the convex portion 41 is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the main body portion 1 so that there is a predetermined angle between the convex portion 41 and the main body portion 1), so that the overall volume of the probe S can be effectively shortened.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, in the present invention, the shape of the convex portion 41 is not particularly limited. More specifically, the specific structure of the convex portion 41 can be freely adjusted or changed according to the needs of the designer. Hereinafter, in each embodiment of the present invention, each aspect regarding the convex portion 41 will be exemplified, but the convex portion 41 in the present invention is not limited to the exemplified aspects. For example, the shape of the convex portion 41 may be a rectangle (FIG. 1), a square (FIG. 2), a triangle (FIG. 3), a circle, an ellipse (FIG. 4), or an arc shape. Further, the main body portion 1, the contact portion 2, the head portion 3, and the neck portion 4 are integrally formed of a metal conductor. In the present invention, the forming method of the main body portion 1, the contact portion 2, the head portion 3, and the neck portion 4 is not particularly limited. For example, the main body portion 1, the contact portion 2, the head portion 3, and the neck portion 4 may be formed by processing a metal conductor by injection molding or laser cutting.

[0014] It should be noted that since FIGS. 1 to 8 show schematic longitudinal cross-sectional views of the probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention, the areas described in the specification of the present application (including the boundary area and the cross-sectional area described later) refer to the cross-sectional portions shown in the drawings.

[0015] Returning to FIG. 1 for explanation. As shown in FIG. 1, the boundary between the neck portion 4 and the head portion 3 (i.e., the contact portion between the neck portion 4 and the head portion 3) has a first boundary area (i.e., the contact area where the neck portion 4 and the head portion 3 contact) A1, and the boundary between the neck portion 4 and the main body portion 1 has a second boundary area A2. In the present embodiment, preferably, the first boundary area A1 is the same as the second boundary area A2. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the first boundary area A1 is the same as the cross-sectional area A3 of the cross-section of the head portion 3, and the second boundary area A2 is the same as the cross-sectional area A4 of the cross-section of the main body portion 1. Also, the cross-sectional area A3 of the cross-section of the head portion 3 is less than or equal to the cross-sectional area A4 of the cross-section of the main body portion 1 (i.e., the cross-sectional area A3 of the cross-section of the head portion 3 is smaller than the cross-sectional area A4 of the cross-section of the main body portion 1 or the same as the cross-sectional area A4 of the cross-section of the main body portion 1).

[0016] FIG. 5 shows another probe card device M according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The probe card device M mainly includes at least one upper guide plate P1, at least one lower guide plate P2, and a plurality of probes S. The at least one upper guide plate P1 has a plurality of first through holes C1. The at least one lower guide plate P2 is installed below the at least one upper guide plate P1 and is parallel to the at least one upper guide plate P1. The at least one lower guide plate P2 has a plurality of second through holes C2. The plurality of first through holes C1 respectively correspond to the plurality of second through holes C2. The specific structure and implementation manner of the probe S are shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. The probe S includes a main body portion 1, a contact portion 2, a head portion 3, and a neck portion 4. The contact portion 2 is provided at one end of the main body portion 1. The neck portion 4 is provided at the other end of the main body portion 1. A head portion 3 is provided at the upper end of the neck portion 4 (the end opposite to the main body portion 1). A convex portion 41 is formed by a part of the neck portion 4 protruding with respect to the main body portion 1 and the head portion 3. The convex portion 41 is installed asymmetrically with respect to the head portion 3.

[0017] The plurality of probes S are inserted into the plurality of first through holes C1 in the at least one upper guide plate P1 and the plurality of second through holes C2 in the at least one lower guide plate P2. Specifically, since the at least one upper guide plate P1 is installed above the at least one lower guide plate P2, each probe S passes through the first through hole C1 from top to bottom and then passes through the second through hole C2. In order to contact the object to be measured T, the contact portion 2 of the probe S is exposed from below the at least one lower guide plate P2. The head portion 3 and the neck portion 4 are exposed from above the at least one upper guide plate P1. In this embodiment, two upper guide plates P1 and two lower guide plates P2 are taken as an example. As shown in FIG. 5, when the probe S passes through the two upper guide plates P1 and the two lower guide plates P2, the contact portion 2 is exposed from below the lowermost lower guide plate P2, the head portion 3 and the neck portion 4 are exposed from above the uppermost upper guide plate P1, and the main body portion 1 is located between the upper guide plate P1 and the lower guide plate P2.

[0018] In other words, in the linear direction (from top to bottom in FIG. 5) toward the object under measurement T along the guide plates (upper guide plate P1 and lower guide plate P2), the probe S has a head portion 3, a neck portion 4, a main body portion 1, and a contact portion 2 formed in this order. When the probe S passes through the first through-hole C1 of the upper guide plate P1 and the corresponding second through-hole C2 of the lower guide plate P2, the contact portion 2 contacts the object under measurement T after passing through the second through-hole C2. The object under measurement T may be, for example, an integrated circuit chip on a wafer, but is not particularly limited. The contact portion 2 directly contacts pads (not shown) or bumps (not shown) in the integrated circuit chip, and by measuring each integrated circuit chip on the wafer with the probe S, each integrated circuit chip signal is acquired and each integrated circuit chip signal is transmitted to the measuring equipment. The measuring equipment analyzes each integrated circuit chip signal and makes a determination.

[0019] Subsequently, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 5. The probe S is abutted against the upper surface of the uppermost upper guide plate P1 by the convex portion 41 of the neck portion 4, and since the probe S is attached to the guide plates (upper guide plate P1 and lower guide plate P2), it is possible to prevent the probe S from passing through the first through-hole C1 and the second through-hole C2 and falling off from the probe card device M. The convex portion 41 has a thickness D. The thickness D is the distance between one end of the convex portion 41 and the surface on one side of the head portion 3. Also, it has a hypothetical central axis L1 in the direction extending from the head portion 3 to the outside of the probe S. It has a hypothetical normal line L2 in the direction extending from the contact portion 2 to the outside of the probe S. The distance between two adjacent central axes L1 is equal to the distance between two adjacent normal lines L2. In other words, a plurality of probes S are attached to the guide plates (upper guide plate P1 and lower guide plate P2) such that a plurality of probes S are arranged at intervals. There is a distance H between two adjacent probes S arranged at intervals. The distance H refers to the distance between two adjacent central axes L1. Preferably, the distance H between two adjacent probes S is less than twice the thickness.

[0020] Compared with the prior art in which the fitting convex portions in the probe structure of the probe card device are symmetrically arranged, the convex portion 41 of the probe S according to the present invention is asymmetrically installed so as to be formed only on one side of the probe structure. Therefore, the overall volume of the probe S can be effectively reduced. Not only that, when a plurality of probes S are arranged at intervals on the guide plates (the upper guide plate P1 and the lower guide plate P2), the distance H between two adjacent probes S can be greatly reduced. Therefore, the density of the probes S of the probe card device M can be increased. For example, the distance between two adjacent probes in the prior art probe card device is usually about 50 μm to 100 μm, while the distance H between two adjacent probes S in the probe card device M of the present invention can be reduced to 45 μm or less than 45 μm.

[0021] This will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional schematic view of another embodiment of the probe card device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the arrangement directions of the convex portions 41 of the two probes S in the probe card device M are different (that is, the directions of the convex portions 41 of the two probes S are different). In other words, in the present invention, the arrangement direction of the convex portion 41 is not particularly limited. Further explaining, since the convex portions 41 of the two probes S protrude in opposite directions respectively, the distance H between the two probes S is not restricted by the convex portion 41, so the distance H can be further reduced. Preferably, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the distance H between two adjacent probes S is smaller than the thickness D of the convex portion 41 (that is, H < D). Thereby, the distance H between two adjacent probes S can be further reduced, so that the probe density of the probe card device M can be further increased.

[0022] [Second Embodiment] A description will be given with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of a probe structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Comparing FIG. 7 and FIG. 1, the difference from the probe structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention is that in the probe structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a recess 42 is formed because the other part of the neck portion 4 is recessed with respect to the main body portion 1 and the head portion 3. Specifically, the probe structure of the probe S according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a main body portion 1, a contact portion 2, a head portion 3, and a neck portion 4. The contact portion 2 is provided at one end of the main body portion 1. The neck portion 4 is provided at the other end of the main body portion 1. A head portion 3 is provided at the upper end (the end opposite to the main body portion 1) of the neck portion 4. A convex portion 41 is formed by a part of the neck portion 4 protruding with respect to the main body portion 1 and the head portion 3. A recess 42 is formed by the other part of the neck portion 4 being recessed with respect to the main body portion 1 and the head portion 3. The convex portion 41 is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the head portion 3. In other words, the convex portion 41 in the probe structure is formed only on one side of the probe structure, and the recess 42 in the probe structure is formed on the other side opposite to the convex portion 41 in the probe structure. In other words, the convex portion 41 and the recess 42 are formed on opposite sides of the probe structure, respectively. According to the structural design of the recess 42, the volume of the neck portion 4 of the probe S can be appropriately reduced, so that the material cost for manufacturing the probe S can be reduced. In each of the probes S, the length of the recess 42 along the extending direction of the probe structure corresponds to the convex portion 41.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 7, the boundary between the neck portion 4 and the head portion 3 has a first boundary area A1, and the boundary between the neck portion 4 and the main body portion 1 has a second boundary area A2. In the present embodiment, preferably, the first boundary area A1 is the same as the second boundary area A2. In the present embodiment, preferably, the first boundary area A1 is smaller than the cross-sectional area A3 of the cross-section of the head portion 3, and the second boundary area A2 is smaller than the cross-sectional area A4 of the cross-section of the main body portion 1. Further, the cross-sectional area A3 of the cross-section of the head portion 3 is equal to or less than the cross-sectional area A4 of the cross-section of the main body portion 1 (that is, the cross-sectional area A3 of the cross-section of the head portion 3 is smaller than the cross-sectional area A4 of the cross-section of the main body portion 1 or is the same as the cross-sectional area A4 of the cross-section of the main body portion 1).

[0024] Subsequently, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 shows another probe card device M according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Another probe card device M according to the second embodiment of the present invention mainly includes at least one upper guide plate P1, at least one lower guide plate P2, and a plurality of probes S. Since the specific structure of the probe S is the same as the specific structure shown in FIG. 6, the description thereof will be omitted. The at least one upper guide plate P1 has a plurality of first through holes C1. The at least one lower guide plate P2 is installed below the at least one upper guide plate P1 and is parallel to the at least one upper guide plate P1. The at least one lower guide plate P2 has a plurality of second through holes C2. The plurality of first through holes C1 respectively correspond to the plurality of second through holes C2.

[0025] A description will be given with reference to FIG. 8. A plurality of probes S are attached to guide plates (upper guide plate P1 and lower guide plate P2) so as to be arranged at intervals. The arrangement direction of the convex portions 41 of the plurality of probes S is the same and faces one side, while the arrangement direction of the concave portions 42 of the plurality of probes S is the same and faces the other side. As a result, the probe S is in contact with the upper surface of the uppermost upper guide plate P1 by the convex portion 41 of the neck portion 4, and since the probe S is attached to the guide plate, it is possible to prevent the probe S from passing through the first through hole C1 and the second through hole C2 and falling off from the probe card device M. There is a distance H between two adjacent probes S arranged at intervals. Preferably, the distance H between two adjacent probes S is smaller than twice the thickness D of the convex portion 41 (that is, H < 2D).

[0026] In the present invention, the arrangement direction of the convex portion 41 and the arrangement direction of the concave portion 42 are not particularly limited. A description will be given with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows another probe card device M according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the arrangement directions of the convex portions 41 of the two probes S in the probe card device M are different (that is, the directions of the convex portions 41 and the concave portions 42 of the two probes S are different). Further explaining, since the concave portions 42 of the two probes S face each other, the distance H between the two probes S is not limited by the convex portion 41, so the distance H can be further shortened. Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the distance H between two adjacent probes S is smaller than the thickness D of the convex portion 41 (that is, H < D). As a result, the distance H between two adjacent probes S can be further shortened, so that the probe density of the probe card device M can be further increased.

[0027] In the probe structure of probe S and the probe card device M according to the present invention, due to the technical features that "a part of the neck portion 4 protrudes with respect to the main body portion 1 and the head portion 3 to form a convex portion 41", "the convex portion 41 is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the head portion 3", "the convex portion 41 has a thickness D", and "the distance H between two adjacent probes S is less than twice the thickness D of the convex portion 41", an effect of "increasing the probe density of the probe card device by shortening the distance between the probes" can be achieved.

[0028] Furthermore, the arrangement directions of the convex portions 41 of the plurality of probes S may be different. For example, the convex portions 41 of two adjacent probes S protrude in two opposite directions. Thereby, the distance H between two adjacent probes S can be further shortened. Preferably, the distance H between two adjacent probes S is smaller than the thickness D of the convex portion 41.

[0029] The content disclosed above is only a preferred embodiment of the probe structure and the probe card device according to the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the claims of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical modifications made based on the content of the specification and the attached drawings of the present invention shall be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0030] 1 Main body portion 2 Contact portion 3 Head portion 4 Neck portion 41 Convex portion 42 Concave portion A1 First interface area A2 Second interface area A3 Cross-sectional area of the cross-section of the head portion A4 Cross-sectional area of the cross-section of the main body portion C1 First through-hole C2 Second through-hole D Thickness H Distance L1 Central axis L2 Normal M Probe Card Device P1 Upper Guide Plate P2 Lower Guide Plate S Probe

Claims

1. At least one upper guide plate having a plurality of first through holes, At least one lower guide plate which is installed below the at least one upper guide plate and is parallel to the at least one upper guide plate, and which has a plurality of second through holes corresponding to the plurality of first through holes respectively, A plurality of probes respectively inserted into the plurality of first through holes and the plurality of second through holes, Comprising, The probe, A main body part, A contact part provided at one end of the main body part and exposed from below the at least one lower guide plate, A neck part provided at the other end of the main body part and exposed from above the at least one upper guide plate, A head part provided at the upper end of the neck part and exposed from above the at least one upper guide plate, Comprising, A convex part protruding only on one side is formed on the neck part, No protruding structure is provided across the other side of the probe with respect to the convex part, When the convex parts of any two adjacent probes in a direction parallel to the at least one upper guide plate and the at least one lower guide plate protrude in opposite directions respectively, the distance between the central axes of any two adjacent probes is smaller than the protruding thickness of the convex part, The width of the neck part in the direction in which the convex part protrudes exceeds the width of the first through hole, A concave part corresponding to the convex part is formed on the other side of the neck part on the side opposite to the side where the convex part is formed, In each of the probes, the length along the extending direction of the probe in the concave part corresponds to the convex part, a probe card device characterized by this.

2. Among the plurality of probes, at least one has a different direction of the convex part from that of the adjacent probe, the probe card device according to Claim 1.

3. The probe card device according to Claim 1, wherein the directions of the convex parts in adjacent probes are different.

4. The probe card device according to Claim 1, wherein the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the convex part is rectangular, square, triangular, circular or elliptical.

5. The probe card device according to Claim 1, wherein the main body part, the contact part, the head part and the neck part are integrally formed.

6. The boundary between the head portion and the header portion has a first boundary area, the boundary between the head portion and the body portion has a second boundary area, The probe card device according to claim 1, wherein the first boundary area is the same as the second boundary area.

7. The first boundary area is smaller than or the same as any cross-sectional area of a cross-section parallel to the boundary in the head portion, and the second boundary area is smaller than or the same as any cross-sectional area of a cross-section parallel to the boundary in the body portion. The probe card device according to claim 6, characterized in that it is the same as any cross-sectional area of the cross-section of the body portion.

8. The probe card device according to claim 7, wherein the cross-sectional area of the cross-section of the head portion is smaller than or the same as any cross-sectional area of the cross-section of the body portion.

9. It has a hypothetical normal line in the direction extending from the contact portion to the outside of the probe, The probe card device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the central axes of two adjacent probes is equal to the distance between two adjacent normal lines.

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