Probe head, probe assembly and spring-loaded probe structure

Abstract

To provide a probe head, a probe assembly, and spring type probe structure that can easily join a pipe and the probe head and has excellent joining rigidity.SOLUTION: In a probe head including a contact portion, a first body portion, a second body portion, and a third body portion that are laminated successively and are connected mutually, the contact portion becomes smaller in size as it separates from the first body portion, the contact portion is used so as to abut on a measurement object, the size of the first body portion in the radial direction is larger than the size of the second body portion in the radial direction and the size of the third body portion in the radial direction, the second body portion is composed of a second concave surface wall and a second boundary wall in its periphery, an internal recessed space is formed in the second concave surface wall, and the size of the third body portion in the radial direction is equal to or less than the size of the second boundary wall in the radial direction and is larger than the minimum size of the second concave surface wall in the radial direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a probe for electrical measurement, and more particularly to a probe head manufactured by MEMS processing and having a special structural shape, and forms a MEMS probe head and its probe assembly having a multi-layer structure with a large attachment area and high bonding strength. [Background technology]

[0002] After a wafer is manufactured through a semiconductor manufacturing process, it is necessary to check the quality of a large number of dies by measuring whether signal transmission operates normally or can be calculated through electrical contact. Generally, to check whether the electrical connection of the die lines is reliable or whether there is a problem with the signal transmission, a probe is used as a measurement medium between a measuring device and the chip to be measured, and signal transmission and electrical signal analysis are used to obtain measurement results for the die to be measured.

[0003] In some cases, a probe device may measure not only a planar structure such as a contact pad, but also a three-dimensional contact structure, such as a ball shape made of a conductive material. Such a three-dimensional contact structure is called a bump if it is a ball, or a boss if it is a metal pillar (especially copper). The ball or boss protrudes from the surface of the object to be measured. A spring-type probe is preferably used for the above measurement work.

[0004] probe is the main element that makes electrical contact during the measurement operation, and as the number of dies scattered on the wafer increases, the distance between adjacent dies decreases, so the size of the probe needs to be reduced. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional spring-loaded probe. In this embodiment, the probe head 91 is MEMSThe probe head 91 is manufactured by a MEMS process. The probe head 91 includes a contact portion 911 having a protruding tip, a first body portion 912, a second body portion 913, and a third body portion 914. However, since the probe head 91 manufactured by such an MEMS process has a structure in which multiple planes are stacked, it is manufactured by stacking them vertically in a semiconductor manufacturing process. However, unless they are stacked to a certain height, the difficulty of assembly cannot be reduced. Such a probe head 91 can be easily combined with structures such as a metal case 90, a spring 93, and a plunger 92 to form a spring-type probe. Since the size of the spring-type probe decreases as the distance during wafer measurement decreases, the required size of the MEMS probe head also decreases. However, the probe head manufactured by the MEMS process has a multi-layer planar structure stacked vertically. Specifically, each layer of the planar structure must be manufactured through multiple processes, such as a pattern transfer process, a pattern development process, a metal deposition process, a grinding and planarization process, and a chemical etching process. Because each layer of planar structure must be fabricated vertically after the fabrication of the next layer, the structural strength of the MEMS probe head depends on the bonding strength between each layer of the planar structure and the planar structure above or below it. A large bonding area increases the bonding strength between the planar structures, whereas a small bonding area decreases the bonding strength between the planar structures. As shown in FIG. 1 , the outer diameter of the first body portion 913 is smaller than the outer diameters of the intermediate portion 912 and the second body portion 914, resulting in a weaker bonding strength between this layer and other layers. Furthermore, poor bonding strength between any of the planar structures in any layer can lead to separation of the MEMS probe head structure. Furthermore, the space required for bonding rigidity between the miniaturized MEMS probe head and other components is also reduced, increasing the difficulty of fabrication and assembly. The probe must not only have high current transfer capability but also maintain the structural strength of the MEMS probe head and the bonding rigidity between it and other components during repeated electrical contact and separation measurements. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a MEMS probe head with high structural strength and to ensure excellent bonding rigidity in the processing and assembly steps. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Taiwan Application No. 109143333 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention provides a MEMS probe head and a probe assembly thereof having an inner concave structure. In the MEMS probe head configured as described above, the planar structures have a large attachment area, which improves the bonding strength between the planar structures, resulting in excellent structural strength for the MEMS probe head. Furthermore, the ease of assembling the MEMS probe head and pipe is improved, and the bond rigidity after assembly is excellent. When a spring-loaded probe is subsequently completed, the probe does not separate even during long-term measurements, and meets requirements for a long measurement life, high bond rigidity, high current transfer efficiency, and stable low resistance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following means.

[0008] The present invention provides a probe head for use in a probe assembly for electrical measurements, the probe head including a contact portion, a first body portion, a second body portion, and a third body portion stacked in order and connected to each other, the contact portion decreasing in size with increasing distance from the first body portion, the contact portion being adapted to come into contact with a measurement object; the first body portion being located between the contact portion and the second body portion, the radial size of the first body portion being larger than the radial sizes of the second body portion and the third body portion, the second body portion being located between the first body portion and the third body portion, the periphery of the second body portion being formed by a second concave wall and a second boundary wall, the second concave wall forming an inner concave space and the radial size being smaller than the radial size of the second boundary wall, the third body portion having a radial size equal to or smaller than the radial size of the second boundary wall and larger than the minimum radial size of the second concave wall.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the first body portion, the second body portion, and the third body portion each have a Vickers hardness (Hv) of 500 or less.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the second concave wall has an opening of 10 μm or more.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the second concave wall has a depth of 10 μm or more.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the number of the second concave walls is plural, and the size of the opening of at least one of the second concave walls is different from the size of the opening of the other second concave walls.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the number of the second concave walls is plural, and the distance between adjacent second concave walls among the plural second concave walls is 10 μm or more.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the first body portion, the second body portion, and the third body portion are made of a material that is 30% or more of an internationally adopted annealed standard soft copper.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the material comprises at least one element selected from copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), carbon (C), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), tin (Sn), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), indium (In), and ruthenium (Ru).

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the first body portion, the second body portion, and the third body portion are MEMS Laminated by process.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the first body portion is cylindrical.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the first body portion is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by a first boundary wall and a first concave wall, and the radial size of the first concave wall is smaller than the radial size of the first boundary wall so as to form an inner concave space.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, the third body portion is cylindrical.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the third body portion is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by a third boundary wall and a third concave wall, and the third concave wall has a radial size smaller than that of the third boundary wall so as to form an inner concave space, and the radial size of the third boundary wall is smaller than that of the second boundary wall and larger than the minimum radial size of the second concave wall.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the device further includes a fourth body portion, the third body portion is sandwiched between the fourth body portion and the second body portion, and the radial size of the fourth body portion is equal to or smaller than the radial size of the third body portion.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the fourth body portion is cylindrical, and the radial size of the fourth body portion is larger than the minimum radial size of the second concave wall or the minimum radial size of the third concave wall.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, the fourth body portion is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by a fourth boundary wall and a fourth concave wall, the fourth concave wall has a radial size smaller than that of the fourth boundary wall so as to form an inner concave space, the radial size of the fourth boundary wall is larger than the minimum radial size of the third concave wall, and the fourth boundary wall and the third concave wall are positioned in the same axial direction.

[0024] The present invention provides a probe assembly including a probe head and a pipe connected to the probe head and having an internal storage space, wherein the probe head is fixed to an opening of the pipe by the first body portion, the second body portion and the third body portion are located in the storage space, the pipe has a protrusion that protrudes into the pipe, and the protrusion is partially fixed within the space formed by the second concave wall so that the probe head and the pipe are not separated.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment, the number of the protrusions is plural, and the size of protrusion of at least one of the plural protrusions into the pipe is different from the size of protrusion of the other protrusions into the pipe.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the outer diameter of the second body portion and the third body portion is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the number of the second concave walls is equal to or greater than the number of the protrusions.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment, the outer diameter of the fourth body portion is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the protrusion is fixed within a space formed in the third concave wall.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, the total number of the second concave walls and the third concave walls is equal to or greater than the number of the protrusions.

[0031] The present invention provides a spring-loaded probe structure including a probe assembly, a movable plunger installed in the storage space of the pipe, and an elastic member, wherein the plunger has a small pin portion that can extend outside the pipe, the plunger can move into the pipe to prevent it from coming off, and the elastic member is a compressible spring installed in the storage space, and both ends of the elastic member contact the plunger and the probe head, respectively. [Effects of the Invention]

[0032] Compared with the prior art, the probe head and its probe assembly according to the present invention have the following advantages: MEMS The probe head is formed by vertically stacking multiple layers with a planar structure having an inner concave portion. This not only allows the probe head to have a high-hardness contact portion and high-conductivity body portions, but also improves the structural strength of the probe head by providing a large adhesion area between the body portions, thereby improving the yield of assembly with a pipe when the probe head is miniaturized. Furthermore, the pipe has a protrusion that protrudes inward when subjected to external force and is fixed within the space formed by the second concave wall. Compared to conventional fixing methods, the limited space formed by the inner concave portion has an excellent pressing effect, maximizing the joint rigidity between the pipe and the probe head. The spring-loaded probe with the MEMS probe head is then assembled with the pipe to complete a probe that exhibits high hardness, a long measurement life, structural stability, and low resistance stability during measurement, thereby meeting current requirements for miniaturization of probes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0033] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic diagram of a conventional spring-loaded probe. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a probe head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a probe assembly according to the present invention. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a probe assembly according to the present invention. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a second body portion of a probe assembly according to the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a contact portion of a probe head according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram of a contact portion of a probe head according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10A] FIG. 10A is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10B] FIG. 10B is a side view of a probe head according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is an exploded view of a spring-loaded probe according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0034] The technology according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and drawings. Furthermore, when an element is described as being "attached or fixed" to another element, it means that the element is directly connected to the other element or is connected via an additional element. Furthermore, when an element is described as being "connected" to another element, it means that the element is directly connected to the other element or is connected via an additional element. "Axial direction" refers to the direction of the central axis of the element. "Radial direction" refers to the direction perpendicular to the central axis of the element. In the example shown below, "outer diameter" refers to the diameter through the central axis of the element. Directions such as up, down, left, right, front, and rear are relative, and the structures and movements of different elements herein are relative. When elements are located in the positions shown in the drawings, such expressions are correct. However, when the description of the positions of elements changes, such expressions should be changed accordingly.

[0035] Unless otherwise defined, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The technical terms used herein are used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein means any combination of one or more related elements, or all combinations thereof.

[0036] 2 and 3 are a three-dimensional view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a probe head according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The probe head 10 includes a contact portion 11, a first body portion 12, a second body portion 13, and a third body portion 14, which are stacked and connected to each other in order. The size of the contact portion 11 decreases with increasing distance from the first body portion 12. The contact portion 11 is a terminal used to contact a measurement object. The first body portion 12 is located between the contact portion 11 and the second body portion 13. The radial size of the first body portion 12 is larger than the radial sizes of the second body portion 13 and the third body portion 14. The second body portion 13 is located between the first body portion 12 and the third body portion 14. The periphery of the second body portion 13 is formed by a second concave wall 131 and a second boundary wall 132. In a preferred embodiment, the periphery of the second body portion 13 is formed by alternatingly arranging at least two second concave walls 131 and at least two second boundary walls 132. The radial size of the second concave walls 131 is smaller than the radial size of the second boundary walls 132 so as to form an inner concave space. This inner concave space has a function of guiding the position of the protrusion 22. The radial size of the third body portion 14 is equal to or smaller than the radial size of the second boundary walls 132 and is larger than the minimum radial size of the second concave walls 131.

[0037] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a probe assembly according to the present invention. The probe assembly includes the probe head 10 and a pipe 20 connected thereto. The pipe 20 forms a storage space 21 within the pipe. When assembled, the storage space 21 is used to store the second body portion 13 and the third body portion 14. The first body portion 12 is fixed to the opening of the pipe 20, ensuring that the pipe 20 and the probe head 10 are accurately positioned. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the pipe 20 then forms protrusions 22 whose outer walls protrude into the pipe when subjected to external force. Each of the protrusions 22 is partially positioned within the space formed by the corresponding second concave wall 131, thereby partially "fitting" the protrusions 22 within the second concave wall 131. The limited area of the second concave wall 131 provides the effect of "clamping" the protrusions 22 at the top, bottom, left, and right. Specifically, the protrusion 22 is fixed at the top and bottom by the first body portion 12 or the second body portion 13, and is covered on the left and right sides of the space by the second concave wall 131. Furthermore, since the inner concave space functions to guide the position of the protrusion 22, even if the initial position of the protrusion 22 is not located at the relative center of the inner concave space, the inner concave space allows the protrusion 22 to be finally formed within the second concave wall 131. This provides an excellent fixing effect, making the probe head 10 and the pipe 20 inseparable. Furthermore, this inner concave structure improves the fixing strength with the pipe 20, which is advantageous for future assembly yields of miniaturized probes. Furthermore, the number of the protrusions 22 is plural, and the protrusion size of at least one of the plurality of protrusions 22 into the pipe is different from the protrusion size of the other protrusions 22 into the pipe. The present invention then provides a probe head 10 according to several embodiments. The probe head 10 may be combined with the pipe 20 to form a probe assembly.

[0038] Next, each component of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0039] The probe head 10 of the present invention includes: MEMS The probe head 10 includes the contact portion 11, the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14, which are sequentially laminated by a microelectromechanical systems (MICS) process. First, the contact portion 11 is formed. Then, the first body portion 12 is formed integrally with the contact portion 11. Next, the second body portion 13 is formed integrally with the first body portion 12. Finally, the third body portion 14 is formed integrally with the second body portion 13. In the present invention, a semiconductor manufacturing process is used to etch a certain pattern into a substrate, and corresponding conductive materials are sequentially and repeatedly laminated to form the shape of each body portion. In this process, the axial sizes of the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14 are adjusted by adjusting the lamination time. Finally, the remaining material is removed to form the probe head 10 according to the present invention.

[0040] The contact portion 11, the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14 are made of materials with excellent electrical conductivity, but are not necessarily made of the same material. The contact portion 11 is used to repeatedly contact the measurement target during electrical measurement, so it is made of a material with excellent wear resistance and high hardness, such as nickel or a nickel alloy. The nickel alloy contains nickel and at least one alloy element selected from iron (Fe), tungsten (W), copper (Cu), boron (B), carbon (C), cobalt (Co), silver (Ag), manganese (Mn), palladium (Pd), and rhodium (Rh). The shape of the contact portion 11 decreases in size as it moves away from the docking portion 12. The shape may be a cone, a square pyramid, or a polygonal three-dimensional oblique cone. In this embodiment, an example in which the number of contact portions 11 is one is shown, but this is not limited thereto. 6 and 7, FIG. 6 shows the contact portion 11 having a shape of multiple square pyramids, and FIG. 7 shows the contact portion 11 having a shape of multiple cones. When there is only one contact portion 11, the height is less than 525 μm. The maximum radial size of the tip of the contact portion 11 is less than 25 μm. When there are multiple contact portions 11, the distance between the contact portions 11 is at least 10 μm. The contact portion 11 may be made of a material with medium wear resistance and low resistance, such as palladium or a palladium alloy. The palladium alloy may contain palladium (Pd) and at least one alloy element selected from nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), silver (Ag), indium (In), manganese (Mn), and carbon (C).

[0041] The first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14 are made of a material having a conductivity of 30% or more of that of Internationally Adopted Annealed Standard Copper (IACS). The material contains at least one element selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), carbon (C), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), tin (Sn), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), indium (In), and ruthenium (Ru). The first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14 each have a Vickers hardness (Hv) of 500 or less. Furthermore, since the probe head 10 of the present invention is a microprobe, the radial size of the first body portion 12 is smaller than 700 μm. When stacked, the axial size of the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13 and the third body portion 14 is less than 1000 μm.

[0042] Furthermore, for ease of assembly, there are limitations on the size and shape of each part of the probe head 10. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, in the probe head according to the first embodiment, the first body part 12 is cylindrical. The outer diameter of the first body part 12 is larger than the outer diameters of the second body part 13 and the third body part 14, and is larger than the inner diameter of the pipe 20. The second body part 13 is cylindrical. The periphery of the second body part 13 is formed by at least two second concave walls 131 and at least two second boundary walls 132. The outer diameter of the second boundary walls 132 is the same as the outer diameter of the second body part 13. The radial size of the second concave walls 131 is smaller than the radial size of the second boundary walls 132 to form an inner concave space. In this embodiment, the second concave walls 131 are installed at 180 degrees apart. One is visible in FIG. 2 , while two are visible in different positions in FIG. 3 . The second concave wall 131 has an opening of 10 μm or more to accommodate the protruding portion 22 of the pipe 20, for ease of processing and to ensure joint rigidity after assembly. The second concave wall 131 has a depth of 10 μm or more. The axial size of the second body portion 13 is at least 10 μm. The third body portion 14 is cylindrical. The outer diameter of the third body portion 14 is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the second boundary wall 132. The outer diameter of the third body portion 14 is also larger than the minimum radial size of the second concave wall 131. This prevents the protruding portion 22 from slipping out of the second body portion 13 after assembly. The outer diameters of the second body portion 13 and the third body portion 14 are equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe 20.

[0043] The probe head 10 according to the present invention is manufactured by a MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) process. By etching different patterns and sequentially depositing corresponding conductive materials, each part of the probe head 10 can be formed into a different shape. Different shapes have their own advantages when combined or aligned. Therefore, the present invention describes various embodiments.

[0044] FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The probe head 10 according to this embodiment is similar to the probe head according to the first embodiment, but differs in the shape of the second body portion 13. In this embodiment, the second body portion 13 is a polygonal prism. The peripheral shape of the second body portion 13 is formed by alternatingly arranging a plurality of second concave walls 131 and a plurality of second boundary walls 132. In this embodiment, the plurality of second concave walls 131 are distributed at the same angle around the periphery of the second body portion 13. Because there are a large number of inner concave spaces, when the pipe 20 forms the protrusion 22, it is easily fixed within the space formed by one of the second concave walls 131, thereby reducing the difficulty of assembly and improving assembly yield. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the plurality of second concave walls 131 are distributed around the periphery of the second body portion 13 at the same shape and angle, but this is not limited thereto. That is, the number of the second concave walls 131 is plural, and the size of the opening of at least one of the plurality of second concave walls 131 is different from the size of the openings of the other second concave walls 131. The number of the second concave walls 131 is plural, and the distance between adjacent second concave walls 131 among the plurality of second concave walls 131 is 10 μm or more.

[0045] FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The probe head 10 similarly includes the contact portion 11, the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14. In this embodiment, the contact portion 11 is a large cone. The first body portion 12 is a cylinder. The second body portion 13 is a polygonal prism. The second body portion 13 is formed by alternating a plurality of second concave walls 131 and a plurality of second boundary walls 132. In this embodiment, the second boundary walls 132 have an arcuate surface and are joined to the second concave walls 131, which taper from the outside to the inside. Therefore, the shape of the second body portion 13 according to the present invention is not limited to a specific shape and may vary. The third body portion 14 is a polygonal prism. The third body portion 14 is formed by a plurality of third concave walls 141 and a plurality of third boundary walls 142. In this embodiment, the third boundary wall 142 is joined to the third concave wall 141, which also has an arcuate surface and tapers from the outside to the inside. Furthermore, since the third boundary wall 142 is positioned in the same axial direction as the second concave wall 131, the protrusion 22 is limited within the space formed by the second concave wall 131 when they are combined.

[0046] 10A and 10B are a three-dimensional view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a probe head according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14 of the probe head 10 are each polygonal. The first body portion 12 is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by alternating a plurality of first boundary walls 121 and a plurality of first concave walls 122. The outer diameter of the first boundary wall 122 is the outer diameter of the first body portion 12. The first concave wall 121 is inwardly concave and has a smaller radial size than the first boundary wall 122. The periphery of the second body portion 13 is formed by a plurality of second concave walls 131 and a plurality of second boundary walls 132. This portion is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, so a description thereof will be omitted. The third body portion 14 is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by alternating a plurality of third concave walls 142 and a plurality of third boundary walls 141. The outer diameter of the third boundary wall 142 is the outer diameter of the third body portion 14. The third concave wall 141 is inwardly concave and has a smaller radial size than the third boundary wall 142. In this embodiment, the first boundary wall 122 and the third boundary wall 142 are located on both axial sides of the second concave wall 131, respectively, so that the protrusion 22 is limited within the second concave wall 131 when assembled.

[0047] 9 and 10, the second body portion 13 has a plurality of second concave walls 131 and the third body portion 14 has a plurality of third concave walls 141, which form inner concave spaces alternately arranged in different axial directions. The horizontal protrusions 22 restrict the relative movement of the probe head 10 and the pipe 20, thereby preventing the probe head 10 and the pipe 20 from separating after being combined.

[0048] In the above embodiment, the number of the first concave walls 121 is plural, but is not limited thereto and may be one, two, or more. The shape of at least one of the first concave walls 121 is different from the shape of the other second concave walls 121. In this case, the shape of the first concave wall 121 can be used for alignment. Automated optical inspection (AOI) facilitates image recognition for graphic identification, facilitating the automatic picking and placing of objects by equipment. This allows picking, placing, and alignment to be performed accurately and quickly, thereby meeting the demands of automated production according to the present invention.

[0049] In the above embodiment, the body portion of the probe head 10 is composed of the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14. The axial thickness of each portion may be the same or different. This portion can be freely selected or changed as needed. For example, since the second body portion 13 is used to fix the protrusion 22, the axial size of the second body portion 13 is larger than the axial size of the first body portion 12 or the axial size of the third body portion 14. However, this is not limited to this, and other embodiments may be used.

[0050] FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional diagram of a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the probe head 10 includes the contact portion 11, the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, the third body portion 14, and the fourth body portion 15. The first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14 may be cylindrical or polygonal prism-shaped, as in the above embodiments, and therefore, a description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the fourth body portion 15 is equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the third body portion 14. In this embodiment, the second body portion 13 has a second concave wall 131 around its periphery. The third body portion 14 has a third concave wall 141 around its periphery. The second concave wall 131 and the third concave wall 141 are not positioned in the same axial direction but are arranged alternately. The radial size of the fourth body portion 15 may be larger than the minimum radial size of the third concave wall 141 and larger than the minimum radial size of the second concave wall 131. This embodiment has the advantage that the inner concave spaces are alternately arranged in different axial directions, and the horizontal protrusion 22 restricts the relative movement of the probe head 10 and the pipe 20 so that they do not separate. In addition, the inner concave spaces located at different vertical heights can be formed when the pipes 20 are assembled, so the protrusion 22 can be positioned in the space formed by the second concave wall 131 or the third concave wall 141. This improves the joint rigidity after assembly. The following embodiments also have the same advantages.

[0051] FIG. 12 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the above-described embodiments, but differs in the shapes of the second body portion 13 and the third body portion 14. In this embodiment, the second body portion 13 has a plurality of second concave walls 131. The third body portion 14 similarly has a plurality of third concave walls 141. The second concave walls 131 and the third concave walls 141 are not positioned in the same axial direction. Therefore, when the second body portion 13, the third body portion 14, and the fourth body portion 15 of the probe head 10 are inserted into the storage space 21 of the pipe 20, an external force is applied to the outer wall of the pipe 20, so that two or more protrusions 22 may be formed in the pipe in the horizontal and vertical directions. The protrusions 22 are positioned on the opposing second concave walls 131 or third concave walls 141, thereby enhancing the joint rigidity between the pipe 20 and the probe head 10. In this embodiment, after being combined, the number of the protrusions 22 may be equal to or less than the total number of the second concave walls 131 and the third concave walls 141 .

[0052] FIG. 13 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the first body portion 12, the second body portion 13, and the third body portion 14 of the probe head 10 are each polygonal, while the fourth body portion 15 is cylindrical. The first body portion 12 has a peripheral shape formed with a plurality of first concave walls 122 and a plurality of first boundary walls 121. The second body portion 13 has a peripheral shape formed with a plurality of second concave walls 131 and a plurality of second boundary walls 132. The third body portion 14 has a peripheral shape formed with a plurality of third concave walls 141 and a plurality of third boundary walls 142. The outer diameter of the first boundary wall 122 is larger than the outer diameter of the second boundary wall 132 and the outer diameter of the third boundary wall 142. The second boundary wall 132 and the third boundary wall 142 are not located in the same axial direction. The radial size of the fourth body portion 15 is larger than the minimum radial size of the third concave wall 141. This method is similar to the above embodiment, and after being combined, the probe head 10 and the pipe 20 can be fixed at multiple points.

[0053] FIG. 14 is a three-dimensional view of a probe head according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the seventh embodiment, but differs in the shape of the fourth body portion 15. In this embodiment, the fourth body portion 15 is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by alternatingly arranging a plurality of fourth concave walls 151 and a plurality of fourth boundary walls 152. The outer diameter of the fourth boundary wall 152 is the outer diameter of the fourth body portion 15. The radial size of the fourth concave wall 151 is smaller than the radial size of the fourth boundary wall 152 so that an inner concave space is formed. The fourth boundary wall 152 and the third concave wall 141 are positioned in the same axial direction. The radial size of the fourth boundary wall 152 is larger than the minimum radial size of the third concave wall 141.

[0054] As described above, the probe assembly according to the present invention is formed by combining the probe head 10 and the pipe 20. MEMS The probe head 10 produced by the process may be shaped as shown in the various embodiments above. MEMSThe second body portion 13 having an inner concave shape formed by the second concave wall 131 is manufactured through a process, and the probe head 10 is formed by vertically stacking multiple layers, so that the probe head 10 has a high-hardness contact portion and each body portion with high conductivity. In addition, a large adhesion area between each body portion can improve the strength of the probe head 10, thereby improving the yield of assembling the probe head 10 with the pipe 20 when miniaturizing the probe head 10. Then, an external force is applied to form the protrusion 22 protruding inward from the pipe 20, and the pipe 20 is fixed in the space formed by the second concave wall 131. Compared to conventional fixing methods, the limited space formed by the inner concave shape provides an excellent pressing effect, and the probe head 10 has multiple inner concave spaces in the vertical direction, so that the protrusion 22 in the vertical direction can be increased when assembling the probe head 10 with the pipe 20. The plurality of protrusions 22 formed in the horizontal and vertical directions in the pipe 20 are fixed in the space formed by the second concave wall 131 or the third concave wall 141 at the relative positions, thereby maximizing the joint rigidity between the pipe 20 and the probe head 10. Since this assembly can be performed by automated mechanical means, the cost and difficulty of assembly can be significantly reduced. In addition, the product yield can be improved and the demand for manufacturing probe assemblies can be met.

[0055] FIG. 15 is an exploded view of a spring-loaded probe including a probe assembly according to the present invention. The spring-loaded probe includes the probe head 10, the pipe 20, an elastic member 30, and a movable plunger 40. The plunger 40 is placed in the receiving space 21 of the pipe 20, and a small pin portion 41 of the plunger 40 extends out of the pipe 20. However, the plunger 40 can move downward into the pipe 20 so as not to leave the receiving space 21. The elastic member 30 is a compressible spring. When placed in the receiving space 21, both ends of the elastic member 30 contact the plunger 40 and the probe head 10, respectively. When the plunger 40 and the elastic member 30 are placed in the receiving space 21 and a portion of the probe head 10 is inserted into the pipe 20, an external force is applied to the pipe 20, and the protrusion 22 is fixed in the space defined by the second concave wall 131. That is, the pipe 20 is sealed and fixed as a whole. When measuring, the plurality of spring-loaded probes are attached to a measurement seat (not shown), and the probe heads 10 are brought into contact with the object to be measured at both ends, and the plungers 40 are electrically connected to corresponding lines on a circuit board, thereby enabling the required measurement to be performed.

[0056] The above is merely a description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. All modifications and alterations equivalent to the claims of the present invention are included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 10: Probe head 11: Contact part 12: First body part 121: 1st concave wall 122:First boundary wall 13: Second body part 131:Second concave wall 132:Second boundary wall 14: Third body section 141: Third concave wall 142: Third boundary wall 15: 4th body part 151: 4th concave wall 152: 4th boundary wall 20: Pipe 21: Abandoned Space 22: Protrusion 30: Elastic member 40: Plunger 41: Pin part 90: Case 91: Probe head 911: Contact point 912: First main body part 913: Second main body part 914: Third main body 92: Plunger 93: Spring

Claims

1. 1. A probe head for use in a probe assembly for electrical measurements, comprising: the probe head includes a contact portion, a first body portion, a second body portion, and a third body portion, which are stacked in order and connected to each other; the contact portion decreases in size with increasing distance from the first body portion; the contact portion is used to come into contact with a measurement object, the first body portion is located between the contact portion and the second body portion, a radial size of the first body portion is larger than a radial size of the second body portion and a radial size of the third body portion; the second body portion is located between the first body portion and the third body portion, the second body portion has a periphery formed by a second concave wall and a second boundary wall; The second concave wall has an inner concave space formed therein, and the radial size of the second concave wall is smaller than the radial size of the second boundary wall. The probe head, wherein the third body portion has a radial size that is equal to or smaller than the radial size of the second boundary wall and is larger than the minimum radial size of the second concave wall.

2. The probe head according to claim 1 , wherein the first body portion, the second body portion, and the third body portion each have a Vickers hardness (Hv) of 500 or less.

3. The probe head according to claim 1 , wherein the second concave wall has an opening of 10 μm or more.

4. The probe head according to claim 1 , wherein the second concave wall has a depth of 10 μm or more.

5. the number of the second concave walls is plural, The probe head of claim 1 , wherein the size of the opening of at least one of the plurality of second concave walls is different from the size of the openings of the other second concave walls.

6. the number of the second concave walls is plural, The probe head according to claim 1 , wherein the distance between adjacent second concave walls among the plurality of second concave walls is 10 μm or more.

7. 2. The probe head of claim 1, wherein the first body portion, the second body portion, and the third body portion are each made of a material that is 30% or more of an internationally adopted annealed standard soft copper.

8. 8. The probe head of claim 7, wherein the material contains at least one element selected from copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), carbon (C), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), tin (Sn), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), indium (In), and ruthenium (Ru).

9. The probe head according to claim 1 , wherein the first body portion, the second body portion, and the third body portion are stacked by a MEMS process.

10. The probe head according to claim 1 , wherein the first body portion is cylindrical.

11. the first body portion is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by a first boundary wall and a first concave wall, The probe head of claim 1 , wherein the first concave wall has a radial size smaller than the radial size of the first boundary wall such that an inner concave space is formed.

12. The probe head according to claim 1 , wherein the third body portion is cylindrical.

13. the third body portion is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by a third boundary wall and a third concave wall, the third concave wall has a radial size smaller than the radial size of the third boundary wall so that an inner concave space is formed; The probe head of claim 1 , wherein the radial size of the third boundary wall is smaller than the radial size of the second boundary wall and larger than the minimum radial size of the second concave wall.

14. further comprising a fourth body portion; the third body portion is sandwiched between the fourth body portion and the second body portion, The probe head according to claim 13 , wherein the radial size of the fourth body portion is equal to or smaller than the radial size of the third body portion.

15. the fourth body portion is cylindrical, The probe head according to claim 14 , wherein a radial size of the fourth body portion is larger than a minimum radial size of the second concave wall or a minimum radial size of the third concave wall.

16. the fourth body portion is a polygonal prism whose periphery is formed by a fourth boundary wall and a fourth concave wall, the fourth concave wall has a radial size smaller than the radial size of the fourth boundary wall such that an inner concave space is formed; a radial size of the fourth boundary wall is greater than a minimum radial size of the third concave wall; The probe head of claim 14 , wherein the fourth boundary wall and the third concave wall are aligned in the same axial direction.

17. A probe assembly including the probe head according to any one of claims 1 to 16 and a pipe joined to the probe head and having an internal space therein, the probe head is fixed to an opening of the pipe by the first body portion; the second body portion and the third body portion are located in the leaving space, the pipe has a protrusion protruding into the pipe, The probe assembly is characterized in that the protrusion is partially fixed within a space formed by the second concave wall so that the probe head and the pipe do not separate.

18. The number of the protrusions is plural, The probe assembly according to claim 17, wherein a size of protrusion of at least one of the plurality of protrusions into the pipe is different from a size of protrusion of other of the plurality of protrusions into the pipe.

19. The probe assembly of claim 17, wherein the outer diameters of the second body portion and the third body portion are equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe.

20. The probe assembly of claim 17, wherein the number of the second concave walls is equal to or greater than the number of the protrusions.

21. 18. A spring-loaded probe structure including the probe assembly of claim 17, a movable plunger installed in the leaving space of the pipe, and an elastic member, The plunger has a small pin portion that can extend outside the pipe, the plunger is movable into the pipe so as not to be dislodged; The spring-type probe structure is characterized in that the elastic member is a compressible spring installed in the storage space, and both ends of the spring contact the plunger and the probe head, respectively.

Images