Probe

Abstract

This invention provides a probe that prevents the front end member from detaching from the base material. The probe 1 comprises: a front end member 10 having a support portion 12; a base material 20 having a flexible, bendable structure, and forming a mating region 200 by retracting a portion of its side surface in a thickness direction perpendicular to the axial direction within a certain range from one end along the axial direction; and a transmission member 30 made of a material with lower resistance than the base material 20, disposed on a side surface of the base material 20 extending axially from the end of the mating region, and connected to the support portion 12. The first side surface 121 of the support portion 12 of the front end member 10 and the retracted side surface of the base material 20 exposed in the mating region abut against each other, and the front end member 10 and the base material 20 are joined in such a way that the support portion 12 and the base material 20 overlap along the axial direction. A portion of the transmission member 30 extends along the axial direction overlapping the mating region, and a portion of the support portion 12 is sandwiched between the extended portion of the transmission member 30 and the base material 20.

Description

Probe The present invention relates to a probe used in the inspection of the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected. In order to inspect the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected, such as a semiconductor integrated circuit, in a wafer state, an electrical connection device including a probe is used. In the inspection using the probe, one end of the probe is brought into contact with the electrode of the object to be inspected, and the other end of the probe is brought into contact with a terminal (hereinafter referred to as a "land") disposed on a printed circuit board or the like. The land is electrically connected to an inspection device such as a tester. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-147518 In order to suppress wear of the tip of the probe due to contact with the object to be inspected, for example, a probe to be used is one in which a tip member made of a hard material having a higher hardness than the base material is joined to one end of a columnar base material. An object of the present invention is to provide a probe that suppresses the tip member from detaching from the base material. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a probe including: a tip member having a support portion; a base material having bendable elasticity, and having a bonding region formed by retreating a part of a side surface in a certain range along the axial direction from one end in the thickness direction perpendicular to the axial direction; and a transmission member made of a material having a lower resistance than the base material, disposed on the side surface of the base material extending in the axial direction from the end of the bonding region, and connected to the support portion. The first side surface of the support portion of the tip member and the side surface of the base material exposed and retreated in the bonding region are in contact with each other, and the tip member and the base material are joined in such a manner that the support portion and the base material overlap along the axial direction. A part of the transmission member extends along the axial direction so as to overlap with the bonding region, and a part of the support portion is sandwiched by the extending part of the transmission member and the base material. According to the present invention, a probe that suppresses the tip member from detaching from the base material can be provided. 1: Probe 4: Object to be inspected 10: Tip member 11: Protrusion 12: Support portion 20: Base material 21: First end 22: Second end 30: Transmission member 40: Electrode 100: Electrical connection device 120: Probe head 121: First side surface 122: Second side surface 123: Embedded portion 130: Substrate 131: Pad 200: Bonding area 201: Opposite side surface 202: Opposite end surface 203: Embedded groove 1201: First guide plate 1202: Second guide plate 1203: Third guide plate 1204: Spacer layer 1205: Hollow area D1: Axial direction D2: Thickness direction D3: Width direction DS: Scratching direction FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the electrical connection device using the probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the state of contact between the object to be inspected and the probe according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the probe according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the probe according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the probe according to a modified example of the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the probe according to other embodiments of the present invention. Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, the drawings are schematic, and it should be noted that the ratio of the thicknesses of each part is different from the actual situation. In addition, of course, there are also parts where the dimensional relationships or ratios between the drawings are different from each other. The embodiments shown below are examples of devices or methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the materials, shapes, structures, arrangements, and manufacturing methods of the constituent parts of the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those described below. (First Embodiment) The probe 1 of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is used for inspecting the electrical characteristics of an object to be inspected. The probe 1 includes a front-end member 10 and a base material 20. The front-end member 10 has a protruding portion 11 that contacts the object to be inspected and a support portion 12 connected to the protruding portion 11. The front-end member 10 is joined to the base material 20 in the support portion 12. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view along the central axis of the probe 1. The base material 20 has a columnar shape with bendable elasticity. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the direction in which the base material 20 extends is defined as the axial direction D1, the direction perpendicular to the axial direction D1 and in which the support portion 12 and the base material 20 face each other is defined as the thickness direction D2, and the direction perpendicular to the axial direction D1 and the thickness direction D2 is defined as the width direction D3. In a certain range along the axial direction D1 starting from one end (hereinafter also referred to as the "first end portion 21"), a part of the side surface of the base material 20 is recessed in the thickness direction D2 to form a joint region 200. The joint region 200 is a space generated by recessing a part of the side surface of the base material 20 in the central axis direction, and in the joint region 200, the recessed side surface of the base material 20 is exposed. As shown in Fig. 1, the support portion 12 is arranged in the joint region 200 in an embedded manner. Hereinafter, the recessed side surface facing the support portion 12 will also be referred to as the "opposite side surface 201". In the joint region 200, the support portion 12 of the front-end member 10 is arranged such that the protruding portion 11 protrudes from the first end portion 21 of the base material 20. More specifically, the first side surface 121 of the support portion 12 of the front-end member 10 and the opposite side surface 201 of the base material exposed in the joint region 200 are in contact. The front-end member 10 and the base material 20 are joined such that the support portion 12 and the base material 20 overlap in the axial direction. The support portion 12 and the base material 20 may also be joined such that they overlap in the direction in which the probe 1 can be bent. Among the plurality of side surfaces parallel to the axial direction D1 of the support portion 12, only the first side surface 121 is in contact with the base material 20. In addition, the end surface of the support portion 12 facing the opposite direction to the direction in which the protruding portion 11 protrudes abuts against the end surface of the base material 20 exposed in the joint region 200 (hereinafter also referred to as the "opposite end surface 202"). The second side surface 122 opposite to the first side surface 121 of the support portion 12 is continuously connected to the side surface of the base material 20 without a step. The materials of the front-end member 10 and the base material 20 can also be selected such that the conductivity of the front-end member 10 is the same as that of the base material 20, or the conductivity of the front-end member 10 is higher than that of the base material 20. Thus, by selecting the materials of the front-end member 10 and the base material 20, the resistance of the probe 1 can be reduced. For example, the material of the front-end member 10 can be rhodium (Rh), platinum (Pt), other precious metals, etc. The base material 20 can be nickel (Ni), nickel alloy, gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), palladium alloy, rhodium (Rh), rhodium alloy, other precious metals, etc. The front-end member 10 and the base material 20 can be joined by a bonding material such as gold (Au) material. The probe 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used, for example, in the electrical connection device 100 shown in FIG. 3. In the electrical connection device 100, the probe 1 is held by the probe head 120. Specifically, a plurality of probes 1 are continuously inserted into the guide holes of each of the first guide plate 1201, the second guide plate 1202, and the third guide plate 1203 contained in the probe head 120 and are held by the probe head 120. Hereinafter, when each of the first guide plate 1201, the second guide plate 1202, and the third guide plate 1203 is not specified, it is referred to as a guide plate. The probe head 120 has a configuration in which the first guide plate 1201, the second guide plate 1202, and the third guide plate 1203 are arranged separately from each other in the direction of the normal line (Z direction) of the main surface of the guide plate as a plurality of guide plates. In the probe head 120, a spacer 1204 is disposed between the outer edge region of the first guide plate 1201 and the outer edge region of the third guide plate 1203 to form a hollow region 1205 between the first guide plate 1201 and the second guide plate 1202. The second guide plate 1202 is disposed inside the hollow region 1205 closer to the third guide plate 1203 side. The material of the probe head 120 is, for example, ceramic or the like. When inspecting the inspection object 4, the electrical connection device 100 moves relative to the inspection object 4 in the Z direction, and the front-end member 10 of the probe 1 contacts the inspection object 4. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the probe 1 and the inspection object 4 are separated. The second end portion 22 of the base material 20 contacts the pad 131 of the substrate 130. The pad 131 is electrically connected to an inspection device such as an IC tester (not shown). The inspection object 4 is electrically connected to the inspection device by the protrusion 11 of the probe 1 contacting the inspection object 4. As shown in FIG. 3, for the vias penetrated by the same probe 1, the positions of the vias of the first guide plate 1201 are arranged to be offset in the -X direction parallel to the main surface of the second guide plate 1202 with respect to the vias of the second guide plate 1202. FIG. 3 is a side view when viewed from the Y direction orthogonal to either the X direction or the Z direction. Hereinafter, the arrangement that offsets the positions of the vias will be referred to as an "offset arrangement". In addition, the direction in which the positions of the vias are offset will also be referred to as the "offset direction". In FIG. 3, the offset direction is the -X direction. By the offset arrangement, the base material 20 of the probe 1 is bent inside the probe head 120. That is, the base material 20 is in a state of being bent by elastic deformation in the hollow region 1205 between the first guide plate 1201 and the second guide plate 1202. When viewed from the Z direction, the positions of the vias of the second guide plate 1202 and the positions of the vias of the third guide plate 1203 are the same. The vias of the first guide plate 1201 and the vias of the second guide plate 1202 are offset arranged. If the probe 1 contacts the inspection object 4, the probe 1 will buckle in the hollow region 1205. That is, in the contact state where the probe 1 contacts the inspection object 4, the probe 1 will be further bent due to flexural deformation from the bent shape in the non-contact state where the probe 1 does not contact the inspection object 4. Due to the further bending of the probe 1, the probe 1 will contact the inspection object 4 with a predetermined pressure. Therefore, by the offset arrangement, the electrical characteristics of the inspection object 4 can be stably measured using the probe 1. The probe 1 has elasticity to return to the shape before contacting the inspection object 4 when it becomes a non-contact state. When inspecting the inspection object 4, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the protruding portion 11 of the front-end member 10 protruding from the first end portion 21 of the base material 20 will contact the electrode 40 disposed in contact with the inspection object 4. After the protruding portion 11 contacts the electrode 40, the position of the protruding portion 11 will be displaced in the direction parallel to the surface of the electrode 40 due to the pressing of the probe 1 against the inspection object 4. On the other hand, after the inspection of the inspection object 4 is completed, the position of the protruding portion 11 will contact the inspection object 4 from the contact state to the non-contact state, and at the same time, it will be displaced in the direction opposite to that at the start of the inspection. As shown in FIG. 4, here, the direction in which the position of the protruding portion 11 is displaced while contacting the inspection object 4 will be referred to as the "scrub direction DS". The scrub direction DS and the offset direction are the same. In other words, the scrub direction DS is the direction in which the probe 1 can be bent. As described above, the front-end member 10 and the base material 20 are joined in such a way that the support portion 12 and the base material 20 overlap in the direction in which the probe 1 can be bent. In other words, as shown in FIG. 4, the support portion 12 of the front-end member 10 and the base material 20 overlap along the scrub direction DS. When the support portion 12 of the base material 20 and the front end member 10 do not overlap in the axial direction, as the front end member 10 moves while contacting the object 4 to be inspected, stress is generated at the joint portion between the front end member 10 and the base material 20, making it easy for the front end member 10 to fall off from the base material 20. In addition, as the number of measurements increases, the adhesion at the joint portion between the front end member 10 and the base material 20 decreases, making it easy for the front end member 10 to fall off from the base material 20. Since the number of probes 1 in the electrical connection device 100 increases, the cost required for replacing the probe 1 due to the front end member 10 falling off from the base material 20 cannot be ignored. In contrast, in the probe 1, the support portion 12 of the front end member 10 and the base material 20 overlap along the scraping direction DS. Therefore, even if stress in the scraping direction DS is generated at the joint portion between the front end member 10 and the base material 20, the front end member 10 is not likely to fall off from the base material 20. In summary, in the probe 1 of the first embodiment, the front end member 10 and the base material 20 are joined in such a manner that the support portion 12 and the base material 20 overlap in the axial direction in the direction in which the probe 1 can be bent. Therefore, according to the probe 1, it is possible to suppress the front end member 10 joined to one end of the base material 20 from falling off from the base material 20. In addition, with respect to the thickness direction D2, the support portion 12 is joined to the base material 20 only on the first side surface 121. Therefore, compared with a configuration in which, for example, the front end member 10 is joined to the base material 20 on two side surfaces and is sandwiched by the base material 20, the joint area between the support portion 12 and the base material 20 along the thickness direction D2 can be increased. In other words, the area of the support portion 12 joined to the opposing end surface 202 of the base material 20 can be increased. Thereby, the resistance in the joint surface between the support portion 12 and the base material 20 can be reduced. As shown in FIG. 2, the first end portion 21 of the base material 20 that overlaps the support portion 12 when viewed from the thickness direction D2 and the support portion 12 may also be in a tapered shape in which the width gradually widens in the axial direction D1 from the first end portion 21 when viewed from the thickness direction D2. By forming the support portion 12 and the first end portion 21 in a tapered shape, it is easy to insert the probe 1 into the guide hole of the guide plate when assembling the electrical connection device 100. (Second Embodiment) As shown in FIG. 5, in the probe 1 of the second embodiment, an embedding portion 123 is formed in the support portion 12 of the front end member 10, and an embedding groove 203 is formed in the opposing end surface 202 of the base material 20. The embedding portion 123 extends along the axial direction D1 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the protruding portion 11 protrudes. The embedding groove 203 is formed in the opposing end surface 202 of the base material 20 that faces the support portion 12 in the axial direction D1. The embedding portion 123 of the support portion 12 is embedded in the embedding groove 203 of the base material 20. As for other configurations, the probe 1 of the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. In the probe 1 shown in FIG. 5, the embedding portion 123 is embedded in the embedding groove 203, thereby increasing the bonding area between the support portion 12 and the base material 20. Therefore, according to the probe 1 shown in FIG. 5, the front-end member 10 is more effectively prevented from detaching from the base material 20 when inspecting the inspection object 4. In addition, since the probe 1 of the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, duplicate descriptions are omitted. (Third Embodiment) As shown in FIG. 6, the probe 1 of the third embodiment includes a transmission member 30 disposed on the side surface of the base material 20 extending in the axial direction D1 from the end of the bonding region 200. The transmission member 30 can be made of a material having a lower resistance than the base material 20. The end surface in the axial direction D1 of the support portion 12 facing the front-end member 10 and the end surface in the axial direction facing the transmission member 30 are connected. The probe 1 shown in FIG. 6 includes the transmission member 30, which is different from the first embodiment. Regarding other configurations, the probe 1 of the third embodiment is the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. In the probe 1 shown in FIG. 6, a transmission member 30 having a lower resistance than the base material 20 is disposed on the side surface of the base material 20, thereby reducing the resistance of the probe 1 to the electrical signal transmitted to the probe 1. For example, when Ni material is used for the base material 20, the resistance of the probe 1 can be reduced by using Au material for the transmission member 30. In addition, since the probe 1 of the third embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, duplicate explanations are omitted. <Modification> As shown in the modification of FIG. 7, a part of the transmission member 30 may also extend in the axial direction D1 in a direction in which the protruding portion 11 protrudes so as to overlap with the bonding region 200. In the probe 1 shown in FIG. 7, a part of the support portion 12 of the front-end member 10 is sandwiched between the transmission member 30 and the base material 20. In other words, a part of the support portion 12 is disposed closer to the central axis side of the probe 1 than the transmission member 30. According to the probe 1 shown in FIG. 7, since the contact area between the front-end member 10 and the transmission member 30 is wider than that of the probe 1 shown in FIG. 6, the resistance of the probe 1 can be reduced. (Other Embodiments) As described above, the present invention is described according to the embodiments, but the discussions and drawings forming a part of this disclosure should not be construed as limiting the content of the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art should be able to obtain various alternative embodiments, examples, and application techniques from the content of this disclosure. For example, in the above, although the case where the bendable direction of the probe 1 is set by the offset configuration has been illustrated, the bendable direction of the probe 1 can also be set by other methods. For example, the probe 1 can also be held such that the central axis intersects the inspection object 4 obliquely with the probe head 120. Alternatively, a notch or a reduced portion can be formed in the probe 1 to set the bendable direction of the probe 1. In other words, when setting the bendable direction of the probe 1 by any method, the front end member 10 and the base material 20 can be joined in such a manner that the support portion 12 and the base material 20 overlap in the bendable direction, thereby suppressing the front end member 10 from detaching from the base material 20. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, the end face of the protruding portion 11 that contacts the inspection object can also be set as a curved surface. By setting the end face of the protruding portion 11 as a curved surface, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of damage to the inspection object due to the contact of the protruding portion 11 with the inspection object. In the above, the case where the protruding portion 11 of the front end member 10 protrudes from the first end portion 21 of the base material 20 and the protruding portion 11 contacts the inspection object 4 has been described. However, it is also possible to bring both the front end member 10 and the base material 20 into contact with the inspection object 4. As described above, the present invention naturally includes various embodiments and the like not described in the above content. 1: Probe 10: Front end member 11: Protruding portion 12: Support portion 20: Base material 21: First end portion 22: Second end portion 30: Transmission member 121: First side surface 122: Second side surface 200: Bonding region 201: Opposite side surface 202: Opposite end face D1: Axial direction D2: Thickness direction D3: Width direction

Claims

1. A probe used in inspecting the electrical properties of an object, the probe comprising: a front end member having a support portion and contacting the object being inspected; a base material having a bendable elasticity, and having a portion of its side surface retracting in a thickness direction perpendicular to the axial direction within a certain range from one end along the axial direction to form a joint area; and a transmission member being a material with lower resistance than the base material, disposed on a side surface of the base material extending from the end of the joint area in the axial direction, and connected to the support portion of the front end member; a first side surface of the support portion of the front end member and a retracted side surface of the base material exposed in the joint area abutting each other, the front end member and the base material being joined in such a way that the support portion and the base material overlap along the axial direction; a portion of the transmission member extending along the axial direction in such a way as to overlap the joint area, and a portion of the support portion of the front end member being sandwiched between the extended portion of the transmission member and the base material.

2. The probe as described in claim 1, wherein, The aforementioned front end component and the aforementioned base material are joined together in such a way that the aforementioned support portion and the aforementioned base material overlap in the aforementioned bendable direction.

3. The probe as described in claim 1, wherein, The aforementioned front end member has a protrusion that is connected to the aforementioned support portion and contacts the aforementioned object to be inspected; an embedded portion extending in the opposite direction to the direction in which the aforementioned protrusion protrudes is formed in the aforementioned support portion of the aforementioned front end member; an embedded groove is formed in the aforementioned axial direction on the opposite end face of the aforementioned base material to the aforementioned support portion; the aforementioned embedded portion is embedded in the aforementioned embedded groove.

4. The probe as described in claim 3, wherein, The aforementioned front end member and the aforementioned base material are joined together by the aforementioned protrusion protruding from the aforementioned end of the aforementioned base material.

5. The probe as described in claim 1, wherein, The second side of the aforementioned support portion, which faces the aforementioned first side, is connected to the aforementioned base material without any step difference.

6. The probe as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, When viewed from the aforementioned thickness direction, the aforementioned end of the aforementioned base material and the aforementioned support portion, which overlap the aforementioned support portion, are conical in shape, with the width gradually increasing from the aforementioned end along the aforementioned axial direction when viewed from the aforementioned thickness direction.

7. A probe used in inspecting the electrical properties of an object, the probe comprising: a front end member having a support portion and contacting the object being inspected; and a base material having a bendable elasticity, and having a portion of its side surface retracting in a thickness direction perpendicular to the axial direction within a certain range from one end along the axial direction to form a joint area; the first side surface of the aforementioned support portion of the front end member and the retracted side surface of the aforementioned base material exposed in the joint area abutting each other, the front end member and the aforementioned base material being joined in such a way that the aforementioned support portion and the aforementioned base material overlap along the aforementioned axial direction; and a portion of the aforementioned support portion of the front end member being sandwiched by the aforementioned base material.

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