Fine Pitch Device Alignment Using Vacuum Base Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional alignment devices for fine-pitch devices require high precision alignment, but are inefficient due to the need for repeated carrier movements, leading to misalignment and equipment damage during conductivity testing, especially when handling thousands of devices.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus using a base plate with vacuum holes for suctioning devices and a base plate position adjusting mechanism to align devices in X-Y-θ directions, allowing simultaneous alignment and testing without separate carriers, reducing friction and improving precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If devices are tested individually using separate carriers and repeated connection/disconnection operations, then each device can be tested, but alignment precision deteriorates due to margin wear and equipment complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple device testing operations into a single integrated base plate structure. Multiple devices are mounted simultaneously on one base plate with integrated alignment features, eliminating the need for separate carriers and repeated socket guide connections. This consolidation maintains alignment precision while reducing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate incorporates pre-formed alignment holes and positioning features that are prepared in advance. Devices are pre-positioned on the base plate using these alignment features before testing begins, eliminating the need for repeated alignment operations during the testing process and preventing margin wear.
2Productivity
If devices are tested one by one with repeated carrier movements, then individual testing is possible, but productivity decreases due to time-consuming operations
Solution Approach 1:
The base plate enables multiple devices to be tested simultaneously in one operation. By integrating multiple device mounting positions and alignment features into a single base plate structure, the system performs parallel testing of multiple devices, dramatically increasing throughput and eliminating time-consuming sequential operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate design allows testing operations to continue without interruption. Devices remain mounted on the base plate throughout the entire testing process, eliminating repeated connection and disconnection cycles. The base plate can be quickly transferred between testing positions, maintaining continuous productive action.
3Manufacturing precision
If alignment margins are increased to accommodate repeated connection/disconnection, then device durability improves, but alignment precision deteriorates due to mismatching and offset
Solution Approach 1:
The base plate incorporates pre-formed alignment holes with precise dimensions and positions that are manufactured to tight tolerances. These alignment features are prepared in advance during base plate fabrication, ensuring consistent alignment precision without requiring large margins that would lead to mismatching during repeated operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate creates a stable reference framework that copies the precise alignment geometry to each device position. The alignment holes serve as master references that define the exact positions of ball terminals relative to probe pins, eliminating cumulative errors from repeated connection and disconnection operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution maximizes equipment utilization, prevents misalignment, and reduces equipment damage by enabling precise, simultaneous alignment and testing of multiple devices, enhancing test efficiency and reducing downtime.
Implementation Method 1
a base plate, which has vacuum holes respectively formed at seating points for devices and suctions the devices with vacuum pressure that allows minute movement
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for aligning a device having a fine pitch includes: a base plate, which has vacuum holes respectively formed at seating points for devices and suctions the devices with the vacuum pressure that allows minute movement as the vacuum pressure is applied in a state in which the devices are loaded; a jig plate, which is fixedly installed so as to be positioned on the upper portion of the base plate and has openings, in which the devices are received, in the same number as the number of the devices loaded on the base plate; and a base plate position adjuster for finely moving the positions of the devices loaded on the base plate in X-Y-θ directions so as to position the devices in the openings (formed in the jig plate.