Flat Plate Probe With Elastic Body For Dense Pad Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional probe cards face challenges in maintaining elasticity and accuracy when testing miniaturized and densely packed semiconductor integrated circuit devices, as they often require multiple tests due to limited probe density and arrangement limitations, especially when pads are closely aggregated or arranged in complex shapes.
Innovation Solution
The development of a probe card with probes formed in the shape of a flat plate, featuring a body part that is elastically tensioned or compressed, a connection part fixed to a substrate, and a tip part contacting the pads, allowing for a dense arrangement of probes with varying lengths and orientations to accommodate different pad configurations, enabling efficient testing of densely packed semiconductor devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If needle-type probes are used in conventional probe cards, then the probes can be easily manufactured and assembled, but the probes lose elasticity and require maintenance after repeated use
Solution Approach 1:
The probe is divided into three distinct segments: a body part made of elastic material for repeated use, and disposable tip parts and connection parts that can be replaced when worn. This segmentation allows the elastic body to be retained while replacing only the consumable components, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tip parts and connection parts are designed to be disposable and replaceable, while the elastic body part is recovered and reused. This approach maintains reliability by replacing worn components while preserving the valuable elastic body, balancing ease of manufacture with ongoing reliability.
2Length of moving object
If vertical-type probes with long needles are used, then the probes can reach deep pads, but electrical interaction occurs between adjacent needles reducing test accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The probe transitions from a traditional vertical needle configuration to a flat plate structure with tip parts extending in multiple directions. This dimensional change allows the probe to contact pads in various orientations without requiring long vertical needles, thereby preventing electrical interaction between adjacent probes while maintaining the ability to reach deep or densely arranged pads, thus preserving test accuracy.
3Length of moving object
If conventional probe cards with large size are used, then the probes have sufficient length for various pad depths, but they cannot test all elements on a wafer due to dense pad arrangement
Solution Approach 1:
The probe card is designed with replaceable tip parts and connection parts that allow dynamic reconfiguration. Different tip part lengths and orientations can be installed depending on the specific pad arrangement and depth requirements, enabling a single probe card to adapt to various testing scenarios and increase productivity without sacrificing probe length capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe system allows changing parameters such as tip part length, orientation, and material properties to match different testing requirements. By adjusting these parameters, the same probe card structure can effectively test elements with varying pad depths and arrangements, improving productivity while maintaining sufficient probe length when needed.
4Shape
If probes are arranged with large pitch in conventional probe cards, then the probes have sufficient space for structural support, but multiple tests are required for densely packed semiconductor devices
Solution Approach 1:
The probe adopts a flat plate structure with tip parts that can extend in multiple directions and orientations. This dimensional change enables much denser probe arrangement with smaller pitch compared to traditional vertical needles, as the flat plate structure provides inherent structural support without requiring large spacing. Consequently, all elements on a wafer can be tested in a single pass, dramatically improving productivity.
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 allows for a probe card with a smaller pitch and improved probe density, enabling efficient testing of semiconductor devices with dense and complex pad arrangements, reducing the need for multiple tests and enhancing testing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a body part bent at the middle thereof so that the body part is elastically tensioned or compressed when a tension force or a compression force is applied to the body part at the upper and lower ends
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are a probe and a method of making the same, and more particularly to a probe having a minute pitch, with which a probe card corresponding to arrangement of pads formed with a massed shape or other various shapes on a wafer is made, and a method of making the same. The probe having a prescribed thickness and formed in the shape of a flat plate. The probe comprises a body part bent at the middle thereof so that the body part is elastically tensioned or compressed when a tension force or a compression force is applied to the body part at the upper and lower ends thereof, a connection part integrally formed with the lower end of the body part, the connection part being fixed to a substrate, and a tip part integrally formed with the upper end of the body part, the tip part contacting a pad of an element.