Probe Card Connecting Element Planarity and Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing probe cards face challenges in ensuring correct planarity and positioning of components due to material thermal expansion and planarity defects, leading to potential malfunction during extreme temperature testing and assembly issues.
Innovation Solution
The probe card incorporates connecting elements with a rod-like body and an abutment element made of a stiffer material, such as a nickel-iron alloy, to securely link the space transformer and main support, ensuring precise positioning and planarity through undercut sections and threaded engagements, along with a multilayer organic structure for spatial transformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional connecting elements are used to link space transformer and main support, then assembly is simple, but planarity and positioning precision deteriorate under thermal expansion and planarity defects
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting element is segmented into a rod-like body portion and a head portion with undercut sections, allowing each segment to serve a specific function: the rod-like body provides structural support while the head portion with undercut sections ensures precise positioning and retention of the space transformer, thereby achieving high planarity and positioning precision without excessive overall complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting element acts as an intermediary component between the space transformer and the main support, mediating the connection while compensating for planarity defects and thermal expansion. The undercut sections in the head portion specifically mediate the positioning function, ensuring accurate alignment without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms
2Manufacturing precision
If rigid connecting elements are used to ensure positioning, then positioning precision improves, but adaptability to thermal expansion deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting element's geometry is optimized by changing parameters such as the rod-like body dimensions and the head portion configuration with undercut sections. These parameter changes allow the element to maintain rigid positioning while accommodating thermal expansion through controlled deformation in non-critical areas, thus balancing positioning precision with thermal adaptability
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple connecting elements are used to ensure planarity, then planarity improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions are merged into a single connecting element: the rod-like body provides structural support, the head portion with undercut sections ensures positioning, and the overall design accommodates planarity requirements. This merging reduces the number of separate components needed while maintaining high planarity, thereby improving manufacturing precision without proportionally increasing device complexity
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 configuration enhances the probe card's planarity and stiffness, ensuring reliable contact and improved performance during electronic device testing by maintaining accurate positioning and retention of components, even under varying temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
The probe card comprises at least one connecting element (30) adapted to link the space transformer (24) and the main support (27)... each connecting element (30) having a substantially rod-like body (30C) and being equipped with a first end portion (30A) comprising at least one terminal section (30A1) adapted to be engaged in a corresponding housing (24H) realized in the space transformer (24) and with a second end portion (30B) adapted to abut onto an abutment element (28)... defined at least one undercut section (30S) adapted to abut onto the abutment element (28)
Implementation Method 2
Existing probe cards face challenges in ensuring correct planarity and positioning of components due to material thermal expansion and planarity defects... an abutment element (28) linked to the main support (27), this abutment element (28) being made of a material having a stiffness and a planarity greater than a material which the main support (27) is made of
Data Source
AI summary
A probe card for a testing apparatus of electronic devices comprises a probe head housing a plurality of contact probes, each contact probe having at least one contact tip adapted to abut onto contact pads of a device under test, as well as a main support and an intermediate support connected to the main support and adapted to realize a spatial transformation of distances between contact pads on its opposite faces as a space transformer, the probe card suitably also comprising at least one connecting element adapted to link the space transformer and the main support, this connecting element having a substantially rod-like body and being equipped with a first end portion comprising at least one terminal section adapted to be engaged in a corresponding housing realized in the space transformer and with a second terminal portion adapted to abut onto an abutment element linked to the main support.