Probe Head Guide Plate Stacked Structure for Scrubbing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing probe heads in semiconductor manufacturing processes face challenges in allowing probes to perform a scrubbing action while being inclined within guide holes, leading to excessive contact pressure and potential damage to electrode pads.
Innovation Solution
The proposed probe head features guide plates with guide holes that are designed to allow probes to be inclined, featuring a stacked structure with varying hole sizes and shapes to facilitate scrubbing action and prevent excessive contact pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the guide plate is configured to be easily deformed, then the probe can be inclined within the guide hole, but the guide plate cannot support the probes and the positions of the probes are changed
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate is divided into multiple guide layers (first guide layer, second guide layer, etc.) stacked together. Each guide layer contains guide holes that form part of the complete probe pathway. This segmentation allows the structure to be both rigid for support and flexible enough to allow controlled probe inclination through the stacked configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide plate uses a composite structure of multiple guide layers that can be made from different materials or have different properties. This composite construction provides both the mechanical strength needed for probe support and the geometric flexibility needed to enable probe inclination capability.
2Ease of operation
If the through-holes of the guide plate are configured to be larger than a predetermined size in order to incline the probes, but a problem arises in that it is difficult to realize a fine pitch
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large through-hole, the guide structure is segmented into multiple guide layers with smaller holes. The cumulative effect of these smaller holes across multiple layers achieves the necessary inclination while maintaining fine pitch precision that would be difficult to obtain with a single large hole.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe inclination is achieved by utilizing the vertical stacking dimension of multiple guide layers rather than relying solely on enlarging holes in a single plane. This dimensional approach allows inclination capability while preserving fine pitch control in the horizontal plane.
3Device complexity
If the guide plate has through-holes that are formed in the same size in the plastic guide plate and the ceramic guide plate, then the structure is simple, but probes cannot be inclined in one direction during overdrive process
Solution Approach 1:
The guide holes in different guide layers are configured with different characteristics (size, position, or shape) to create an asymmetric structure. This asymmetry enables the probe to incline in a specific direction during the overdrive process, transforming the symmetric, simple structure into one that provides directional inclination capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide hole configuration transitions from a static, uniform structure to a dynamic, varied structure across multiple layers. The progressive change in hole characteristics through the stacked guide layers allows the probe to dynamically incline in one direction during the overdrive process while maintaining structural integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A probe head and a probe card having the same are provided. The probe head includes a plurality of guide plates each having a guide hole, wherein each of the guide plates has a shape in which a plurality of layers are stacked, and each of the guide plates includes: a first guide layer provided at a lowermost side thereof, and having a first guide hole; and a second guide layer provided at an uppermost side thereof, and having a second guide hole, wherein a side wall of the first guide hole and a side wall of the second guide hole are not provided on the same vertical line.