Probe Socket Conductive Plate Parallel Pin Redundancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Probe sockets used for inspecting semiconductor devices experience increased resistance and current issues due to foreign material accumulation and wear, leading to overcurrent and shortened pin life, especially as device pitches decrease and allowable currents increase.
Innovation Solution
A probe socket design featuring a conductive plate inside the support block that allows for common electrical connection of power and ground pins, reducing the impact of individual pin failures and maintaining optimal resistance and current characteristics by distributing ground voltage through multiple pins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the number of uses of each pin is increased, then the probe socket can handle more testing operations, but the resistance is largely increased due to foreign material accumulation and wear
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple power pins (first power pin, second power pin, etc.) are electrically connected in parallel through the conductive plate to form a common power connection. This merging of multiple pins allows the system to handle higher currents and reduces the impact of wear on individual pins, as the current is distributed across multiple contact points.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the electrical connection topology from series to parallel by using a conductive plate that electrically connects multiple power pins and ground pins. This parameter change in connection configuration reduces overall resistance and allows the system to maintain reliability even as individual pins experience wear from increased usage.
2Productivity
If the pitch of the device to be tested is decreased, then more devices can be tested, but the allowable current increases requiring better resistance and current characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive plate merges multiple power pins and ground pins into common electrical connections, allowing the probe socket to handle the increased current requirements that arise when testing smaller-pitch devices. This parallel connection structure provides the necessary current capacity while maintaining stable electrical characteristics.
3Reliability
If one ground pin accumulates foreign material or is worn out, then the dead ground pin causes other ground pins to be overloaded, but the invention aims to prevent this overload effect
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive plate provides redundant electrical pathways by connecting multiple ground pins in parallel. When one ground pin deteriorates, the other pins provide alternative current paths, cushioning the system against the failure of individual pins and preventing overload conditions that would otherwise occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the ground connection from a single-point connection to a multi-point parallel connection through the conductive plate. This parameter change in connection topology ensures that the failure or deterioration of one ground pin does not cause overload of other pins, as the current is automatically redistributed through the parallel pathways.
4Duration of action of stationary object
If a conductive plate is added to connect multiple pins in common, then the life of pins is extended through redundancy, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive plate serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides electrical connection between multiple power pins, provides electrical connection between multiple ground pins, offers redundancy against pin failure, and distributes current across multiple pathways. This multi-functionality justifies the added structural element by delivering multiple benefits from a single component.
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 design extends the life of power and ground pins by ensuring that even if one pin experiences trouble, the others within the group remain functional, preventing overload and maintaining consistent current flow.
Implementation Method 1
a conductive plate arranged inside the support block in a direction transverse to a lengthwise direction of the power pin and having a power connection pattern to electrically connect the plurality of power pins in common
Data Source
AI summary
A probe socket for inspecting electric characteristics of an object to be tested. The probe socket includes a plurality of power pins for applying power to the object to be tested, a plurality of ground pins arranged in parallel with the power pins, a support block for accommodating and supporting the plurality of power pins or ground pins in parallel, and a conductive plate arranged inside the support block in a direction transverse to lengthwise directions of the power pin and the ground pin and having at least one of a power connection pattern for electrically connecting the plurality of power pins in common and a ground connection pattern for electrically connecting the plurality of ground pins in common.