Prober Probe Holder Plate Joint Movement for Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing probers for testing devices in a repeat structure on a substrate face challenges with long-term stability of test probe positioning due to restoring forces from folded bellows and temperature differences, requiring frequent adjustment of test probes for each new device, which limits mobility and increases complexity.
Innovation Solution
The prober design incorporates probe holders with manipulators and universal joints inside the vacuum chamber, allowing for joint movement without the need for additional bushings and enabling stable positioning of test probes through motorized, electro-motorized displacement, eliminating the need for substrate movement and individual probe adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If folded bellows are used to allow probe movement, then mobility is improved, but restoring forces and temperature differences cause long-term positioning instability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the folded bellows from the system entirely. Instead of using flexible bellows to transmit movement, the probe holder plate is moved directly as a rigid unit, eliminating the source of restoring forces and temperature-induced deformation that compromised positioning stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces universal joints as intermediaries to decouple the movement mechanism from the probe holder plate. These joints allow the plate to move in complex trajectories while maintaining rigid connection to the probes, separating the mobility function from the positioning function.
2Measurement precision
If individual probe adjustment is performed for each new device, then positioning precision is improved, but time consumption and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges all individual probe adjustments into a single collective movement of the probe holder plate. Since the plate moves as one unit, all probes are repositioned simultaneously, eliminating the need for individual adjustment operations and reducing total adjustment time to zero.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe holder plate serves multiple functions: it holds all probes simultaneously, provides unified movement for all probes, and maintains consistent geometric relationships between probes and contact surfaces across different devices, replacing the need for individual probe positioning operations.
3Ease of operation
If probe holder plate is moved to access different devices, then mobility is improved, but temperature differences cause thermal strain on probes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines all probes into a single rigid assembly that moves together as one unit. This eliminates differential thermal expansion between individual probes and their support structures, as the entire assembly experiences uniform temperature changes, thereby reducing thermal strain on the probes.
Data Source
AI summary
A prober for testing devices in a repeat structure on a substrate is provided with a probe holder plate, probe holders mounted on the plate, and a test probe associated with each holder. Each test probe is displaceable via a manipulator connected to a probe holder, and a substrate carrier fixedly supports the substrate. Testing of devices, which are situated in a repeat structure on a substrate, in sequence without a substrate movement and avoiding individual manipulation of the test probes in relation to the contact islands on the devices, is achieved in that the probe holders are fastened on a shared probe holder plate and the probe holder plate is moved in relation to the test substrate.