Silicon Probe Guide Plate High Precision Through-Holes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for manufacturing probe guide plates are costly and time-consuming due to the need for assembling two guide plates with a spacer, resulting in low position precision of through-holes, which can lead to difficulties in inserting probe terminals, especially when diameters and arrangement pitches are small.
Innovation Solution
A probe guide plate is manufactured using a silicon multi-layer substrate with a first silicon substrate, an insulation layer, and a second silicon substrate stacked in corresponding order, where through-holes are formed with high precision using photolithography and isotropic etching, allowing for direct bonding without an adhesive, and notch portions are formed to facilitate easy insertion of probe terminals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If two guide plates are bonded via a spacer to improve strength, then the strength is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases and lead time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the two guide plates into a single integrated structure with through-holes formed directly in one piece, eliminating the need for separate manufacturing and assembly of multiple components. This reduces manufacturing cost and lead time while maintaining structural strength through the unified design.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide plate is segmented into an upper guide plate portion and a lower guide plate portion that are integrally formed as a single piece. This segmentation allows for optimized through-hole placement and structure while avoiding the complexity of assembling separate components, thereby reducing manufacturing cost and time.
2Strength
If two guide plates are bonded via a spacer to improve strength, then the strength is improved, but the lead time of manufacturing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the manufacturing process into a single integrated guide plate structure, eliminating the sequential steps of manufacturing separate guide plates and spacers followed by assembly. This single-step integration significantly reduces lead time while the integrated structure maintains the necessary strength through optimized design.
Solution Approach 2:
The through-holes are preliminarily formed in the integrated guide plate structure during the same manufacturing process, eliminating the need for subsequent assembly operations. This preliminary formation of all necessary features in one process step reduces overall manufacturing lead time.
3Ease of manufacture
If two guide plates are assembled through bonding, then the position precision of through-holes is low, but the manufacturing process is simpler
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the upper and lower guide plates into a single integrated structure where through-holes are formed in one manufacturing process. This eliminates positioning errors that occur during assembly of separate components, achieving high position precision while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through the unified design.
Solution Approach 2:
The lower guide plate portion is formed as a precise copy of the upper guide plate portion's through-hole pattern during the same manufacturing process. This copying approach ensures identical and precisely positioned through-holes without the accumulation of positioning errors that would occur in separate assembly operations.
4Measurement precision
If diameters and arrangement pitch of through-holes decrease, then the measurement precision is improved, but the probe terminals cannot be skillfully inserted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by forming protrusions at the bottom of through-holes and corresponding recesses at the top of through-holes. These localized structural features facilitate probe terminal insertion while maintaining small through-hole diameters and tight arrangement pitches, thereby preserving measurement precision without sacrificing ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions and recesses act as intermediary features that guide probe terminals during insertion. These intermediary structures compensate for the difficulty of inserting terminals into small through-holes by providing mechanical guidance and alignment, enabling precise insertion even when through-hole dimensions are minimized for high measurement precision.
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 approach increases the position precision of through-holes, reduces manufacturing costs, and shortens lead time while ensuring smooth insertion of probe terminals, even when they are slightly deviated, thereby enhancing the reliability and stiffness of the probe guide plate.
Implementation Method 1
etching the insulation layer by an isotropic etching and forming an opening of the insulation layer on a region in which the first through-holes are arranged
Data Source
AI summary
A probe guide plate includes a first silicon substrate having first through-holes formed therein, an insulation layer formed on the first silicon substrate and having an opening on a region in which the first through-holes are arranged, a second silicon substrate arranged on the insulation layer and having second through-holes formed at positions corresponding to the first through-holes, and a silicon oxide layer formed on exposed surfaces of the first silicon substrate and the second silicon substrate.