Split-Type Probe Signal Attenuation Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wafer probe cards experience significant signal attenuation during testing, leading to errors in determining the electrical characteristics of semiconductor devices, especially during high-speed signal transmission.
Innovation Solution
A split-type probe design is implemented, where testing and response signals are transmitted on separate needle bodies, with a contact head connecting to the object under test, reducing signal attenuation by using a fly-by structure on a circuit board with distinct signal transmission lines on each surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a conventional single-needle probe structure is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but signal attenuation increases during transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The probe is divided into separate first and second needle bodies that are spatially separated. The first needle body transmits the testing signal while the second needle body transmits the response signal. This segmentation of the transmission path reduces signal attenuation by avoiding the signal passing through a single shared needle structure twice (outbound and return), thereby resolving the contradiction between reduced signal loss and increased structural complexity.
2Loss of energy
If signal transmission lines are connected by connecting plugs on the circuit board, then the circuit board can be assembled, but signal attenuation occurs during transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The signal transmission path is extracted from the conventional circuit board trace structure and reconfigured to use separate physical needle bodies for outbound and return signals. This extraction removes the signal from the lossy transmission path that includes connecting plugs and shared traces, reducing attenuation while maintaining manufacturability through the modular probe design.
3Measurement precision
If the probe structure uses shared signal transmission lines, then the device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to signal attenuation
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement system is segmented into separate transmission paths: the first needle body carries the testing signal from the circuit board to the object under test, while the second needle body carries the response signal back. This segmentation ensures that each signal travels through its own dedicated path, minimizing attenuation and interference, thereby improving measurement precision despite the increased structural complexity of having separate needle bodies.
Data Source
AI summary
A split-type probe is used to contact with an object under test to detect an electrical characteristic thereof. The probe provided by the present invention has a contact head used to contact with the object under test, and a first needle body and a second needle body. The first needle body is connected to the contact head to transmit a testing signal to the object under test for performing detection. In addition, the second needle body is also connected to the contact head to transmit a response signal generated by the object under test due to the testing signal to obtain the electrical characteristic of the object under test.