CN1368640A - Modular Test Head - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a modular test head, which at least comprises a high-density patch cord device, a driving integrated circuit device and a suspension device. The front end of the high-density patch cord device is provided with a plurality of conductive film bumps for detecting products; the circuit device has a plurality of test devices; the driving integrated circuit device is used to provide a test signal to the high-density patch cord device; and the suspension device is used to suspend the high-density patch cord device and the driving integrated circuit device. It has the characteristics of good contact with the test pad, good electrical conductivity, convenient maintenance, and conforms to the technological development trend of being light, thin, short and small.

Description

Modular Test Head

The present invention relates to a kind of test device, namely modular test head, especially relate to a kind of test device that can be applied in industries such as liquid crystal display (LCD), yet, test device of the present invention is not limited to be applied in LCD industry, other As long as it can be used in the field of testing, it all belongs to the application scope of the present invention.

In a schematic view of a conventional probe assembly as shown in FIG. 1 , one thin needle (needle) 12 is directly fixed on a base 14 . The enlarged schematic view of the traditional probe 12 is shown in Fig. 2, these traditional probes 12 are actually piece by piece, but the thickness is very thin, the traditional probe 12 has a part 16 on the body of the probe from the side. It is hollowed out to reduce the capacitive effect between the probes 12 . If the probes 12 hollowed out in that part in FIG. 2 are superimposed, it becomes the traditional probe assembly shown in FIG. 1 . The traditional test head with the probe assembly 12 is often used for testing liquid crystal display panels (LCD panels).

The above-mentioned traditional test head must be repaired before use when it is damaged. For example, the probes 12 are too dense, so there will be contamination particles in the gaps of the probes that must be removed, and after repeated use, Each probe 12 will be bent and deformed, thus poor contact will occur during the test, so the probe needs to be "reshaped" before use. In addition, the entire test head (including the base) must be repaired when the traditional test head is maintained. ) back to the original factory, and the maintenance cost is high, making maintenance inconvenient.

To sum up, the practices and shortcomings of traditional test heads are roughly as follows:

1. For the general test field, the traditional test head (Probe Block) is composed of probes.

2. The traditional test head has poor conductivity due to the use of probes for electrical conduction.

3. The entire test head (including the base) must be sent back to the original factory during maintenance of the traditional test head, and the maintenance cost is high, which makes maintenance inconvenient.

4. The traditional test head is generally manufactured by machining. Due to the existence of the precision limit of machining, the distance between the probes is relatively large, which does not conform to the technological development trend of light, thin, short, and small.

5. The probe of the traditional test head has an inclined structure at the probe head, so that the contact between the probe and the test pad is good, as shown in FIG. 2 . However, when testing, the force of pressing down will produce vertical and horizontal component forces respectively due to the inclined structure, wherein the horizontal component force will generate a large scratching force on the test pad (Pad), and this The way of horizontal scrubbing (scrub) is more harmful to the test pad (Pad), thus reducing the number of retests of the test head, and the bonding of the test pad (Pad) is poor, which is not conducive to the subsequent process.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned shortcomings and provide a modular test head, which has the functions of good contact with the test pad, good electrical conductivity, and convenient maintenance, and conforms to light, thin, short and small technology. development trend.

In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution provided by the present invention is: a modular test head, the modular test head includes a suspension assembly and a high-density transfer wire assembly, the high-density transfer wire assembly is at least Including: a first device, the first device has a plurality of sensitive test devices; a second device, the second device provides a test signal to the first device; the suspension assembly includes a third device, the third The device suspends the first device and the second device.

The end of the test device on the first device is provided with a plurality of film bumps.

The first device is provided with a plurality of buffer pads, and the buffer pads are respectively arranged under the film bumps.

The third device includes a first suspension seat, a second suspension seat and a third suspension seat, and the first suspension seat, the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat are ordered from bottom to bottom Arrange on top.

The third device is provided with a spring.

The spring is arranged between the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat.

A screw is arranged on the third device, and the screw is arranged between the second suspension base and the third suspension base and connects the second suspension base and the third suspension base.

The screw arranged between the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat can adjust the distance between the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat.

The third device includes a set of cover devices configured on the first device and the second device. The second apparatus includes a driver integrated circuit device.

The second device also includes a circuit connection device, and the circuit connection device electrically connects the first device and the second device.

The second device further includes a flexible board circuit assembly electrically connected to the first device and the second device.

The high-density patch cord assembly includes a first device and a second device, the second device includes a driving integrated circuit device, a circuit connection device, and a flexible board circuit assembly; the first device includes a circuit device, The circuit device is provided with a plurality of testing devices; the driver integrated circuit device is electrically connected to the circuit device, and the flexible board circuit assembly is connected to the driver integrated circuit device; the circuit device and the driver integrated circuit device can be configured on the on the third device.

The circuit device is provided with a plurality of conductive thin film bumps, and a buffer pad is correspondingly arranged under each conductive thin film bump.

The circuit connection device is a first high-density patch cord device, and the circuit device is a second high-density patch cord device.

The third device is provided with a linear bearing that fixes the travel track of the second suspension seat.

The manufacturing method of the high-density patch cord test assembly in the modular test head is as follows: first, a substrate is provided, and then a layer of polymer film is coated on the substrate, and a plurality of buffer pads are defined by the polymer film , and forming a metal circuit on the substrate and the buffer pad, and then forming a metal bump on the metal circuit to obtain the high-density transfer wire test assembly.

Wherein the manufacturing method of the circuit connection device included in the second equipment in the high-density patch cord test assembly is: providing a substrate, coating a layer of polymer film on the substrate by spin coating on the template, and electroplating A metal layer is formed on the polymer film by means of a metal layer, and a photoresist pattern is formed on the metal layer, and metal lines are grown on the metal layer not covered by the photoresist pattern by electroplating, forming The first high-density patch cord device.

The manufacturing method of the circuit device included in the first equipment in the high-density patch cord test assembly is as follows: providing a substrate, coating a layer of polymer film on the substrate by spin coating, and subjecting the polymer film to high temperature Barbecue and spin coating, use the exposure and development technology to define multiple buffer pads on the polymer film, and then bake the substrate at high temperature to form a layer of metal conductive layer on the substrate and the group of buffer pads by shallow plating. The metal conductive layer is defined by shadow etching technology, and the conductive pattern is defined on the substrate and the buffer pads, the metal circuit is formed on the conductive pattern by electroplating, the bump pattern is defined on the circuit by lithographic etching technology, and then Metal bumps are formed by electroplating to form the second high-density transfer wiring device.

The present invention is compared with prior art analysis, can learn that the present invention has following advantage:

1. For the general testing field, the traditional test head (Probe Block) is composed of probes, while the test head of the present invention is composed of membranes.

2. The traditional test head is poor in electrical conduction because the probe is used for electrical conduction; the test head of the present invention can obtain better electrical conduction because of its thin-film structure.

3. The maintenance of the traditional test head must send the whole test head (including the base) back to the original factory, and the maintenance cost is relatively high, and maintenance (maintain) is also inconvenient. The conductive film part of the test head of the present invention can be used as a Consumable components, so they can be replaced directly at the production testing site.

Four. The distance between its probes and probes of the traditional test head is relatively large, which does not meet the development trend of being light, thin, short, and small. The test head of the present invention is manufactured with the integrated circuit (IC) of the semiconductor factory (Fab). It is close to it, and it is completed by using techniques such as lithography etching, so the distance between the produced bumps (Bump) and the bumps (Bump) can be very small (fine pitch), so small that it cannot even be distinguished by the naked eye, which meets the The development trend of light, thin, short and small.

In addition, since the present invention is designed to manufacture the desired bumps by advanced technologies such as lithography etching, the application of the circuit spacing is no longer limited by traditional machinery, and it is possible to achieve extremely fine.

At the same time, due to the trend of technology development towards light, thin, short, and small, the distance between electronic products will gradually shrink in the future, and it has reached the realm of 0.13 microns. The feature of the present invention is to manufacture a It meets the needs of existing and future micro-circuits, and does not need to increase much cost.

5. The probes of the traditional test head do a lot of damage to the test pad (pad) on the liquid crystal display panel (the object under test), resulting in a small number of retests for the test head, and the test head is not bonded to the test pad (Pad) after use In the modular test head provided by the present invention, its bump (bump) acts on the test pad (Pad) in a vertically downward manner, so its damage is small and the number of retests can be many , with high accuracy.

Below in conjunction with accompanying drawing and embodiment the present invention is described in further detail:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a probe assembly of a conventional test head;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic diagram of a probe of a conventional test head;

Fig. 3 is the three-dimensional schematic diagram of an embodiment of the modular test head provided by the present invention;

4 is a three-dimensional exploded schematic diagram of a modular test head provided by the present invention;

5 and 6 are schematic cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the manufacturing process of the first high-density transfer line (High Density Interconnection; HDI) device of the modular test head provided by the present invention;

7 and 8 are schematic cross-sectional views of an embodiment of a manufacturing process of a second high density transfer line (High Density Interconnection, HDI) device of a modular test head provided by the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the modular test head provided by the present invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the modular test head is divided into two parts, one part is the High Density Interconnect unit (hereinafter referred to as HDI assembly) 600, and the other part is the suspension assembly (suspension unit) 300.

As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, the components of the suspension assembly 300 can be divided into:

(1) Suspension Stage 350 is a supporting structure for suspending the driving IC device 200 and the second HDI device 100 . The suspension device 350 sequentially includes a first suspension seat (Suspension I) 310, a second suspension seat (Suspension II) 320, and a third suspension seat (Suspension III) 330 from top to bottom. In addition, the suspension device 350 is provided with a linear guide 322 , a spring 302 , and a protect cover 340 . Wherein, the spring 302 provides the force required for the downward stroke during the test, so as to ensure that the bump 102 on the HDI assembly 600 is in close contact with the test pad P (pad) of the object under test 0 . In addition, the linear bearing 322 guarantees the accuracy of the pressing stroke, so that the bump 102 and the line of the object under test will not be offset or misaligned. In other words, the linear bearing 322 ensures linear movement without deflection during the pressing stroke, so as to ensure that the bump (Bump) 102 can be fixed on the trace of the object under test.

As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 7, Fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a modular test head provided by an embodiment of the present invention. According to this figure, the suspension device 350 includes screws 304, which are used to adjust the offset of the entire suspension device 350 on the X-Y plane. Fine adjustments are possible.

Include a travel screw (travel screw) 304 in this suspension device 350, be used to adjust a space between the second suspension base 320 and the third suspension base 330, to absorb when the machine to be tested fails. The resulting over travel (over travel). Since the bottom of the front end of the third suspension seat 330 is provided with a stopper (Stopper) 353 , the absorption of excessive travel can be controlled, so that the protrusion 102 of the second HDI device 100 and the object under test are not damaged.

(2) HDI cover (HDI cover, hereinafter referred to as HDI cover) 360 is a replaceable module structure, and is configured on the second HDI device 100 and the driver IC device 200 of the present invention. The HDI sleeve cover 360 also has a guide hole (Guide Hole) 362, which can cooperate with the guide pin 312 at the bottom of the first suspension seat 310 to position the suspension device (Suspension Stage) 350.

As shown in Figure 3, the HDI assembly 600 can be divided into:

(1) The first high-density transfer line device (hereinafter referred to as the first HDI device) 400 , or an interface transfer board, is used to electrically connect the second HDI device 100 and the driver IC device 200 .

(2) The second high-density patch cord device (hereinafter referred to as the second HDI device) 100, which has a plurality of detection devices, such as a plurality of bumps 102 disposed at the front end perpendicular to the horizontal plane downwards, in addition, the second HDI A plurality of buffer pads 104 can be formed in the device 100, as shown in FIG. 8 , which are respectively corresponding and arranged on each of the above-mentioned bumps 102. When the bumps 102 touch the uneven circuit of the object to be tested, they can still maintain Good contact effect.

(3) The driver IC device (Driver IC or Tape Carrier Package; TCP, hereinafter referred to as the driver IC device) 200 provides a test signal to the second HDI device. In addition, the driver IC device 200 is electrically connected to the second HDI device 100 and the first HDI device 400 , and the suspension assembly 300 is disposed on the driver IC device 200 and the second HDI device 100 .

(4) The flexible printed circuit assembly 502, 504 is electrically connected to the drive IC device 200, and can be divided into a flexible printed circuit (Flexible Printed Circuit: FPC) 502 and a flexible printed circuit adapter (FPC Changeable Head, hereinafter referred to as the FPC adapter) )504.

The design of the various HDI devices 100, 400, and the design of the connection between them or between them and the driver IC device 200, its ultimate purpose is to make the HDI assembly 600 of the test head of the present invention a possible The replaced HDI assembly enables it to be matched with various suspension devices 300 . The modularized test head provided by the present invention can be used to detect different numbers of pins and pitches at the same time, so when changing products, only the HDI assembly 600 needs to be replaced.

As shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6, a schematic cross-sectional view of the manufacturing process of a first HDI device. Please refer to Fig. 5, first provide a glass substrate (glass substrate) 405, then after cleaning the glass substrate 405, apply a layer of photosensitive polymer film with the mode of spin coating, after forming, go through high-temperature baking (Curing) to obtain the desired The polymer protection film (polymer passivation layer) 406, or the polymer insulation layer (polymer insulation layer). Then, a layer of metal layer is formed by shallow plating, and a layer of photoresist is coated on the metal layer, and the circuit pattern 414 is defined after exposure and development. Then, the metal circuit 408 is produced by electroplating. Finally, remove the photoresist, as shown in Figure 6.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , a schematic cross-sectional view of a manufacturing process of a second HDI device, wherein the difference between the second HDI device 100 and the first HDI device 400 ( FIG. 5 ) is that the second HDI device 100 has a bump (bump ) 102 and buffer pad (buffer pad) 104.

As shown in FIG. 7, a glass substrate (glass substrate) 105 is provided first. Then, after cleaning the glass substrate 105, a layer of photosensitive polymer film (polymer) 106 is coated by spin coating, and then subjected to high temperature sintering and spin coating, and then the polymer film is defined by techniques such as exposure and development. Buffer pad (Buffer pad) 104 .

After high-temperature curing, a metal conductive layer is formed by shallow plating, and then a layer of photoresist is coated and its pattern 114a is defined by a lithography process, and then the metal circuit 108 is formed by electroplating.

After the metal circuit 108 is formed, a bump pattern is defined by lithography, and the metal bump 102 is formed by electroplating. Finally, the photoresist pattern 114b is removed and cut to obtain the second HDI device 100 , another cross-sectional schematic diagram thereof is shown in FIG. 8 .

As shown in FIG. 9 , the bump 102 of the second HDI device 100 is in contact with the test pad of the object to be tested in a vertically downward manner, and will not produce a problem on the test pad like a traditional probe, as shown in FIG. 2 . Horizontal scratching (scrub), so the degree of damage to the test pad of the present invention is also reduced.

As for the horizontal scraping of the traditional probe, as shown in FIG. 2 , the traditional probe 12 has an inclined structure 17 at the probe head, so as to make good contact between the probe 12 and the test pad. However, when testing, the force of pressing down will produce vertical and horizontal component forces 19 and 18 respectively due to the inclined structure 17, wherein the horizontal component force 18 will scratch a large area on the test pad (Pad), This way of horizontal scrubbing (scrub) is more harmful to the test pad (Pad), so the number of retests can be less. The modular test head provided by the present invention is shown in FIG. 9 . The bump (Bump) 102 acts on the test pad (Pad) in a vertically downward manner, so the damage is small, the number of retests can be large, and the test pad (Pad) has better bonding characteristics, which is more conducive to post-manufacturing.

As shown in FIG. 8 , it shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a second HDI device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein a buffer pad (Buffer Pad) 104 has a detail buffering effect. Now compare it with traditional probes:

As shown in FIG. 2 , an enlarged schematic view of a conventional probe 12 . The conventional probe 12 probe head has a beveled configuration 17 which makes the probe head resilient. However, this inclined structure 17 is likely to cause horizontal scratches on the test pad. Therefore, the present invention provides an elastic mechanism, which is the buffer pad 104 in FIG. 8 , to replace the traditional elastic mechanism.

Moreover, the heights of each test bump 102 (as shown in Figure 8 ) that come out during bump manufacturing may be difficult to be exactly the same, or the height of the circuit of the object under test itself is not flat, so the buffer pad 104 of the present invention can absorb this height. error function. In other words, even if the circuit of the object to be tested itself, or the bumps 102 of the present invention are uneven, these bumps 102 can still be tested through the buffer pad 104 in the modularized test head provided by the present invention. The effect of good contact can be achieved when the product is being tested, thereby ensuring that each bump 102 can have good contact with the object under test when the product is tested.

It should be noted that each bump 102 provided by the present invention not only can have flat contact with the test pad, but also has a very good contact; in fact, when testing, except for the vertical pressing force of the bump 102 , the object under test will also be forced upwards to ensure a good contact with the test bump 102 . In order to absorb this upward force, the suspension assembly 300 of the present invention is provided with a spring 302 (a kind of shock-absorbing device), as shown in FIG. between. Since a finer stroke can be absorbed, more sacrificial space can be provided in the second suspension seat 320 and the third suspension seat 330 for the spring to absorb.

In addition, the present invention can be widely used in detection in the manufacture of products such as liquid crystal displays, which includes thin film transistor (Thin Film Transistor, hereinafter referred to as TFT), super twisted nematic (SuperTwist Nematic, hereinafter referred to as STN) type, etc. Liquid crystal display products; it can also be widely used in products that require electrical testing of fine lines.

The modular test head provided by the present invention can adjust the number of pins and correct the pitch data of the pins, so there is no limitation on the pitch of the pins. With different number of probes, changing the spring in the suspension device can achieve different elastic force required by different number of probes. In addition, the modularized test head provided by the present invention can not only be used for the measured objects with different number of probes and different pitches, but also can be used for the detection of the same pitch but different number of probes, just change the HDI assembly Ready to use.

Moreover, the structure of the present invention is not complicated, and its modular design enables direct replacement of wearable consumable components, so the cost can be greatly reduced. These costs include: initial investment cost, maintenance cost, component inventory cost, labor cost for production and maintenance, standby time and standby cost.

In short, light, thin, short, small, and energy-saving have become the pursuit of design for recent technological products, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which are also produced to meet this demand, and are widely used in computers, TVs, mobile Phone calls... etc., so in order to confirm the quality of products such as liquid crystal displays, the quality requirements should be met during the production process, so in some production lines, it is necessary to test products. Therefore, the HDI assembly of the test head provided by the present invention can be applied to various suspension assemblies. In addition, the test head of the present invention can also be used for testing, so it is not only easy to maintain, but also can save maintenance time and cost.

Claims (19)

1. A modular test head, characterized in that: the modular test head includes a suspension assembly and a high-density transfer wire assembly, and the high-density transfer wire assembly at least includes: a first device, The first device has a plurality of sensitive test devices; a second device, which provides test signals to the first device; the suspension assembly includes a third device, which suspends the first device and the first device the second device. 2. The modularized test head according to claim 1, characterized in that: the end of the test device on the first device is provided with a plurality of film bumps. 3. The modularized test head according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of buffer pads are provided on the first device, and the buffer pads are respectively arranged under the film bumps. 4. The modular test head according to claim 1, wherein the third device comprises a first suspension base, a second suspension base and a third suspension base, the first suspension base The suspension seat, the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat are arranged in order from bottom to top. 5. The modular test head according to claim 1, wherein a spring is provided on the third device. 6. The modular test head as claimed in claim 5, wherein the spring is disposed between the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat. 7. The modularized test head according to claim 4, wherein a screw is provided on the third device, and the screw is arranged between the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat and connects the The second suspension seat and the third suspension seat. 8. The modularized test head according to claim 7, characterized in that: the screw arranged between the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat can adjust the second suspension seat and the third suspension seat The distance between the hangers. 9. The modularized test head according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the third device comprises a set of cover devices, and the cover device is arranged on the first device and the second device. 10. The modular test head of claim 1, wherein said second device comprises a driver integrated circuit device. 11. The modular test head according to claim 1 or 9, wherein the second device further comprises a circuit connection device, and the circuit connection device electrically connects the first device and the second device. 12. The modular test head according to claim 1 or 10, wherein the second device further comprises a flexible board circuit assembly, and the flexible board circuit assembly is electrically connected to the first device and the second device. Two equipment. 13. The modularized test head according to claim 1, wherein the high-density patch cord assembly includes a first device and a second device, and the second device includes a drive integrated circuit device, a circuit The connection device is a flexible board circuit assembly; the first device includes a circuit device, and a plurality of test devices are provided on the circuit device; the driving integrated circuit device is electrically connected to the circuit device, and the flexible board circuit assembly is connected to the A driving integrated circuit device; the circuit device and the driving integrated circuit device can be configured on the third device. 14. The modular test head according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of conductive film bumps are provided on the circuit device, and a buffer pad is correspondingly provided under each conductive film bump. 15. The modular test head according to claim 13, wherein the circuit connection device is a first high-density patch cord device, and the circuit device is a second high-density patch cord device. 16. The modularized test head according to claim 1, 4 or 13, characterized in that: said third device is provided with a linear bearing for fixing the stroke track of the second suspension seat. 17. A method for manufacturing a modular test head according to claim 1 or 13, characterized in that: the method for manufacturing the high-density patch cord test assembly in the modular test head is as follows: firstly, a a substrate, and then coating a layer of polymer film on the substrate, defining a plurality of buffer pads on the polymer film, forming metal circuits on the substrate and the buffer pads, and then forming metal bumps on the metal circuits, The high-density patch cord test assembly was obtained. 18. The manufacturing method of a modular test head according to claim 17, wherein the manufacturing method of the circuit connection device included in the second equipment in the high-density patch cord test assembly is: providing a substrate, A polymer film is coated on the substrate by spin coating on the template, a metal layer is formed on the polymer film by electroplating, and a photoresist pattern is formed on the metal layer to A metal line is grown on the metal layer not covered by the photoresist pattern by electroplating to form the first high-density transfer wiring device. 19. The method for manufacturing a modularized test head according to claim 17, wherein the method for manufacturing the circuit device included in the first device in the high-density patch cord test assembly is: providing a substrate for spin-coating A layer of polymer film is coated on the substrate by cloth method, and the polymer film is subjected to high-temperature roasting and spin coating. The polymer film is used to define a plurality of buffer pads by exposure and development technology, and the substrate is subjected to high-temperature roasting. Form a metal conductive layer on the substrate and the group of buffer pads by shallow plating, define the metal conductive layer by lithographic etching technology, and define wire patterns on the substrate and the buffer pads, and use electroplating on the conductive pattern A metal circuit is formed on the circuit, a bump pattern is defined on the circuit by lithographic etching technology, and a metal bump is formed by electroplating to form the second high-density transfer wiring device.

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