JP2014202739A - Probe card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive probe card having excellent high frequency characteristics by applying wire wiring to a narrow pitch multi-pin probe card. A wire wiring end facing a probe terminal of a first probe assembly is aligned and fixed in parallel on the XY plane in the vicinity of the probe terminal so as to match the first probe terminal arrangement pitch. A wire wiring end that forms a first wire wiring layer and faces a probe terminal of the second probe assembly adjacent to the first probe assembly is the same as in the first probe assembly. The second wire wiring layer is formed by being aligned and fixed, and the first and second wire wiring layers are stacked in the Z direction, and the first probe terminal is connected to the first wire wiring layer. The second probe terminal is brought into contact with the wire wiring end of the second wire wiring layer in contact with the wire wiring end. [Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a probe card used for circuit inspection of a plurality of semiconductor chips formed on a semiconductor wafer.

  A probe card used for inspection of a semiconductor circuit is required to have a higher density of probe arrays in order to cope with an increase in the number of pads on a semiconductor chip, a reduction in pad area, and a reduction in pad pitch. At present, an example of an IC having the narrowest pitch pad and having many pins is an IC mainly used for driving a liquid crystal panel (hereinafter referred to as an LCD driver IC). In particular, in the terminal pad row that outputs signals corresponding to all pixels of the liquid crystal, an IC having more than 1000 terminals with a pad pitch of 20 μm or less has been developed. There is a tendency of becoming.

  Further, in order to shorten the inspection time, it is effective to inspect a plurality of adjacent semiconductor chips at the same time, and there is a demand for a probe card with thousands of pins that can contact a narrow pitch pad of a plurality of chips. The probe card must be efficiently wired from each probe terminal in a multi-pin probe assembly arranged at a narrow pitch to an external tester connection terminal installed at a relatively coarse pitch around the probe card. As the pitch between the probe terminals is smaller and the number of probe terminals is larger, the wiring board has a multilayer structure.

  On the other hand, in a highly functional IC, the signal frequency of each pin tends to increase, and a probe card having excellent high frequency characteristics is required. As a high frequency pattern in a printed wiring board used in a conventional probe card, a microstrip line structure on an outer layer surface or a strip line structure in an inner layer circuit is generally used, and a ground layer above or below each signal line or It has a multilayer structure with the power supply layer. However, these stripline configurations have a rectangular cross section, and high-frequency characteristics are deteriorated due to surface treatment irregularities or cross-sectional variations in the etching process. As a structure for solving this problem, for example, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-294683 (Patent Document 1). This is a wiring structure using a conductive wire in which a fine coaxial copper wire having a diameter of about 80 μm is covered with an insulating material such as polyimide. Since the wire wiring is coaxial with a constant cross-sectional shape, the electrical resistance value is small and the variation is small, and it is possible to cross the same layer and wire the shortest and the same length, so crosstalk is reduced. In addition to excellent high-frequency characteristics, there is an advantage that the number of layers can be reduced as compared with a printed wiring board. In addition, since it does not require the production of a photomask necessary for a printed wiring board, it has an advantage of low cost and short delivery time.

  On the other hand, as an efficient wiring method from a narrow pitch probe array to a wiring board, for example, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-054487 (Patent Document 2). This is a probe assembly that has probe terminals that are directly connected to the probes, and in which the arrangement of each probe terminal is distributed and integrated in the XY and Z directions, and wiring in which wiring is formed on the surface of an insulating film. Multiple layers of substrates are formed, and the land array group formed at one end of the n-th layer wiring substrate and the output terminal group of the n-th column of the probe assembly are brought into contact with each other to connect the wiring with a small number of layers. Is made easier.

  JP 2006-294683 A   JP 2010-054487 A

  However, according to the example shown in Patent Document 2, the length from the probe tip to the probe terminal tip varies, or the cross-sectional shape of the pattern on the wiring board varies. The problem of being connected arises. Further, when wire wiring is applied to the probe card, it becomes difficult to connect with a probe with a narrow pitch, and a relay pad or the like is arranged, which causes a problem that an occupied area for connection increases.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to mainly connect wire wiring in a wiring connection in a probe card having a narrow pitch and multiple pins, and to connect the probe and the wire wiring. An easy structure is to provide a probe card that has excellent high-frequency characteristics and is inexpensive.

  The present invention relates to a probe assembly in which a plurality of probes including a vertical probe portion, a probe terminal portion connected to a wiring board, and a pattern connecting the vertical probe portion and the probe terminal portion are arranged on the same plane. In the probe card comprising a plurality of probe assemblies and a wiring board, the wiring board is configured by a wire wiring pattern that connects the external connection terminal portion and the probe terminal portion with a wire with insulation coating. It is characterized by that. Since the wiring board has means constituted by a wire wiring pattern for connecting the external connection terminal portion and the probe terminal portion with a wire with an insulation coating, a wiring substrate having excellent high frequency characteristics can be realized. Is possible.

  Further, according to the present invention, the wire wiring end facing the probe terminal in the first probe assembly is aligned in parallel on the XY plane in the vicinity of the probe terminal so as to match the first probe terminal arrangement pitch. An XY plane in the vicinity of the probe terminal is fixed to form a first wire wiring layer, and the wire wiring end facing the probe terminal in the second probe assembly adjacent to the first probe assembly The second wire wiring layer is formed by aligning and fixing in parallel with the second probe terminal arrangement pitch, and the first and second wire wiring layers are stacked in the Z direction. The first probe terminal is in contact with the wire wiring end portion of the first wire wiring layer opposed to the first probe terminal, and the wire of the second wire wiring layer is opposed to the second probe terminal. And means for contacting the wire ends. For this reason, it becomes possible to implement | achieve wiring in a narrow pitch probe part efficiently in a small space.

  According to the probe card of the present invention, since the wire wiring end can be directly connected to the probe terminal tip, the length from the probe tip to the probe terminal tip can be minimized, and the wiring having excellent high frequency characteristics It is possible to apply the wire wiring technique, which is a structure, to a probe card having a narrow pitch and a large number of pins.

  It is a perspective view which shows the basic structure of the probe card which is embodiment of this invention.   It is a fragmentary detail view which shows the basic structure of the probe assembly which is embodiment of this invention.   It is explanatory drawing which shows the basic structure of the probe assembly which is embodiment of this invention, and the structure of wire connection.   It is a partial detail drawing which shows the connection structure of the probe terminal which is embodiment of this invention, and a wire.   It is a partial detail drawing which shows the connection structure of the probe terminal which is embodiment of this invention, and a wire.   It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the connection structure of the probe terminal and wire which are embodiment of this invention.   It is sectional drawing which shows the whole structure of the probe card which is embodiment of this invention.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall view of a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is used for inspecting a semiconductor chip 100 to be inspected produced on a wafer (not shown). In this embodiment, the IC of one peripheral arrangement type pad is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. The probe card 1 is mainly composed of a wiring board 3 and a probe assembly 10, and the wiring board 3 has an insulating substrate 30 (for example, FR-4) as a base material, and an external connection terminal 31 is installed in the periphery. It manages the interface with the tester. Further, a through hole 32 for connecting to an electrical component (not shown) such as a capacitor is provided as necessary.

  On the other hand, the wiring part between the probe assembly 10 and the external connection terminal part 31 in the wiring board 3 is between the external connection terminal part 31 and a probe terminal part described later, or the external connection terminal part 31. And the through-hole 32 or between the probe terminal portion and the through-hole 32 by a wire wiring layer 4 that connects with a wire wiring 40 with insulating coating, and a signal line that requires high-frequency characteristics A coaxial shield wire 45 having a ground shield conductor coaxially through an insulating layer around the signal wire is used.

  This embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a basic structure of the probe assembly 10 used in the probe card according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the wire wiring 40 in the wire wiring layer 4. In this embodiment, a probe card for inspecting a semiconductor chip to be inspected (hereinafter simply referred to as a chip) such as an LCD driver IC on a wafer as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2 is taken as an example, and the probe assembly 10 is shown in FIG. Shown at the bottom. Reference numeral 100 denotes a chip manufactured on a wafer, and pad rows 101 to 105 are arranged in the vicinity of the periphery of each of the semiconductor chips 100. The pad rows 101 and 102 are arranged on one side of the chip 100 in parallel so as to be shifted from each other by the pad width, forming a so-called staggered arrangement, corresponding to the increase in the number of pins of the LCD output signal. Yes. The probe assembly 10 includes probe assemblies 11 to 15. Reference numerals 11 and 12 denote probe assemblies corresponding to all pads on the pad rows 101 and 102 in the semiconductor chip 100, respectively. Reference numeral 13 denotes a probe assembly corresponding to all pads on the pad row 103. On the other hand, 14 and 15 are probe assemblies corresponding to all pads of the pad arrays 104 and 105 orthogonal to the pad arrays 101, 102 or 103, respectively, and are arranged orthogonal to the probe assemblies 11 to 13. Thus, the probe assembly 10 is configured.

  FIG. 3 also shows the relationship between the pad rows 101 and 102 and the probe assemblies 11 and 12 in the probe assembly 10 shown in FIG. In the probe assembly 11 constituting the probe assembly 10, probes 110 are arrayed and fixed on an insulating film (for example, polyimide resin) 119. The probe 110 corresponds to the pad row 101, and the same subscripts (1 to i) are in contact with each other to achieve electrical conduction. Similarly, in the probe assembly 12, probes 120-1 to 120j are arrayed and fixed on an insulating film 129 and correspond to the pad rows 102-1 to 102-j, respectively, and the probe assembly 13 is formed on the insulating film 139. Probes 130-1 to 130-k are arranged and fixed to correspond to the pad rows 103-1 to 103-k, respectively, and the probe assembly 14 has probes 140-1 to 140-m arranged and fixed on an insulating film 149. The probe assembly 15 corresponds to the pad rows 104-1 to 104-m, and probes 150-1 to 150-n are arranged and fixed on the insulating film 159, and the pad rows 105-1 to 105-n are respectively arranged. It corresponds.

  One probe 110 includes a vertical probe portion 112, a probe deformation portion 113, a conductor pattern 114, and a terminal 115. A tip portion of the vertical probe portion 112 has a probe contact portion (black portion) 111. In addition, each subscript is shown corresponding to the probe or pad subscript. The probes 120, 130, 140, and 150 have the same configuration. The terminal 115 is connected to a pad 33 provided on the wiring board 3, and electrical connection with the wiring board 3 is ensured. The wire 40 with an insulation coating has a coating portion 402 made of an insulating material (for example, polyimide) around a copper wire 401. The end portion 405 is partially removed from the covering portion 402, and is fixed to the pad 33 by soldering or welding 404. The other end 406 is also partially removed from the covering portion 402, and the external connection terminal 31 is secured by soldering or welding 404 to a conductor pattern 311 extending from a through-hole 310 that constitutes 31, thereby ensuring electrical connection between the probe assembly 10 and the external connection terminal 31.

  4 to 6 are diagrams illustrating a connection structure between the probe terminal and the wire in the embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment shows a structure in which the probe terminal and the wire are directly connected without using the pad 33 in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 21 denotes one probe assembly, and one probe 210 on the probe assembly 21 includes an insulating film 219, a probe contact portion 211, a vertical probe portion 212, a probe deformation portion 213, and a conductor pattern 214. The probe terminal 215 has a probe terminal deforming portion 216 for generating a spring force in the Z direction. Further, the probe terminal contact portion 217 has a V-shaped (or U-shaped) recess notch 218 to ensure contact with the wire. 4 and 5, a part of the probe contact portion 211, the vertical probe portion 212, the probe deformation portion 213, and the conductor pattern 214 is omitted for simplification.

  In this specification, the “Z” direction refers to, for example, the probe assembly 10 shown in FIG. 2 (or FIG. 4), the vertical direction of the entire probe assembly 10 (vertical direction in FIG. 2). Represent. The “X” direction (described later) represents the short side direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) of the rectangular shape of the entire probe assembly 10 shown in FIG. The “Y” direction (described later) similarly represents the longitudinal direction of the rectangular shape of the entire probe assembly 10 (the direction extending obliquely from the upper left to the lower right in FIG. 2). Then, by setting coordinate axes extending in the X, Y, and Z directions, an X, Y, Z three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system is formed. In the drawings other than FIG. 2 (or FIG. 4), the X, Y, and Z directions indicate directions corresponding to the directions in FIG.

  In the wiring board 3, the wire 410 to be connected to the first probe terminal 215 in the first probe assembly 21 is connected to the wire wiring end 415 on the XY plane in the vicinity of the probe terminal 215. The first wire wiring layer 41 was formed by matching with the first probe terminal arrangement pitch Py1 and aligning and fixing in parallel. At this time, at least the side of the end portion 415 of the wire 41 that contacts the probe terminal 215 is removed by laser irradiation or the like to remove the covering portion 412 to expose the copper wire 411, and at the same time, the X of the wire end portion 415 Align and fix the direction position. The first probe terminal 215 configured as described above and the wire end portion 415 of the first wire wiring layer 41 are aligned in the XY direction, and pressed in the Z direction, whereby the first An electrical connection between the probe terminal 215 and the wire end 415 is ensured.

  FIG. 5 illustrates a method of connecting the probe terminal and the wire when the two probe assemblies are installed adjacent to each other. FIG. 5 shows the first probe assembly 21 and the second probe assembly 22 arranged adjacent to and in parallel. One probe 220 on the second probe assembly 22 includes an insulating film 229, a probe contact portion 221, a vertical probe portion 222, a probe deformation portion 223, a conductor pattern 224, and a probe terminal 225, and the probe terminal 225 has a probe terminal deforming portion 226 for generating a spring force in the Z direction. Further, the probe terminal contact portion 227 has a V-shaped (or U-shaped) recess notch 228 to ensure contact with the wire. In FIG. 5, a part of the probe contact portion 221, the vertical probe portion 222, the probe deformation portion 223, and the conductor pattern 224 is omitted for simplification. The wire 420 to be connected to the second probe terminal 225 in the second probe assembly 22 is arranged on the XY plane in the vicinity of the probe terminal 225, and the wire wiring end 425 is arranged in the second probe terminal arrangement. The second wire wiring layer 42 was formed in alignment with the pitch Py2 and aligned and fixed in parallel. At this time, at least the side of the end portion 425 of the wire 42 that is in contact with the probe terminal 225 is removed by laser irradiation or the like to expose the copper wire 421, and at the same time, the X of the wire end portion 425. Align and fix the direction position.

  By aligning the second probe terminal 225 and the wire end portion 425 of the second wire wiring layer 42 having the above-described configuration in the XY direction and pressing in the Z direction, the second probe terminal 225 and the second wire wiring layer 42 are pressed in the Z direction. An electrical connection between the probe terminal 225 and the wire end 425 is ensured. Further, in the positional relationship between the two probe assemblies 21, 22 and the two wire wiring layers 41, 42 as described above, the second wire wiring layer 42 has the Z of the first wire wiring layer 41. The X-direction position of the wire end portion 425 of the second wire wiring layer 42 is located in the upper part of the direction relative to the X-direction position of the wire end portion 415 of the first wire wiring layer 41. The probe assembly 21 and the second probe assembly 22 are placed in the X-direction pitch Px2 so as to be aligned and fixed.

  FIG. 5 also shows that ground layers 51 and 52 are disposed between the first wire wiring layer 41 and the second wire wiring layer 42 or below the second wire wiring layer 42, and It becomes possible to perform positioning, mechanical fixation, and securing of high frequency characteristics of the wire wiring layer 41 and the second wire wiring layer 42 in the Z direction. The ground layers 51 and 52 are formed by externally processing a copper foil or only a copper foil of an insulating substrate with a copper foil, and provided with a notch 510 for allowing the second probe terminal 225 to pass therethrough.

  FIG. 6 illustrates a connection method and positional relationship between the probe assemblies and the wires when the number of probe assemblies is further increased. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the probe assemblies 23a to 26a and 23b to 26b are installed symmetrically on the XZ plane in addition to the probe assemblies 21 and 22. Similar to the positional relationship between the probe assemblies 21 and 22 and the two wire wiring layers 41 and 42, the wire wiring layers 43 to 46 connected to the probe assemblies 23a to 26a are arranged in the Z direction. The wires are arranged one after the other, and the positions of the wire ends in the X direction are shifted in accordance with the pitch in the X direction of the probe assemblies 23a to 26a to be aligned and fixed. Further, ground layers 53 to 56 are arranged between the wire wiring layers 43 to 46, so that the wire wiring layers 43 to 46 can be positioned in the Z direction, mechanically fixed, and high frequency characteristics can be ensured. Become. The ground layers 53 to 56 are formed by externally processing a copper foil or only a copper foil of an insulating substrate with a copper foil, and notches 520 to 550 for allowing the probe terminals to pass therethrough range of the probe terminals through which the ground layers 53 to 56 pass. It is provided with the size according to.

  The probe assemblies 23b to 26b can be dealt with by connecting the wires in the same wiring layer as the wire wiring layers 43 to 46 in the probe assemblies 23a to 26a. By the above method, it is possible to easily realize connection with the probe terminals of a plurality of the probe assemblies configured corresponding to one semiconductor chip 100 to be inspected shown in FIG. Further, by setting the range of the ground layers 51 to 56 in the vicinity of the probe terminal, the degree of freedom of wiring of the wire is increased in the range where the ground layers 51 to 56 are not provided, and the wiring to the external connection terminal 31 is performed. The effect is that it becomes easier.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the entire probe card according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, after the wiring of the wire 40 is completed, the wire 40 is protected by installing a cover 7. Moreover, it is also possible to improve the protection and electrical insulation of the wire 40 by filling the wire wiring layer 4 with an insulating resin or the like. In addition, by installing the through hole 32 on the back surface of the wiring board 3, it is possible to mount necessary electrical components 6 such as capacitors.

  According to the embodiment described above, according to the probe card of the present invention, since the wire wiring end can be directly connected to the probe terminal tip, the length from the probe tip to the probe terminal tip can be minimized. Therefore, it is possible to apply the wire wiring method, which is a wiring structure having excellent high frequency characteristics, to a probe card having a narrow pitch and a large number of pins.

  According to the probe card of the present invention, a multi-pin mounting capable of simultaneous inspection of a plurality of chips of an IC having a peripheral array pad including a narrow pitch staggered array pad or an IC having a narrow pitch grid array pad. It can be used for wiring in the probe card.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe card 10 Probe assembly 100 Semiconductor chips 101-105 to be inspected Pad rows 11-15, 21-26 Probe assemblies 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 210, 220 Probes 111, 121, 211, 221 Probe contact Portions 112, 122, 212, 222 Vertical probe portions 113, 123, 213, 223 Probe deformation portions 114, 124, 214, 224 Conductor patterns 115, 125, 215, 225 Probe terminals 119, 129, 139, 149, 159, 219 229 Insulating film 216, 226 Probe terminal deforming part 217, 227 Probe terminal contact part 218, 228 V-shaped notch 3 Wiring board 30 Insulating board 31 External connection terminal 310 Through hole 311 Pattern 32 Through hole 33 Pad 4, 4 1, 42 Wire wiring layer 40, 410, 420 Wire wiring 401, 411, 421 Copper wire 402, 412, 422 Cover 403, 413, 423 Adhesive 404 Soldering or welding 405, 415, 425 Wire end 45 Coaxial shield Line 5, 51-56 Ground layer 510, 520, 530, 540, 550, 560 Notch 6 Electrical component 7 Cover

Claims (15)

A plurality of probe assemblies in which a plurality of probes including a vertical probe portion, a probe terminal portion connected to a wiring board, and a pattern connecting the vertical probe portion and the probe terminal portion are arranged on the same plane are defined. In a probe card comprising a probe assembly and a wiring board,
The probe card, wherein the wiring board is configured by a wire wiring pattern that connects an external connection terminal portion and the probe terminal portion with a wire with an insulation coating. In the wiring board,
The wire wiring end facing the first probe terminal in the first probe assembly is on the XY plane in the vicinity of the probe terminal.
The first wire wiring layer is formed by aligning and fixing in parallel to match the first probe terminal arrangement pitch,
The probe card according to claim 1. In the wiring board,
The wire wiring end facing the second probe terminal in the second probe assembly adjacent to the first probe assembly on the XY plane in the vicinity of the probe terminal,
A second wire wiring layer is formed by aligning and fixing in parallel to match the second probe terminal arrangement pitch,
The probe card according to claim 2, wherein the probe card is installed so as to overlap in the Z direction of the first wire wiring layer. The second wire wiring layer is located on top of the first wire wiring layer;
The X direction position of the wire wiring end of the second wire wiring layer is
The first wire wiring layer is disposed so as to be located inside the X probe between the first probe assembly and the second probe assembly with respect to the X direction position of the wire wiring end portion of the first wire wiring layer;
The probe card according to claim 3.   5. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein the ground layer or the power supply layer of the wiring substrate is a metal foil layer formed by externally processing a metal foil or a metal foil of an insulating substrate with a metal foil. .   The probe card according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the metal foil layer is inserted in an upper part or a lower part of an arbitrary wire wiring layer, or an upper part and a lower part. The first probe terminals in the first probe assembly are in contact with the wire wiring ends of the first wire wiring layer facing each other;
The second probe terminal in the second probe assembly is in contact with the wire wiring end of the second wire wiring layer facing each other;
The probe card according to claim 4.   8. The probe card according to claim 7, wherein at least a covering portion that contacts the probe terminal at the end of the wire wiring is removed.   9. The probe card according to claim 7, wherein the probe terminal has a spring force in the Z direction and has an electrical connection by being pressed against a covering removal portion of the end portion of the wire wiring.   10. The probe card according to claim 7, wherein the tip of the probe terminal is V-shaped or U-shaped so that a central portion is a concave portion. A through hole or pad (through hole etc.) is installed in the approximate center of the wiring board,
The through hole or the like and the external connection terminal portion, or the through hole or the like and the probe terminal portion are connected by the wire with insulation coating,
The probe card according to claim 1, wherein:   12. The probe card according to claim 1, wherein the wire with insulation coating is a coaxial shield wire having a ground shield conductor coaxially with an insulating layer around the signal wire.   The probe card according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a part of the wire with insulation coating is fixed to an insulating portion or a metal foil portion of the wiring board with an adhesive.   The probe card according to claim 1, wherein the wire wiring layer is filled with an insulating resin.   The probe card according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the probe is obtained by finely processing a conductive metal foil and pasting it on an insulating film.

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