TWM638620U - Testing probes and probe cards - Google Patents

Abstract

This creation discloses a test probe and a probe card. The test probe includes a metal body, an inner insulating layer, a conductive layer and an outer insulating layer. The two ends of the metal body are the connection end and the contact end respectively. The contact end of the metal body is used for contacting the object to be tested. The inner insulation layer covers a part of the metal body. The conductive layer covers a partial section of the inner insulating layer. The outer insulating layer covers a part of the conductive layer, and a grounding section of the conductive layer is exposed from the outer insulating layer. The ground area of the conductive layer is used for grounding. The test probe and the probe card containing the test probe of the invention can make the test probe have a relatively high signal resolution through the design of the inner insulating layer, the conductive layer, the outer insulating layer and the grounding section .

Description

Test Probes and Probe Cards

The invention relates to a test probe and a probe card, especially a test probe and a probe card suitable for high-frequency testing of semiconductor components (such as various chips).

As the operating frequency of semiconductor wafers is getting higher and higher, the signals of each probe are more likely to be interfered by external signals or signals of adjacent probes during the process of measuring the wafer with probes. For this reason, it will cause The resolution of the signal from the probe is reduced.

In addition, as the size of the wafer becomes smaller and smaller, the size of the probes is also smaller and smaller, and the distance between multiple probes is also smaller and smaller. Therefore, when a current flows through the probes instantaneously , Each probe is prone to arc discharge, and then the problem of burning the probe may occur.

This creation discloses a test probe and a probe card, which are mainly used to improve the existing probes used in semiconductor testing. When performing high-frequency testing on semiconductor chips, the probes are easily interfered by external signals, and the probes are instantly When a current is passed, the probe is prone to arcing, thereby accommodating the problem of burning the probe.

One embodiment of the present invention discloses a test probe, which includes: a metal body, an inner insulating layer, a conductive layer and an outer insulating layer. The two ends of the metal body are respectively defined as a contact end and a connection end. The contact end is used to contact the object to be tested. The metal body has an unshielded section at the connection end, and the length of the unshielded section is not greater than that of the metal body. 1/3 of the overall length; the inner insulating layer is formed on the periphery of at least one section of the metal body, the inner insulating layer is not formed on the unshielded section; the conductive layer is formed on the outer periphery of at least one section of the inner insulating layer, and A conductive layer is formed on the periphery of at least 80 percent of the section of the inner insulating layer; the outer insulating layer is formed on the periphery of a part of the section of the conductive layer; wherein, one end of the conductive layer adjacent to the connecting end has a grounding section, the grounding The ground section is not formed with an outer insulating layer, and the ground section is used for grounding. Preferably, at least 80% to 90% of the inner insulation layer is formed with a conductive layer on its periphery.

One embodiment of the invention discloses a probe card, which includes: the test probe of the invention, an upper guide plate, a lower guide plate and at least one fixing member. The upper guide plate includes a grounding structure, the connecting ends of each test probe are fixed on the upper guide plate, and the grounding section is connected to the grounding structure, and the grounding structure is used for grounding; On the lower guide plate; at least one fixing member, which is used to fix the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate to each other.

In summary, the test probes and probe cards of this creation are designed through the inner insulating layer, conductive layer, outer insulating layer and grounding section. When testing the semiconductor wafer, the test probes and probe cards are especially When performing high-frequency testing, the signal of the test probe will not be easily interfered by external signals, and it can also greatly reduce the problem of signal interference between adjacent test probes; in addition, when the current passes through the test probe instantaneously , and it is relatively less prone to arc discharge, thereby ensuring the service life of the test probe.

In order to further understand the characteristics and technical content of this creation, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings about this creation, but these descriptions and drawings are only used to illustrate this creation, not to make any statement on the scope of protection of this creation limit.

In the following description, if it is pointed out that please refer to the specific drawing or as shown in the specific drawing, it is only used to emphasize in the subsequent description, most of the relevant content mentioned appears in the specific drawing, It is not intended, however, to limit the ensuing description to only those particular drawings referred to.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 together. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the test probe of this creation, Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the test probe of this creation along the section line II-II in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a schematic view of this creation The schematic cross-sectional view of the test probe along the section line III-III in Fig. 1. The test probe 1 of the present invention includes: a metal body 11 , an inner insulating layer 12 , a conductive layer 13 and an outer insulating layer 14 . The test probe 1 of the present invention can be applied to the testing of various semiconductor objects, such as the testing of various chips and wafers, and the test probe 1 of the present invention is particularly suitable for high-frequency testing of semiconductor chips.

It should be noted that in the drawings of this embodiment, the thickness, length, and proportional relationship between the metal body 11, the inner insulating layer 12, the conductive layer 13 and the outer insulating layer 14 are only drawn for the convenience of understanding. not based on real data.

Two ends of the metal body 11 are defined as a contact end 111 and a connection end 112 respectively. The contact end 111 is used to contact the object under test, such as any semiconductor object, such as various chips, wafers, etc. The connecting end 112 of the metal body 11 is used for connecting with a detection device.

In this embodiment, it is taken as an example that the metal body 11 can be roughly a rectangular columnar structure (that is, the form commonly known in the industry), but the shape of the metal body 11 is not limited thereto. In different embodiments, The metal body 11 can also be a substantially cylindrical structure. The metal body 11 referred to here is roughly the same as various known semiconductor test probes, and the shape and material selection of the metal body 11 can be roughly the same as the known various semiconductor test probes; That is, in different embodiments, some sections of the test probe 1 of the present invention may also be curved.

The inner insulating layer 12 is formed around at least a section of the metal body 11 . In practice, the inner insulating layer 12 may be formed on the periphery of the metal body 11 by vacuum sputtering, for example. The inner insulating layer 12 can be aluminum oxide or aluminum nitride, for example, but not limited thereto. As shown in Figure 3, in the sectional view of the section where the inner insulating layer 12 is formed on the metal body 11, the outer periphery of the metal body 11 is covered by the inner insulating layer 12, and the inner insulating layer 12 is not only formed on the metal body A certain outer surface of 11.

The metal body 11 has an unshielded section 113 at the connecting end 112, the inner insulating layer 12 is not formed in the unshielded section 113, and the length 113D of the unshielded section 113 may be not greater than the overall length 11D of the metal body 11. 1 out of 3. That is to say, the inner insulating layer 12 does not completely cover the periphery of the metal body 11 .

In one of the specific embodiments, the metal body 11 may include, for example, a body portion 114 and a contact portion 115. One end of the body portion 114 is connected to the contact portion 115, and the other end of the body portion 114 is the connection end 112. The metal body 11 The outer diameter of the contact portion 115 gradually decreases from a direction close to the body portion 114 to a direction away from the body portion 114 . The inner insulating layer 12 is formed on the body portion 114 , and the length 113D of the unshielded section 113 is 8/10 to 9/10 of the overall length 114D of the body portion 114 . It should be emphasized that, in different embodiments, the metal body 11 may only include the body portion 114 without the contact portion 115 .

The conductive layer 13 is formed on the periphery of at least one section of the inner insulating layer 12 , and the outer periphery of at least 80 percent of the section of the inner insulating layer 12 is formed with the conductive layer 13 . In practical applications, the conductive layer 13 is formed on the periphery of the inner insulating layer 12 by vacuum sputtering. Preferably, at least 80% to 90% of the inner insulating layer 12 is surrounded by the conductive layer 13 .

Preferably, the conductive layer 13 can be a graphene alloy layer, the content of graphene in the graphene alloy layer is 1ppm～1000ppm, and the remaining alloys in the graphene alloy layer are molybdenum (Mo), titanium (Ti), Silver (Ag), Gold (Au), Palladium (Pd), Platinum (Pt), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Tungsten (W), Vanadium (V), Niobium (Nb), Zirconium (Zr), Tantalum (Ta), Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), Ruthenium (Ru), Rhodium (Rh), Iridium (Ir), Aluminum (Al), Yttrium (Y), Silicon (Si), One of germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), and hafnium (Hf). In practice, the rest of the alloy in the graphene alloy layer can be copper, so that the manufacturing cost of the test probe 1 can be reduced. In different embodiments, the conductive layer 13 may also include carbon nanotubes or fullerenes (commonly known as buckyballs).

In the embodiment where the conductive layer 13 is a graphene alloy layer, the graphene powder can be mixed into the copper target, or the graphene powder is set on the copper target, and argon gas is passed into the vacuum sputtering machine, After the plasma is generated, copper metal and graphene are sputtered together on a part of the inner insulating layer 12 of the metal body 11, and a graphene alloy conductive film is formed on the periphery of the inner insulating layer 12 (that is, the conductive layer 13 ).

The outer insulating layer 14 is formed on the periphery of a partial section of the conductive layer 13 . In practical applications, the outer insulating layer 14 may be formed on the periphery of the conductive layer 13 by vacuum sputtering. The outer insulating layer 14 can be aluminum oxide or aluminum nitride, for example, but not limited thereto. As shown in Figure 3, in the cross-sectional view of the section where the conductive layer 13 is formed with the outer insulating layer 14, the periphery of the conductive layer 13 is covered by the outer insulating layer 14, and the outer insulating layer 14 is not formed only on the conductive layer. A certain outer surface of 13.

One end of the conductive layer 13 adjacent to the connection end 112 has a grounding section 131 , the grounding section 131 is not formed with the outer insulating layer 14 , and the grounding section 131 is used for grounding. That is to say, not all the outer periphery of the conductive layer 13 is covered by the outer insulating layer 14 , and the grounding section 131 of the conductive layer 13 not covered by the outer insulating layer 14 is used for grounding. Regarding the grounding method of the conductive layer 13, for example, it can be connected to the relevant grounding circuit of the probe card to achieve the effect of grounding, or the conductive layer 13 can also achieve the effect of grounding indirectly through related components such as wires, of course , the relevant components used to connect to the conductive layer 13 are not connected to the metal body 11 . In a preferred embodiment, the length 131D of the grounding section 131 along the length direction of the metal body 11 may be between 1 micrometer (㎛)˜1000 micrometers (㎛).

It is worth mentioning that, in practical applications, the end of the conductive layer 13 and the inner insulating layer 12 adjacent to the contact end 111 can be flush with each other, so that the contact end 111 of the test probe 1 can be avoided from contacting the object under test. When in contact, the section of the conductive layer 13 close to the contact end 111 is in contact with the conductive layer 13 of another adjacent test probe 1 . One end of the inner insulating layer 12 adjacent to the connection end 112 may have an exposed section 121 of the inner insulating layer, and the exposed section 121 of the inner insulating layer is not covered by the conductive layer 13 .

That is to say, except that the exposed section 121 of the inner insulating layer 12 is not covered by the conductive layer 13, the remaining sections of the inner insulating layer 12 can be covered by the conductive layer 13, while the inner insulating layer is exposed. Section 121 has a length 121D. Preferably, the length 121D of the exposed section 121 of the inner insulating layer may be between 1 micrometer (㎛)˜1000 micrometers (㎛).

Through the design of the exposed section 121 of the inner insulating layer, it is possible to effectively prevent related components (such as wires, etc.) used to contact the ground section 131 from contacting the metal body 11 . Of course, in different embodiments, the inner insulating layer 12 may also not include the exposed section 121 of the inner insulating layer.

It should be emphasized that if the inner insulating layer 12, the conductive layer 13 and the outer insulating layer 14 are formed by vacuum sputtering, the thickness of the inner insulating layer 12 can be between 10 nanometers (nm) and 2000 nanometers. meters (nm), the thickness of the conductive layer 13 is between 10 nanometers (nm) and 2000 nanometers (nm), and the thickness of the outer insulating layer 14 is between 10 nanometers (nm) and 2000 nanometers (nm), so, A plurality of test probes 1 can be applied to a probe card for testing small-sized wafers.

In other words, if the inner insulating layer 12, the conductive layer 13 and the outer insulating layer 14 are formed by vacuum sputtering, the test probe 1 of the present invention can directly replace the conventional probe used for testing small-sized wafers. The probe in the card, and basically can not additionally modify other structures in the known probe card.

According to the above, the test probe 1 of the present creation can effectively reduce external impurities through the design of the inner insulating layer 12, the conductive layer 13 and the outer insulating layer 14, and cooperate with the design of the grounding section 131 of the conductive layer 13 to be grounded. The technical effect of the signal on the interference of the test probe 1 can effectively reduce the situation that the test probe 1 receives external signals, thereby achieving the technical effect of improving the signal resolution of the test probe 1 .

It is worth mentioning that, in practice, by making the length 113D of the unshielded section 113 not greater than 1/3 of the overall length 11D of the metal body 11, or making the length 113D of the unshielded section 113 be the body part The overall length 114D of 114 is designed to be 8/10 to 9/10, etc., and cooperate to make the conductive layer 13 cover the inner insulating layer 12, except the other sections of the inner insulating layer exposed section 121, and make the conductive layer 13 ground etc. design, will be able to ensure that the test probe 1 can achieve the above-mentioned various technical functions.

In the existing common semiconductor test probes, when the current is applied to the test probes instantly, the test probes are prone to arc discharge. For this reason, the test probes may burn out. The test probe 1 of this creation passed. The design of the conductive layer 13 and the grounding section 131 can effectively avoid the burning problem of the test probe 1 .

It should be noted that, through the design of the outer insulating layer 14, if the test probes 1 are bent during the process of testing the object to be tested, the conductive layers 13 of each test probe 1 will not contact each other. , and each test probe 1 can still operate normally.

Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 together. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the probe card created by the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged schematic view of FIG. 4 . The probe card (Probe Card) A of this creation includes multiple test probes (Probe) 1 (only two are shown in the figure), an upper guide plate (Upper Die) 2, and a lower guide plate (Lower Die) 3 And a plurality of fixing members 4. For the detailed description of each test probe 1 , please refer to the above-mentioned embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

The upper guide plate 2 includes a plurality of grounding structures 22, the connection end 112 of each test probe 1 is fixed on the upper guide plate 2, and the grounding section 131 of the test probe 1 is connected to the grounding structure 22, and the grounding structure 22 is used for grounding . A partial section of each test probe 1 adjacent to the contact end 111 is fixed on the lower guide plate 3 . The fixing member 4 is used to fix the upper guide plate 2 and the lower guide plate 3 to each other. The fixing member 4 is mainly used to fix the upper guide plate 2 and the lower guide plate 3 to each other. For example, the fixing member 4 may be a screw or other member.

In more detail, the upper guide plate 2 and the lower guide plate 3, for example, respectively include a plurality of upper through holes 21 and a plurality of lower through holes 31, each test probe 1 passes through an upper through hole 21 and a lower through hole 31 respectively, and the upper guide The board 2 is formed with a grounding structure 22 (such as a conductive metal structure layer) on the inner wall of each upper through hole 21, and the grounding section 131 of the conductive layer 13 of each test probe 1 is corresponding to the upper guide plate 2. The grounding structures 22 are connected, and the conductive layer 13 of each test probe 1 is grounded through the grounding section 131 and the grounding structure 22 of the upper guide plate 2 . The grounding method of the grounding structures 22 of the upper guide plate 2 can be designed according to requirements, for example, all the grounding structures 22 of the upper guide plate 2 are connected to each other, and are directly or indirectly connected to the ground through a wire or other components. It should be noted that, as long as the grounding structure 22 can be connected to the grounding section 131 of the conductive layer 13 of each test probe 1 , the setting position of the grounding structure 22 of the upper guide plate 2 can be changed according to requirements.

According to the above, the biggest difference between the probe card A of this creation and the conventional probe card is: the probe card A of this creation contains the test probe 1 of this creation, and the upper guide plate 2 has a grounding structure 22. In addition, the probe card A of this creation can include other components and structures included in various existing probe cards according to requirements.

The probe card A of this creation is designed through the grounding structure 22 of the upper guide plate 2 and each test probe 1. When the probe card A is applied to the high frequency test of a semiconductor chip, the measurement signal of each test probe 1 will not be different. It is easy to be interfered by external noise, and the signals generated by adjacent test probes 1 are not easy to interfere with each other; in addition, when the probe card A is connected to the current momentarily, it is not easy for each test probe 1 In the event of arc discharge, each test probe 1 is less likely to be burned.

The above is only the preferred feasible embodiment of this creation, and does not limit the patent scope of this creation. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made by using the instructions and drawings of this creation are included in the protection scope of this creation. .

A: Probe card 1: Test probe 11: Metal body 11D: length 111: contact end 112: connection end 113: Unmasked section 113D: length 114: body part 114D: Length 115: contact part 12: Inner insulating layer 121: Inner insulating layer exposed section 121D: Length 13: Conductive layer 131: Grounding section 131D: length 14: Outer insulating layer 2: Upper guide plate 21: upper perforation 22: Grounding structure 3: Lower guide plate 31: Lower perforation 4: Fixed components

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the test probe of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the test probe of the present invention along the section line II-II in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the test probe of the present invention along the section line III-III in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the probe card of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of FIG. 4 .

1: Test probe

11: Metal body

111: contact end

112: connection end

113: Unmasked section

114: body part

115: contact part

12: Inner insulating layer

121: Inner insulating layer exposed section

13: Conductive layer

131: Grounding section

14: Outer insulating layer

Claims (13)

A test probe comprising: . A metal body, the two ends of which are respectively defined as a contact end and a connection end, the contact end is used to contact the object under test, the metal body has an unshielded section at the connection end, and the unshielded the length of the segment is no greater than 1/3 of the overall length of the metal body; an inner insulating layer formed on the periphery of at least one section of the metal body, the inner insulating layer not formed on the unshielded section; a conductive layer formed on the periphery of at least one section of the inner insulating layer, and at least 80 percent of the section of the inner insulating layer is formed with the conductive layer; an outer insulating layer, which is formed on the periphery of a part of the conductive layer; wherein, one end of the conductive layer adjacent to the connecting end has a grounding section, and the grounding section is not formed with the outer insulating layer layer, and the ground section is used for grounding. The test probe according to claim 1, wherein the inner insulating layer is aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, hafnium nitride, zirconium nitride or zirconium oxide; the outer The insulating layer is aluminum oxide or aluminum nitride, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, hafnium nitride, zirconium nitride or zirconium oxide. The test probe as claimed in item 2, wherein the conductive layer is a graphene alloy layer, which includes graphene, molybdenum, titanium, silver, gold, palladium, platinum, nickel, One of copper, chromium, tungsten, vanadium, niobium, zirconium, tantalum, iron, cobalt, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, aluminum, yttrium, silicon, germanium, tin, hafnium. The test probe according to claim 2, wherein the conductive layer comprises carbon nanotubes or fullerene. The test probe according to claim 1, wherein the length of the grounding section ranges from 1 micron (㎛) to 1000 micron (㎛). The test probe according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the inner insulating layer is between 10 nanometers (nm) and 2000 nanometers (nm). The test probe according to claim 1, wherein the conductive layer has a thickness ranging from 10 nanometers (nm) to 2000 nanometers (nm). The test probe according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the outer insulating layer is between 10 nanometers (nm) and 2000 nanometers (nm). The test probe according to claim 1, wherein the metal body includes a body part and a contact part, one end of the body part is connected to the contact part, and the other end of the body part is the connecting part. end, the outer diameter of the metal body at the contact portion gradually decreases from the direction close to the body portion to the direction away from the body portion; the inner insulating layer is formed on the body portion, and the The length of the shielding section is 8/10 to 9/10 of the overall length of the body portion. The test probe according to claim 1, wherein, the inner insulating layer is formed on the periphery of the metal body by vacuum sputtering, and the conductive layer is formed on the inner surface by vacuum sputtering. The outer periphery of the insulating layer, the outer insulating layer is formed on the outer periphery of the conductive layer by vacuum sputtering. The test probe according to claim 1, wherein the end of the inner insulating layer adjacent to the connection end has an exposed section of the inner insulating layer, and the exposed section of the inner insulating layer is not formed with the conductive layer. The test probe according to claim 11, wherein the exposed section of the inner insulating layer has a length ranging from 1 micron (㎛) to 1000 micron (㎛). A probe card comprising: A plurality of test probes as described in any one of claims 1 to 12; An upper guide plate, which includes a grounding structure, the connection ends of each of the test probes are fixed on the upper guide plate, and the grounding section is connected to the grounding structure, and the grounding structure is used for grounding; a lower guide plate, each of the test probes is fixed to a portion of the lower guide plate adjacent to the contact end; At least one fixing member is used to fix the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate to each other.

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