Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20060171425?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=6,952,563
Timestamp: 2015-03-06 06:38:36
Document Index: 626917089

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 72', 'art 73', 'art 73', 'art 73', 'art 73', 'art 73', 'art 73', 'art 73', 'art 73', 'art 72', 'arts 72', 'arts 110', 'arts 10', 'art 76', 'art 79', 'art 81', 'art 81', 'art 81', 'art 81', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 91', 'art 91', 'art 91', 'art 91', 'art 91', 'art 91', 'art 91', 'art 133', 'art 136']

Patent US20060171425 - Probe and method of making same - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsDisclosed herein are a probe and a method of making the same, and more particularly to a probe having a minute pitch, with which a probe card corresponding to arrangement of pads formed with a massed shape or other various shapes on a wafer is made, and a method of making the same. The probe having a...http://www.google.com/patents/US20060171425?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20060171425 - Probe and method of making sameAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20060171425 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 10/549,335PCT numberPCT/KR2004/000559Publication dateAug 3, 2006Filing dateMar 16, 2004Priority dateMar 17, 2003Also published asCN1762050A, CN1762050B, US7285966, US8012331, US20080035487, WO2004084295A1Publication number10549335, 549335, PCT/2004/559, PCT/KR/2004/000559, PCT/KR/2004/00559, PCT/KR/4/000559, PCT/KR/4/00559, PCT/KR2004/000559, PCT/KR2004/00559, PCT/KR2004000559, PCT/KR200400559, PCT/KR4/000559, PCT/KR4/00559, PCT/KR4000559, PCT/KR400559, US 2006/0171425 A1, US 2006/171425 A1, US 20060171425 A1, US 20060171425A1, US 2006171425 A1, US 2006171425A1, US-A1-20060171425, US-A1-2006171425, US2006/0171425A1, US2006/171425A1, US20060171425 A1, US20060171425A1, US2006171425 A1, US2006171425A1InventorsOug-Ki Lee, Jung-Hoon LeeOriginal AssigneePhicom CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManReferenced by (5), Classifications (12), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetProbe and method of making same
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Probes according to preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 7 a to 7 d. Referring to the left side of FIG. 7 a, a probe 70 is formed in the shape of a bent plate, and is made of metal. The probe 70 has a body part 70 b, which is bent at the middle thereof so that the body part 70 b is elastically compressed and expanded when an external force is applied to the body part 70 b. When a tension force or a compression force is applied to the body part 70 b at the upper and lower ends thereof, the body part 70 b is elastically tensioned or compressed within a prescribed allowable limit. The probe 70 also has a connection part 70 a, which is integrally formed with the lower end of the body part 70 b. The connection part 70 a serves as a supporting beam for supporting the body part 70 b when one end of the body part 70 b is connected to a substrate. The probe 70 further has a tip part 70 c integrally formed with the upper end of the body part 70 b. The tip part 70 c directly contacts a pad of an element to be tested. The bottom of the probe 70, which is seen in the direction X at the left side of FIG. 7 a, is shown at the right side of FIG. 7 a. It can be seen from FIG. 7 a that the tip part 70 c is more extended to the left side than the connection part 70 a. This means that the tip part 70 c is disposed at the outermost side of the probe 70 in the horizontal direction at the left side of FIG. 7 a. The reason why the probe 70 is constructed as described above is that adjacent tip parts can be arranged densely in straight lines by an intersection arrangement of the probes, which will be described later. Referring to the left side of FIG. 7 b, a probe 71 comprises a main probe 72, which is formed in the shape of a bent plate and made of metal, and an auxiliary probe 73, which is also formed in the shape of a bent plate and made of metal. The auxiliary probe 73 is similar to the main probe 72 except for the shape of one end thereof. The auxiliary probe 73 is attached to the main probe 72. The main probe 72 comprises: a body part 72 b, which is bent at the middle thereof so that the body part 72 b is elastically compressed and expanded when an external force is applied to the body part 72 b; a connection part 72 a integrally formed with one end of the body part 72 b, the connection part 72 a serving as a supporting beam for supporting the body part 72 b when one end of the body part 72 b is connected to a substrate; and a tip part 72 c integrally formed with the other end of the body part 72 b, the tip part 72 c directly contacting a pad of an element to be tested. Similarly, the auxiliary probe 73 comprises: a body part 73 b, which is bent at the middle thereof so that the body part 73 b is elastically compressed and expanded when an external force is applied to the body part 73 b; and a connection part 73 a integrally formed with one end of the body part 73 b, the connection part 73 a serving as a supporting beam for supporting the body part 73 b when one end of the body part 73 b is connected to a substrate. The bottom of the probe 71, which is seen in the direction X at the left side of FIG. 7 b, is shown at the right side of FIG. 7 b. It can be seen from FIG. 7 b that the tip part 72 c is more extended to the left side than the connection parts 72 a and 73 a. The reason why the probe 71 is constructed as described above is that adjacent tip parts can be arranged densely in straight lines by an intersection arrangement of the probes. When the probes are arranged while intersecting each other as shown in FIG. 11 a, the distance between tip parts 110 c is decreased. FIG. 11 b is a plan view simplifying the dense arrangement of the probes. It can be seen from FIG. 11 b that the distance between the tip parts 10 c, i.e., the pitch p, is smaller than that of the conventional cantilever-type probe (See FIGS. 6 a and 6 b). The width w1 of the tip part of the probe corresponds to half of the width w2 of the body part of the probe. Consequently, it is possible to manufacture a probe card having a pitch p smaller half than that of the conventional cantilever-type probe. A probe 74 shown in FIG. 7 c is similar to the probe 71 shown in FIG. 7 b except that an auxiliary probe 75 is disposed below a main probe 76. The auxiliary and main probes 75 and 75 are attached to each other. At one end of the main probe 76 is formed a tip part 76 c. Consequently, the probe 74 of FIG. 7 c is symmetrical to the probe 71 of FIG. 7 b. A probe 77 shown in FIG. 7 d is a combination of the probes of FIGS. 7 b and 7 c. Specifically, the probe 77 comprises: a main probe 79 having a tip part 79 c formed at one end thereof; and auxiliary probes 78 and 80 attached to lower and upper sides of the main probe 79, respectively. The auxiliary probes 78 and 80 are provided for reinforcing the strength of the probe. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the probe or the main probe shown in FIGS. 7 a to 7 d. Reference symbol d1 of FIG. 8 indicates the length by which a tip part 81 c of a probe 81 is extended from the left end of a connection part 81 a of the probe 81, and reference symbol d2 of FIG. 8 indicates the height from the connection part 81 a to the end of the tip part 81 c. With the provision of various probes having different values of d1 and d2, it is possible to manufacture a probe card provided with the various probes attached to a substrate, corresponding to the arrangement of complicated or dense pads, which will be describe later. A probe according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 9, in which the probe has a body part bent at a right angle. As shown in FIG. 9, the probe 90 comprises: a body part 90 b, which is bent at a right angle so that the body part 90 b is elastically compressed and expanded when an external force is applied to the body part 90 b; a connection part 90 a integrally formed with one end of the body part 90 b, the connection part 90 a serving as a supporting beam for supporting the body part 90 b when one bent end of the body part 90 b is connected to a substrate; and a tip part 90 c integrally formed with the other bent end of the body part 90 b, the tip part 90 c directly contacting a pad of an element to be tested. As in the above-mentioned preferred embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 a to 7 d, the probe 90 shown in FIG. 9 may be prepared as a main probe, and an auxiliary probe may be attached to one side of the probe 90. Alternatively, two auxiliary probes may be attached to both sides of the probe 90, respectively. The detailed description and the drawings thereof will not be given. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the probe 90 shown in FIG. 9. Reference symbol D1 of FIG. 10 indicates the height from one end of a horizontal body part 91 b of a probe 91 to the end of a tip part 91 c, reference symbol D2 of FIG. 10 indicates the length of the horizontal body part 91 b, and reference symbol D3 of FIG. 10 indicates the height from the other end of the horizontal body part 91 b to a connection part 91 a. The parts of the body part 91 b corresponding to the reference symbols D1, D2, and D3 are referred to as a first vertical section, a horizontal section, and a second vertical section. With the provision of various probes having different values of D1, D2, and D3, i.e., the first vertical section, the horizontal section, and the second vertical section of the body part 91 b, as in the probe shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to manufacture a probe card provided with various probes attached to a substrate, corresponding to the arrangement of complicated or dense pads. When D2 is increased, it is required to increase the thickness of the probe since the elasticity is severely changed. The proportional relation between D2 and the thickness of the probe necessary to maintain the elasticity of the probe constantly may be applied to the design of the probe by showing the relation obtained from experiments in the form of a graph. FIGS. 12 a to 12 c are views illustrating an application of the probe 90 shown in FIG. 90. FIG. 12 a is a partial perspective view of a probe card, and FIG. 12 b is a plan view of the probe card shown in FIG. 12 a. The arrangement of the probes on the probe card is carried out to perform a test on the arrangement of pads on the wafer as shown in FIG. 5 a, as mentioned in the background art. It can be seen from the above drawings that probes attached on each unit substrate 125 must be arranged in the area of the unit substrate 125. As shown in FIG. 12 a, various probes having different values of D1, D2, and D3 as described with reference to FIG. 10, are attached on the unit substrate. Specifically, on the unit substrate are attached: first probes 121 each having D1H, which is larger than D1, and D3L, which is smaller than D3; second probes 122 each having D1L, which is smaller than D1, and D3H, which is larger than D3; and third probes 123 each having D1L, which is smaller than D1, and D2H and D3H, which are larger than D2 and D3, respectively. The first, second, and third probes have the same total heights as a standard probe 120 shown in FIG. 12 c. The first, second, and third probes are attached on the unit substrate as follows: The second probes 122 are attached along one side of the unit substrate 125, and the first probes 121 are attached along the adjacent side of the unit substrate, as shown in FIG. 12 a. At the corner between the adjacent sides of the unit substrate are attached the first probes 121. Since the height of the horizontal section of each of the first probes 121 is smaller than that of the horizontal section of each of the second probes 122, no interference is created between the probes. In the case that the space where the first probes 121 are attached at the corner of the unit substrate is insufficient, the third probes 123 are attached from the inside of the unit substrate 125 as shown in FIG. 12 a. The attachment of the probes is shown in FIG. 12 b, which is a plan view showing the attachment of the probes. The attachment of the probes is manually carried out by means of a laser beam. A method of making a probe according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 13 a to 13 f, which are cross-sectional views of a substrate showing main steps of making the probe. The probe making method of the present invention is provided for manufacturing the probe shown in FIG. 7 b. To the whole upper surface of a silicon wafer 130 is applied a copper layer 131, which is a sacrifice layer, as shown in FIG. 13 a. The copper layer 131 is coated at the upper surface thereof with a photoresist 132. On the upper surface of the photoresist 132 is attached a first mask 133 having a shape pattern of a desired probe. The first mask 133 has the shape as shown in FIG. 14 a. As can be seen from the enlarged part of FIG. 14 a, the shape of the space part 133 a of the mask corresponds to that of the main probe 72 shown in FIG. 7 b. The photoresist 132 is exposed and developed by means of the first mask 133. Subsequently, the first mask 133 is removed as shown in FIG. 13 b. Electrolytic plating is performed on the upper surface of the copper layer 131 having the pattern fixed by means of the exposure and development. The plated upper surface of the copper layer is ground to form a first metallic film 134 having the shape of the main probe 72 (FIG. 7 b) as shown in FIG. 13 c. As shown in FIG. 13 d, the photoresist 132 and the first metallic film 134 are coated at the upper surfaces thereof with a photoresist 135. On the upper surface of the photoresist 135 is attached a second mask 136 having a shape pattern of a desired probe. The second mask 136 has the shape as shown in FIG. 14 b. As can be seen from the enlarged part of FIG. 14 b, the shape of the space part 136 a of the mask corresponds to that of the auxiliary probe 73 shown in FIG. 7 b. The photoresist 135 is exposed and developed by means of the second mask 136 of FIG. 13 d. Subsequently, the second mask 136 is removed as shown in FIG. 13 e. Electrolytic plating is performed on the upper surface of the first metallic film 134 having the pattern fixed by means of the exposure and development. The plated upper surface of the first metallic film is ground to form a second metallic film 137 having the shape of the auxiliary probe 73 (FIG. 7 b) as shown in FIG. 13 f. Finally, the photoresists 132 and 135 of FIG. 13 f are removed, and then the copper layer 131 of FIG. 13 f is etched by means of a wet etching method so that the first metallic film 134 and the second metallic film 137 are separated from the silicon wafer 130. Consequently, a probe 140 as shown in FIG. 13 s is manufactured. The probes according to other preferred embodiments of the present invention may be manufactured by means of the above-described probe making method. The probe 70 of FIG. 7 a may be obtained by forming only the first metallic film 134 (FIG. 13 c). The probe 74 of FIG. 7 c may be obtained by carrying out the steps related to the second mask 136 (FIG. 13 d) and then carrying out the steps related to the first mask 133 (FIG. 13 a). The probe 77 of FIG. 7 d may be obtained by further carrying out the steps related to the second mask 136 (FIG. 13 d) before the manufacturing process of the probe 74 of FIG. 7 c is finished to further form another second metallic film 137 (FIG. 13 f). Also, the probe 90 of FIG. 9 and other probes (not shown) similar to the probes shown in FIGS. 7 b to 7 d may be manufactured by means of the same steps as mentioned above. In this case, however, it is required that the space part of the mask be deformed according to the shape of the probe. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a probe having a minute pitch, with which a probe card corresponding to arrangement of pads formed with a dense shape or other various shapes on a wafer is made. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7671610 *Oct 19, 2007Mar 2, 2010Microprobe, Inc.Vertical guided probe array providing sideways scrub motionUS7830162Jul 19, 2006Nov 9, 2010Phicom CorporationVertical probe and methods of fabricating and bonding the sameUS7977960 *Apr 14, 2009Jul 12, 2011Allstron Inc.Cantilever type probe head having introducing portion with end face having a tapered portion and an extended rectangular portionUS8508247 *Feb 1, 2010Aug 13, 2013Kabushiki Kaisha Nihon MicronicsElectrical connecting apparatusUS20100194416 *Feb 1, 2010Aug 5, 2010Kabushiki Kaisha Nihon MicronicsElectrical connecting apparatus* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification372/1International ClassificationG01R3/00, G01R1/067, G01R1/073, H01S3/00Cooperative ClassificationG01R1/06711, G01R1/06744, G01R1/07342, G01R3/00, G01R1/07307European ClassificationG01R1/067C3B, G01R1/067CLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionApr 18, 2011FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Sep 13, 2005ASAssignmentOwner name: LEE, OUG-KI, KOREA, REPUBLIC OFFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:LEE, OUG-KI;LEE, JUNG-HOON;REEL/FRAME:017765/0132;SIGNING DATES FROM 20050905 TO 20050909Owner name: PHICOM CORPORATION, KOREA, REPUBLIC OFFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:LEE, OUG-KI;LEE, JUNG-HOON;REEL/FRAME:017765/0132;SIGNING DATES FROM 20050905 TO 20050909RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services