Patent Description:
A semiconductor integrated circuit chip generally uses a probe card for an electrical test. The probe card includes a printed circuit board (PCB), a space transformer (ST) and a probe head (PH). The probe head mainly includes an upper guide plate, a lower guide plate, and a plurality of probes. Each probe includes a probe tail, a probe body, and a probe tip that are connected in sequence. The probe penetrates the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate. The probe tail of the probe penetrates out of the upper guide plate to be in contact with the space transformer to form an electrical connection, and the probe tip of the probe penetrates out of the lower guide plate to be in contact with a device under test to form an electrical connection.

The parallelism of the upper guide plate of the probe head is also different as an application area of the probe head is increasingly larger. Therefore, when the probe head is disposed on the space transformer, due to the parallelism difference of the upper guide plate, pressure between the probe tails of the probes and the space transformer also changes, and some probes may be overpressured during an assembly process. When the probe is overpressured, it is possible to cause a crack at the point where the probe penetrates the upper guide plate, and even worse, the probes may sink into the upper guide plate and thus be stuck. All these factors lead to the defect that a test yield is less than an expected test yield when the probe card is used subsequently.

<CIT> discloses a manufacturing method of contact probes for a testing head comprises the steps of: providing a substrate made of a conductive material; and-defining at least one contact probe by laser cutting the substrate. The method further includes at least one post-processing fine definition step of at least one end portion of the contact probe, that follows the step of defining the contact probe by laser cutting, the end portion being a portion including a contact tip or a contact head of the contact probe. The fine definition step does not involve a laser processing and includes geometrically defining the end portion of the contact probe with at least a substantially micrometric precision.

<CIT> discloses a probe having a first end that contacts and separates from a test object and a second end that contacts a circuit board to perform inspection of the test object, wherein the second end is provided with a rotation restricted portion that restricts rotation of the probe about the axial direction thereof. An extendable portion, which is freely extendable and contractible in the axial direction of the probe and has at least one spiral slit, is provided between the first end and the second end. The second end is formed by a tubular member. Also, at least two of the extendable portions are provided between the first end and the second end, and an intermediate portion is formed between the extendable portions.

<CIT> discloses an electrical connection device that can suppress damage of a probe arising from oscillation in a guide hole provided in a probe head. The electrical connection device comprises: a probe; a top part that is penetrated by the probe; a bottom part that is arranged on a tip end part side farther than the top part and penetrated by the probe; and a probe head that is arranged between the top part and the bottom part, and has an upper guide part and a lower guide part each to be penetrated by the probe. The probe is held in a state with the probe curved between the top part and the bottom part. The tip end part contacts with an inspected body to result in the probe being buckled, and at least a part continuing from a part penetrating the bottom part of the probe in the state where the probe is buckled to a part penetrating the lower guide part of the probe is a high rigidity part made higher in rigidity than a part having the probe buckled.

<CIT> discloses the invention describes a probe card for a testing equipment of electronic devices comprising at least one testing head with a plurality of contact probes inserted into guide holes being realized in at least one upper guide and one lower guide, a bending zone of said contact probes being defined between said upper and lower guides, as well as at least one space transformer with a plurality of contact pads, each of said contact probes having at least one first terminal portion projecting from said lower guide with a first length and ending with a contact tip adapted to abut onto a respective contact pad of a device to be tested, as well as one second terminal portion projecting from said upper guide with a second length and ending with a contact head adapted to abut onto one of said contact pads of said space transformer, wherein it further comprises at least one spacer element interposed between said space transformer and said upper guide, said spacer element being removable to adjust said first length of the first terminal portion of the contact probes by changing the second length of the second terminal portion of the contact probes by changing the second length of the second terminal portion with approach of the testing head, in particular of said upper guide, and of the space transformer.

<CIT> discloses an electrical connection apparatus comprising: a probe head which has a guide hole and in which the shape of the guide hole in a plane perpendicular to an extending direction of the guide hole is a polygonal shape the corner sections of which are round chamfered; and a probe that is held by the probe head while passing through the guide hole, wherein at angular sections of the probe that face the respective corner sections of the guide hole, cutouts are formed along an axial direction of the probe.

<CIT> discloses a probe card includes: a holder having a guide plate formed with a plurality of through-holes; a probe formed with contact parts which contact an inspection object, and configured to be inserted into the through-holes, and to be held by the holder in a state of being protruded from the holder; a wiring board arranged at a side opposite to the side of the contact parts of the holder, and configured to be mounted with the holder; and a spacer disposed so as to be attachable/detachable between the holder and the wiring board.

<CIT> discloses elongated flexible probes can be disposed in holes of upper and lower guide plates of a probe card assembly. Each probe can include one or more spring mechanisms that exert normal forces against sidewalls of holes in one of the guide plates. The normal forces can result in frictional forces against the sidewalls that are substantially parallel to the sidewalls. The frictional forces can reduce or impede movement parallel to the sidewalls of the probes in the holes.

This disclosure discloses a probe head, including an upper guide plate, a lower guide plate, and a plurality of probes. The upper guide plate includes a plurality of bumps, and the upper guide plate is provided with an upper surface and a lower surface that are opposite to each other and a plurality of probe holes vertically penetrating the upper surface and the lower surface along a first direction. The bumps are disposed on the upper surface, each of the bumps is provided with a supporting surface. In the first direction, the upper surface is located between the supporting surface and the lower surface. The lower guide plate is disposed on the upper guide plate and located on the side of the lower surface. The probes are each provided with a probe tail, a probe body and a probe tip that are connected in sequence, and the probes are disposed in the probe holes, and the plurality of probes comprises multiple groups of probes, each group surrounds one of the plurality of bumps. In the first direction, a first end portion of the probe tail is located between the supporting surface and the upper surface, a second end portion opposite to the first end portion of the probe tail abuts against the upper surface , a height of each of the bumps in the first direction is greater than a length of the probe tail of each probe, wherein the probe body of the probe is in a buckling shape.

This disclosure further discloses a probe card, including a circuit board, a space transformer and the foregoing probe head. The space transformer is provided with a plurality of electric contact points and is disposed on the circuit board. The probe head is disposed on the space transformer, and the probe tails of the probes of the probe head face the electric contact points respectively. The supporting surface abuts against the space transformer. A gap exists between the electric contact point and the end portion of the probe tail in the first direction.

This disclosure discloses a probe head, including an upper guide plate, a lower guide plate, and a plurality of probes. The upper guide plate includes a groove, and the upper guide plate is provided with an upper surface and a lower surface that are opposite to each other and a plurality of probe holes vertically penetrating the upper surface and the lower surface along a first direction. The groove is depressed from the upper surface, and the groove is provided with a groove bottom surface. In the first direction, the groove bottom surface is located between the upper surface and the lower surface. The lower guide plate is disposed on the upper guide plate and located on the side of the lower surface. The probes are each provided with a probe tail, a probe body and a probe tip that are connected in sequence, and the probes are disposed in the groove. In the first direction, a first end portion of the probe tail is located between the groove bottom surface and the upper surface, a second end portion opposite to the first end portion of the probe tail abuts against the groove bottom surface, a length of the probe tail is less than the height of the groove in the first direction, wherein the probe body of the probe is in a buckling shape; and the groove is in a grid shape, and the plurality of probes are arranged in a grid shape.

This disclosure further discloses a probe card, including a circuit board, a space transformer and the foregoing probe head. The space transformer is provided with a plurality of electric contact points and is disposed on the circuit board. The probe head is disposed on the space transformer, and probe tails of the probes of the probe head face the electric contact points respectively. An upper surface abuts against the space transformer. A gap exists between the electric contact point and an end portion of the probe tail in a first direction.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a probe card according to the invention, and the probe card in this embodiment is a vertical probe card. The probe card shown in the embodiment of <FIG> is assembled from a circuit board PCB, a space transformer (ST) and a probe head (PH). Therefore, the probe head PH is electrically connected to a device under test for an electrical test. The circuit board PCB and the space transformer ST are reflowed by a solder ball (not shown in the figure), or an anisotropic conductive adhesive, an elastic contact component and the like (not shown in the figure) are used as an intermediate conductor of the circuit board PCB and the space transformer ST, so that an internal circuit of the circuit board PCB is electrically connected to an internal circuit of the space transformer ST.

Still referring to <FIG>, the probe head PH mainly include an upper guide plate <NUM>, a lower guide plate <NUM>, and a plurality of probes <NUM>. The probe <NUM> is provided with a probe tail <NUM>, a probe body <NUM>, and a probe tip <NUM>. The probe <NUM> penetrates the upper guide plate <NUM> and the lower guide plate <NUM>. The probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is located on the side of the upper guide plate <NUM>, and the probe tip <NUM> penetrates out of the lower guide plate <NUM>. The probe head PH is suitable for assembling the space transformer ST or the circuit board PCB, so that the probe head PH is disposed on the space transformer ST. After the probe head PH of the present invention is disposed on the space transformer ST, a gap F (or referred to as a floating gap) can be maintained between an end portion of the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM> and the space transformer ST. During the process of probe test, when overpressure occurs between the probe <NUM> of the probe head PH and the space transformer ST, the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> can be prevented from being abnormally sunk into a probe hole <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> or cracking the probe hole <NUM>.

Further, because the probe <NUM> is moved towards the space transformer ST during the process of probe testing, in this embodiment, the probe body <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is in a bucking shape. Therefore, the probe <NUM> may have a bending deformation area, that is, the probe tail <NUM> and the probe tip <NUM> of the probe <NUM> are not located in the same linear extension direction. In addition, directions of bending deformation of the probes <NUM> can be controlled.

To maintain the gap F after the probe head PH is disposed on the space transformer ST, the following specific embodiments may be implemented.

In an embodiment, <FIG> shows that the upper guide plate <NUM> of the probe head PH includes multiple bumps B. Herein, the upper guide plate <NUM> is of a plate-like structure and is provided with an upper surface <NUM> and a lower surface <NUM> that are opposite and parallel to each other. In addition, the upper guide plate <NUM> is provided with a plurality of probe holes <NUM> vertically penetrating the upper surface <NUM> and the lower surface <NUM> in a first direction D1, and each bump B is provided with a supporting surface S1 and is disposed on the upper surface <NUM>. In the first direction D1, the upper surface <NUM> is located between the supporting surface S1 and the lower surface <NUM>. Therefore, the lower guide plate <NUM> is disposed on the upper guide plate <NUM> and located on the side of the lower surface <NUM>.

Still referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in this embodiment, the probe holes <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> are arranged surrounding each bump B. Therefore, the probes <NUM> also surround each bump B when being disposed in the probe holes <NUM>. In a specific embodiment, for example, when each bump B is a solid rectangular block, the probes <NUM> may be circumferentially arranged into a rectangular shape along a rectangular outline shape of each bump B. However, an arrangement manner of the probes <NUM> is not limited thereto, but may be determined by an arrangement shape or a position that conforms to a test contact point of a device under test.

In addition, in the first direction D1, the end portion of the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM> is located between the supporting surface S1 and the upper surface <NUM>. That is, a height of each bump B in the first direction is greater than a length of the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM>. In this case, the end portion of the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM> refers to an end, which is away from the probe tip <NUM>, of the probe tail <NUM>. Therefore, when the probes <NUM> are disposed on the upper guide plate <NUM>, the end portions of the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> do not protrude from the bumps B. To be specific, when the upper guide plate <NUM> of the probe head PH is disposed on the space transformer ST, it can be ensured that the upper guide plate <NUM> of the probe head PH is in contact with the space transformer ST, so as to avoid unexpected contact with the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> during the assembly process, and prevent the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> from abnormally sinking into the probe holes <NUM> or cracking the probe holes <NUM> due to overpressure.

Further, still referring to <FIG>, in an embodiment, on a side facing the probes <NUM>, the space transformer ST is provided with electrical contact points P to be in contact with the probes <NUM> to form an electrical connection during the process of probe testing. Therefore, to maintain the gap F between the end portion of the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM> and the space transformer ST, a distance between the upper surface <NUM> of the probe head PH and the supporting surface S1 of each bump B in the first direction D1 is greater than a total length of the end portion of the probe tail <NUM> and the electrical contact point P in the first direction D1. Therefore, when the probe head PH is disposed on the space transformer ST and has not performed a probe test operation, the space transformer ST may still abut against the supporting surface S1 of each bump B, and the gap F exists between the electrical contact point P of the space transformer ST and the end portion of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> in the first direction D1. The electrical contact points P are connected to the internal circuit of the space transformer ST respectively.

It can be learned that, when disposed on the space transformer ST, the probe head PH is in contact with the space transformer ST by using the supporting surfaces S1 of the bumps B on the upper guide plate <NUM> with a large area. In this way, a contact area between the upper guide plate <NUM> of the probe head PH and the space transformer ST increases, and during an assembly process, the possibility of deformation of the upper guide plate <NUM> is reduced. Therefore, this can ensure the parallelism after the probe head PH is disposed on the space transformer ST, and further ensure that the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are not damaged by the pressure caused by the deformation of the upper guide plate <NUM>. In addition, the gap F is maintained between the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> of the probe head PH and the space transformer ST, thereby preventing the probes <NUM> of the probe head PH from being damaged due to impact with the space transformer ST during the assembly process or during the process of probe testing.

Further, referring to <FIG>, in an embodiment, to prevent the probes <NUM> in the first direction D1 from randomly moving towards the lower guide plate <NUM>, the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are limited to a side, which is different from the lower guide plate <NUM>, of the upper guide plate <NUM>. Herein, cross-sectional shapes of the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are non-circular shapes, and cross-sectional shapes of the probe bodies <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are circle shapes. In this way, when the probes <NUM> are disposed on the upper guide plate <NUM>, the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> cannot penetrate the probe holes <NUM> and are kept on the side of the upper guide plate <NUM>. In this state, the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM> may form a stopper that limits the displacement of the probe <NUM> in the first direction Dl, and the stopper formed by the probe tail <NUM> may prevent the probe <NUM> from falling out of the probe head PH from the probe hole <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> and the probe hole of the lower guide plate <NUM>. Specifically, the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM> may be formed by, but is not limited to, deforming one end of the probe body <NUM> protruded from the upper guide plate <NUM> by the pressure, and the probe tail <NUM> is made into a flat shape whose width is greater than an outer diameter of the probe hole <NUM>.

In an embodiment, referring to <FIG>, a cross-sectional shape of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is partially non-circular and partially circular. The non-circular cross-sectional shape of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is located between the circular cross-sectional shape of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> and the probe body <NUM>. In this way, when the probes <NUM> are disposed on the upper guide plate <NUM>, the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> cannot penetrate the probe holes <NUM> and therefore are kept on one side of the upper guide plate <NUM>. In this state, the part with the non-circular cross-sectional shape of the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM> may form a stopper that limits the displacement of the probe <NUM> in the first direction Dl, and the stopper of the probe tail <NUM> may prevent the probe <NUM> from falling out of the probe head PH from the probe hole <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> and the probe hole of the lower guide plate <NUM>. Specifically, the probe tail <NUM> of each probe <NUM> may be formed by, but is not limited to, deforming, by applying a pressure, a part of an end of the probe body <NUM> which protrudes from the upper guide plate <NUM> so that the part with the non-circular cross-sectional shape of the probe tail is made into a flat shape. The width of the flat shape is greater than an outer diameter of the probe hole <NUM>, and the width of the circular cross-sectional part of the probe tail <NUM> is less than the outer diameter of the probe hole <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the upper guide plate <NUM> may be made of a single material or different materials, and may be formed integrally or by split parts. Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the upper guide plate <NUM> and the bumps B shown in the embodiments of <FIG> and <FIG> are integrally formed with a single material. In this embodiment, the upper guide plate <NUM> and the bumps B are integrally formed with a ceramic material.

Further, to avoid the problem of interference of the probes <NUM> caused by the rotating action of the probes <NUM> on the upper guide plate <NUM>, the probe head PH further includes a locking structure A, and the locking structure A is provided with a plurality of non-circular holes H1. The non-circular holes H1 are respectively connected to the probe holes <NUM>. Herein, cross sections of the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are non-circular, and the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are received in the non-circular holes H1 respectively. Therefore, the probe tail <NUM> interferes with the non-circular hole H1, and the non-circular hole H1 may limit rotation of the probe <NUM> relative to the upper guide plate <NUM>. That is, the probe <NUM> does not rotate relative to the upper guide plate <NUM> and the lower guide plate <NUM>.

Further, referring to <FIG>, the embodiment in <FIG> further provides a locking structure A based on the structure foundation of the embodiment in <FIG>. Herein, the upper guide plate <NUM> and the bumps B are integrally formed with a single material, and the upper guide plate <NUM> includes the locking structure A. In addition, in this embodiment, the locking structure A and the bumps B on the upper guide plate <NUM> integrally form a locking block <NUM>, and the locking block <NUM> is provided with a plurality of non-circular holes H1, so as to limit the rotation of the probes <NUM>. Herein, the cross-sectional shape of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is a non-circular shape. When the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is received in the non-circular hole H1, the rotation momentum of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is limited by the non-circular hole H1, and therefore the probe tail is locked. For example, the cross section of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> may be, but is not limited to, a square circle, that is, two corresponding sides are parallel to each other and the other two corresponding sides are in a circular arc shape; the non-circular hole H1 is a rectangular hole. The probe tail <NUM> is received in the non-circular hole H1 and therefore can be locked by the non-circular hole H1. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is a square circle shape, and the non-circular hole H1 may be a square circular hole or an elliptical hole. The cross-sectional shape of the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> and the shape of the non-circular hole H1 are not specifically limited as long as sizes are properly configured (for example, the non-circular hole H1 cannot be excessively large compared with the probe tail <NUM>). When the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> is received in the non-circular hole H1, the probe tail <NUM> of the probe <NUM> can be locked by the non-circular hole H1.

Specifically, the locking block <NUM> is disposed on the upper surface <NUM>. In an embodiment, the locking structure A is further provided with a step surface S2, and the step surface S2 and the supporting surface S1 are not coplanar and become stepped. In this embodiment, the locking block <NUM> is provided with the step surface S2, and the step surface S2 is adjacent to the non-circular hole H1 and the bumps B. In the first direction, the step surface S2 is located between the supporting surface S1 and the upper surface <NUM>. Therefore, by setting the step surface S2, it is more applicable to configure the bumps B and the probe holes <NUM> at different relative positions.

In this embodiment, when the probes <NUM> penetrate from the upper guide plate <NUM> to the lower guide plate <NUM>, the probe tips <NUM> of the probes <NUM> penetrate the non-circular holes H1 and the probe holes <NUM> and further penetrate the lower guide plate <NUM>. The probe bodies <NUM> of the probes <NUM> penetrate the non-circular holes H1 and the probe holes <NUM> and can be received in the probe holes <NUM> and a receiving space between the upper guide plate <NUM> and the lower guide plate <NUM>. The probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are received in the non-circular holes H1. Therefore, the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> may be limited by the non-circular holes H1, so that the rotations of the probes <NUM> is limited.

In the embodiment in which the locking structure A is provided to limit the rotation of the probes <NUM>, it is also possible to use a split structure configuration with different materials. Specifically, referring to <FIG>, similarly, the embodiment in <FIG> further provides the locking structure A based on the structure foundation of the embodiment in <FIG>. In this embodiment, the upper guide plate <NUM> and the bumps B are integrally formed with a ceramic material, and the locking structure A is a locking member <NUM> separated from the upper guide plate <NUM> and the bumps B. Herein, the locking member <NUM> may be a thin film material disposed on the upper guide plate <NUM>, and the locking member <NUM> is provided with a plurality of non-circular holes H1. In this embodiment, the locking member <NUM> is disposed on the upper surface <NUM>, and the non-circular holes H1 of the locking member <NUM> are connected to the probe holes <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM>. In this way, when the probes <NUM> penetrate from the upper guide plate <NUM> to the lower guide plate <NUM>, the probe tips <NUM> of the probes <NUM> penetrate the non-circular holes H1 and the probe holes <NUM> and further penetrate the lower guide plate <NUM>. The probe bodies <NUM> of the probes <NUM> penetrate the non-circular holes H1 and the probe holes <NUM> and can be received in the probe holes <NUM>. The probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are received in the non-circular holes H1. Therefore, the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> may be limited by the non-circular holes H1, so that the rotation of the probes <NUM> can be limited. In an embodiment, the locking member <NUM> may alternatively be provided with a step surface S2, and the step surface S2 is adjacent to the non-circular holes H1 and the bumps B.

Further, in some embodiments, the locking member <NUM> may be a single piece made of a thin film material. Still referring to <FIG>, the locking member <NUM> is provided with the step surface S2 and the non-circular hole H1, and the locking member <NUM> is further provided with a punched hole H2 corresponding to a configuration position of the bump B on the upper guide plate <NUM>. A shape of the punched hole H2 corresponds to an outline shape of the bump B. Herein, the position configuration of the non-circular hole H1 relative to the punched hole H2 corresponds to the position configuration of the probe <NUM> relative to the bump B. In this embodiment, the punched hole H2 surrounds the non-circular hole H1. In this way, the locking member <NUM> is disposed on the upper surface <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM>, and the punched hole H2 is sleeved on the bump B. The non-circular hole H1 is connected to the probe hole <NUM>. That is, the bump B formed by the locking member <NUM> is disposed on the punched hole H2 and is disposed on the upper surface <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM>. Herein, the probes <NUM> first penetrate the locking member <NUM> and then penetrate the upper guide plate <NUM>, and the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are received in the non-circular holes H1 of the locking member <NUM> and locked by the non-circular holes H1. By cutting a plurality of pattern structures on a thin film and arranging the plurality of pattern structures on the upper surface <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> by means of splicing, the locking member <NUM> correspondingly provides the function of locking each probe <NUM>.

In other embodiments, referring to <FIG>, the embodiment in <FIG> is also based on the structure foundation of the embodiment in <FIG>. To be specific, the embodiment in <FIG> is also based on the structure foundation of disposing the bumps B on the upper guide plate <NUM>. In this embodiment, the upper guide plate <NUM> is a three-piece split structure made of different materials. Specifically, each bump B of the upper guide plate <NUM> is separable from the upper guide plate <NUM>, and each bump B is further divided into two separable parts. In this embodiment, each bump B includes the locking structure A and a height setting layer B2, and the locking structure A is a locking layer B1 separable from the height setting layer B2. In this embodiment, the locking layer B1 is disposed on the upper surface <NUM> and provided with a median surface S3 and a plurality of non-circular holes H1. The height setting layer B2 is disposed on a part of the median surface S3 and provided with a supporting surface S1, and in the first direction D1, the median surface S3 is located between the supporting surface S1 and the upper surface <NUM>. Herein, the height setting layer B2 is disposed at a part of the median surface S3 and the remaining parts of the median surface S3 are in an exposed state. In this case, the locking layer B1 and the height setting layer B2 become a stepped structure, while the remaining parts of the median surface S3 (the exposed parts of the median surface S3) are equivalent to the step surface S2 in the foregoing embodiments.

Similarly, in this embodiment, the non-circular holes H1 of the locking layer B1 are connected to the probe holes <NUM>. When the probes <NUM> penetrate from the upper guide plate <NUM> to the lower guide plate <NUM>, the probe tips <NUM> of the probes <NUM> penetrate the non-circular holes H1 and the probe holes <NUM> and further penetrate the lower guide plate <NUM>. The probe bodies <NUM> of the probes <NUM> penetrate the non-circular holes H1 and the probe holes <NUM> and can be received in the probe holes <NUM>. The probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are received in the non-circular holes H1. Therefore, the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> may be limited by the non-circular hole H1, so that the rotation of the probes <NUM> can be limited.

In this embodiment, the locking layer B1 and the height setting layer B2 may be made of the ceramic material or the thin film material respectively. Herein, the three-piece split structure of the upper guide plate <NUM>, the locking layer B1, and the height setting layer B2 refers to a three-piece structure at a processing stage. The upper guide plate <NUM>, the locking layer B1, and the height setting layer B2 are combined into an inseparable single structure once processed respectively. Because the upper guide plate <NUM>, the locking layer B1, and the height setting layer B2 are the three-piece split structure at the processing stage, the upper guide plate <NUM>, the locking layer B1, and the height setting layer B2 may be simultaneously processed in different places, so as to shorten the processing time. In addition, the upper guide plate <NUM>, the locking layer B1, and the height setting layer B2 are combined after respectively processed. Therefore, when the form of the probe <NUM> of the probe head PH varies, the size and shape of the probe body <NUM> or the probe tail <NUM> based on the probe <NUM> are different. In this embodiment, the upper guide plate <NUM>, the locking layer B1, and the height setting layer B2 can be combined after the form of the probe hole <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> and the form of the non-circular hole H1 of the locking layer B1 are respectively changed during processing, so as to be more applicable to different forms of probes <NUM>.

In addition, in the foregoing embodiments, a higher ratio of an area of the supporting surface S1 to a cross-sectional area of the upper guide plate <NUM> in a direction perpendicular to the first direction D1 is desired. In this embodiment, a ratio of the area of the supporting surface S1 to the cross-sectional area of the upper guide plate <NUM> in a second direction D2 is preferably higher than <NUM>%. Therefore, it is ensured that when probe head PH is disposed on the space transformer ST, the upper guide plate <NUM> can be stably supported by the space transformer ST without being deformed, so as to maintain the parallelism between the upper guide plate <NUM> and the space transformer ST, thereby further preventing the probes <NUM> from abnormally sinking into the probe holes <NUM> or cracking the probe holes <NUM>.

In another embodiment, referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> show a structure in which the upper guide plate <NUM> includes a groove <NUM>. In this embodiment, the groove <NUM> is depressed from the upper surface <NUM>, and the groove <NUM> is provided with a groove bottom surface <NUM>. In the first direction D1, the groove bottom surface <NUM> is located between the upper surface <NUM> and the lower surface <NUM>. In this embodiment, the probes <NUM> are disposed in the groove <NUM>, and the probes <NUM> may be arranged in the groove <NUM> circumferentially, but is not limited thereto. When the probes <NUM> are disposed in the groove <NUM>, in the first direction D1, the end portions of the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are located between the groove bottom surface <NUM> and the upper surface <NUM>, and the length of the tail <NUM> is less than the height of the groove <NUM>.

Further, in this embodiment, the arrangement manner of the probes <NUM> in the groove <NUM> may be different depending on the shape of the groove <NUM>. In an embodiment, the groove <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> may be, but is not limited to, rectangular or a circular (not shown in the figure). Herein, based on the shape of the groove <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM>, the groove bottom surface <NUM> is a flat plane. Therefore, the probes <NUM> are arranged in the groove <NUM> in the form of a matrix. For example, when the shape of the groove <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> is a rectangle, the probes <NUM> may be arranged in the groove <NUM> in the form of a matrix.

In an embodiment, referring to <FIG>, the groove <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> may alternatively be in a grid shape. Herein, based on the fact that the groove <NUM> is in the grid shape, the groove bottom surface <NUM> is also correspondingly in the grid shape. In this way, the probes <NUM> may be arranged along the grid-shaped groove <NUM>, thereby being arranged circumferentially.

Further, referring to <FIG>, the embodiment in <FIG> has the same structure foundation as the embodiments in <FIG> and <FIG>, that is, the upper guide plate <NUM> is provided with the groove <NUM> and the probes <NUM> are arranged circumferentially. In this embodiment, the probes <NUM> are disposed in the groove <NUM>, and the upper guide plate <NUM> further includes a locking structure A. In addition, in this embodiment, the locking structure A is a locking block <NUM> integrally formed with the same material as the upper guide plate <NUM>. The structure of the locking block <NUM> is the same as the foregoing embodiments, and is provided with non-circular holes H1 connected to the probe holes <NUM> and may be provided with a step surface S2. The difference is that the locking block <NUM> in this embodiment is disposed on the groove bottom surface <NUM> of the groove <NUM>. Therefore, in this embodiment, the step surface S2 of the locking block <NUM> is adjacent to the non-circular holes H1 and the upper guide plate <NUM>, and the step surface S2 of the locking block <NUM> and the upper surface <NUM> are not coplanar and become stepped. In addition, the step surface S2 is located between the upper surface <NUM> and the groove bottom surface <NUM>. Similarly, the probe tails <NUM> of the probes <NUM> can be received in the non-circular holes H1 and locked by the non-circular holes H1.

In addition, referring to <FIG>, the embodiment in <FIG> has the same structure foundation as the embodiments in <FIG> and <FIG>, that is, the upper guide plate <NUM> is provided with the groove <NUM> and the probes <NUM> are arranged circumferentially. In this embodiment, the upper guide plate <NUM> is further provided with a locking structure A, and the locking structure A is a locking member <NUM>. In this embodiment, the locking member <NUM> is disposed on the groove bottom surface <NUM>. When the shape of the groove <NUM> is the grid shape, the locking member <NUM> having the punched hole H2 is provided, and the punched hole H2 of the locking member <NUM> is sleeved on a bulged portion between the grid-shaped grooves <NUM>.

Further, in the embodiments in which the probes <NUM> are disposed in the groove <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, because the locking block <NUM> or the locking member <NUM> is disposed on the groove bottom surface <NUM> lower than the upper surface <NUM>, the end portions of the probe tail <NUM> of the probes <NUM> are located between the upper surface <NUM> and the groove bottom surface <NUM>. That is, when the probe head PH is disposed behind the space transformer ST, the upper surface <NUM> of the upper guide plate <NUM> of the probe head PH is in contact with the space transformer ST. Therefore, in the embodiments in which the probes <NUM> are disposed in the groove <NUM>, a higher ratio of an area of the upper surface <NUM> to a cross-sectional area of the upper guide plate <NUM> in the second direction D2 is desired. Therefore, the ratio of the area of the upper surface <NUM> to the cross-sectional area of the upper guide plate <NUM> in the second direction D2 is greater than <NUM>%. In this way, in the embodiments in which the probes <NUM> are disposed in the groove <NUM>, it is ensured that when the probe head PH is disposed on the space transformer ST, the upper guide plate <NUM> can be stably supported by the space transformer ST without being deformed, so as to maintain the parallelism between the upper guide plate <NUM> and the space transformer ST, thereby preventing the probes <NUM> from abnormally sinking into the probe holes <NUM> or cracking the probe holes <NUM>.

In conclusion, when disposed on the space transformer ST, the probe head PH in the foregoing embodiments of this disclosure can always abut against the space transformer ST by using the supporting surface S1 or the upper surface <NUM>. Therefore, the upper guide plate <NUM> can be supported to reduce the deformation. Further, based on the state in which the upper guide plate <NUM> can maintain stability without deformation, the probes <NUM> disposed on the upper guide plate <NUM> can maintain parallelism and a gap with the space transformer ST. Therefore, the probes <NUM> and the upper guide plate <NUM> can be prevented from being damaged during the process of probe testing.

Claim 1:
A probe head (PH), comprising:
an upper guide plate (<NUM>) provided with an upper surface (<NUM>) and a lower surface (<NUM>) that are opposite to each other and a plurality of probe holes (<NUM>) vertically penetrating the upper surface (<NUM>) and the lower surface (<NUM>) along a first direction (D1),;
a lower guide plate (<NUM>), disposed on the upper guide plate (<NUM>) and located on the side of the lower surface (<NUM>); and
a plurality of probes (<NUM>), each provided with a probe tail (<NUM>), a probe body (<NUM>) and a probe tip (<NUM>) that are connected in sequence, wherein the plurality of probes (<NUM>) are disposed in the probe holes (<NUM>);
characterized in that
the upper guide plate (<NUM>) comprises a plurality of bumps (B),
the bumps (B) are disposed on the upper surface (<NUM>), each of the bumps (B) is provided with a supporting surface (S1), and in the first direction (D1), the upper surface (<NUM>) is located between the supporting surface (S1) and the lower surface (<NUM>),
the plurality of probes (<NUM>) comprises multiple groups of probes (<NUM>), each group surrounds one of the plurality of bumps (B), and in the first direction (D1), a first end portion of the probe tail (<NUM>) is located between the supporting surface (S1) and the upper surface (<NUM>), a second end portion opposite to the first end portion of the probe tail (<NUM>) abuts against the upper surface (<NUM>), a height of each of the bumps (B) in the first direction (D1) is greater than a length of the probe tail (<NUM>) of each probe (<NUM>),wherein the probe body (<NUM>) of the probe (<NUM>) is in a buckling shape.