US20090139965A1 - Probe array and method of its manufacture - Google Patents
Probe array and method of its manufacture Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20090139965A1 US20090139965A1 US12/368,531 US36853109A US2009139965A1 US 20090139965 A1 US20090139965 A1 US 20090139965A1 US 36853109 A US36853109 A US 36853109A US 2009139965 A1 US2009139965 A1 US 2009139965A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- probes
- probe
- substrate
- electrode
- edm
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
- G01R1/02—General constructional details
- G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
- G01R1/067—Measuring probes
- G01R1/073—Multiple probes
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23H—WORKING OF METAL BY THE ACTION OF A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF ELECTRIC CURRENT ON A WORKPIECE USING AN ELECTRODE WHICH TAKES THE PLACE OF A TOOL; SUCH WORKING COMBINED WITH OTHER FORMS OF WORKING OF METAL
- B23H9/00—Machining specially adapted for treating particular metal objects or for obtaining special effects or results on metal objects
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
- G01R1/02—General constructional details
- G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
- G01R1/067—Measuring probes
- G01R1/073—Multiple probes
- G01R1/07307—Multiple probes with individual probe elements, e.g. needles, cantilever beams or bump contacts, fixed in relation to each other, e.g. bed of nails fixture or probe card
- G01R1/07314—Multiple probes with individual probe elements, e.g. needles, cantilever beams or bump contacts, fixed in relation to each other, e.g. bed of nails fixture or probe card the body of the probe being perpendicular to test object, e.g. bed of nails or probe with bump contacts on a rigid support
Abstract
A method of forming a probe array includes forming a layer of tip material over a block of probe material. A first electron discharge machine (EDM) electrode is positioned over the layer of tip material, the EDM electrode having a plurality of openings corresponding to a plurality of probes to be formed. Excess material from the layer of tip material and the block of probe material is removed to form the plurality of probes. A substrate having a plurality of through holes corresponding to the plurality of probes is positioned so that the probes penetrate the plurality of through holes. The substrate is bonded to the plurality of probes. Excess probe material is removed so as to planarize the substrate.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention is related to a method of making an array of probes for use in probing electronic devices, such as a probe card for probing the dies on a semiconductor wafer.
- 2. Related Art
- Semiconductor dies must be tested during the manufacturing process to insure the reliability and performance characteristics of integrated circuits on the dies. Accordingly, different testing procedures have been developed by semiconductor manufacturers for testing semiconductor dies. Standard tests for gross functionality are typically performed by probe testing the dies at the wafer level. Probe testing at the wafer level can also be used to rate the speed grades of the dies.
- Testing a large number of integrated circuit chips in parallel at the wafer level provides significant advantage since test time and cost are substantially reduced. At present, large scale testers including mainframe computers are needed to test even one chip at a time, and the complexity of these machines is increased when the capability of testing arrays of chips in parallel is added. Nevertheless, because of the time savings parallel testing provides, high pin-count testers capable of probing and collecting data from many chips simultaneously have been introduced, and the number of chips that can be tested simultaneously has been gradually increasing.
- Substantial lower cost would result from an improved wafer test and burn-in scheme that permits parallel test and burn-in of the chips on a wafer before dicing.
- As wafer testing requirements become more sophisticated, the need for high density probes, and efficient and relatively inexpensive methods of manufacturing them continues to be a challenge. Accordingly, a need exists for an inexpensive and efficient method of manufacturing high density probe array.
- The present invention is directed to a probe array for testing of semiconductor wafers and a method of its manufacture that substantially obviates one or more of the problems and disadvantages of the related art.
- There is provided a method of manufacturing a probe array including forming a first substrate having a plurality of through holes. A second substrate is formed having a plurality of probe tips embedded therein. A plurality of wires are bonded to corresponding probe tips of the second substrate. The through holes of the first substrate are mated with the plurality of wires. The second substrate is removed. The first substrate is planarized, and connections are formed on the first substrate to the plurality of wires for connecting to external signal sources.
- In another aspect there is provided a method of forming a probe array including forming a layer of tip material over a block of probe material. A first electron discharge machine (EDM) electrode is positioned over the layer of tip material, the EDM electrode having a plurality of openings corresponding to a plurality of probes to be formed. Excess material from the layer of tip material and the block of probe material is removed to form the plurality of probes. A substrate having a plurality of through holes corresponding to the plurality of probes is positioned so that the probes penetrate the plurality of through holes. The substrate is bonded to the plurality of probes. Excess probe material is removed so as to planarize the substrate. Advantages of the method of making the probe array according to the present invention include the use of two stages of steps with two different substrates. Therefore, the processing steps of the two stages can be carried out in parallel and independent of one another. Any errors or defects that may be present require only a repetition of one set of steps. Also, the resultant probe array has through holes that provide support along at least a segment of the probe. The support is especially advantageous in a probe array with lateral contact movement or wiping.
- In another aspect there is provide a probe array including a substrate, and a plurality of probes for contacting test terminals on a test device. Each probe has a stem and a tip. Each probe penetrates the substrate for support. The substrate has a plurality of through holes such that the stems of the probes penetrate the through holes and are bonded to the substrate.
- Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure and particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
- It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
- The accompanying drawings, which are included to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
-
FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the steps in one method of manufacturing probes for a vertical probe array. -
FIGS. 5-6 illustrate the steps of joining the probes illustrated inFIGS. 1-4 with a substrate to form a probe array. -
FIGS. 7-8 illustrate the steps of shaping tips of the probes of the probe array ofFIG. 6 . -
FIG. 9 illustrates in flow chart form the steps involved in manufacturing the probe array corresponding toFIGS. 1-8 . -
FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative EDM electrode that may be used to manufacture probes of a probe array. -
FIG. 11 illustrates a cross-section of the EDM electrode ofFIG. 10 . -
FIGS. 12-16 illustrate an alternative process of making the probes. -
FIG. 17 shows loose probes formed according to the process shown inFIGS. 12-16 . -
FIG. 18 illustrates a base substrate for mounting the probes. -
FIG. 19 illustrates a cross-section of the base substrate ofFIG. 18 . -
FIGS. 20-21 illustrate assembly of the probes into an array. - Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
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FIGS. 1-8 illustrate a first method of forming an array of probes, andFIG. 9 shows the steps 901-908 for making the probes as shown inFIGS. 1-8 in flow chart form. - As shown in
FIG. 1 , a block oftip material 101 is attached to a block of probe material 102 (step 901). Thetip material 101 and theprobe material 102 should be conductive, but otherwise may be formed of any number of known materials. Examples of suitable tip materials and probe materials include palladium, copper, gold, rhodium, nickel, cobalt, silver, platinum, conductive nitrides, conductive carbides, tungsten, titanium, molybdenum, rhenium, indium, osmium, refractory metals, and alloys or composite compositions including one or more of any of the foregoing. Thetip material 101, for example, may be electroplated onto theprobe material 102. Thetip material 101 may also be welded, soldered, brazed, etc. to theprobe material 102. Of course, theprobe material 102 and/or thetip material 101 may be further treated. For example, one or both of the materials may be heat treated or annealed; ions may be implanted into either or both materials; etc. Moreover, such further treatment may be performed at any time during the process, including before the EDM electrodes shape the material and after the materials are fully shaped by the EDM electrodes. In addition, at any time during shaping by an EDM electrode, the shaping process may be stopped, and a material treated. - An electron discharge machine (“EDM”) is then used to shape the
tip material 101 andprobe material 102 into basic probe shapes (steps 902-903). Afirst EDM electrode 201 shaped in the form of the desired probe array is applied to the block oftip material 101 andprobe material 102 as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3 . After excess material is removed, the resulting structure is shown inFIG. 4 .Probes 401 are then secured in the throughholes 502 of a substrate 501 (which may be made of, for example, ceramic, silicon, printed circuit board material, etc.), as shown inFIG. 5 , usingsolder 503 or some other suitable joining material (steps 904-905). Press-fit and thermal-fit techniques may also be used. The bottom portion 504 (relative to the orientation shown inFIG. 5 ) of theprobe material 102 is then removed, as shownFIG. 6 (step 906). In one example,excess probe material 102 ofbottom portion 504 is removed so as to planarize the substrate. Etching, grinding, polishing, lapping, or other suitable methods may be used to remove thebottom portion 504. Alternatively, portions of the probes 410 may be left extending through the bottom (as oriented inFIG. 5 ) ofsubstrate 501. For example, only thebottom portion 504 may be removed (e.g., using an EDM electrode, etching, etc.). The portions of probes 410 that extend through the bottom ofsubstrate 501 may be secured (e.g., by soldering) to another substrate. - As shown in
FIG. 7 , asecond EDM electrode 701 is used to shape thetip material 101 on the ends of theprobes 401 by removing excess material (step 907), to result in the structure ofFIG. 8 . Electrical connections (not shown) are then formed on thefirst substrate 501 to theprobes 401 for use in connecting to external test signal sources (step 908). The structure shown inFIG. 8 may be used to make a probe card assembly or other apparatus for probing electronic devices. Of course, thetip material 101 may be shaped as inFIGS. 7 and 8 before securing theprobes 401 to thesubstrate 501. - The
EDM electrodes 201 may be formed of any conductive material that can be etched, machined, or otherwise processed to form the desired patterns. For example, thefirst EDM electrode 201 may be formed of graphite, which can be patterned using laser ablation (e.g., using an excimer laser). As another example, thesecond EDM electrode 701 may be formed of silicon, which may be highly doped and which can be patterned by etching pits into the surface of the silicon. Optionally, a surface of the EDM electrode may be metallized by sputtering, plating, chemical vapor deposition, and other techniques, or otherwise treated. - Thus, there is provided a method of forming a probe array including forming a layer of
tip material 101 over a block ofprobe material 102. A first electron discharge machine (EDM)electrode 201 is positioned over the layer oftip material 101, theEDM electrode 201 having a plurality of openings corresponding to a plurality ofprobes 401 to be formed. Excess material from the layer oftip material 101 and the block ofprobe material 102 is removed to form the plurality ofprobes 401. Asubstrate 501 having a plurality of throughholes 502 corresponding to the plurality ofprobes 401 is positioned so that theprobes 401 penetrate the plurality of throughholes 502. Thesubstrate 501 is bonded to the plurality ofprobes 401. Excess probe material is removed so as to planarize thesubstrate 501. The tip material may be further treated before or after forming the probes. For example, the tip material may be treated using ion implantation techniques, plating, etc. -
FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate anotherexemplary EDM electrode 1002 that may be used to manufacture probes for a probe array.FIG. 10 shows a bottom view of theelectrode 1002, andFIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional side view of theelectrode 1002. As shown, there is a plurality ofcavities 1004 in the bottom of theelectrode 1002. As will be seen, thecavities 1004 are in the shape of probes to be made. - As shown in
FIGS. 12-14 (in which theelectrode 1002 is shown in cross-section), theelectrode 1002 is brought into contact withprobe material 1206, which may be similar toprobe material 102 discussed above. As, shown inFIG. 12 , theprobe material 1206 may optionally be adhered to asacrificial material 1208. As shown inFIG. 13 , theelectrode 1002 shapes theprobe material 1206. As shown inFIG. 14 , theelectrode 1002 may also partially shape thesacrificial material 1208. -
FIGS. 15 and 16 show a top view and cross-sectional side view, respectively, of theprobe material 1206 andsacrificial material 1208 after they have been shaped by the electrode 1002 (as shown inFIGS. 12-14 ). As shown, theelectrode 1002 shapes theprobe material 1206 and a first layer of sacrificial material 1501 (i.e., an upper layer of original sacrificial material 1208) as defined by thecavities 1004 in theelectrode 1002. Theprobe material 1206 is then released from thesacrificial material loose probes 1510 made of theprobe material 1206, as shown inFIG. 17 . Alternatively, the EDM electrode may be fashioned to leave small amounts of material (not shown) between theprobes 1510, tying the probes together. This may allow the probes to be further processed or handled in groups. It may also aid in handling the probes during later assembly. Preferably, such tying material is left in sufficiently thin quantities that it is easily removed (e.g., broken) from the probes. - As mentioned above, the
sacrificial material 1208 is not necessary. Theprobe material 1206 could be provided by itself, and theelectrode 1002 could simply etch throughprobe material 1206. Moreover, if used, thesacrificial material 1208 need not be shaped by theelectrode 1002. That is, theelectrode 1002 may be stopped inFIG. 14 just as it reaches thesacrificial material 1208 so that it etches only theprobe material 1206. - Regardless of whether or not the
sacrificial material 1208 is etched, how thesacrificial material 1208 is adhered to and then released from theprobe material 1206 is not critical to the invention. Likewise, the material used as thesacrificial material 1208 is not critical to the invention. For example, theprobe material 1206 and thesacrificial material 1208 may be adhered together using any suitable adhesive (e.g., epoxy, etc.). Theprobe material 1206 and thesacrificial material 1208 may then be separated by dissolving, etching away, or otherwise removing the adhesive. As another example, thesacrificial material 1208 may be dissolved or etched away to separate theprobes 1510 from the sacrificial material. - As an alternative, the initial block of
probe material 1206 may be a composite material that includes one material for the bodies ofprobes 1510 and a different material for the tips ofprobes 1510. For example, the initial block of material from which the result shown inFIG. 15 was processed may include a rectangular swath of tip material across the top and across the bottom of the larger rectangular structure shown inFIG. 15 . (Exemplary swaths are shown inFIG. 15 in dashed lines and labeled 1511.) Such swaths would be large enough to include the tips ofprobes 1510 shown inFIG. 15 . In this way, theprobes 1510 may comprise multiple materials (e.g., one material for the body of the probes, and a different material for the tips of the probes). Alternatively, the entire block is made of the same material but theswaths 1511 are specially treated, such as discussed above with respect to the probe or tip materials shown inFIG. 1 . - An exemplary use of the
loose probes 1510 shown inFIG. 17 is illustrated inFIGS. 18-21 . Illustrated inFIGS. 18 and 19 is abase substrate 1812 withopenings 1816 andsolder 1814 around theopenings 1816. As shown inFIG. 20 ,probes 1510 may be inserted into theopenings 1816, and thesolder 1814 flowed to secure theprobes 1510 in theopenings 1816. As shown inFIG. 21 , one or moresuch base substrates 1812 may in turn be secured (e.g., bysolder 1814, brazing, welding, or other means) to a larger substrate, such as anelectronic component 2120 withconductive terminals 2122. As an example, theelectronic component 2120 may be a space transformer for a probe card assembly, such as the probe card assemblies disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,662, issued Nov. 2, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference. The foregoing exemplary method of assembling loose probes into arrays of probes is described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/202,712, filed Jul. 24, 2002, which is also incorporated herein by reference. - Like the
EDM electrode 201, theEDM electrode 1002 may be formed of any conductive material. Also, thecavities 1004 may be patterned in theelectrode 1002 using any suitable method. For example, thecavities 1004 may be etched, machined, etc. into theelectrode 1002. As another example, thecavities 1004 may be formed using laser ablation. As yet another example, the sacrificial substrate 1208 (e.g., a silicon wafer) may be covered with a photo resist, and the photo resist patterned, developed, and removed, such that photo resist remains on thesacrificial substrate 1208 only wherecavities 1004 are to be formed. Thesacrificial substrate 1208 is then metalized (e.g., by plating, deposition, etc.), forming a bottom plate of the electrode around the patterned photo resist, which is then removed, leavingcavities 1004 in the newly formed bottom plate. - Advantages of the method of making the probe array according to the present invention include independent processing of two different substrates. Therefore, the processing steps of the two stages can be carried out in parallel and independent of one another. Any errors or defects that may be present require only a repetition of one set of steps. Also, the resultant probe array has through holes that provide support along at least a segment of the probe. The support is especially advantageous in a probe array with lateral contact movement or wiping (i.e., movement of the probes first laterally along the surface of the device under test, and then “bumping” over a terminal pad on the device under test).
- It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims (2)
1. A method of manufacturing a plurality of probes, said method comprising:
providing a block of material;
removing with an electron discharge machine (EDM) material from said block of material to form said plurality of probes.
2-21. (canceled)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/368,531 US20090139965A1 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2009-02-10 | Probe array and method of its manufacture |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/302,969 US7122760B2 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2002-11-25 | Using electric discharge machining to manufacture probes |
US11/550,340 US7488917B2 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2006-10-17 | Electric discharge machining of a probe array |
US12/368,531 US20090139965A1 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2009-02-10 | Probe array and method of its manufacture |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/550,340 Division US7488917B2 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2006-10-17 | Electric discharge machining of a probe array |
Publications (1)
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US20090139965A1 true US20090139965A1 (en) | 2009-06-04 |
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Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US10/302,969 Expired - Fee Related US7122760B2 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2002-11-25 | Using electric discharge machining to manufacture probes |
US11/550,340 Expired - Lifetime US7488917B2 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2006-10-17 | Electric discharge machining of a probe array |
US12/368,531 Abandoned US20090139965A1 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2009-02-10 | Probe array and method of its manufacture |
Family Applications Before (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US10/302,969 Expired - Fee Related US7122760B2 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2002-11-25 | Using electric discharge machining to manufacture probes |
US11/550,340 Expired - Lifetime US7488917B2 (en) | 2002-11-25 | 2006-10-17 | Electric discharge machining of a probe array |
Country Status (7)
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US (3) | US7122760B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1565757A2 (en) |
JP (2) | JP2006507506A (en) |
KR (1) | KR20050086803A (en) |
CN (2) | CN101308165A (en) |
AU (1) | AU2003293027A1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2004048982A2 (en) |
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Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US20100013504A1 (en) * | 2008-07-17 | 2010-01-21 | Spansion Llc | Probe apparatus, a process of forming a probe head, and a process of forming an electronic device |
US8179153B2 (en) * | 2008-07-17 | 2012-05-15 | Spansion Llc | Probe apparatus, a process of forming a probe head, and a process of forming an electronic device |
JP2012145489A (en) * | 2011-01-13 | 2012-08-02 | Sankei Engineering:Kk | Manufacturing method of inspection probe |
US9533376B2 (en) | 2013-01-15 | 2017-01-03 | Microfabrica Inc. | Methods of forming parts using laser machining |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US7122760B2 (en) | 2006-10-17 |
EP1565757A2 (en) | 2005-08-24 |
US20070062913A1 (en) | 2007-03-22 |
CN101308165A (en) | 2008-11-19 |
CN1735810A (en) | 2006-02-15 |
US20040099641A1 (en) | 2004-05-27 |
CN100406898C (en) | 2008-07-30 |
WO2004048982A2 (en) | 2004-06-10 |
JP2010107517A (en) | 2010-05-13 |
JP2006507506A (en) | 2006-03-02 |
KR20050086803A (en) | 2005-08-30 |
AU2003293027A1 (en) | 2004-06-18 |
WO2004048982A3 (en) | 2004-11-04 |
US7488917B2 (en) | 2009-02-10 |
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Owner name: HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, CALIFORNIA Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST IN UNITED STATES PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS;ASSIGNORS:FORMFACTOR, INC.;ASTRIA SEMICONDUCTOR HOLDINGS, INC.;CASCADE MICROTECH, INC.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:039184/0280 Effective date: 20160624 |